Adam Bucko and I conclude our book on Occupy Spirituality with a chapter entitled “Occupy Generation and the Practice of Spiritual Democracy.” I excerpt a portion below…
In discussing the exciting topic of spiritual democracy, we want to give credit to a spiritual ancestor, Walt Whitman. Whitman used this phrase on many occasions, as when he said:
I say to you that all forms of religion, without excepting one, any age, any land, are but mediums, temporary yet necessary, fitted to the lower mass-ranges of perception of the race—part of its infant school—and that the developed soul passes through one or all of them, to the clear homogeneous atmosphere above them. There all meet—previous distinctions are lost—Jew meets Hindu, and Persian Greek and Asiatic and European and American are joined—and any one religion is just as good as another.
This is a very important quote, because essentially it describes the climate that many young people find themselves in today. It’s this climate that Brother Wayne Teasedale called our “interspiritual age,” or what Matthew has called “deep ecumenism.”
More and more people (and especially the young) are realizing that essentially, while they drink from traditions or a specific tradition, in the end the teaching–even though sometimes it comes through the tradition–is really about going beyond the tradition itself, going into that space that is beyond all religions.
The late Catholic monk Thomas Merton talked about the need to
…discover an older unity. My dear brothers and sisters, we are already one. But we imagine that we are not. So what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.
When Adam was growing up in Poland felt he was born into a specific tradition, but now he knows that he has been nurtured by a variety of traditions with mentors from several different traditions.
Even though I tend to identify as a Christian, I realize that most of my teachings actually come from life directly, and then I relate it to Christianity because this way it gives me context. But the transmission itself comes from life, so to speak.
This seems to parallel nicely Matthew’s definition of prayer as a radical response to Life.
Prayer is a radical, that is to say, root response to Life, the good in it and the suffering in it. A Yes to Life and a No to forces, within and without, that want to kill it. The mystic in us speaks Yes. The prophet in us says: No. These constitute our human roots, our Yes and our No.
Adapted from Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation, pp. 207f.
See also Matthew Fox, Prayer: A Radical Response to Life, pp. 60-116, 154.
See also Adam Bucko, Let Your Heartbreak Be Your Guide: Lessons in Engaged Contemplation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2022)
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE.
Banner Image: Altar, Occupy Wall Street November 5 2011, Zuccotti Park. Photo by David Shankbone on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you experience prayer as a root or radical response to Life, your Yes and your No?
Recommended Reading
Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation
Authors Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox encourage us to use our talents in service of compassion and justice and to move beyond our broken systems–economic, political, educational, and religious–discovering a spirituality that not only helps us to get along, but also encourages us to reevaluate our traditions, transforming them and in the process building a more sacred and just world. Incorporating the words of young activist leaders culled from interviews and surveys, the book provides a framework that is deliberately interfaith and speaks to our profound yearning for a life with spiritual purpose and for a better world.
“Occupy Spirituality is a powerful, inspiring, and vital call to embodied awareness and enlightened actions.”
~~ Julia Butterfly Hill, environmental activist and author of The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods
Prayer: A Radical Response to Life
How do prayer and mysticism relate to the struggle for social and ecological justice? Fox defines prayer as a radical response to life that includes our “Yes” to life (mysticism) and our “No” to forces that combat life (prophecy). How do we define adult prayer? And how—if at all—do prayer and mysticism relate to the struggle for social and ecological justice? One of Matthew Fox’s earliest books, originally published under the title On Becoming a Musical, Mystical Bear: Spirituality American Style, Prayer introduces a mystical/prophetic spirituality and a mature conception of how to pray. Called a “classic” when it first appeared, it lays out the difference between the creation spirituality tradition and the fall/redemption tradition that has so dominated Western theology since Augustine. A practical and theoretical book, it lays the groundwork for Fox’s later works.
“One of the finest books I have read on contemporary spirituality.” – Rabbi Sholom A. Singer
12 thoughts on “Bucko & Fox on Practicing Spiritual Democracy”
Adam Bucko and Matthew conclude their book on Occupy Spirituality with a chapter entitled “Occupy Generation and the Practice of Spiritual Democracy.” In discussing the topic of spiritual democracy, they give credit to a spiritual ancestor–Walt Whitman. Whitman used this phrase on many occasions, as when he said: “I say to you that all forms of religion…. are but mediums, temporary yet necessary, fitted to the lower mass-ranges of perception of the race—part of its infant school—and that the developed soul passes through one or all of them, to the clear homogeneous atmosphere above them. There all meet…” More and more people while they drink from traditions or a specific tradition, is really about going beyond the tradition itself, going beyond all religions. Adam says, “Even though I tend to identify as a Christian, I realize that most of my teachings actually come from life directly, and then I relate it to Christianity because this way it gives me context. But the transmission itself comes from life, so to speak.” And as Matthew says, “Prayer is a radical response to life.”
