The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Week of January 5-10,
2026: Otto Rank, Marching Monks, and Ecstasy as God-Experience By the Daily Meditations Team 1/11/2026 |
This
is a weekly summary of the previous week’s Daily Meditations. Some are written by Matthew Fox (MF), and some by Gianluigi Gugliermetto (GG). You can click on the title of a DM in order to view the original piece in its entirety. Also, please note, we will continue to offer a video teaching by Matthew each Monday. |
January 5, 2026: Otto Rank’s Spiritual Vision, continued (MF)
Calling psychologist Otto Rank a “spiritual giant of the 20th century,” Matthew compares Rank’s Jewish
spirituality to that of the historical Jesus. Rank wrote of “original wound” rather than “original sin;” and diverged from his mentor Freud by celebrating the “unio mystica” (mystical union) instead of treating it as a neurosis, as well as insisting that Freud’s “masculine ideology” did not serve women well. He predicted, correctly, that women would need to create their own psychology. Rank also emphasized the human need for the “irrational” (music, dance, laughter, art, play) as a necessary
counterbalance to excessive rationality. January 6, 2026: Monks March for Peace while Politicians Make
Crazy Wars (MF)
Over the weekend, a crazed president conducted an unwise, and unauthorized by Congress, war strike upon Venezuela, kidnapping its president and first lady — using a very similar excuse to that of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago. Set against this is the very inspiring peace
action being conducted by 19 Buddhist monks, making a 2,300-mile trek from their monastery in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington DC. Many crowds and local law enforcement have come out to support them along the way. Ours is a time for all humans and all religions to put aside their differences and to march together for what matters: Peace and Justice, Compassion and Kindness. Currently in South Carolina, you can follow the monks’ route HERE. |
Why a Buddhist Monk Walks for Peace| Dhamma Talk | Venerable Pannakara |DEC 30-25 | BƯỚC CHÂN HÀNH GIẢ |
January 7, 2026: The Experience of Ecstasy as the Experience of God (GG)
Looking back to one of Matthew’s earliest works, 1976’s playfully-titled WHEE! We, wee All the Way Home, Gianluigi notes how “ecstasy” is too often commodified into a search for meaningful, out-of-the-ordinary experience through chemical substances or other addictions. Yet even these are squashed by lack of time to savor them because our regimented lives force us to get back to “reality.” Matthew’s definition of ecstasy is a memorable experience of
forgetting oneself, of getting outside of oneself. There are many genuine ways to have such an experience of life — unregimented or controlled — including nature, friendship, music, art, playing a game. In experiencing ecstasy, we are experiencing what our forefathers in spiritual traditions called ‘grace.’ January 8, 2026: Natural Ecstasies (GG)
A further explanation of the ecstasies described in WHEE!
We, wee All the Way Home. Of nature, Matthew says: Our ecstasy or standing outside of ourselves is so real in nature that we may truly come to believe what is the fact: that we are the sea; we are a part of the stars; we are of the earth. Of friendship: In friendship we are relaxed enough to experience something greater than ourselves. And that experience some call God and others, love. Of music and arts: Who has never lost herself, stood outside and beyond himself, while
listening to a Mozart sonata? Natural ecstasies are the easiest ways to reach the self-forgetfulness we need, in order to balance our other goal-directed activities. |
January 9: Tactical Ecstasies (GG)
When natural ecstasies fail us, it becomes necessary to put effort into what Matthew
calls “tactical ecstasies.” Our ability to experience God, harmony, integration and synthesis is often blocked by our conscious everyday existence and attitudes of survival and problem solving (from WHEE! We, wee All the Way Home). How to break through this? Matthew recommends several strategies. Chanting lulls one level of our mind so that a different one might flood over ourselves. Also fasting and voluntary celibacy — as long as they are not practiced as
self-punishment for imaginary sins. Meditation and retreats also calm the conscious mind and allow a different mental state to emerge. All these serve to purify the senses, not repress them — and clarify our best course of action. A Namah (salutation) Yoga asana. Photo by THLT LCX on Unsplash. January 10, 2026: Keeping the Heart Bright in
Times of Heavy News (MF)
The Venezuela invasion, state-sponsored terrorism in Minnesota, the shutdown of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting while rightwing billionaires continue to buy-up all major media, all to keep the public’s eyes off the Epstein files — in one week alone, the news is relentlessly dark. The news was
rarely positive in Jesus’ time either, yet he still spoke of “the kingdom of God” in our midst. Matthew encourages us to keep alive our love of life, by asking ourselves: “What can I contribute to biophilia? How can I best stand up to the forces of necrophilia?” |
Demanding "ICE Out in Justice for Renee Good." Image from the January 8 protest, "From DC to Minneapolis: Stop ICE Terrorism" organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation - DC. Photo by Geoff Livingston on Flickr. |
* Robert Kramer,
Otto Rank and the Creation of Modern Psychotherapy, pp. 224f. (This link will take you to the
publisher’s page, where you can order a discounted copy; use code “AUFLY30” to claim your 30% discount.)
Banner image: The Buddhist Monks' Walk for Peace crossing into Lexington County, SC, on the morning of January 9, 2026. From the Dhammacetiya website. |
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. Books and More by Matthew and Friends! Be sure to check out Matthew's new store at MatthewFox.org, now offering books, recorded courses old and new, and special events... and don't
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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 |
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PT January 14 - Creation as an Original Blessing and the Springboard of Awe and Wonder January 21 - Sacred Mother Earth: The Holiness of Creation and Recovering the Cosmic Christ January 28 - The Cosmic Mass, and the Stations of the Cosmic Christ: Reinvigorating Liturgy and Rituals February 4 - Jesus as a Teacher of Democracy and the Renewal of Education and Values through the “10 Cs” Register HERE |
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