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Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox 

11/12/2024

As the results of the election ripple out, learn the deeper stakes involved. Get your copy of Trump & the MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election today! Choose your format in the book block below. 

Its author is Kaira Jewel Lingo who was a nun in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Buddhist community for 16 years. Her reflections are drawn from that tradition, but she also includes teachings from Meister Eckhart and Thomas Merton and other Christian mystics.

Kaira Jewel Lingo introduces her book, Ten Lessons in Moving through Change, Loss, and Disruption. Watch her series of 10 lessons, companion to the book, HERE.

Kaira Jewel is African American and her father was a minister who worked with Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He became a “devoted student of Thich Nhat Hahn” and was ordained a Buddhist Dharma teacher in 2008. She cites her father: When we see ourselves as victims, that is the separate self. When we see ourselves as beloved, that is no-self.

In the name of transparency, I confess that Kaira Jewel is a friend of mine now and she married my good friend Adam Bucko, with whom I co-authored the book, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision For a New Generation, and who is an Episcopal priest in the diocese of Long Island. I was present for their memorable and ecumenical wedding and they share a common vision for an ecumenical monastery that is dedicated both to activism and to contemplation.  

Sign for Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery. From Kaira Jewel Lingo’s website.

They have acquired a former Russian Orthodox monastery property located about 45 minutes north of New York City where they will put their vision into 

practice. Meanwhile, they are active in contemplation/action networking.

Is it true that, with all the concern and doom unleashed by election 2024, “we are made for these times”? One hopes so. One hopes we can rise to the challenge and develop both the deep spirituality and the smart and savvy political consciousness that can turn this lemon into lemonade. That we can participate in a re-doing of democracy and how we do it and put the brakes on climate denial and appeals to hatred and vengeance and stand up to an utterly corrupt and compromised unsupreme court and senate and media and bogus religion and value-free education and more.

One argument that we are “made for these times” is this: We are here. Each of us was born in these times of moving from modern to post-modern, from the age of Pisces to the age of Aquarius, from a time of religion to a time of spirituality. The fact that we are here is a pretty good argument that we are made for these times.

“What (Republicans) want least…is to realize that half the country went to bed sad…and woke up…fired up with a new sense of purpose.” Rachel Maddow affirms that today’s Americans were made for these times. MSNBC

Joanna Macy, in her 90’s, attended a meeting I was part of a few years ago and when handed the microphone, said: Isn’t it wonderful that we are alive at this critical time for planet Earth and our species? What a privilege to be so chosen. All of us.

Tomorrow we will share some useful practices from Kaira Jewel for dealing with our grief and empowering us for the tasks ahead. For today, let me leave you with just one which is called a “Remembrance” of our mortality and that of our institutions, all things being impermanent.

Breathe in: All that is dear to me will change.
Breathe out: No escape from being separated from those I love.
Breathe in: My actions are the only thing I take with me.
Breathe out: There’s no escape from the consequences of my actions. 
Repeat: My actions are my only true belongings.
I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.
My actions are the ground on which I stand.*

*Kaira Jewel Lingo, We Were Made For These Times: 10 Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption, pp. 90, 70.

See Matthew Fox, “Meister Eckhart Meets Buddhism via Thich Nhat Hanh,” in Fox, Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times, pp. 35-56.

And Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing From Global Faiths, “From Fromlessness, Nothingness”; “Meditations and Mindfulness,” pp. 157-170, 189-217.

And Rev. Matthew Fox and Lama Tsomo, The Lotus & The Rose: A Conversation Between Tibetan Buddhism & Mystical Christianity.

And Fox, A Way To God: Thomas Merton’s Creation Spirituality Journey. 

And Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision For a New Generation.

Banner Image: All things are transient: young monks clear the Hevajra Sand Mandala away, Tharlam Monastery, Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo by Wonderlane on Flickr.

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.

Queries for Contemplation

Are you beyond seeing yourself as a victim and instead seeing yourself as a beloved?  What are the implications of that for working for social, economic, gender, racial and eco-justice? Do you agree that your actions are your only true belongings?   

