Tuesday was a powerful day for me because it was the last Tuesday of the month, so our Order of the Sacred Earth (OSE) met from 4-5 PM PT. Everyone is invited.* (see endnotes for details) This community offers some spiritual grounding in this crazy world of ours, getting ever crazier.
OSE is a new spiritual order started by myself and two young people, Skylar and Jen Wilson, about seven years ago. It is open to people of any faith tradition or none.
At our very first vow-taking ceremony, about 80 of us met at a Buddhist Temple in Berkeley. We were Protestant, Catholic, Indigenous, Jewish, Buddhist, and at least one person was an atheist. She was 26 years old and said to me, “My generation needs this so much. We are so isolated so often. I have been looking for a community to be part of and looked at your values and I belong here.”
The OSE vow goes like this: “I promise to be the best lover of Mother Earth and best defender of Mother Earth that I can be.” People are invited to create a common “pod” in their bioregions.
I was very moved this Tuesday by hearing how people around the country and world are dealing with what is afoot in our time. And how we can support one another.
I share here some of the comments that came forward in our circle:
One person spoke to how things are moving so quickly in our world and how powerful communities can be at this time. And how a Light does shine through all the darkness.
Another found herself asking: “What can we do?” She suggested OSE and other faith communities visit the White House, use energy-cleansing practices, and pray and demonstrate that another way exists, one of love, kindness and compassion.
One recently retired person who has been living on a wildlife refuge for 30 years is opening up the wildlife refuge as a “human refuge” too. She lives in Eastern Washington and Proud Boys are among her neighbors.
Another person talked about how OSE feeds love and how we need to stay involved and share the love while “doing a little bit more.” She told how Palestinians are returning to their wrecked land and homes but coming back singing. We too can sing, dance, and use energy-cleansing practices.
Another spoke of how our imaginations are getting infected by the darkness that is spreading around us. He had a dream where he was spread-eagled on Earth. And Earth was having tremors—“We are tremoring together. Earth and us are holding on for dear life.”
Another chose to volunteer at a soup kitchen and feels “one with everyone there” and finds it a fine way to direct her personal power. A couple who visit inmates regularly in a state prison participated recently in a prayer session with prisoners which centered on a prayer for their children. Everyone wept together. Someone commented: “Warriors weep.”
Another spoke to how a daily practice can fortify us and how a community like OSE gives hope. Another invoked the Bhagavad Gita, “Do what you have to do. Let the work unfold.” This reminds me of Meister Eckhart’s teaching, to “work without a why.”
Community support and the wisdom that arises listening to each other is a blessing in these demanding times.
* Join Matthew Fox, Mariko Middleton, and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors. Last Tuesday of every month, 4:00-5:00pm PT. Zoom ink: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88665302478 Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478
See Matthew Fox, Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action.
Also: Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation.
And Fox, “Spiritual Warriorhood,” in Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Faith Traditions, pp. 404-422.
And Fox, “Community and Interdependence,” in Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Faith Traditions, pp. 80-100.
And Fox, “Spiritual Warriors” in Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 77-104.
See Matthew Fox, Trump and The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election.
Banner Image: Home page of the Order of the Sacred Earth website.
Queries for Contemplation
Are you finding allies and community support for your work in resistance and in practicing your spiritual warriorhood at this time? This is an important part of taking care of yourself for the long haul. Feel free to check out the Order of the Sacred Earth.
Recommended Reading
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.
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
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Matthew Fox calls on all the world traditions for their wisdom and their inspiration in a work that is far more than a list of theological position papers but a new way to pray—to meditate in a global spiritual context on the wisdom all our traditions share. Fox chooses 18 themes that are foundational to any spirituality and demonstrates how all the world spiritual traditions offer wisdom about each.“Reading One River, Many Wells is like entering the rich silence of a masterfully directed retreat. As you read this text, you reflect, you pray, you embrace Divinity. Truly no words can fully express my respect and awe for this magnificent contribution to contemporary spirituality.” –Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
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.
5 thoughts on “OSE: Community Support in Trying Times”
I was deeply touched to read about all the beautiful things people are stepping up to do. In this time of darkness their stories lift me up and inspire me to try harder to do the same. They also fill me with some hope that we will all come out of this better than ever. I send out love and thanks to each of them and to you as well Matthew Fox. Your writings inspiring me daily.
Thank you for reminding us of the monthly meetings of the OSE (last Tuesday of the month). Since we don’t get monthly internet reminders, I have to remember to put it on my monthly schedule planner. The Spirit of support groups with the humanitarian and spiritual values like OSE are important/essential during these challenging times on our spiritual journeys with one another, and with Beautiful Sacred Mother Nature/Earth because We’re All Part of Our Source~Creator’s Living Loving Evolving DIVERSE ONENESS….
Hi Matthew,
In your last meditation you made mention of a retired person living on a wildlife refuge. To quote:
“One recently retired person who has been living on a wildlife refuge for 30 years is opening up the wildlife refuge as a “human refuge” too. She lives in Eastern Washington and Proud Boys are among her neighbors.”
I live in Spokane, WA so am not too far from said person. I would love to be put in touch with this person in the interests of OSE solidarity. Any chance?
Roger: Please contact Dennis Edwards and he will have the contact info. Thank you 33dennis@sbcglobal.net
I believe that OSE and the multitude of smaller and intimate groups will inspire and strengthen us all. All the larger institutions, including the church as a whole, have failed, with the exception of many smaller churches, who continue to do the work of compassionate justice.