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 2/06/2026 |
Silence and silent meditation are amongst the most precious human activities. They are enjoyed in all cultures and religions, though at times they are treated as secondary to dogmas or rituals. In any case, it seems that human beings have always known that their penchant for words and activities must be balanced by a time of silence and letting go. |
Forced silence, of course, is an anguished experience. Chosen silence, instead, may reveal deep truths. As anybody with even a small experience of meditation well knows, silencing the mind’s chattiness is not a luxury as much as a healthy necessity. Outer and inner silence are a requirement for a spiritual life. |
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As Matthew Fox writes: Mystery invites silence… Our distance from nature in today’s culture often interferes with this silence… We have, of course, different needs as we are different from each other, yet this simple sentence explains to me why I have always needed to live very close to nature: to have a better chance to experience the sacred mystery. Matthew says that Stillness leads to an encounter with the Divine. Often the encounter is far beyond words. Says Rumi: |
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That wise one and me.
I said, Tell me the secrets of the world.
He said, Sh…Let silence
Tell you the secrets of the world. Today, there is a wealth of scientific research on meditation and mindfulness. Matthew reports: When brain researcher Andrew Newberg demonstrated that in deep states of meditation we go
beyond thought and drop into an “experience of boundlessness,” [psychotherapist and mystic |
Estell] Frankel responded this way: “Evidently, our brains are hardwired to experience the mystical state of oneness we call ‘God’ and Kabbalists refer to as ayin or Ein Sof (literally, ‘Without End’). Ein Sof is the boundless and transcendent aspect of divinity that is beyond all form… When we emerge from such states of grace, our inner being opens more fully and new layers of soul are revealed to us.” God is not always speaking. And the silence of God is not always a lack of engagement. In the West, we have become so accustomed to religion as revelation of moral or ontological truths,
religion as covenant and dialogue with God, religion as norms or critique of norms, that we have forgotten the other half of the deal: silence as purification, stillness, and regeneration. |
I wonder what kind of society could issue from cultural habits such as stillness and mindfulness. You can object that the violence we breathe each and every day is way too high in its intensity to allow for such a suggestion to be meaningful. And yet, to me at least, it is precisely the absurdity and violence of |
Religion by rote memorization: “The Catechism Lesson.” Painting by Jules-Alexis Meunier, on Wikimedia Commons. |
political life that
call me to go deep and suggest the deepest solutions. It seems to me that unless we are grounded in silence, letting go, welcoming of the mystery, we have little chance to withstand the storms of evil which attempt to ravage our minds even before our bodies and the bodies of our neighbors. |
Quotes from Matthew Fox, [title], pp. 137-138
Banner Image: Woman meditating. Photo by JD
Mason on Unsplash |
Queries for Contemplation What is your experience of silence? What would entail bringing more “chosen
silence” into society? |
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 |
Podcaster Jon Wilson speaks with Matthew Fox about Creation Spirituality: how Matthew became a Dominican priest; his studies in Paris, Original Blessing versus the Fall-Redemption tradition; the Four Paths; mystics Meister Eckhart, Carl Jung, and Otto Rank; Eros, ritual and how ‘this is
wisdom to love life’. Listen HERE. |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox for a Lecture, Discussion, and Q&A on “Manifesto! For a Global Civilization; & Breakthrough: Meister Eckhart’s Creation Spirituality, ” an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, February 19, 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 |
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. |
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