Podcasts about cosmic mass

 Is it time to redefine the meaning of what it means to be Christian? Traditional religious institutions may be apathetic, or even corrupt, as we've seen in the Catholic priest scandals. Yet, it is possible to feel inspired and start new, according to our guest today, internationally acclaimed theologian Matthew Fox. Matthew was a member of the Dominican Order for 34 years, but then expelled for being a feminist theologian, which went against the traditional teachings. He then started his own institutions for Creative Spirituality. Today Matthew talks about how more and more people have strayed away from traditional religion. Many parents have given up on religion, so how do you teach children about morals and spirit? Matthew discusses how we can emphasize the spirituality aspect more through contemplation and action. Younger people are interested in social reform. He talks about the importance of Christian mystics ranging from Hildegard von Bingen to Meister Eckhart to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. To recreate religion, we need to consider mysticism. Modern spiritual leaders such as Thích Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama are teaching about spirit. Matthew suggests considering various wisdom and studying different ranges of religions. He invites us to ask questions such as how we are related to these great beings like Jesus, Mother Mary, Buddha, or Mohammad. He discusses the intense need for connection that was formerly found though religious communities. Raves are a new way to celebrate rituals. The original purpose was to worship, so he developed the “Cosmic Mass” – a dance celebration ritual without drugs. He talks about how creativity is extremely important. We can look at the planets and stars and ask how we are connected. How can we live in awe? Matthew holds a doctorate in the History and Theology of Spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris. He founded the Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality. Matthew continues to be an activist for gender justice and eco-justice. He is the author of 37 books and today he talks about his book “The Pope's War.” Info: MatthewFox.org

What would you think if you received an invitation to attend to something called a Techno Cosmic Wedding? Would you be curious? Avoidant? Undecided? What if it was framed as a post-modern, rave-inspired event where your whole self was welcome. How would you feel then?   Episode Resources: → Matthew Fox: https://www.matthewfox.org/  → The Cosmic Mass: https://www.thecosmicmass.com/  → A Joyful Wedding Can Still Make Room for Grief: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/07/31/joyful-wedding-can-still-make-room-grief/    Episode Transcript: https://ever-changing.net/episodes/s5-e1-techno-cosmic-wedding-1  _________________ Libsyn Promo Code: Get up to 2 months of free podcasting service with Libsyn! https://signup.libsyn.com/?promo_code=PINATA Get your show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, get helpful stats, and get podcasting! _________________ Episodes by Topic: → Episodes on Rites of Passage: https://ever-changing.net/rites-of-passage  → Episodes on Authentic Weddings: https://ever-changing.net/authentic-weddings  → Episodes on Grief & Loss: https://ever-changing.net/grief-loss  → Episodes on Challenging Times: https://ever-changing.net/challenging-times  _________________ Shame Piñata: Creating rites of passage for real-life transitions. Stories from people who have used ceremony to create authentic weddings, make it through hard times, honor deep loss, or reinvent themselves.  _________________ Follow Shame Piñata → Show Website: https://shamepinata.com → Subscribe in Your Favorite Player: https://kite.link/shamepinata → Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shame-pi%C3%B1ata/id1493325872 → Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F8tCPhyIW5AEQFLKLhuoi → Google Podcasts:  https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9zaGFtZXBpbmF0YS5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw== → YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shamepinata → RSS Feed: http://shamepinata.libsyn.com/rss → Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shamepinata → Rate/Review: https://ever-changing.net/rate-sp _________________ Listen If → You're feeling stuck → You're going through a tough time → Something significant has happened and no one gets it _________________ Shame Piñata is hosted by Ritual Artist Colleen Thomas, a Certified Meditation and Mindfulness teacher who helps people make sense of life through ceremony. Music by Terry Hughes. Learn more at https://shamepinata.com    _________________ Disclaimers: https://ever-changing.net/disclaimer 

Today we'll be discussing Rev. Matthew Fox's life work - Creation Spirituality and that is a lot of road to cover.  We'll delve into what it is, as well as the comparison between being religious vs spiritual, the nature of evil and angels, including scientific research proving angels are real - along with Matthew's own personal experience with angels.  Creativity as a power of the universe and the key to our genious will be discussed as well as Cosmic Masses.  Time permitting we'll examine compassion vs pity and wisdom vs knowledge.   ***After the interview hear the final part, #4, of Why Women Need Goddess with Karen discussing the essay of Carol Christ. BIO:  Rev. Matthew Fox, PhD, author, theologian, and activist priest, has been calling people of spirit and conscience into the Creation Spirituality lineage for over 50 years. His 38 books, lectures, retreats, and innovative education models have ignited an international movement to awaken people to be mystics and prophets, contemplative activists, who honor and defend the earth and work for justice. Seeking to establish a new pedagogy for learning spirituality that was grounded in an effort to reawaken the West to its own mystical traditions in such figures as Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart and the mysticism of Thomas Aquinas, as well as interacting with contemporary scientists who are also mystics, Fox founded the University of Creation Spirituality. His recent projects include Order of the Sacred Earth and Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox as well as the Cosmic Mass.  www.dailymeditationswithmatthewfox.org

