Recovering the healthy and sacred masculine is a sine qua non for human survival. Only the healthy masculine can be an equal companion to the healthy feminine. The return of the Divine Feminine requires a worthy consort.
The sacred marriage depends on the healthy feminine and healthy masculine thriving and interacting within every individual and within our cultural institutions. We have to ask whether our structures of education–from elementary school through professional schools—educate for both intuition (and therefore values) and the intellect. The same goes for politics, economics, media, art, religion.
As for the latter, we made the point two days ago that the silly dust-up in the Phoenix diocese over a priest baptizing by saying “we” instead of “I” is just one more example of sick religion and unhealthy masculinity at work. It is unmasculine to leave the cosmos (the Father Sky archetype) and the Blue Man archetype out of one’s consciousness and to succumb to the petty idolatry of legal word games. Religion that is out of touch with mysticism is not authentic religion.
Neither is religion that thrives on bullying, which is another expression of the toxic masculine.
Following are some suggestions for awakening the archetypes of the sacred masculine, whether one is a man or a woman. (When I have led retreats or workshops on this topic, I often choose to invite people of both genders since we all have to work on improving the presence and quality of masculinity in our deep selves and in others regardless of gender.)
For deepening one’s sense of Father Sky:
· Go out on a starry night to a place where you can see the sky. Lie down and drink it in. What are you learning, feeling, connecting with?
· Mentor young people on the new cosmology. Create rituals together celebrating it and dancing its wonders.
· Explore ancient cosmology and creation stories from various cultures. How do they relate to today’s creation story from science? How alike, how different? To be continued
Adapted from Matthew Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors for Awakening the Sacred Masculine, pp. 297f.
To read a transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE.
Banner Image: “Sunrise.” Photo by Anna on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
What additional practices can you recommend for recovering the experience of Father Sky and Cosmology?
Recommended Reading
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
4 thoughts on “Practices for Recovering the Sacred Masculine”
First, Matthew, thank you so much for the suggestions you made concerning how to connect with “Father Sky.” But then you ask: “What additional practices can you recommend for recovering the experience of Father Sky and Cosmology?” Go to an observatory, get a telescope, learn the phases of the moon and observe them, teach them about the Earth’s Holy Days: the solstices and equinoxes, plus the “quarter days.” Dance to Van Morrison’s song, “Moon Dance,” or Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” or listen to Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” lay on your back on the grass in the summer and watch the clouds–or at night and watch the stars…
“I” as a functionary for “We” or “Us” or Nature baptize (lovingly welcome your individualized Spirit which is our Spirit or the Cosmic Christ Spirit Love of all) you.
Rites of passage, ritual and ceremonies is really about celebrating… seeing and acknowledging the unfolding, evolving new emergence taking place within another. There are many ways to creatively and imaginatively celebrate these changes throughout one’s life. Some of the things I’ve done with others and myself is to take a canoe trip and have planned tasks within this, then once completed and sitting around the fire… offer gifts and tell stories about what these gifts represent to the one going through the rites of passage, then have a feast. Other things I’ve done are things like mask making, or shield making, using things from nature and other trinkets, that help one to identify and relate to different aspects of oneself, or one’s connections to the elements of nature, the seasons, power animals, the different worlds of creation that are our brothers and sisters, or the archetypes. Another is making a hand drum and teaching them a sacred chant, guiding them to find their own inner song and voice. Another creative way of celebrating change and embracing the inner gifts that are offered through this, claiming and acknowledging this new growth that continuously unfolds, evolves and emerges, is to create a section of a medicine blanket that will be added to throughout one’s life. Each piece, reveals alittle something of the story of one’s life. This medicine blanket is like a sacred mantle of empowerment and nurturance throughout their life, reminding them of many things. The key is to simply celebrate… creatively, imaginatively and intuitively… seeing, acknowledging, the inherent and unfolding beauty and goodness of the evolving changes emerging from within oneself through one’s journey of life… and the gifts being offered to claim throughout this transformative process.
Jeanette, Thank you for all of the ideas you shared in response to Matthew’s question: “What additional practices can you recommend for recovering the experience of Father Sky and Cosmology?” Answering his questions are a good thing…