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
9/22-27/2025:
Sacred Vows & Defending Democracy By the Daily Meditation Team 9/28/2025 |
This is a
weekly summary of the previous week’s Daily Meditations. Some are penned 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. |
September 22, 2025: Humor Repressed, Savage Capitalism Alive & Well in the Media (MF)
It is a sad and dangerous day when the president of the U.S. teams up with large corporations to kill humor and satire in the country. Such goings-on are a canary in the coal mine of American democracy. Those who yearn to be strongmen are rarely gifted with a sense of humor—and never toward themselves. They hate being laughed at. So it was with Putin, and so it is with the current man in the Oval Office. Mussolini defined fascism as “the marriage of
government and corporations.” That marriage is tightening daily in today’s America. Savage capitalism is greed with no guard rails. Welcome to an America where our only gods are Greed and Grievance. |
Upon receiving the Mark Twain prize at the Kennedy Center in 2022, Jon Stewart described comedians as “the banana peel in the coal mine.” Video by Now This Impact. |
September 23, 2025: Peter Thiel, Carl Schmitt, & Silicon Valley’s New Religion (MF)
The billionaire in the White House is busy gilding the White House itself while calling the media an “enemy of the people.” One big influencer, ultra-right Peter Thiel, contributed over 13 million dollars to Vance’s senate campaign in Ohio, thus buying him his political future. Thiel is currently teaching a four-part seminar in Silicon Valley on the topic of “The Anti-Christ.” Prior to 1933, Carl Schmitt advised German President von Hindenburg to bypass Parliament and
rule by presidential decree. (Sound familiar?) When Hitler outmaneuvered them, Schmitt joined the Nazi Party in 1933 and helped coordinate their seizure of power. Schmitt became Thiel’s mentor, and Thiel, Vance’s. It is clear we will have to fight for our democracy. Meanwhile, Matthew and two others are going to offer a Counterpoint to Thiel’s narrative in October. |
Thiel’s political theology and apocalyptic imagination are shaping the worldview of some of the most powerful people in the world. Matthew Fox offers a much-needed counterpoint, October 8-9. Click HERE to register. |
September 24, 2025: Vows (part I) (GG)
Last’s week meditation on the Order of the Sacred Earth caused GG to reflect on the concept
of vows. One vow that many of us make is the wedding vow. GG has found that many people experience great angst when they are unable to continue with a marriage, blaming themselves for breaking a vow. GG counsels thus: We need to understand that we don’t carry our vows, and we are not morally responsible for them. It is our vows that carry us, as long as they can. He continues: What is truly spiritual about a vow is that we utter it in response to a call from the divine depth of our
hearts. We are not at fault if we utter it in complete sincerity but subsequently find it was perhaps not the correct vow for us. A vow needs to be deep enough to support a series of moral commitments through life, but broad enough to accommodate different circumstances that may arise. Most especially, it must warm our heart and kindle our imagination. September 25, 2025: Vows (part II) (GG)
Making a solemn vow is a powerful antidote to distraction. It
focuses both thoughts and actions. When there is something wrong with your vow or the manner in which you took it, it may feel like a cage, but when things are correctly aligned, your vow is a source of energy. It is common when people with good intentions gather for rituals and vow-taking that the Shekhina, Holy Wisdom, is present. Making a vow is a very powerful tool, especially in trying circumstances. Who am I? I am one who is becoming whom I pledged to become, and no amount of evil can
change that. September 26, 2025: Vows (part III)
(GG)
Matthew, in his book Order of the Sacred Earth, teaches about how the making of vows can be re-envisioned during these postmodern times. For instance, when men take vows to become a monk, there are essentially four vows: poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability. Poverty can mean a commitment to simple living and the rejection of overt consumerism. Because sexual relations can be very holy, perhaps
Chastity can mean foregoing wanton or casual sex. Obedience can be promised to an ideal or a community. Stability used to mean never leaving the monastery. Perhaps now it can be reinterpreted as faithfulness to a bioregion, which can be properly defended only when it is well-known and well-loved. May we become fierce and loving in defense of both our Earth and our democracy. September 27, 2025: Original Blessing & “Innate Goodness” as Medicine During Dark Nights (MF)
In times of struggle and darkness, it is important to reconnect to the cosmos and to Mother Earth and all who dwell on her. When the book Original Blessing came out 32 years ago, it greatly disturbed the Vatican, which at the time was heavily invested in the concept of original sin. In their fury, they forgot their own lineage, as when Thomas Aquinas talked about “original goodness” and Hildegard spoke about how love ruled
the world from the beginning.* Recently, Matthew was drawn to two contemporary people thinking along these same lines. One is Aaron Stern, co-founder and president of the Academy of the Love of Learning, who offers a powerful story triggered by a poem called “Safety Net” by Rosemerry Wahtola Trammer. Aaron writes about “the presence of innate goodness,” a “wellspring of goodness,” saying “it was somehow who I was.” You can read both the full poem and essay, HERE. |
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. |
UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox and 40 other wisdom teachers in the 2025 Contemplative Summit as they explore The Spacious Heart: Holding Suffering with Love, the theme of Spiritual Wanderlust: The 2025 Contemplative Summit. Thursday - Sunday, September 25-28. Register for free HERE. |
|
Join Matthew Fox and journalist Gil Duran in a 2-part online lecture/discussion event countering Peter Thiel's apocalyptic theories. Wed-Thurs., October 8-9, 7-8:30 pm ET. Register HERE.
Session 1 – Peter Thiel and the Antichrist: What Would Jesus Say? Matthew Fox explores the Antichrist archetype in light of his book Trump & the MAGA Movement as Antichrist, offering a spiritual lens
for understanding Thiel’s fixation. Session 2 – Billionaires, Political Theology, and the Future of Our Democracy Matthew Fox and Gil Duran explore together how a peculiar and perverse political theology is shaping the
imaginations of tech billionaires and what this means for our shared future. |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book, Meditations with Meister Eckhart in an online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Thursday, October 16, 4:00pm-5:30pm PT. Register 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 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 |
|
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 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. Course includes six modules of
pre-recorded lessons, live community discussions, and live conversations with Matthew Fox. 10% off discount code: FOX-10. Sign up HERE. |
|
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: |
|
|
|