Matthew Fox is a spiritual theologian, an Episcopal priest, and an activist for gender justice and eco-justice.  He has written 37 books that have been translated into other languages over 70 times. Among them are Original Blessing, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, A Spirituality Named Compassion, The Reinvention of Work, The Hidden Spirituality of Men, Christian Mystics and The Pope's War. He has contributed much to the rediscovery of Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart and Thomas Aquinas as pre-modern mystics and prophets. Fox holds a doctorate in the history and theology of spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris. The founder of the University of Creation Spirituality in California, he conducts dozens of workshops each year and is a visiting scholar at the Academy for the Love of Learning. In joining the Episcopal church over 20 years ago, Fox has been working with young people to reinvent forms of worship by bringing elements of rave such as dance, dj, vj and more into the Western Liturgy.  The Cosmic Mass has been celebrated over 100 times and in dozens of cities in North America.  Fox is recipient of the Abbey Courage of Conscience Peace Award (other recipients being the Dali Lama, Mother Teresa, Ernesto Cardenal and Rosa Parks), the Ghandi King Ikeda Award, the Tikkun National Ethics Award and other awards.  His latest books are Naming the Unnameable: 89 Wonderful and Useful Names for God…Including the Unnameable God; Stations of the Cosmic Christ; and The Lotus & the Rose: A Conversation Between Tibetan Buddhism & Mystical Christianity. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Academy of the Love of Learning in Santa Fe, NM and resides in Vallejo, California

How can we find meaning in life when so many events today are so tragic? With wars, inflation, the pandemic, climate change, and much more, what is happening with our world view? How can we find new thought processes to look at these crises?  Our guest today, Dominican Friar Matthew Fox was expelled from the Catholic Church because of his controversial views. He was looking at revisiting the concept of Creation Spirituality and how we may see “Original Blessing” rather than “Original Sin.”  As a spiritual theologian, an Episcopal priest, and an activist for gender justice and eco-justice, Matthew deeply discusses how Wisdom is Feminine and it is a time of the return of the Divine Feminine. He explains how the patriarchy crushed feminine wisdom. But that is changing. We are experiencing the dark night of our species – but there is so much hope. We are brilliant humans, with new technologies, and now humans have a greater chance of awakening than ever before. Because of mass media, and wars being televised, more people are connected and see the senseless suffering and offer help to those in need. Through Creation Spirituality, we “feel” more and we know that these are not just numbers, but actual human beings that are part of our human family on Earth. The reality of war humanizes it, as we see it. Mother Earth is also at war – the climate crisis is so severe that we must learn how our actions influence this change. Matthew suggests that we can refer to the mystics to gain wisdom. We must become even more compassionate so we may help and connect with one another. We cannot fall into despair. We cannot give up. The light can return.    Matthew has written 37 books that have been translated more than 70 times. Among them are “Original Blessing,” “The Coming of the Cosmic Christ,” and his newest collection of “Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality.”  He has contributed much to the rediscovery of Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, and Thomas Aquinas as pre-modern mystics and prophets. He holds a doctorate in the history and theology of spirituality. As the founder of the University of Creation Spirituality in CA, he conducts dozens of workshops each year and is a visiting scholar at the Academy for the Love of Learning. By joining the Episcopal church more than 20 years ago, Fox has been working with young people to reinvent forms of worship by bringing elements of rave such as dance, djs, and more into the Western Liturgy.  The “Cosmic Mass” has been celebrated more than 100 times in dozens of cities in North America.  Info: MatthewFox.org

Face to Face with Matthew FoxLive on OMTimes Radio Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 10:30 PST / 1:30 PM ESTWatch the Livestream on the No BS Spiritual Book Club on Facebook, OMTimes Radio & TV Facebook, or OMTimesTV YoutubeThis week on the No BS Spiritual Book Club's live-streaming Face to Face With… interview multi-award-winning theologian, activist, and author Matthew Fox shares the 10 Spiritual Books that influenced him the most on his life journey – including the one that “blew his soul wide open” when he was just 16.Matthew Fox is a spiritual theologian, an Episcopal priest, and an activist for gender justice and eco-justice. He has written 39 books that have been translated into over 60 languages. As founder of the University of Creation Spirituality in California and The Cosmic Mass, he conducts dozens of workshops each year and is a visiting scholar at the Academy for the Love of Learning. He is the recipient of many awards including: The Abbey Courage of Conscience Peace Award. Recent projects include Order of the Sacred Earth and Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox as well as The Cosmic Mass. Connect with Matthew at https://www.matthewfox.org/ | https://dailymeditationswithmatthewfox.org/ https://www.facebook.com/sandiesedgbeer | https://www.facebook.com/groups/nobsspiritualbookclubhttps://www.thenobsspiritualbookclub.comVisit the NO BS Spiritual Book Club Page https://omtimes.com/iom/shows/the-no-bs-spiritual-book-club/Join the No BS Spiritual Book Club mailing list https://forms.aweber.com/form/93/758545393.htmConnect with Sandie Sedgbeer at https://www.sedgbeer.com#MatthewFox #SandieSedgbeer #NoBSSpiritualBookClubSubscribe to our Newsletter https://omtimes.com/subscribe-omtimes-magazine/Connect with OMTimes on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Omtimes.Magazine/ and OMTimes Radio https://www.facebook.com/ConsciousRadiowebtv.OMTimes/Twitter: https://twitter.com/OmTimes/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omtimes/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2798417/Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/omtimes/

Fox's spiritual enthusiasm has taken him beyond the dogma of the Catholic Church, and for this he's been censored by the Vatican and ultimately expelled from the order of the Dominicans. However, this has not stilled his voice for a mystical theology that speaks to the heart of seekers of a numinous sacred experience. Matthew Fox, Ph.D. is a priest and was a member of the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church for thirty-four years. He holds a doctorate in History and Theology of Spirituality and is a scholar in residence with the Academy for the Love of Learning in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as founder and president of Friends of Creation Spirituality. Matthew Fox is the author of more than thirty books including Original Blessing (Tarcher 2000), Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint for Our Times (Nameste Publishing 2012), A Way To God: Thomas Merton's Creation Spirituality Journey (New World Library 2016) and Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action (coauthors Skylar Wilson, and Jennifer Listug) (Monkfish 2018) Interview Date: 10/8/2015   Tags: MP3, Matthew Fox, polio, Thomas Merton, Chenu, Second Vatican Council, Time Magazine 1958, prayer, Cardinal Cody of Chicago, Pope John Paul II, Thomas Aquinas, Hildegard of Bingen, mysticism, New Age, Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger, Father Leonardo Boff, Congregation of the Faith, Cosmic Mass, Pope Francis, the Vatican Bank, Opus Dei, Father Junipero Serra, Spirituality, History, Religion

