The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations
with Matthew Fox |
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T.S. Eliot on the Mystics as Medicine For Despair 2/10/2025 |
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. |
There is considerable despair in the air these days. And for obvious reasons that do not need renaming here. |
T.S. Eliot offered the mystics as medicine for despair when he said, “the mystics—or else despair.” Why did he say that? What is he telling us? Clearly he believed that the mystics bring hope. What I mean by that is the mystic in all of us brings hope and medicine that combats temptations to despair. Why is that? First, because the mystic in us is the lover, and love brings both joy and hope. The mystic goes to the edge and does not faint, the mystic faces the terror of Joy (the Via Positiva) and |
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Darkness (the Via Negativa) and does not flinch. He/she “launches out into the deep,” as John of the Cross puts it. This is part of the spiritual warrior archetype. As Sufi teacher Hafiz put it, the mystic does not “hightail it out of town” when God comes along and “turns us upside down to shake all the nonsense
out.” In other words, when the dark night strikes. |
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| Furthermore, the lover or mystic pays attention to passion and the fire it ignites, the fire inside to live fully and courageously. One example is John of the Cross, the 16th century Carmelite who was working with Teresa of Avila to
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reform their Order. He was thrown into prison by his brother Carmelites, was beaten daily and almost starved to death. He had the integrity to not deny his principles. He made a courageous decision to escape in the middle of the
night and, thanks to it being a dark night, succeeded and wrote about his experience in his poem on the Dark Night. He tells us, |
There in the lucky dark, none to observe me, darkness far and wide; no sign for me to mark, no other light, no guide except for my heart—the fire, the fire inside!* Thus the lover or mystic in
us is also the spark that lights the fire that ignites the warrior in us, the prophet, the one who interferes, the one who fights for justice which is the structural foundation for love. What Meister Eckhart calls the “divine |
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spark” inside all of us catches fire, and becomes a conflagration that makes us strong lovers and strong warriors. Rumi, another Sufi mystic, reminds us that “the fire of the heart is not easily lit.” But when “one spark flew and burned the house of his heart,” his whole life changed
and he encountered the “Heart of Pure Consciousness” or Divinity, “the ruler of all hearts.” T.S. Eliot was right: The mystics do challenge despair. To be
continued. |
*The Poems of St. John of the Cross, translated by John Frederick Nims, pp. 19-21. See Matthew Fox, Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Times, pp. 193-199. And Fox, Trump and The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ. And Fox, “Spiritual Warriors” in Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 77-104. And Fox,
“Spiritual Warriorhood,” in Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faith Traditions, pp. 404-422.
Banner image: Racks of lighted votive candles. Photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash. | For a list of organizations helping those affected by the devastating LA wildfires, please see this article from the LA Times HERE. |
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Queries for Contemplation |
Do you feel a coming alive of the mystic-warrior in you at this perilous time for democracy and for the survival of Mother Earth? Are you finding allies and community to steer your fire of love (and anger) to save what you cherish? |
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 |
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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 |
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The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors,
or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that
shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God |
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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. |
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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. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox for an Evening Dialogue: Matthew Fox and John Philip Newell, a livestream event hosted by Earth and Soul. Wednesday, February 12, 7:30-8:30 MT. Register HERE. |
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Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice, in an online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Thursday, February 20, 4:00pm-5:30pm PT. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth, in an online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Thursday, March 20, 4:00pm-5:30pm PT. Register HERE. MONTHLY: Join Matthew Fox 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 |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Hear a conversation between Matthew and Ana Otero of The Desert Rose Mystery School in "Mystical Pathways. A Sacred Talk with Matthew Fox, founder of the Creation Spirituality Movement." |
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Inspired by this post? Share your insights on BlueSky, Instagram, Universeodon, or Facebook using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
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