The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Aeesha Clottey: A Friend,
Co-Worker, Champion for Love & Justice By Matthew Fox 11/18/2025 |
This past year has been particularly moving for me regarding the deaths of many wonderful people—I would even call them saints—whom I have known or worked
with over the years. It began with the death of Buddhist teacher and activist Joanna Macy. |
I invited you, DM readers, to develop a practice of meditating on the goodness and even holiness of people in your lives. It is healthy to honor the greatness of our ancestors, including those near to us. As one gets older (I will be 85 next month), one must expect |
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more and
more of one’s contemporaries, co-workers, and friends to pass on. Maybe this is one reason we traditionally expect some wisdom from our elders–that they are nearer to death themselves and also to death around them. The point being that death can—no guarantees—put perspective on life. And we all can use perspective on
life and its meaning and purpose at whatever age we are along the journey, whether in our twenties or mid-age or retirement/refirement time or beyond. I was reminded of this truth again this weekend when participating in a Celebration of Life Ceremony for Aeesha Clottey at the Episcopal All Souls Parish in
Berkeley, California. Many people who knew her, including some of her remaining siblings, were in attendance. She was the youngest in an African American family of 12 children who grew up in a small town in Louisiana during the pre-Civil Rights era of deep segregation. I was struck to learn that all 12 children went to college, and she got a full scholarship to the University of California in Berkeley. |
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| Aeesha was on my board at the University of Creation Spirituality and was a special advisor to me on many occasions. She was a fierce champion of our Cosmic Mass
and supporter of our YELLAWE program for inner city teenagers. She and her husband Kokomon, who was a long-time drummer from Ghana, served their community in West Oakland in many ways. They discovered the work of Jerry and Diane Jampolsky, known as Attitudinal Healing Connection, and created the Center for ArtEsteem, which brought creativity and the arts to |
high schools all over the Bay Area. Their daughter, Anna Harris Leamy, author of books on superheroes, which inspire many of the programs for youth, runs that impressive organization now and gave a eulogy at the service. Aeesha and Kokomon wrote two books together based on principles from the Attitudinal Healing
Connection, including Color Theory: Race is a Powerful Illusion and Eternal Quest for Happiness, and they directed healing programs, including Mindful Drumming Circles, Racial Healing Circles, The Good Neighbor Project, and Unleashing the Human Spirit Retreats. |
Each Martin Luther King Feast Day, the University of Creation Spirituality (UCS) would link up with the Taylor Memorial Church on 12th Street in West Oakland and mix the church congregation and our students, faculty, and staff. It was a holy and special holiday for us all and often |
Kokomon and Aeesha Clottey, November 2019. From Matthew Fox’s archive. |
included a guest speaker and local musical talent. The joyful and uplifting celebration was followed by a wonderful sit-down lunch prepared by church members, where lots of interaction happened. In a couple of my brief talks on MLK day there, I composed some rap poems that I shared with the attendees and reproduced in my autobiography, Confessions: The Making of a Post-denominational Priest. When UCS ended, Aeesha and Kokomon generously and courageously carried on the MLK project for several more years, and they especially celebrated the youth by creating awards each MLK day to honor young high school leaders in Oakland high schools. Aeesha was always thinking about ways to serve the younger generation. To be continued. |
Banner Image: Matthew Fox with Aeesha Clottey, November 16, 2019. From Matthew Fox’s photo archive. |
Queries for Contemplation Do you agree that death gives us an important perspective on life? How do you
fit that perspective into your everyday decision-making and living of life? How do the ancestors and deceased loved ones inspire you? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into
dialogue, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
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| Counterpoint: A Response to Peter Thiel’s Antichrist An Important Conversation with Matthew Fox and Gil Duran Did you miss this two-session series with its powerful counter-narrative rooted in wisdom, justice, and |
authentic spirituality? This is your
chance to add it to your library of classics to be watched, re-watched, and contemplated. Fox explores the archetype of Christ and Antichrist as it plays out in our world today but also in artists of old. He draws from the teachings of Jesus and Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Carl Jung, and other mystics and visionaries, illuminating the stark contrast between life-giving and life-destroying spiritual energies. Purchase HERE. |
UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join spiritual pioneers Dr. Matthew Fox and Rev. Cameron Trimble for “In Search of a New Story: Reimagining What Comes Next,” a timely and transformative 4-part series featuring conversations with some of the most compelling wisdom voices of our time: Carolyn Myss, Diana Butler Bass, Luther Smith, and Ilia Delio. Thursdays, October 23, 30, and November 13, 20, 4:00pm-5:30pm PT Register HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox in a lecture and Q&A on “Dorothee Soelle: Mystical Feminist Who Transformed Theology through Suffering,” a presentation in the Spiritual Wanderlust Mystics and Prophets series. Saturday, December 6, 9:00am-10:30am Register HERE.Join Matthew Fox in a lecture and Q&A on “Dorothee Soelle: Mystical Feminist Who Transformed Theology through Suffering,” a presentation in the Spiritual Wanderlust Mystics and Prophets series.
Saturday, December 6, 9:00am-10:30am Register HERE. |
Celebrate the traditional feast of the Black Madonna and the Immaculate Conception with spiritual theologian Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox joins award-winning singer/author Alessandra Belloni and music director John La Barbera in a 90-minute online event, “Honoring the Black Madonna as Our Lady of Freedom (Madonna della Libera),” in which they share the wisdom of the Black Madonna and her healing powers for our times when both democracy
and Mother Earth are in peril. Alessandra will also talk about her book Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna and present a 10-minute excerpt of |
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Join Matthew Fox in a new 6-month program of mystical wisdom for a new world. In this 6-month immersion program with Matthew, you’ll explore what it means to be a modern mystic and prophet, integrating this sacred knowledge into your life through the authentic teachings of Jesus and other wisdom keepers. This journey births what Matthew calls Christianity 2.0 — based not on dogma, but on a spirituality that recovers the sacred sense of original goodness. By Application only - apply
HERE Register for a free information session HERE |
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Awakening the Divine Human: An Immersion in the Living Wisdom of Creation Spirituality …a week-long retreat in Sardinia, Italy, May 25-30, 2026 Join us on the sacred
island of Sardinia for a deeply immersive 6-day retreat rooted in the teachings of Matthew Fox, C.G. Jung, and the ancient wisdom of the land. Set along the turquoise shores and among the Neolithic sites of this timeless Mediterranean island, this retreat invites you into a transformative journey of reconnection—with Earth, Self, Gender, and the Divine. 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 HERE, Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Join Matthew Fox for a transformative 4-part series that brings together some of the most provocative spiritual leaders, thinkers, and activists of our time. Together, we’ll explore the deep spiritual roots of this political moment and uncover pathways toward
collective action, resilience, and renewal. Learn more HERE. |
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