Skylar Wilson is a wilderness guide, eco-activist, and ceremonial facilitator with over twenty years of experience facilitating connections within the more-than-human world. Skylar is the cofounding director of the Order of the Sacred Earth and author of the book: Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action with Matthew Fox and Jennifer Berit Listug. He leads Earth-based, participatory, peer-to-peer ceremonies and mentoring programs for teens and adults, including a Soul Initiation group for men and the Cosmic Mass. Email: skylarwilson@gmail.com or visit: www.orderofthesacredearth.org.

Father Matthew Fox, Ph.D. was a member of the Dominican order of the Catholic Church for 34 years. He was silenced for a year and later expelled from the Dominican order under the Papal Sees of John Paul II and Benedict the XVI. He then joined the Episcopal Church to work with young people and to create postmodern forms of ritual and worship known as The Cosmic Mass. He is the cofounder of the Order of The Sacred Earth and is an author of many books including Original Blessing (Tarcher 2000), Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint for Our Times (Nameste Publishing 2012), Letters to Pope Francis (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 2013), Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times (New World Library 2014), Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (HarperSanFrancisco 2015), A Way to God: Thomas Merton's Creation Spirituality Journey (New World Library 2016), Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action (coauthors Skylar Wilson, and Jennifer Listug) (Monkfish 2018), Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality (Ixia 2020), The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times (iUniverse 2020), Julian of Norwich: Wisdom In A Time Of Pandemic And Beyond (iUniverse 2020) Interview Date: 7/2/2021   Tags: Matthew Fox, bubonic plague, flagellation, Middle Ages, Goodness, God is nature, dualism, trust, Divine Feminine, Saint Augustine, suffering, wisdom, original sin original goodness, Hildegard of Bingen, web of creation, species extinction, return to normal, common breakdown, new normal, immigration, mass migration, sacred Earth, warriorship for the Earth, compassion, joy, grief, suffering, Spirituality, Philosophy, Social Change/Politics, Women's Studies, History, Ecology/Nature/Environment

Skylar Wilson is a wilderness guide, eco-activist, and ceremonial facilitator with over twenty years of experience facilitating connections within the more-than-human world. Skylar is the cofounding director of the Order of the Sacred Earth and author of the book: Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action with Matthew Fox and Jennifer Berit Listug. He leads Earth-based, participatory, peer-to-peer ceremonies and mentoring programs for teens and adults, including a Soul Initiation group for men and the Cosmic Mass. Email: skylarwilson@gmail.com or visit: www.orderofthesacredearth.org.

