The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Watch for Matthew Fox's video meditation -- now appearing every Monday! |
Week of
9/9-14/2024:
Tom Fox, Wisdom & Education 9/15/2024 |
PLEASE
NOTE: With days ticking down to 11/5, Matthew Fox’s urgent new book turns the Anti-Christ archetype into a searing device for understanding the deeper stakes in the 2024 election. - For immediate
access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
- To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
- To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE. The pre-ordered books are of this kind
and we will receive them in 10 days.
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September 9, 2024: My and My Brother’s Story in Education
Matthew intuited many years ago that one cannot teach spirituality with the rational brain alone. In 1974, because of the success of his first book on
spirituality, On Becoming a Musical, Mystical Bear: Spirituality American Style (now called Prayer: A Radical Response to Life), Matthew was commissioned by the American Catholic bishops to do a study on education and spirituality. In one school, a twenty-something student reported “we are studying the mystics but not how to be mystics ourselves.” As a result, Matthew realized that there must be a doing element, a practicing element, to spiritual
education and art as meditation. And thus was born ICCS and UCS. Matthew has spent his entire adult life teaching, designing and leading spirituality programs. |
Art As Meditation: Prayer using flower petals. Photo from MatthewFox.org. |
September 10, 2024: G. Thomas Fox on edGe-ucation
Matthew’s brother, Tom Fox, in his book, on becoming edGe-ucated: how uncertainty can link the frontiers of expert inquiry to the education of all,* and in his typically creative way, proposes that the key to education is uncertainty, not certainty. He says that the systems we have set up are about passing on what we know (or think we know) about reality, and this
ultimately renders learning boring. From a spiritual and mystical point of view, Tom Fox is talking about the Via Negativa and what Meister Eckhart called “unknowing knowledge” and what we might call the power of mystery to allure us. Psychotherapist and Hasidic mystic Estelle Frankel writes about the Via Negativa stunningly in her important book, The Wisdom of Not Knowing: Discovering a Life of Wonder by Embracing Uncertainty. Matthew thinks she would love his brother’s book—and vice versa. September 11, 2024: The “Wow” Factor, Science, Learning & Spirituality a la Tom Fox
What Matthew call the Via Positiva and Heschel calls awe, educator Tom Fox calls the “wow” or the “exuberant wows.” Matthew loves that phrase, “exuberant wows,” and says he “will surely be appropriating it in future efforts to name what a mystical experience is.” The Fox brothers certainly have common belief systems. Tom Fox said: Combining a scientist’s wonder of nature with a deep respect for human intelligence demonstrates that a scientist’s work is a spiritual
quest as well as a scientific one. If Heschel is correct that “awe is the beginning of wisdom,” we find ourselves on sacred ground when we pay attention to our awe as we study the facts of our universe. This also initiates the journey from knowledge to wisdom. |
September 12, 2024: Some Testimonies To Tom Fox & His Vocation as an Educator
Matthew thanks everyone for their prayers and condolences upon news of the death of his brother, Tom. As it so happened, four
days later, Matthew’s other older brother, Nat, also passed. He was an engineer and patented 80 inventions in his lifetime. He left behind a beloved wife and six children and stepchildren. As we continue to celebrate Tom Fox and his work, W. Nikola-Lisa, author of How We Are Smart: A Multicultural Look at the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, compares Tom's book to Thomas Kuhn's classic book on paradigm shift and says: Fox’s ideas about education based on more than 50 years of experience, are nothing short of earth-shattering. …Fox offers a paradigmatic shift in our thinking, urging us to look more deeply at the nature of knowledge and how we acquire it. The result: a truly revolutionary, as well as much-needed, 21st century vision of education. Matthew also shares that
when he told a friend about Tom’s passing and mentioned that he taught at National Louis University, the friend said that she had attended school there in 1993 and that one exceptional teacher there changed her life. It was (you guessed it) Tom Fox! She said: I loved our long conversations and how he challenged me to think and feel for myself before advocating for others. He challenged my very way of viewing life and personal purpose. |
Nat Fox on left, Tom Fox on right, as babies with their parents. Photo courtesy of Matthew Fox. September 13, 2024: Two Lessons
Learned on Wisdom & Growing Older
Wisdom can come from both our elders and the young. (“Out of the mouths of babes….”) One aspect of wisdom is learning about grace in losing. Losing means getting up and trying again, trying harder, evaluating. Ideally when one loses, one learns from the experience. Unfortunately, some elders are not wise. A certain presidential candidate, one of
the sorest losers in the world, instead of graciously accepting his loss as candidates have done throughout history, tries to overthrow the government! Another thing that happens as we age is facing loss. Death happens. It’s such an inevitable part of life. When we face loss, it’s an opportunity for us to evaluate our own life and to make it count. Let wisdom roll. September 14, 2024: Wisdom of the Young, Sin vs. Evil, Evil vs. the Sacred
Matthew’s new book, Trump &
MAGA as the Anti-Christ, a Handbook for the 2024 Election, is dedicated to “the young leaders of the world.” Matthew means such people as David Hogg, a survivor of the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Then a teenager, Hogg has now co-founded with Kevin Lata a movement called "Leaders We Deserve." Speaking again about wisdom, Matthew shares: If there is one thing I learned in writing my major tome on Evil, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society, a few years ago, it is this: The opposite of evil is not good; bad is the opposite of good. The opposite of Evil is the Sacred. Our planet is sacred. Democracy is sacred. Anything which threatens either of those two
