There are moments and times in human history when everything becomes tragically simple and clear. Rather than being invisible to the eyes — as in Saint-Exupéry’s famous sentence — the essential becomes very visible.
I believe we live in such a historical moment.
We have all seen China’s recent parade, displaying strong military power and declaring in no uncertain terms that Western hegemony has come to an end.
Particularly chilling was the experience of watching Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator, joining Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in Tiananmen Square.
It gave the world a very clear indication that the most cruel and inhumane methods of government — including labor camps for dissidents and engineered starvation — are now considered acceptable.
Even more chilling was the off-the-air dialogue between Putin and Xi on the topic of “immortality” — meaning the possibility of extending one’s life endlessly through continued transplant of organs. In short, regular people have become prey for the powerful, not symbolically, but very realistically.
But is this really different than the West? What does the story of the Epstein files tell us? Is Western hypocrisy flouting “Western values” any more than the stark display of power seen on Tiananmen Square? Is Gaza’s starvation any different than North Korea’s?
It has never been so clear as it is today that we are fighting a battle for the soul of humanity, for the preservation of those real values — compassion, beauty, solidarity, harmony, shared joy and celebration — that make us a gem in the universe, rather than the bloody beasts that we seem to have become.
We cannot be stripped down more than this, as a species. We have reached the naked essence of what it means to be human. Or rather, we are fighting for what it means.
What matters today is the essential: that is, the search for peace and for contact with truth. These are the words of a wise friend, spoken to me today. The present circumstances are baring us down to the essential for sure.
See Matthew Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
And Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ
And Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times
And Fox, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation
And Fox, Prayer: A Radical Response to Life
And Fox, A Way to God: Thomas Merton’s Creation Spirituality Journey
Banner Image: Targeted: the dove of peace. Art by Banksy, photo by Philippe Agnifili on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you agree that we have reached a turning point in humanity’s history? If so, what needs to change in our own approach to spirituality?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
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.
The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times
A stunning spiritual handbook drawn from the substantive teachings of Aquinas’ mystical/prophetic genius, offering a sublime roadmap for spirituality and action.
Foreword by Ilia Delio.
“What a wonderful book! Only Matt Fox could bring to life the wisdom and brilliance of Aquinas with so much creativity. The Tao of Thomas Aquinas is a masterpiece.”
–Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit
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
A Way to God: Thomas Merton’s Creation Spirituality Journey
In A Way to God, Fox explores Merton’s pioneering work in interfaith, his essential teachings on mixing contemplation and action, and how the vision of Meister Eckhart profoundly influenced Merton in what Fox calls his Creation Spirituality journey.
“This wise and marvelous book will profoundly inspire all those who love Merton and want to know him more deeply.” — Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism
5 thoughts on “The Essential is Very Visible”
“What needs to change in our own approach to spirituality?”
We need to make haste and double, triple and even quadruple down on our own unifying Spirituality, do we not? — BB.
We need a cosmic vision. It’s why I wrote my book, a copy of which was sent to Matthew several months ago upon request…
https://www.sedimentofmysoul.com/sediment-of-my-soul-manuscript
https://www.amazon.com/Maya-Mire-Spiritual-Journey-Dawning/dp/1803415525
Yes, G.G., you’re asking profound questions about the challenges Humanity continues to face daily for All living species and Our Sacred Mother Earth. Our responsibilities on Our personal unique spiritual journeys continue to be essential of maintaining Our Faith and Living/Loving relationships within and among Us with Our LOVING Source~Co-Creator PRESENT in All Sacred multidimensions and Beings of Our ongoing and evolving Cosmos and subtle Angelic Eternal Spiritual Realms in the Sacred Creative Flow of LOVING~WISDOM DIVERSE ONENESS….
Thank you for today’s query. In recently reflecting on a similar query, I was guided to reflect on “Illuminations of Hildegard from Bingen” (Matthew Fox): For example, “…..The way we build our lives, our culture, our physical and psychological worlds must be one with the universe. We must take our moral living from the universe and not the other way around. …. (page 60); “We have in Hildegard a profound summary of the theology of the royal person – a celebration of our beauty and a challenge to live up to it by creativity, leadership, and justice-making. …” (page 56)…and, “…’The powers of the soul extend over the entire globe.’ We look constantly at other creatures, Hildegard observes, yet ‘it is God whom human beings know in every creature.’…. (page 57). My personal experience is our universe/nature-kin (from the expanse of the sky to the smallest beings) are proactively reaching out to help humanity again return “to the love that permeates the cosmos, the love of the Creator who embraces the cosmos and hold the universe in her breast.” (page 57), and, as evidenced in the Daily Meditations and beyond, more and more humans are listening and joyfully working to restore the beautiful soul of humanity and live harmonically within the cosmos, which “is truly a temple.” (page 57).
Tragically, I believe we have reached a turning point and I fear that it may take a century to return to a culture of lovingkindness and care for one another, a culture of growing justice and possibly freedom from war and repression. The West has lost. Trump has been played by Putin and to his dismay has been excluded from the triumvirate of dictators. Putin, without firing weapons at Great Britain, the EU, or the US, has taken down the democracies of the first and third. The EU is facing threats to democracy. What a cost saver for Putin’s regime. He orchestrated the exodus of Great Britain from the EU and crumbled American democratic rule. It may be that the hubris and violence of the US had to be destroyed. I thought we could lose hubris without losing democracy. That was not to be. We will need all spiritual paths to work together to face the current moment.