It's the big day and there's a lot going on. Relationships are being redefined. Power dynamics are actively shifting and yet, in the words of wedding planner Tria Chang, "It's taboo to acknowledge or to express anything but joy." What would it look like to make room for some of the more complex emotions? To let everyone acknowledge the effect a wedding has on their unique relationship to the couple? Music by Terry Hughes Image Credit Mercedes Bosquet Links: A Joyful Wedding Can Still Make Room for Grief The Cosmic Mass What is Creation Spirituality Full Transcript Chang: I was actually talking to a young woman the other day who is thinking about becoming a wedding planner. And she had one hesitation, she asked me, “I heard that people act irrational and crazy on wedding days, is that true?” And I had to be honest with her and tell her it's partly true. People behave in ways that seem bizarre and irrational on wedding days, but if you really strip away what's happening, to me it makes perfect sense the ways that they're acting out.  So it's the big day and there's a lot going on. Relationships are being redefined. Power dynamics are actively shifting and yet it’s taboo to feel anything but joy. What would it look like to make room for some of the more complex emotions? To acknowledge the effect a wedding has on their unique relationship everyone has with the couple? This is Shame Piñata. I'm Colleen Thomas. I'm so happy to welcome Tria Chang and her wisdom back on today’s show. Tria and I met last year when she was in the process of planning her second wedding. She was working through a rich and complicated experience of weddings, being a former wedding planner who had participated in over 100 ceremonies and who had gone through a divorce during those years. As she looked ahead to her second wedding, she wanted to create a unique ceremony that was a perfect fit for herself and her partner.  At the time we met, I shared with Tria some of the details of my own wedding, specifically how it was designed to make room for all of the feelings, both happy and other. Weddings bring up a myriad of feelings and yet we're taught that there is only room for joy on the day. There's no above-board acknowledgement of how the new union will shift the family dynamics or sometimes push friendships to the back seat. We are not encouraged to sit down and have meaningful conversations about these things with our friends and family, about how the new union will change things for everyone. And when something is not brought into the light or given room for expression, it can take on a life of its own. Think people behaving irrationally at weddings. Think Bridezillas.  Shortly after that first interview, Tria and I sat down again to explore what all is happening at a wedding - the many people, the many perspectives, the many feelings. The big mash up of everything happening at once and the things that may not get acknowledged. We typically think about the couple when we think of a wedding, but there are so many more people involved and each person brings their own perspective, expectations, and life experiences to that day. There's the couple, their parents and siblings and maybe even children, their friends and family who make up the wedding party, and the guests. In addition to people we could look around the room and see, there are also invisible forces that can influence the day. There's that phenomenon I call the female legacy, which women can be acutely attuned to by the mere fact that marriage has been a survival tool for women historically. I'm not sure how else to describe it other than to say weddings can be heavier for women. There also may be some acute losses going on, such as the loss of a father to give the bride away or the loss of a close friend missed by the entire community. And there's often this idea that it all happens in one moment, there's this wedding, and it happens in a day and boom, you're married and it's all transitions are finished.  Chang: To add the behind the scenes perspective even for the vendors, for most of the weddings that I planned, there were at least 8-12 different vendors working on things. And each of those vendors come in with their own goals and agendas. So for example, the makeup artist will of course be wanting to make the bride look beautiful because it's her day, but she also has her portfolio to think about. So she'll be wanting the photographer to get certain shots of the hair and makeup, be sending that to her or be recording it for herself for her own social media or website. The photographer's obviously working on a portfolio as well and they want to get a certain type of shot that can help them get on wedding blogs or gain the trust of other clients. And the planner or stylist has a certain look that they're trying to achieve so that they can also show their best work in their portfolio and attract future clients too. So there are a lot of desires going on on a wedding day, not just the personal, also the professional. And then there is that feeling of transition, as you said, and transitions don't happen in one moment that you're not a completely different person right after you have the ring on or right after you kiss. It's just part of the process. So there is a lot going on in the wedding day, and that you're supposed to pack all of these things in, and you're supposed to be thrilled about it the whole time. So everyone is really supposed to be on their best behavior, and it doesn't usually turn out that way. Thomas: Right. And we've had quite a few conversations about the other feelings, the feelings that are harder maybe, the feelings that don't fit in the pretty package, the feelings that we're not allowed to have at a wedding, they get discouraged, and maybe the even the unconscious losses that folks aren't even aware that they're feeling. What tensions have you seen come up at weddings? Chang: Yeah, there have been a lot of tensions that come up, I think the most common one I've seen is usually between the couple and their parents. So sometimes there are mothers of the bride who are feeling protective, or like they don't really want to let go. So they start trying to control small things like the way the bride is getting her makeup done, or trying to change menu items last minute. It can really come out in ways that seem unrelated, but are just things that catch their attention and show them a way of having more control in that moment. I also had a client who…  they were a slightly older couple and so they didn't have their parents involved in the planning at all. And when the mother of the groom showed up to the ceremony site, which was an art gallery, she was furious. She just hated the venue. She thought it was so ugly and she told me, “These pictures on the wall, they're awful. They have to go. There aren't enough flowers!” And, you know, in an art gallery you can't change the display. It's off limits. We did end up moving some flowers around for her. And she didn't like the concrete floor which was part of the modernist look. But I talked to the bride and groom and told them I think it would really help her if she could have some say. And so they were comfortable with us putting down an aisle runner, so at least having something cloth for them to walk down - f or whatever reason that became important to her in that moment. Thomas: Right. And would you say that with a lot of these people, that these attempts to regain a little bit of control, feeling uncomfortable, that it was unconscious? Chang: Yes, I definitely think it was unconscious, I think they were really focused on that tangible thing. Because that seemed rational to them that seemed like something they could handle. Whereas going within and taking those steps inside and recognizing I'm losing my son or my daughter in these small ways. That's a really daunting thing to look at. And you don't really want to look at that on a wedding day, because what if it breaks you? What if you break down and end up inconsolable? You don't want to be that person at a wedding. You want to be supportive and joyful. So yes, I definitely saw a lot of unconscious outbursts at things that were probably not the real problem. But after those outbursts, people did seem to be able to feel a little bit better or maybe they felt a little embarrassed about how they acted and were able to let go and get into the joy of it more. Thomas: How do you think it would have been different for those in those situations, if the couple had said, "We don't want you to hold it together. We want you to just be here and have all your feelings." Chang: I like that idea a lot. But I've also seen the dynamics between parents and their children can be so hard to change that even if their children tell them, “Be yourself, let go,” if that's not their personality, I'm not sure they would be able to do that. But maybe even just having that permission would have felt good. It's hard to say. Thomas: Right. Tria wrote an article for the Washington Post about the wedding my husband and I created, specifically how we worked in a section for grieving. To explain how our wedding came about, I need to take you back 20 years. In the year 2000, I moved to California to attend Matthew Fox's graduate program in Creation Spirituality. Fox is often described as a renegade theologian and it was his unique event called the Techno Cosmic Mass that drew me to his school. The Techno Cosmic Mass, or Cosmic Mass as it is now called, is a multimedia rave-like community worship experience that brings prayer and devotion off the pages of the hymnal and into the soles of the feet. During my years in school I attended almost every mass. One thing I didn't know was that my future husband was also attending those events. But we wouldn't even meet each other for another 5 years when the masses were no longer being produced. So we met. And then 10 years later, we decided to get married and began considering what kind of ceremony might be a good fit for us. We were actually kind of stuck because we come from different traditions and nothing seemed to come organically. But as synchronicity would have it, Matthew Fox and his team began producing the Cosmic Mass again right around that time. And on a Sunday night, in a room full of people sweating their prayers under flashing dance lights we realized we found it - we'd found the way we wanted to get married. We were going to create the first ever Techno Cosmic Wedding. The structure of the Cosmic Mass follows the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality. To give you some context, the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality are: The Via Positiva, a time of joy, awe and wonder; the Via Negativa, a time of darkness, letting go, and grieving; the Via Creativa, honoring ourselves as divinely creative beings; and lastly the Via Transformativa, a time of preparing ourselves to go forward as spiritual warriors. While we structured the entire wedding on these four paths, it was the Via Negativa that was most unusual to have in a wedding. Matthew Fox defines the Via Negativa as "a time of communal grieving for the suffering of the planet and all beings."  Here's how Tria described the Via Negativa section of our wedding ceremony in her article: "The room was dimly lit. Wedding guests were seated on the floor, eyes closed, some crying, some reaching out in comfort. Bodies swayed gently to a melancholic chorus, and a woman’s voice crescendoed with emotion... The speaker invited guests to summon feelings of loss - whether those be for the loss of loved ones, of faith, of youth, of passion - and to embrace feelings of fear, for the world or for themselves." It was important for us to include time for these harder emotions in our wedding ceremony because we wanted to make room for our full selves to show up both at the wedding in the marriage.  Thomas: And we've spent some time too talking about the idea of the Via Negativa which comes from the wedding that my husband and I had where we actually had a section of the wedding dedicated to grieving and we've talked about how that was very unusual. Chang: Yes, and wonderful, I think. Thomas: And you and your fiancé are planning something a little bit like that for your second wedding. Chang: Yes, so we have such a small wedding and I think our guests tend to be on the more conventional side. So instead of having it at the actual wedding and having an orchestrated section of going through Via Negativa like you did, we've been spreading it out over the months leading up to the wedding, and we plan to continue making space for it after the wedding even in the years to come. Because I think it's important to realize that negative feelings, especially grief, they don't go away after one session. They can't be addressed very quickly. But if you make space for them in an ongoing way, I think it makes it easier to make joy the forefront of a certain day, in this case the wedding day. So what we've been doing is having conversations with people close to us and asking them what kind of fears they might have about how our relationship going forward might be or any fears for us as a couple, or just anything on their mind really that may be different from the regular congratulations. And then inspired by you and Rodrigo, my fiancé and I did our own kind of private Via Negativa with the two of us. We did it last week and we lit candles and turned off the lights and played some music and then I asked us to write down in a notebook all the things that we were scared about or nervous about for the wedding day. And then all of the things that made us have those fear feelings for marriage in general. And so we wrote for a little while and then we took turns sharing things and it lasted about two hours actually. We really got to talk about a lot of things. Anything from just where would we spend Christmases, like which family gets us at which time of year, to how will the dynamic change when we have children, and what will happen if, you know, one of our parents passes away, how will we take care of the other one? So we really covered a lot of ground and I think felt a lot better afterwards. But we also recognize it's a conversation that will continue. And then we had a special song to us and did the eye contact for a while to kind of let it all settle in.  Thomas: That's wonderful. That's so wonderful. Chang: Yeah. Thomas: So you've really laid the groundwork, then for yourself, each of you individually plus you as a couple plus the people in your life, to have space to share any fears, any, any worries... Chang: Yes, yeah. Because we are both at a point in our lives where we recognize marriage is difficult, because life is difficult and you're attaching yourself to someone else's life. So you will get all their difficulties plus all your difficulties. And that is something to celebrate, because you'll have someone with you, but it's also something to be a little bit nervous about and having space for all of that really feels a lot better. And I do have you to thank for that because it kind of didn't click for me until I saw your wedding ceremony from the video you showed me. And seeing that Via Negativa and seeing the space you made made me realize that was what was missing in my wedding planning. Because I had been going to a bit of therapy and trying to deal with my own feelings of worry because I was married before and it didn't work out. And so I knew I had to do this second wedding and marriage differently. But I wasn't quite sure how. So seeing your experience really helped me. I asked Tria how she worked with couples around the loss of a loved one at the wedding.  Chang: With acute losses, or grief in general, that can be a really difficult thing to handle at a wedding because, as we talked about, a wedding is supposed to be all joy and it feels scary to invite something in that will bring you grief and sadness. But sometimes people are important to us and when they're not there, to kind of brush it under the rug, it doesn't really feel real. So I think, in some ways, it could be interesting to expand what happens at a wedding to include some of the things that happen at a memorial or a grief ritual. So we can look to other cultures, for example, like the Day of the Dead. You know, they have these beautiful altars and flowers and favorite foods of that loved one, and they really presence them. And at most weddings I've been to where they've lost a loved one, they either have a line about them in the program or a picture or two kind of on a shelf in a corner that you can easily bypass if you want to. And they are honoring them, but they're making it really kind of optional and something that's easy to ignore if you're not comfortable with that. But it could be really lovely to actually invite that deceased loved one in and really have them there with a favorite food or some tradition that they loved. At my little wedding ceremony, we are having our... instead of place cards with people's names, we're writing cards to everyone with our heartfelt sentiments to them and we're writing them on watercolor painted envelopes and cards. And my mom was a watercolor artist and a lot of weekends, we would spend painting big sheets of watercolor together and then cutting out envelopes. And in those days, people used to mail each other letters often. So we would use those envelopes. So I had my fiancé make these envelopes with me and I really felt her there with me. And he's never met my mom so it was a great way for me to introduce her to him and show him this is how I would spend my weekends with my mom. And I know that having those envelopes there on the day, it's small, it's not going to be very distracting for people who didn't know her. But I will make a mention of the meaning that they have to me. And I think I'll feel her there more in that way. Thomas: Hmm, that's a really beautiful way of including her.  As the interview came to a close, Tria and I touched on inclusivity at the wedding, how to include everyone even in a small ceremony.  Chang: We are actually having a very casual meetup at a cafe, the week after our wedding ceremony for all of those friends of ours who we didn't feel like we could accommodate at the ceremony because it's so small, but who we still wanted to celebrate with in some way. So we're just having some snacks at a cafe and a tarot card reader and a watercolor portrait artist. And that’s pretty much it we're just gonna hang out. For me, I'm so... I think I have a caregiving aspect to my personality that I have not been able to shake. So when I think about holding an event for people, I literally think of it from every single person's perspective and think of how to make it comfortable for them. So we're having 25 people at our wedding. And that's, you know, me thinking through the day 25 times and that seemed like my limit. I feel like I don't want to think through this in 125 ways, just 25. That's all I can manage. Thomas: Is that something that you ever recommended to your clients when you were a wedding planner? Chang: Oh, no. That's just a problem that I have. I don't recommend it at all. Yeah, I've even tried to imagine for my two year old niece, like, okay, she's gonna get bored around this time. So I'm like... put Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes on our playlist for the wedding. Like, make sure to have something for everybody. Thomas: Oh, wow. That is super personalized Chang: A little kid playlist just for the cute little ones.  Thomas: That’s so wonderful. Well, thank you so much for your inspiration and for sharing your story of your, your second wedding, and all that you're learning and doing and experiencing and all that you bring from everything you've done before. Chang: Thank you as well and, to use your term, for holding space for all of these conversations. And I think that there is such an automatic track that people get on when they wedding plan so I hope that hearing stories on your podcast will help people realize they don't have to follow an automatic track. They can do it as they want to. They can have a Via Negativa if they want to. Thomas: They can!  Thank you so much for joining us today for this conversation about making room for all of the emotions on the wedding day. To hear more in Tria's wonderful written words, check out her piece entitled, “A Joyful Wedding Can Still Make Room for Grief” listfed in the show notes. While you're there, check out some footage of the Cosmic Mass on the Cosmic Mass website.  Tria Chang is a writer and organizer. Follow her on Instagram @tria_chang. Our music is by Terry Hughes. If you got something out of this episode, please share it with a friend. Learn more at shamepinata.com. I’m Colleen Thomas. Thanks for listening.  

Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox is a priest and was a member of the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church for thirty-four years. For speaking out on women's rights, gay rights, and Native American rights, he was silenced for a year and later expelled from the Dominican Order under the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He then joined the Episcopal Church to work with young people to create postmodern forms of ritual and worship known as the “Cosmic Mass” that incorporates dance, DJ, VJ, rap, and other postmodern art forms. He is the co-founder of the Order of the Sacred Earth and, since Mother's day 2019, has offered free daily meditations. He holds a doctorate in History and Theology of Spirituality and is founder of the University of Creation Spirituality. He is the author of more than thirty-five books including Original Blessing (Tarcher 2000), Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint for Our Times (Namaste Publishing 2012), Letters to Pope Francis (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 2013), Occupy Spirituality (co-author Adam Bucko) (North Atlantic Press 2013), Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth (HarperOne 1991), The Coming of the Cosmic Christ (HarperOne 1988), Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times (New World Library 2014), Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (HarperSanFrancisco 2015), A Way to God: Thomas Merton's Creation Spirituality Journey (New World Library 2016), Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action (coauthors Skylar Wilson, and Jennifer Listug) (Monkfish 2018), Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality (Ixia 2020) and The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times (iUniverse 2020)Interview Date: 4/30/2020       Tags: Matthew Fox, Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis of Assisi, indigenous thinking, Aristotle, nondualism, feminism, Mary, Magdalene, resurrection, Daily Meditation with Matthew Fox, waking up, eco-theology, ecotheology, preserve things in the good, anthropocentric narrowness, goodness, joy, justice, awe, wonder, wisdom, Rabbi Heschel, Descartes, knowledge, information, History, Philosophy, Social Change/Politics, Spirituality, Religion