is evil. |
Responses are welcomed. To add
your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialog, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s
rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline
Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine. |
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The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human
The A.W.E. Project reminds us that awe is the appropriate response to the unfathomable wonder that is creation… A.W.E. is also the acronym for Fox’s proposed style of
learning – an approach to balance the three R’s. This approach to learning, eldering, and mentoring is intelligent enough to honor the teachings of the Ancestors, to nurture Wisdom in addition to imparting knowledge, and to Educate through Fox’s 10 C’s. The 10 C’s are the core of the A.W.E. philosophy and process of education, and include: compassion, contemplation, and creativity. The A.W.E. Project does for the vast subject of “learning” what Fox’s Reinvention of Work did for vocation
and Original Blessing did for theology. Included in the book is a dvd of the 10 C’s put to 10 video raps created and performed by Professor Pitt.
“An awe-based vision of educational renewal.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice. |
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The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood For Our Time
Thomas Aquinas said, “To live well is to work well,” and in this bold call for the revitalization of daily work, Fox shares his vision of a world
where our personal and professional lives are celebrated in harmony–a world where the self is not sacrificed for a job but is sanctified by authentic “soul work.”
“Fox approaches the level of poetry in describing the reciprocity that must be present between one’s inner and outer work…[A]n important road map to social change.” ~~ National Catholic Reporter |
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Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)
Matthew Fox’s stirring
autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of
this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self |
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The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance
In what may be considered the most comprehensive outline of the Christian
paradigm shift of our Age, Matthew Fox eloquently foreshadows the manner in which the spirit of Christ resurrects in terms of the return to an earth-based mysticism, the expression of creativity, mystical sexuality, the respect due the young, the rebirth of effective forms of worship—all of these mirroring the ongoing blessings of Mother Earth and the recovery of Eros, the feminine aspect of the Divine.
“The eighth
wonder of the world…convincing proof that our Western religious tradition does indeed have the depth of imagination to reinvent its faith.” — Brian Swimme, author of The Universe Story and Journey of the Universe. |
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In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Cosmic Celebration for Kids of All Ages
The first book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series tells the story of the big bang and how humans fit into the awesome, fantastical,
cosmic picture! With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet. "This delicious book for children of all ages celebrates joy as the essential truth of
reality." - Andrew Harvey, Author of The Hope and Radical Regeneration "I absolutely LOVED reading this beautiful, creative, stirring story—a charming, whimsical, powerful, parable." -
Robert Holden, Author of Happiness NOW! and Higher Purpose |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox Tuesday Sep 17 @ 11:00am PT for an interview with the Thom Hartman Program on his new book Trump and the MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election. See how to listen or watch live HERE |
MONTHLY: Join Matthew Fox, Mariko Middleton, and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors. Last Tuesday of every month, 4:00-5:00pm PT.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88665302478
Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org |
Matthew Fox will make a guest appearance during the Creation Spirituality Communities course, Creation Spirituality in a Time of Apocalypse. He will talk about his new book on the antichrist, which is an apocalyptic archetype. Join Theodore Richards, founder of the Chicago Wisdom Project and editor of the online Magazine/Podcast ReImagining as he takes us through 4 sessions exploring how Creation Spirituality can give birth to new stories during times of upheaval. Dates: Sept 9, 16, 23, 30 from
7-9 PM ET. Cost: $150 per student: In honor of Matthew Fox’s gracious involvement CSC is extending the 25% discounted rate until 9/6/24. USE COUPON CODE APOC25 Register HERE. |
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Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book written with Adam Bucko, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, September 19, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. |
ConvergenceCoLab hosts Matthew Fox, Margaret Wheatley, and Brian McLaren in an online conversation on “Post-Doom Spirituality," Wednesday, October 16, 6-8:30 PM ET. Register now with an EARLY BIRD rate of $30, HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his two books, In the Beginning There was Joy and The Return of Father Sky, in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, October 17, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
in part 1 of an in-depth interview titled "Trump and the MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ," where Fox asserts that the archetype applies to the darker side of MAGA and it's Christian-nationalist backers. |
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