The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
By Gianluigi Gugliermetto 3/26/2026 |
I have no connection by blood with the island of Sardinia and her people. At least not that I know. Yet in the course of the many visits I made to the island from my childhood to my early 40s, a bond was created which never faded. I am sure that there are people who feel the same about a land which was not
the one they were born in, or they live in, yet it is in some ways their motherland. |
I have been feeling connected to other lands and places where I dwelled. Longing for a connection with the earth, the landscape, the native plants, as well as the ancient history of the human beings who lived there is part of my innate spirituality. Sardinia, however, has a special place in my heart. It’s hard for me to be objective about Sardinia. I will tell you just some of my deep impressions, not |
An outgrowth of Sardinia’s pastoral culture, Canto a tenore is a form of polyphonic singing performed by a group of four men using four different voices called bassu, contra, boche and mesu boche. It is on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. |
unrelated to facts and information however. The people of Sardinia are unlike any other Italian. They seem to constitute a nation of their own, not just because of their language but because of character traits that are unmistakable. Their hospitality is incredibly warm and yet not invasive.
Their kindness is matched in intensity by their old stories which always regard deep feelings rather than just events. Regrets, love, loyalty, hate, hardships, and honor seem to be the stuff of which the island is made. The perception of the sacred in its everyday manifestations, but also in its terrible forms, is higher than in any other place I visited. |
|
| In Sardinia survive more Neolithic and Bronze Age sites than on any
other place on earth. A myriad of pilgrimages and ancient magic rituals happen to this day, either with a veneer of Christian meaning attached to them or being called “just our customs.” Their a cappella music plunges the hearers into a very archaic soundscape. |
In short, there is something incredibly premodern going on in the Sardinian soul and I am convinced that living Sardinians are embedded in a stream of tradition that goes back not centuries but millennia. We all are physically connected to our ancestors, of course — the DNA means something! —but it is seldom the case that one can feel a kind of collapsing of time, as if the modern era never existed, as if it was just a blink. This is not to argue that Sardinians and their traditions and their ways of thinking are better. But they are surely unique. |
I have recently heard a grown man telling a story about his childhood, which must have occured not earlier than the 1970s. The child runs, in his hands is a water-filled clay vessel. He falls down, the pitcher breaks and the water is lost. He goes to his mother to implore forgiveness. The mother
asks: “Why was what you did wrong?” The child |
Sardinia’s most famous singer, Maria Carta, sings the “Hail Mary” with traditional words and melody. Marian devotion is extremely widespread on the island, testimony to the survival of the ancient matriarchal religion. branduardians |
answers: “Because I broke the pitcher.” The mother replies: “Wrong answer. You will not see me for a week.” A week later the mother asks the same question and the child answers more or less the same: “Because the pitcher I broke was valuable?” After another week, the mother finally forgives the
child with an explanation: “What you did was wrong because water is sacred and you don’t spill it on the ground without a reason.” You tell me if this is not very ancient wisdom bubbling up in the 20th century. While I don’t agree with the pedagogy — and I am sure that the boy was sent to his grandmother or something of the
kind, surely not left alone for two weeks — there is something about the sacred, motherhood, and wisdom that is utterly archaic in this story. Like many other things in Sardinia. |
Queries for Contemplation Have you ever had a connection to a land as mother? |
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 miss our growing collection of books endorsed by Matthew on Bookshop.org! CREATION SPIRITUALITY CONVERSATIONS |
Matthew Fox offers a keynote at the Unity Earth Symposium V on The Future of
Interspirituality: From Awareness to Action, exploring the maturation of interspirituality and how shared spiritual awareness becomes structured, embodied action in the world. |
|
UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox and Carolyn Myss in a 3-session event: "Darkness, Love and Advancing Consciousness in These Times." March 11, 18, 25, 2026 (Wednesdays) Virtual / Live Zoom Event. The Sophia Institute, 3pm PT. Learn more HERE. |
|
Matthew Fox joins David Abram, Lynn Twist, and Randy Woodley as Cameron Trimble of Convergence CoLab hosts “Vision for the Common Good,” a four-session Conversation Series. Tuesdays, March 17, 24, 31, and April 7, 4:00pm-5:30pm PT Register HERE. |
|
|
| Join Matthew Fox, Nancy Abrams, Brian Thomas Swimme and Robert Nicastro for this 3-part series bridge the gap between
modern science and creation spirituality, uncovering how each can enrich and inspire the other. hosted by WisdomFeed/BetterListen. Wednesdays, April 8, 15, 22, 4:00pm – 5:30pm PT. Register HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox for a Lecture, Discussion, and Q&A on “Christian Mystics: 365 Readings and Meditations, ” an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, April 16, 2026, 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 HERE, Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org |
Matthew Fox offers a lecture, “A Christianity for All Creation” as part of “For All Creation: A Day with Matthew Fox, Kelly Sherman-Conroy and Will Allen,” an On-site and Virtual Event presented by the Center for Ecological Regeneration, Hennepin Ave. UMC, and Garrett
Evangelical Theological Seminary in Minneapolis, MN. Saturday, April 18, 9:00am – 3:00pm Register HERE. |
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. |
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: |
|
|
|