Recommended Reading

Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Time

While Matthew Fox recognizes that Meister Eckhart has influenced thinkers throughout history, he also wants to introduce Eckhart to today’s activists addressing contemporary crises. Toward that end, Fox creates dialogues between Eckhart and Carl Jung, Thich Nhat Hanh, Rabbi Heschel, Black Elk, Karl Marx, Rumi, Adrienne Rich, Dorothee Soelle, David Korten, Anita Roddick, Lily Yeh, M.C. Richards, and many others.
“Matthew Fox is perhaps the greatest writer on Meister Eckhart that has ever existed. (He) has successfully bridged a gap between Eckhart as a shamanistic personality and Eckhart as a post-modern mentor to the Inter-faith movement, to reveal just how cosmic Eckhart really is, and how remarkably relevant to today’s religious crisis! ” — Steven Herrmann, Author of Spiritual Democracy: The Wisdom of Early American Visionaries for the Journey Forward

One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths

Matthew Fox calls on all the world traditions for their wisdom and their inspiration in a work that is far more than a list of theological position papers but a new way to pray—to meditate in a global spiritual context on the wisdom all our traditions share. Fox chooses 18 themes that are foundational to any spirituality and demonstrates how all the world spiritual traditions offer wisdom about each.“Reading One River, Many Wells is like entering the rich silence of a masterfully directed retreat. As you read this text, you reflect, you pray, you embrace Divinity. Truly no words can fully express my respect and awe for this magnificent contribution to contemporary spirituality.” –Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit

The Lotus & The Rose: A Conversation Between Tibetan Buddhism & Mystical Christianity

How can we move away from “us vs. them” thinking as our surroundings feel more divided and polarized than ever? Co-authors Matthew Fox and Lama Tsomo discuss how Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Christianity answer this question from unique points of view, with many commonalities and practical tools to break down the barriers between us.
“The Lotus and the Rose is an extraordinary example of what can happen when spiritual leaders from different traditions open up and speak from the heart.” — Paul Chaffee, The Interfaith Observer.

A Way to God: Thomas Merton’s Creation Spirituality Journey

In A Way to God, Fox explores Merton’s pioneering work in interfaith, his essential teachings on mixing contemplation and action, and how the vision of Meister Eckhart profoundly influenced Merton in what Fox calls his Creation Spirituality journey.
“This wise and marvelous book will profoundly inspire all those who love Merton and want to know him more deeply.” — Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism

Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation

Authors Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox encourage us to use our talents in service of compassion and justice and to move beyond our broken systems–economic, political, educational, and religious–discovering a spirituality that not only helps us to get along, but also encourages us to reevaluate our traditions, transforming them and in the process building a more sacred and just world. Incorporating the words of young activist leaders culled from interviews and surveys, the book provides a framework that is deliberately interfaith and speaks to our profound yearning for a life with spiritual purpose and for a better world.
“Occupy Spirituality is a powerful, inspiring, and vital call to embodied awareness and enlightened actions.”
~~ Julia Butterfly Hill, environmental activist and author of The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods

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.

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.

Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.

The Return of Father Sky: A Cosmic Mystery for Kids of All Ages

The second book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series, The Return of Father Sky helps boys and girls to celebrate a new relationship with the masculine by way of Father Sky, whose return excites joy and wonder and possibility that enlarge the soul to welcome others and all creation. Written in a rhyming Dr. Seuss-like style, this full-color, beautifully illustrated book, written by world- renowned theologian Matthew Fox weaves together modern science and classic spirituality in a whimsical, entertaining format to illustrate important truths to readers aged 4 and up. 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.

UPCOMING EVENTS

See Matthew Fox's full calendar 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

Join Matthew Fox, Rev. Nóirín Ní Riain, and celebrated Irish performers Owen Ó Súilleabháin, and Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin in an Interfaith Advent celebration of Irish sacred music and storytelling to honor the varied Festivals of Light and explore the mysteries they reveal. Saturday, December 7, 9:00am – 11:00am PT. 
Register HERE.

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