The Personal Arts, Art- As-Meditation, Cosmology, and Ritual

Today we see how Matthew views the arts as more than painting, writing, and music. And we shall also see how the New Cosmology shows us how creativity is here for the sake of evolving and for healing people and the Earth. And finally we look at how Matthew has a broader view of what prayer is, in terms both of doing art and doing ritual.

THE PERSONAL ARTS

What are the personal arts that we all need to start birthing anew?
They include the art of friendship, the art of making beauty where we dwell, the art of conversation, of massage, of laughter, of preparing food, of hospitality, of the sharing of ideas, of growing food and flowers, of singing songs, of making love, of telling stories, of uniting generations, of putting on skits, of satirizing human folly. 

Art as meditation
is the primary form of prayer
in the creation-centered tradition,
and to practice it and undergo it
opens the door to the praxis of
deep ecumenism.

The new cosmology reminds us
that instead of art being for art’s sake,
art is for creativity’s sake,
that is for the sake of evolving
and for healing people and the Earth. 

Ritual is not performance art—it is participatory prayer. 

Artists are the “monks” of lay culture,
not asking to be imitated in life-style or morality,
but of inviting other to plummet
their recognition of the spiritual, of life. 

Every person
harbors within himself or herself
the artist’s vocation to create,
whether that be expressed in one’s love
for cooking or sewing,
for dancing or loving,
for story-telling
or mechanical repairing. 

See Matthew Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance, p. 200

See also Fox, Wrestling with the Prophets: Essays on Creation Spirituality and Everyday Life, p. 220

See also Fox, The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood For Our Time, pp. 210, 279

See also Fox, Prayer: A Radical Response to Life, pp. 140, 142

Banner Image: “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash.

Queries for Contemplation

Which of these quotations moves you most deeply, and why?

Recommended Reading

The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance

In what may be considered the most comprehensive outline of the Christian paradigm shift of our Age, Matthew Fox eloquently foreshadows the manner in which the spirit of Christ resurrects in terms of the return to an earth-based mysticism, the expression of creativity, mystical sexuality, the respect due the young, the rebirth of effective forms of worship—all of these mirroring the ongoing blessings of Mother Earth and the recovery of Eros, the feminine aspect of the Divine.
“The eighth wonder of the world…convincing proof that our Western religious tradition does indeed have the depth of imagination to reinvent its faith.” — Brian Swimme, author of The Universe Story and Journey of the Universe.
 “This book is a classic.” Thomas Berry, author of The Great Work and The Dream of the Earth.

Wrestling with the Prophets: Essays on Creation Spirituality and Everyday Life

In one of his foundational works, Fox engages with some of history’s greatest mystics, philosophers, and prophets in profound and hard-hitting essays on such varied topics as Eco-Spirituality, AIDS, homosexuality, spiritual feminism, environmental revolution, Native American spirituality, Christian mysticism, Art and Spirituality, Art as Meditation, Interfaith or Deep Ecumenism and more.

The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood For Our Time

Thomas Aquinas said, “To live well is to work well,” and in this bold call for the revitalization of daily work, Fox shares his vision of a world where our personal and professional lives are celebrated in harmony–a world where the self is not sacrificed for a job but is sanctified by authentic “soul work.”
“Fox approaches the level of poetry in describing the reciprocity that must be present between one’s inner and outer work…[A]n important road map to social change.” ~~ National Catholic Reporter

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