The disaster that hurricane Helene has left us is a wake-up call. Thanks go to all those first responders, neighbors, government workers and helpers who are reaching out to assist those most bereft in the wake of that storm.
But we also must learn the lessons of what Mother Earth is trying to tell us in the wake of Helene. That is why I talk about the Scream from Helene.
A shaman whom I respect deeply told me over 20 years ago that the four-legged ones are so worried about humans that they were holding gatherings in which they discussed how they can help us. They concluded that they can enter our dreams more fully and that those who are our pets can assert themselves more.
When I ran into the same shaman a few years ago, I asked him: “Are the four-legged ones still having meetings to talk about us”? His answer was: “They are, but they are no longer talking about us—they are screaming about us.” This scream from Helene is also a scream from the other beings with whom we share this planet.
When will we humans wake up? When will our media that reports on politicians and presidential candidates wake up? And our religions too? And academia? And judges and billionaires? It is happening some, but clearly not enough.
In a number of my public talks about creation spirituality over the past 30 years, I have repeated that the three most important moral issues of our time are these:
1. The environment.
2. The environment.
3. The environment.
This is still the case—and even more so today as global warming has increased.
If the causes for Helene and the hurricanes like her still to come— causes of which the warming of the oceans is primary—are not addressed, we can kiss every other issue goodbye.
It will not matter what ideology or political or economic system or military invention or billionaire buddy you have in your camp if you have, like the citizens of North Carolina, etc. no water to drink, no town left, no roads, no roof over your head, no soil to farm.
I propose in my book, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, that what Christians like to call the “second coming” is in fact the coming alive of our species. Our waking up. To what? To our being other Christs and therefore our dignity as other Christs. And to our responsibility as other Christs. In this sense, we are the second coming of Christ—or ought to be. Here lies the next step in our evolutionary journey: Putting love and justice first.
This also means standing up to antichrists who shout lies about reality. And sell their souls and bargain away even our Mother Earth.
And those who support matricide while mouthing platitudes of loving their children and grandchildren. Jesus called such politicians of his day, “hypocrites” and “whitened sepulchers.”
Politicians of our day have tried to make a case that “waking up” is a negative thing. Being “woke” is some kind of sin we are told. Whereas it is the very meaning of metanoia or change of heart and consciousness.
Indeed, Meister Eckhart (and Kabir, Rumi, Jesus and St. Paul) propose that waking up is the very meaning of spirituality.
Wake up from the dead. Before all life on earth as we know it is dead. And Earth everywhere looks like the tale that Hurricane Helene is shouting to us.
To be continued.
If you would like to help the survivors of Helene, these organizations are among the many providing assistance on the ground:
Adapted from Matthew Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ.
And Fox, “Sermon Eight: This Is Spirituality: Waking Up,” in Fox, Passion For Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart, pp. 126-136.
And Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality.
And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth.
And Fox, Trump & MAGA as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election.
And Fox, Confessions: The Making of a Postdenominational Priest.
Banner Image: Post-Helene flood devastation in Asheville. Photo by Asheville resident Skylar Wilson, co-director of The Cosmic Mass and the Order of the Sacred Earth. Used with permission.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you seek out the causes of Helene even as you deepen your own concern for the future of our planet? Do you work to support politicians and media who seek to tell the truth about global warming and what we can do about it?
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.
Passion for Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart
Matthew Fox’s comprehensive translation of Meister Eckhart’s sermons is a meeting of true prophets across centuries, resulting in a spirituality for the new millennium. The holiness of creation, the divine life in each person and the divine power of our creativity, our call to do justice and practice compassion–these are among Eckhart’s themes, brilliantly interpreted and explained for today’s reader.
“The most important book on mysticism in 500 years.” — Madonna Kolbenschlag, author of Kissing Sleeping Beauty Goodbye.
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story
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.
“I am reading Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth by Matt Fox. He is one that fills my heart and mind for new life in spite of so much that is violent in our world.” ~ Sister Dorothy Stang.
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)
Matthew Fox’s stirring autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self
4 thoughts on “The Scream from Helene, continued”
To be ‘awake’ and ‘woke’ are two different things.
To be ‘awake’ is to be aware of the reality of both love and truth and be present to both, and inclusive of all.
To be ‘woke’ is to be in a judgemental state and be pointing out the shortcomings of others, with a view to ‘cancel’ them out of our lives. ‘Wokeness’ is not inclusive, nor does it lead to a merciful ‘change of heart’, which is the only true change.
This is truly a profound and urgent message that should be shouted from the rooftops. I do believe we are definitely in the beginning of the “second coming” as so many people are awakening to the truths however, more need to awaken very soon before it is too late. Also, I have always believed that our fellow creatures have been aware of what is happening and are suffering as a result of humans who haven’t been listening or are still refusing to heed the warning. We better begin to listen and come together. Thank you this very insightful reading.
Yes, the resurrection of the Christ within us which is the Trinity. Interestingly, regarding animals communicating with us, Black Elk called the four-legged ones the “animal peoples.” A neighbor of mine told me that her female friend’s cat was attacking her in the apartment that her friend and the cat shared. My neighbor said that her friend could not figure out why her cat was attacking her. I asked my neighbor if her friend smoked. She said yes and that her friend smoked heavily. I told my neighbor that the cat was attacking her friend because she was polluting herself, the cat, and the apartment with cigarette smoke. Individuals have blind spots. Sophistical (bogus) political rhetoric causes blind spots in the collective. What is sin?
Yes, but not enough! – “BEING & BECOMING… “ Is one of my spiritual mantras/prayers.
Matthew, I loved your enclosed sharing from your heart in today’s DM called “The Sacredness of the Earth” given on April 23, 2014 in England. It’s a very inspirational sharing and timeless message/feelings for All of Us that captures your Compassion for Our Beautiful Sacred Mother Earth/Her living creatures/Her graceful abundance With-in Our LOVING Beautiful Sacred Evolving COSMOS and SPIRITUAL REALMS in the Sacred Process of the ETERNAL PRESENT MOMENT….