We are meditating with Meister Eckhart, invoking his deep sense of our relationship to the cosmos, psyche and cosmos are linked together.
This is especially important to remember at a time when Webb Telescope is bringing the universe to us in a new way; and when our planet is in peril because humans have lost their way—a way of living with earth and cosmos and all of creation, not just with the human agenda.
Eckhart is not anthropocentric. He thinks in terms of all being, and he invites us to do the same. He speaks about the universe this way:
Heaven is so immense and so wide that if I told you, you would not believe it. If you were to take a needle and prick the heavens with it then that part of heaven that the needle pricked would be greater in comparison to heaven and the whole world, than heaven and the world are in comparison to God.
Imagine how moved Eckhart would be to know what we now know about the universe today — that it is two trillion galaxies large, each with hundreds of billions of stars! That is a lot of pin pricks!
Eckhart makes frequent connections between the work of the cosmos and the work of our psyches:
Humans are meant to be a heaven for God to dwell in. We should be fixed as the heavens are fixed.
He also urges us to “run into peace” like the heavens that are always running.
We have moral lessons to learn from the goings-on in the sky. He writes:
There are various things we should know about the heavens above: that they are firm, pure, all-embracing, and fruitful. These same qualities should be found in human beings, for each of us should be a heaven in which God dwells.
He also urges us, however, to “run into peace” like the heavens that are always running.
If the heavens are firm, we should be firm. The heavens…
surround everything and contain everything in themselves. This too is something human beings can obtain in love, that they are able to contain everything in themselves–friends and foes alike…. The heavens are fruitful for they are helpful to every endeavor. The heavens work more than a carpenter when he builds a house.
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times, pp. 17f.
See also, Matthew Fox, Meditations with Meister Eckhart.
Also see Matthew Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE.
Banner Image: View of the Milky Way’s central region, Taken with the HAWK-I instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in the Chilean Atacama Desert. Photo by European Southern Observatory on Flickr. More information HERE.
Queries for Contemplation
What moral lessons do you take from understanding more about how the universe works, stars, supernovas, black holes and the rest?
Recommended Reading
Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Time
While Matthew Fox recognizes that Meister Eckhart has influenced thinkers throughout history, he also wants to introduce Eckhart to today’s activists addressing contemporary crises. Toward that end, Fox creates dialogues between Eckhart and Carl Jung, Thich Nhat Hanh, Rabbi Heschel, Black Elk, Karl Marx, Rumi, Adrienne Rich, Dorothee Soelle, David Korten, Anita Roddick, Lily Yeh, M.C. Richards, and many others.
“Matthew Fox is perhaps the greatest writer on Meister Eckhart that has ever existed. (He) has successfully bridged a gap between Eckhart as a shamanistic personality and Eckhart as a post-modern mentor to the Inter-faith movement, to reveal just how cosmic Eckhart really is, and how remarkably relevant to today’s religious crisis! ” — Steven Herrmann, Author of Spiritual Democracy: The Wisdom of Early American Visionaries for the Journey Forward
Meditations with Meister Eckhart: A Centering Book
A centering book by Matthew Fox. This book of simple but rich meditations exemplifies the deep yet playful creation-centered spirituality of Meister Eckhart, Meister Eckhart was a 13th-century Dominican preacher who was a mystic, prophet, feminist, activist, defender of the poor, and advocate of creation-centered spirituality, who was condemned shortly after he died.
“These quiet presentations of spirituality are remarkable for their immediacy and clarity.” –Publishers Weekly.
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice.
14 thoughts on “Cosmos & Psyche a la Meister Eckhart, continued”
Matthew, Today you quote Eckhart as saying: “Heaven is so immense and so wide that if I told you, you would not believe it. If you were to take a needle and prick the heavens with it then that part of heaven that the needle pricked would be greater in comparison to heaven and the whole world, than heaven and the world are in comparison to God.” Then you comment: “Imagine how moved Eckhart would be to know what we now know about the universe today — that it is two trillion galaxies large, each with hundreds of billions of stars! That is a lot of pin pricks!” For me, because the whole universe is about two trillion galaxies large, and yet works according to predictable natural laws… so must we live according to laws that we as social creatures develop to govern our societies and individual behavior.