Here scholar, theologian, and teacher Father Matthew Fox explores the writings and wisdom of this electrifying saint and speaks of Aquinas’ timeless wisdom to a postmodern world. Fox encourages all spiritual warriors and activists to grow our vision and our courage. He speaks of some of the positive things that the coronavirus has brought to us as we shelter in place.  Father Matthew Fox is a priest and was a member of the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church for thirty-four years. For speaking out on women’s rights, gay rights, and Native American rights, he was silenced for a year and later expelled from the Dominican Order under the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He then joined the Episcopal Church to work with young people to create postmodern forms of ritual and worship known as the “Cosmic Mass” that incorporates dance, DJ, VJ, rap, and other postmodern art forms. He is the co-founder of the Order of the Sacred Earth and, since Mother’s day 2019, has offered free daily meditations. He holds a doctorate in History and Theology of Spirituality and is founder of the University of Creation Spirituality. He is the author of more than thirty-five books including Original Blessing (Tarcher 2000), Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint for Our Times (Nameste Publishing 2012), Occupy Spirituality (co-author Adam Bucko) (North Atlantic Press 2013) and The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times (iUniverse 2020)Interview Date: 4/30/2020  Tags:  Matthew Fox, Plato, Platonism, dualism, nondualism, non-dualism, Platonists, theology, Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Augustine, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Dominic, Dominican order, misogyny, feminism, joy, original sin, creation centered, coronavirus pandemic, Heartmath, Pagan, Paganism, interfaith, magnanimity, Rabbi Heschel, anger, Julian of Norwich, History, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Social Change/Politics

