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! Don't miss Matthew's exciting interviews, webinars and courses, listed at the bottom of this DM (you may need to click the ... to see them). |
By Gianluigi Gugliermetto 5/2/2025 |
If I were asked to say in one word what spirituality is all about for me, I would say “balance.” I could also say “justice” or “compassion.” |
In my
spiritual vocabulary these words are synonyms, albeit with different nuances. “Justice” is a bit more abstract, but is basically a matter of equilibrium. “Compassion” is about making justice in the world, starting from empathy and ensuing in right actions. |
Focus and attunement: “Crossing a river by a fallen tree.” Photo by Dmitriy Markov on Wikimedia Commons. |
“Balance” is
like these two, although it has more of a personal ring. In these chaotic times, we all need balance in order to keep upright, healthy in body and mind, and ready to act wisely. |
The stillness of nature: forest trail to Cathedral Falls along Goat Creek in Washington State. Photo by Jenny Walsh on Unsplash | But all
of this must be rooted in a body-mind synergy that works well. As a modern Westerner, I grew up knowing very little about the influence of the external environment on my inner balance — starting with food, location, conversations — but I always sensed certain of my fundamental needs, such as immersing in nature. Right
now, because of the amount of chaos surrounding us, I suggest that our first duty is to take care of our basic spiritual needs, whatever they may be, in order to keep our balance. |
One aspect of balance is personal versus communal. Another is grief versus feast. To me, these apparent dualisms, and the overcoming of them, is especially significant at this time. The risk of falling into the pit of desolation and grief, and being there all alone, is a serious matter, given the terrible news reaching us every day. In contrast, nature is blooming all around — at least in this Northern Hemisphere — seemingly uncaring about human evil. |
Yesterday, May 1, was celebrated in traditional rural Europe with dances around the May Pole, and all around the world as Workers Day. Last week, on April 25, my country Italy celebrated the 80th anniversary of its liberation from fascist rule, singing “Bella |
Milan celebrated the 80th anniversary of Liberation with Mitoka Samba honoring the values Pope Francis embodied: equality, peace, inclusiveness. Pablo Munini |
Ciao” — the anti-fascist partisan song — even though some local neo-fascist town councils prohibitedit under the pretext of the mourning period for
Pope Francis. Joining such celebrations in person — especially because they are not religious — may prove a saving spiritual practice for many of us. We need community, we need the feeling of belonging to a humanity that is not yet completely lost, that celebrates life together. We need to dance for ourselves, but also for
those who cannot dance at this time. We need to dance for those who lost their limbs or their lives, today as well as yesterday. We need to recover not just the notion, but the feeling of belonging to a species that cares. |
SIGN THE PLEDGE: Boycott pro-Trump corporations. Faithful America. EngageForDemocracy offers curated trustworthy reporting, educational resources, and action campaigns to hold government accountable to the Constitution and democratic norms. See Matthew Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Also see Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Also see Fox, Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
Also see Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Also see Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
Banner Image: Maypole dancing at Rochester Sweeps festival. Dancers from all over the UK
come to this city in Kent to celebrate May Day. Photo by JuliaC2006 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 |
Where can I find, in the next few months, some communal celebrations of life that I can join?
Can I create in my community a celebration of life/spring that includes perhaps a moment of mourning for the victims of violence or those guides of humanity who died in peace?
|
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South
American Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality
and Practice.
“I am reading Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth by Matt Fox. He is one that fills my heart and mind for new life in spite of so much that is violent in our world.” ~ Sister Dorothy Stang. |
|
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 |
|
Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
By Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jen Listug
In the midst of global fire, earthquake and flood – as species are going extinct every day and national and global economies totter – the planet doesn’t need another church or religion. What it needs is a new Order, grounded in the Wisdom traditions of both East and West, including science and indigenous. An Order of the Sacred Earth united in one sacred vow: “I promise to be the best lover and defender of
the Earth that I can be.”
Co-authored by Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jennifer Berit Listug, with a forward by David Korten, this collection of essays by 21 spiritual visionaries including Brian Swimme, Mirabai Starr, Theodore Richards, and Kristal Parks marks the founding of the diverse and inclusive Order of the Sacred Earth, a community now evolving around the world.
“The Order of the Sacred Earth not only calls us home to our true nature as Earth, but also offers us invaluable guidance and company on the way.” ~~ Joanna Macy, environmental activist and author of Active Hope. |
|
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in
Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may
have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story |
|
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew
Fox delivers a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of compassion. Establishing a spirituality for the future that promises personal, social, and global healing, Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate activity.
“Well worth our
deepest consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register |
|
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.
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. |
|
Matthew Fox comments on Pope Francis' legacy of environmentalism and support for migrants, amidst more controversial aspects of his papacy, KPFA Pacifica Evening
News. |
UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox in a new 6-month program of mystical wisdom for a new world: - Activate your spiritual awakening with the mystics
- Say “yes” to life & the beauty, goodness & potential it offers
- Awaken your inner mystic & prophet for deeper awakening
- Nurture the life-giving qualities of your humanity
By Application only - apply
HERERegister for a free information session HERE |
|
|
|
|
|
Join Matthew Fox and other guest speakers in a 6-week journey into Mysticism and The Great Mystics (Matthew presents May 7 on "Dancing with the Divine: Creation Spirituality and The Mystics"), hosted by Creation Spirituality Communities Education. Wednesdays, May 7-June 11, 4:00-6:00pm PT. Register HERE. |
|
| Join Matthew Fox in a 6-Class Course: The Great Christian Mystics, exploring some of the richest and most
inspiring mystic-prophets in the Christian lineage, including Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Mechtild of Magdeburg, Thomas Aquinas, and Meister Eckhart. Open-ended course includes six modules of pre-recorded lessons, live community discussions, and live conversations with Matthew Fox. Starts Thursday, May 8; 10% off discount code: FOX-10 Register HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox online as he offers a Morning Worship Inspirational Message, “Mother's Day, 2025: Exercising Our Powers For Compassion,” at the Unity Inspired Living online service. Sunday, May 1, 10:00am PT. Join us HERE. Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book, Wrestling with the Prophets: Essays on Creation Spirituality and Everyday Life, in an online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Thursday, May 15, 4:00pm-5:30pm PT. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox as he offers a lecture and Q&A on “Navigating the Dark Night of Soul, Society, and Our Species,” hosted by the Jung Center of Buffalo, Friday, May 23, 4 pm PT. Learn more 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 |
The Christian Mystics: Wisdom for Our
Time
Join renowned theologian and spiritual teacher Matthew Fox in a thought-provoking conversation with Ruby Reed on the lives, work and wisdom of some of The Christian Mystics and their vital role in our time.
In this webinar, we’ll explore how the mystic’s path can empower us to cultivate inner transformation and inspire action in the world by saying "Yes" to life and "No" to injustice, whether through art, contemplation, or activism. Discover how their insights can help us rekindle our spiritual fire and meet the needs of our time with resilience and love. This free video promotes Matthew's upcoming 6-session course with Advaya, that will be released on May 8. |
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: |
|
|
|