The words “We have lessons to learn, from the goings on in the heavenly skies, of what we obtain and contain within ourselves, friend and foe alike, through love”, resonates with my soul. I see how the mystics intuitively, imaginatively and creatively observed these things, through the wisdom of symbols, metaphors, and analogies, in which the external and the internal world’s revealed itself as One. The other night as I looked up to the heavens, I noticed that the stars twinkled with light, yet the planets light did not. I wondered why. In simply terms, planets reflect the light from the sun, while stars are light meeting and comingling with the light from the sun. This led me to pondering the references in scripture to our souls being stars, that we too are light meeting and comingling with the light of the Son, the Cosmic Christ, that we aren’t reflections of the light, but rather we are all a little spark, an actual manifestation of this One greater light.
Jeanette: You say that “stars are light meeting and comingling with the light from the sun.” This reminds me that we are all made of stardust. When I walk along the beach and the sun is at an angle which creates a light path over the water [fire and water] I am always amazed to see the light directed to me, and moving with me as I walk. I also know that persons further down the beach experience the same sunlight coming directly to them. It appears that the sun recognizes each ‘human spark’ individually where we are. When I go in the lake to swim I think that I am treating ‘God’ to the joy swimming.
That is a lovely thought, Gwen. I bet God loves to swim.
I like the explanation of who we are, Jeanette. Thank you!
The lesson underscores the sacred interbeing of all things. Science reveals that 99.999 percent of each atom, and thus the entire universe consisting of them is empty space, an invisible ocean from which all things boil up and emerge out of nothing (ex nihilo), and in which they consist, cohere, and informationally connect. Such is the working definition of Spirit, and the organic definition of Christ, “in whom all things consist, and are held together”(Col. 1:16,17). Scripture, Eckhart and the mystics have revealed for centuries, that every created thing came from nothing (ex nihilo), meaning empty space creates reality, not the reverse. Physical objects are therefore not totally in space-time, they’re an interface, spatially extended from this boiling ocean of nothingness in interbeing. God and creation seamlessly belong to the same whole, the reason Spirit science will one day replace world religions, merely metaphors for same.
Ex Nihilo, Nihil Fit–“”out of nothing, nothing comes…”
The mystics inspire me to have faith in the Divine Love~Wisdom~Truth~Beauty~Creativity~Peace~Justice~Healing~Mercy~Compassion~Oneness… in the Living Presence of God’s ongoing co-Creation~Evolution in All the magnificent inner and outer Cosmos, including our Sacred Mother Earth and our Eternal Loving Souls….
🔥❤️🌎🙏
Paul the Apostle wrote that humans are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Eckhart wrote that God dwells within the universes, and since humans are fruits of the material creation, humans contain the power, creativity and goodness of the Creator. So, the countless creatures of God have the freedom and grace of their maker and sustainer. When one dies, or when several hundreds of species die, people may mourn their loss and struggle to protect what and whom they can protect. But the God of resurrection mercifully brings new fulfilment to them all. So I believe.
I love the artful way you speak about awe. It is such an important attitude of our being. I have followed you for many years, just to see what you are up to! Actually, since before you came to Rockford, Illinois. The things you teach have healed me spiritually and sparked my imagination to work for healing of this planet and this race. Blessings to you!
in the vast expanse of the universe a hundred years is a very infinitesimal space of time. It is four thousand million years since the earth came into being. It is six thousand million years since the sun was born; but the sun is comparatively a new member of the universe. There are stars so old in the universe, it is difficult to calculate how old they are. So in the passage of time, what meaning do a hundred years have? None whatsoever. A hundred years pass, and the moon and the sun are none the wiser for it; for to them it is no more than a tick of the clock. In terms of the infinite, a hundred years are but as a moment.
Love
Billy ❤️
Please, please, could the meditations be recorded with more volume? I have my lap top at maximum volume, and I still only get about one out of five of Matthew’s words.
Thank you, Marguerite
First, apologies for the delayed response!
Thank you for reaching out about not being able to hear Matthew’s videos. This is an occasional issue, which is why we have set up both closed-captions and transcripts. To activate the closed captions, click the CC icon at the bottom of the video screen. To read the transcript, look in the endnotes for the line:
To read the transcript for Matthew’s video teaching, click HERE.
Click through the link and the transcript will display in PDF.
Hoping this helps!
Appreciation,
Phila Hoopes
Blog Coordinator
Hello Marguerite,
First, apologies for the delayed response!
Thank you for reaching out about not being able to hear Matthew’s videos. This is an occasional issue, which is why we have set up both closed-captions and transcripts. To activate the closed captions, click the CC icon at the bottom of the video screen. To read the transcript, look in the endnotes for the line:
To read the transcript for Matthew’s video teaching, click HERE.
Click through the link and the transcript will display in PDF.
Hoping this helps!
Appreciation,
Phila Hoopes
Blog Coordinator