Here scholar, theologian, and teacher Father Matthew Fox explores the writings and wisdom of this electrifying saint and speaks of Aquinas’ timeless wisdom to a postmodern world. Fox encourages all spiritual warriors and activists to grow our vision and our courage. He speaks of some of the positive things that the coronavirus has brought to us as we shelter in place. Father Matthew Fox is a priest and was a member of the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church for thirty-four years. For speaking out on women’s rights, gay rights, and Native American rights, he was silenced for a year and later expelled from the Dominican Order under the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He then joined the Episcopal Church to work with young people to create postmodern forms of ritual and worship known as the “Cosmic Mass” that incorporates dance, DJ, VJ, rap, and other postmodern art forms. He is the co-founder of the Order of the Sacred Earth and, since Mother’s day 2019, has offered free daily meditations. He holds a doctorate in History and Theology of Spirituality and is founder of the University of Creation Spirituality. He is the author of more than thirty-five books including Original Blessing (Tarcher 2000), Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint for Our Times (Nameste Publishing 2012), Occupy Spirituality (co-author Adam Bucko) (North Atlantic Press 2013) and The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times (iUniverse 2020)Interview Date: 4/30/2020 Tags: Matthew Fox, Plato, Platonism, dualism, nondualism, non-dualism, Platonists, theology, Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Augustine, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Dominic, Dominican order, misogyny, feminism, joy, original sin, creation centered, coronavirus pandemic, Heartmath, Pagan, Paganism, interfaith, magnanimity, Rabbi Heschel, anger, Julian of Norwich, History, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Social Change/Politics

The Releasement Mass is an adaptation of several liturgies with original material by Bryan Rice, but is unique unto itself. This Mass was inspired by the Gnostic Liturgy of Peace and by spiritual teachers such as Tau Malachi, Paramahansa Yogananda, Rosamonde Miller, and Patricia Jepsen Chuse. This Mass is an empowerment and mix of shamanism, A Course in Miracles, Non-dual Gnosticism, and elements of dance that are part of the Cosmic Mass created by Matthew Fox. Come and be uplifted and freed from compulsions and desires that cause suffering and neurosis. Experience something you have never given yourself permission to take part in before. This Mass transcends any one tradition and is a partaking in the Light and Life Force of the Radiant Christ Presence. It is not a sacrifice in any way. It is a remembrance of our True Nature and Oneness in the Divine. 

Matthew Fox is an internationally acclaimed theologian and spiritual maverick who has spent the last 40 years advocating for a creation-centered spirituality of compassion and justice and re-sacralizing of the earth. He has written more than 30 books, including Original Blessing, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, and The Pope’s War. His books have been translated into 49 languages and have been known for pioneering a unique approach to spirituality as a powerful force to transform religion, education, and culture. Originally a Catholic priest, Fox was silenced for a year and then expelled from the Dominican order by Cardinal Ratzinger for teaching liberation theology and creation spirituality. He currently serves as an Episcopal priest. Among many other projects, he has worked with young people to create the Cosmic Mass (www.thecosmicmass.org) and has worked extensively to reinvent education. We spoke about Creation Spirituality, his efforts to transform religion and his new Order of the Sacred Earth. Learn more about Matthew Fox here: http://www.matthewfox.org/

Do you feel connected to the wilderness? Maybe Wild Awakenings is for you! Skylar Wilson is working to make a wonderful experience for people who want to connect with the wilderness and lose themselves in it. Listen to episode 47 of Motivational Millennial to learn more about what Skylar is doing and how you can be a part of it.  Skylar is the founder of Wild Awakenings, a conscious community of change-makers dedicated to the thriving of Earth, life, and humanity. He is a minister in the Creation Spirituality tradition, specializing in guiding sacred wilderness immersion experiences (also known as Vision Quests). For the last 3 years, Skylar has directed transformational events and retreats for thousands of people around the country, including the Cosmic Mass, an intercultural healing ritual that builds community through dancing and the arts. What you'll hear in this episode: What Skylar Wilson is up to What Skylar loves about his job Was it challenging for Skylar to go back to normal life? The things Skylar notices when he is coming back The goals of Wild Awakenings  When Skylar knew what he wanted to do with his life Skylar’s biggest dream and how for he had to go to achieve it  What the most significant challenge has been for Skylar and how he is working to overcome it How Skylar brings the wilderness and his work into his day-to-day life The challenges that some members of the millennial generation face   Resources: ivy@motivationalmillennial.com - for a reduced price coaching session Wild Awakenings - Skylar’s website The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos - Brian Swimme The Universe is a Green Dragon - Brian Swimme  

Thomas Merton was an American Catholic writer, mystic, and Trappist monk who died mysteriously in Bangkok, Thailand when he was 53 years old. The gifts he left behind from his short life were immense. He combined deep contemplation with social action. Here Fr. Matthew Fox shares his profound intersection with Merton via Creation Spirituality. Tags: Matthew Fox, Thomas Merton, Michael Toms, activism, Dan Berrigan, Philip Berrigan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Karl Marx, Pere Chenu, Saint Augustine, Second Vatican Council, original sin, D.T. Suzuki, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas, prophetic Christian, Augustinian Christian, Dalai Lama, mysticism, Thomas Berry, hermitage, New Grange, spiral, Hildegard of Bingen, Hagia Sophia, Feminine side of god, Doctor of Spirituality DSP, Cosmic Mass, African mass, Spirituality, Religion, Social Change, Politics, History, Ecology, Nature, Environment

Thomas Merton was an American Catholic writer, mystic, and Trappist monk who died mysteriously in Bangkok, Thailand when he was 53 years old. The gifts he left behind from his short life were immense. He combined deep contemplation with social action. Here Fr. Matthew Fox shares his profound intersection with Merton via Creation Spirituality. Tags: Matthew Fox, Thomas Merton, Michael Toms, activism, Dan Berrigan, Philip Berrigan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Karl Marx, Pere Chenu, Saint Augustine, Second Vatican Council, original sin, D.T. Suzuki, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas, prophetic Christian, Augustinian Christian, Dalai Lama, mysticism, Thomas Berry, hermitage, New Grange, spiral, Hildegard of Bingen, Hagia Sophia, Feminine side of god, Doctor of Spirituality DSP, Cosmic Mass, African mass, Spirituality, Religion, Social Change, Politics, History, Ecology, Nature, Environment

The Call to Honor the Sacred Masculine   Matthew Fox's breakthrough teachings on Meister Eckhart got him in big trouble with the Catholic Church for honoring the divine feminine and creation spirituality. He was the first to speak of Original Blessing—not original sin. Matthew is a beacon of light on the path to reawaken mysticism and protect Mother Earth. He is reinventing education and restoring spiritual practice to its mystic heart in the Cosmic Mass. Imagine my delight when the first book I discovered on honoring the sacred masculine was Matthew's The Hidden Spirituality of Men. Thanks to Matthew, it need be hidden no more.  