There are many important messages being conveyed no doubt. The question is though, why are the messages always being tied into promoting and selling the next book? Should we not be training to let ‘the Spirit’ fill in the blank spots while we reflect and increase our skills of contemplation? How is the Mystical journey, mystical otherwise? There is great joy in discovery is there not? Would we not prefer to sift through the dirt like an archeologist if directed to the site, than to watch someone’s bulldozer pull all the earth?– BB.
How does one discover one’s own radical response to life? Adam Bucko speaks of this, saying that the key is to see, listen and respond to that which breaks your heart. In prayerfully contemplating upon this, one not only finds one’s own authentic soul meaning and purpose in life, but one also discovers the gifts one carries within oneself that are then nurtured, cultivated and broken open into givenness, in service to this heartbreak. This breaking open of the heart, is the unfolding, evolving and emerging work of the Divine… manifesting from within one’s humanity and one’s engagement with life and all that one experiences and encounters within this Sacred journey of the soul.
This radical response to life, carries within it the potential of co-creating a very different world, than the one we currently find ourselves living in. It is also a sacred pathway of spiritually discerning what one’s mystical yes and prophetic no will be, as the bread and wine partaken of, poured out, broken open and given…upon the altar of one’s life. This is the Beauty Way of the Heart that all religions and spiritual paths attempt to teach.
I wish I had been taught about this, in this particular way, when much younger. However, in prayerfully practicing, learning and sharing of this with others now, through mentoring, my hope is that the younger generation will respond to its beauty and wisdom and radically run with it.
A simple thank you said out loud and countless acts of love and generosity throughout each day, week, month are my idea of the most productive prayers.
The last few years as a member of Contemplative Outreach, I do my silent centering/meditative prayer twice a day for 20~30 minutes. Along with a long-term interest and readings on contemplative spirituality and the mystics of all the major spiritual traditions, I’ve also developed more of a spiritual sensitivity to Mother Nature due to our climate/planetary crises and Indigenous spirituality. Another spiritual interest I’ve developed the last few years has been an awareness and belief in the multidimensional spiritual realms of our reality and the Cosmos through the books, webinars, and channeling of a few internationally prominent and genuine spiritual channelers and NDE (near death experiences). The latter areas of spirituality have even received more recent studies and research by psychologists and scientists (see eternea.org and noetic.org). The deeper spiritual consensus about our many planetary and humanitarian crises seems to be that our planet and humanity seem to be going through a very significant and painful spiritual shift/evolution towards a more evolved compassionate humanity and conscious realization of our Sacred Diverse Loving Oneness with-in All ongoing co-Creation~Multidimensional Cosmos….
🔥💜🌎🙏
If our Christ is not universal, how can They then truly be the Christ? }:- a.m.
Prayer as a radical response to life is a good way to put it, but I do not think that there is any “right” way to pray. Anne Lamott’s Help, Thanks, and Wow! are quite sufficient at times. That may seem superficial, but I can put my whole self into any of those and tap into the universal source of all life and love. And I want to be a holy rascal, when I grow up!
To this I would add the prayer (or un-prayer?) of rest: letting go of a need for responding to the moment of whatever God/the universe has just presented/”dumped on you” and just stepping out of the way, relaxing and opening up. This is extremely hard to do in times of stress and loss, and I don’t claim to be any good at it. For me, it’s usually been the opposite, more like being hauled through wisdom-lessons in spite of my ego’s stupidity and cluelessness. Both through the awe of mystical experience and through the gratitude and humility from peoples’ amazing kindness in times of crisis, I’ve been gifted with glimpses of grace particularly when I stepped back from the clenching need to try to steer the moment. Needless to say, it doesn’t happen often enough.
Melinda, In a church that I attend on occasion they sing a song that rings true to me. It goes like this:
Our thoughts are prayers
and we are always praying
Think of yourself and,
what your thoughts are saying…
I can relate to that, and my attempt at letting go and getting out of the way when yet one more awful situation arises, is the Help! prayer, just that.
Sue, If II could, I would grant you your wish as you state: “I want to be a holy rascal, when I grow up!” One of Matthews friends and holy rascals was a Native American Catholic Nun named, Sister Jose Hobday. She taught Native American Spirituality at Matthew’s school–and they called her a “Holy Rascal!”
What an honor!