We have been meditating on the spiritual dimensions of animals as well as the Order of the Sacred Earth in our recent DM’s. Such meditations can ground and sustain us as we gear up for a very important election at this precarious moment when literally hundreds of candidates for positions from governor to senator to secretaries of state, and more, are committed to the false notion that the last election was fraudulent.
Know that a Niagara of dark money is pouring into coffers, thanks to the Supreme Court having instructed us in “Citizens United” that corporations are people—a reality that one would imagine “originalists” would balk at since corporations are not mentioned in the American Constitution. This secret money guarantees that lies about lies will be spreading everywhere in the right wing media (Tucker Carlson on Fox news being one such example) and social media, also.
I don’t disagree with those who are warning us how this election could be the last authentic American election if people do not vote and choose wisely.
In stepping aside for a while to drink from some spiritual fountains that animals provide, we not only acknowledge the sacredness of the Earth but practice its sacredness.
Following are two recent reports on animals that underscore both their humor and beauty but also the suffering we share with them. It is moving that people are risking much in the Ukrainian War to include animals in their rescue efforts. The same can be said of the four-legged victims of the Florida hurricanes as well.
First is this humorous but true story that was shared with me recently. Click HERE.
Second, watch a video below, regarding the suffering animals are undergoing in the Ukrainian war.
Animals, too, undergo the Via Positiva and Via Negativa that life presents in their own way and according to their own capacities, much of which we have yet to fully grasp. This, too, is some of the spiritual that we share with them. There are gifts of humor and laughter, as in story number one. And gifts of sharing of suffering and acts of compassion from humans, as in story number two.
See Matthew Fox, Original Blessing. And Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion.
And Fox, Skylar Wilson and Jennifer Listug, Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action.
To read a transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE.
Banner image: Our Sacred Earth. Photo by 光曦 刘
Queries for Contemplation
Do you agree that animals are integral to the sacredness of our Sacred Earth? Do the links above teach you spiritual lessons worth remembering and practicing?
Recommended Reading
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew Fox delivers a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of compassion. Establishing a spirituality for the future that promises personal, social, and global healing, Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate activity.
“Well worth our deepest consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register
Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
By Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jen Listug
In the midst of global fire, earthquake and flood – as species are going extinct every day and national and global economies totter – the planet doesn’t need another church or religion. What it needs is a new Order, grounded in the Wisdom traditions of both East and West, including science and indigenous. An Order of the Sacred Earth united in one sacred vow: “I promise to be the best lover and defender of the Earth that I can be.”
Co-authored by Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jennifer Berit Listug, with a forward by David Korten, this collection of essays by 21 spiritual visionaries including Brian Swimme, Mirabai Starr, Theodore Richards, and Kristal Parks marks the founding of the diverse and inclusive Order of the Sacred Earth, a community now evolving around the world.
“The Order of the Sacred Earth not only calls us home to our true nature as Earth, but also offers us invaluable guidance and company on the way.” ~~ Joanna Macy, environmental activist and author of Active Hope.
7 thoughts on “Animals, Our Sacred Earth, and Upcoming Elections”
Matthew, You remind us today of the Supreme Court having instructed us in “Citizens United” that corporations are people. And it seems that every since corporations became people, their less interested in people except as consumers to consume their products and fill there coffers–my father use to say that it was all because of “the mean green.” Then speaking of animals you say, “In stepping aside for a while to drink from some spiritual fountains that animals provide, we not only acknowledge the sacredness of the Earth but practice its sacredness.” And it is moving that people are risking much in the Ukrainian War to include animals in their rescue efforts. The same can be said of the four-legged victims of the Florida hurricanes as well. And yes, I do agree that animals are integral to the sacredness of our Sacred Earth.
I’m a newbie to Matthew Fox and I’m so grateful to my friend Lisa Glauber who turned me onto his teachings. Looking forward to the daily meditations.
Thank you 🙏🏻
Thank you 😊
Thank you ☺️
There are a few spiritual truths that strongly spoke to me in todays DM, which we are encouraged to practice. One is that, “to be human is to rescue all living creatures.” This speaks to the sacred interconnections, inter-relationships, and the inter-dependence that all living creatures share in common with one another. Much of humanity has dishonored this truth and has chosen not to practice being and living in this reality; choosing instead a heirarchal delusion of dominion over, rather than stewardship with… which we are currently experiencing the anguishing consequences of. The second spiritual truth to practice and learn from is the path of the mystic, that leads one through the deep and neccessary soul work, which when engaged with assists humanity in returning, restoring, reclaiming, and resurrecting the sacredness of that inherent goodness and beauty of our true divinity, seeded and sealed within our humanity; which knows how to be and live our part in balance and harmony. We already carry within, the potential of contributing to the unfolding, evolving emergence of this sacred reality. This is the Great Work our Soul came here to learn, to practice, to give expression to, to make manifest, to give birth to; which we are all experiencing the anguishing pain of; yet at the sametime moving through all of this with compassion, mercy and love extended towards ourselves, each other and the all and the everything of creation.
Keeping our heads (and hearts) when all about us are those promoting and believing lies and conspiracies…
Thank you Matthew for your profound words at the end of today’s DM that describes the spiritual anguish and sorrow that humanity, all living creatures, and Mother Nature/Earth are going through in many ways through these perilous modern times. We all truly need to have mystical faith, hope, and compassionate action within, among us, and with Sacred Mother Nature/Earth in God’s Loving Wisdom Creative Spirit of Loving Diverse Oneness….
🔥❤️🌎🙏
Spiritual anguish can only be healed with mysticism, in the broadest sense holding sacred all of God’s creation, perhaps. We can experience God through so many things, if only we stay open and pay attention. Today a friend had to put down her precious pet dog because he was suffering and there was no relief or possibility of a cure. He kissed her as he fell into death. She had gotten him because her previous dog had picked him out for her, and she is confident that Scotty will direct her to another dog when it is time. This is just a small but powerful example of how animals are sacred and have much to teach us of spirituality.
Matthew, I don’t have words enough to express my gratitude to you for featuring animals so widely and profoundly last week and this. So many religious and spiritual leaders and teachers, otherwise wonderful, are what I call “human supremacists”. Animals have as much right to be here as we do, and their suffering matters as much as ours. They are the ultimate victims of “othering”.