Caroline hosts brilliant, prodigiously prolific Matthew Fox, in collegial cahoots via his dedication to re-awakening Mysticism to protect Mother Earth… Spirituality for the 21st century, Evolutionary Creation Spirituality movement – re-wedding Mysticism and activism, author of Meister Eckhart, a Mystic Warrior for our time and The Physics of Angels, co-authored with friend of show Rupert Sheldrake Founder of The Cosmic Mass, all of which are available as thank you gifts for pledging to our festival of reciprocal blessing, aka, Fund drive www.matthewfox.org also, ally Bob Gough, in the wings, here in DC, filing scouting reportson Climate Conference here in DC… 2nd portion of our show, and chiming in on Mysticism and activism… The post Pragmatic Mysticisms, Democratic Animism, and applied Divination appeared first on KPFA.

art montage: Alex Grey/ Matthew Fox Experiential journalist Rak Razam talks with brilliant theologian, author and religious heretic Matthew Fox, once an ordained Domenican priest, expelled by Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict) for his radical theological leanings… Fox later joined the Episcopolian church to redefine ritual and worship for the 21st century and find ways to make religion matter in the modern world. He formed a series of rituals called "The Cosmic Mass" which he still runs to this day that blend trance/dance and the rave as a techno religion for the masses to bring direct experiential consciousness back into religion under the doctrine of "creation spirituality". Does the original biblical idea of the "Cosmic Christ" parallel modern shamanic and scientific understandings? Fox discusses the perils of Western "fast mysticism", fad spiritualities, and the need for authentic elders, as he delineates in his recent book Occupy Spirituality. How can modern mystics, spiritual warriors and prophets be in service to the global community? How can we balance the healthy sacred masculine with the sacred feminine to sidestep dogma and express joy in our spiritual relationships, to be warriors for the planet? Can ritual help us face negativity and suffering in the world, and be creative and transformative? Is this the beginning of a new religious consciousness? For more info see: http://www.matthewfox.org Join author Rak Razam in Peru on an ongoing series of intensive ayahausca retreats with curandero Percy Garcia: http://www.aya-awakenings.com/retreats SUPPORTING ARTISTS SEED THE FUTURE IS VERY SEXY. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, HOW IT MAKES YOU THINK, WHO IT MAKES YOU FEEL, THEN DONATE RIGHT HERE, BUSTER! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

The Rev. Matthew Fox is the author of over thirty books including Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality. Originally Roman Catholic, Matthew Fox is now an Episcopalian after numerous theologic disputes with Rome  that led to his expulsion.    By advocating 'Creation Spirituality' which embraces the Divine Feminine, gay rights and earth-based traditions such as Native American Spirituality  he has rocked the foundations of more traditional approaches to  spirituality. He is also the driving force behind The Cosmic Mass—a modern ritual which has drawn people of all ages but is a particular draw for the younger generation.  It infuses multimedia images, dancing, modern music and elements of the trational Mass. In this Podcast Skylar Willson joins Matthew Fox to talk about Creation Spirituality and the next generation of The Cosmic Mass. Learn MoreThe Cosmic MassMatthew Fox's WebsiteMatthew's Book

Tami Simon speaks with Matthew Fox, an Episcopal priest, activist, internationally acclaimed spiritual theologian, and author of 30 books. After 34 years with the Dominican Order, Matthew was asked to resign because of his outspoken views on feminism, homosexuality, and other issues. With Sounds True, he created the audio program Radical Prayer: Love in Action, and he will speak at Sounds True's Wake Up Festival this August. Here, Tami and Matthew speak about the “Cosmic Mass,” group ritual and prayer, the reinvention of culture, and spirituality without religion. They also discuss the marriage of the sacred masculine and the divine feminine and how this marriage is imperative in our time. (64 minutes) See Matthew Fox live in August 2013. Visit WakeUpFestival.com for more information.

The Cosmic Mass: An Epic Love Story by Nicole Porcaro

Transcript: Another way to look at the mass density of the universe is in terms of the cosmic mass to light ratio. Mass to light ratio is defined as the ratio of the mass, in solar units, to the luminosity, in solar units, so for the Sun by definition M over L is one. In general, low mass stars have mass to light ratios greater than one, and high mass stars have ratios less than one. We know that the stellar populations typical of normal galaxies give overall mass to light ratios in the range of three to ten. This means that anywhere in the universe on larger scales where we infer mass to light ratios much above ten we must be looking at dark matter. The halos in galaxies through dynamical measurements have mass to light ratios in the range ten to fifty, groups of galaxies in the range thirty to two hundred, clusters of galaxies in the range one hundred to four hundred, and the Local Supercluster, through a very uncertain measurement, has a mass to light ratio in the range three hundred to five hundred. On all these large scales most of the mass is coming from dark matter. However, the mass to light ratio in the standard cosmology corresponding to critical mass density is one thousand five hundred. So even on the largest scales there’s not sufficient dark matter to account for a critical density; it’s a factor of three short.