Category: Creation Spirituality
Article: Book Review: Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Matthew Fox’s new book, Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic is educational in many ways. Not only is it a revelation about a female Christian mystic whose wisdom should be more widely known, but it is a window into the history of 14th century Europe, and the long-lasting effects the bubonic plague had on society and culture. This book could not be more timely.
Reverend Fox has been an ardent preservationist of the mystic streams of thought within Christianity throughout his long career. He has kept this esoteric philosophy front and center in popular discourse in a way that has served thinkers from all traditions. He wrote the first modern book about Hildegarde von Bingen, the 11th century Benedictine nun who founded her own abbey and infused the work there with the fruits of her visions, her poetry, and her prophesy.
Like Hildegarde’s contributions, Julian of Norwich’s work informed Christian thought in ways which have not always been fully acknowledged or appreciated by the church. Both women’s offerings receive the attention they deserve through Fox’s efforts. In spite of the fact that Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love is the earliest surviving book by a woman ever published, it is not widely read. Yet, her writings about her visionary experience and the ecstatic relationship with the Divine are still as profound, fresh and universal today as when they were written. We are lucky to have Fox point our attention to her reflections on her life and the times of plague through which she lived.
Podcast: Episode 61: Matthew Fox and Robert Thurman: Cultivating Peace in Difficult Times: Part 3
On this episode, we reach back into the archives for part three of this historic talk between Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman and Christian theologian Rev. Matthew Fox. In this final installment, Bob and Matthew discuss the men and women who inspire them, including the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Meister Eckhart, and Hildegard of Bingen. They offer insight into creating more compassion in our lives and hope for cultivating a more compassionate world. Isa Gucciardi moderates this talk that took place at the Sacred Stream Center in 2017.
Podcast: Episode 60: Matthew Fox and Robert Thurman: Cultivating Peace in Difficult Times: Part 2
On this episode, we return to the archives to bring you part two of this historic conversation between Christian theologian Rev. Matthew Fox and Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman. In this talk, moderated by Isa Gucciardi, Bob and Matt offer thoughtful and sometimes humorous ideas about how we can cultivate peace individually and collectively. They talk about what led them to their respective spiritual paths and how they have navigated obstacles along the way.
Podcast: Episode 59: Matthew Fox and Robert Thurman: Cultivating Peace in Difficult Times: Part 1
On this episode, we dive into the archives to bring you a historic conversation between Christian theologian Rev. Matthew Fox and Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman. This talk on Cultivating Peace in Difficult Times took place at the Sacred Stream Center in 2017 and was moderated by Isa Gucciardi. We will be releasing this talk in three parts over the next few weeks. In part one, Bob and Matt offer thoughtful and sometimes humorous ideas about how we can cultivate peace individually and collectively. They talk about what led them to their respective spiritual paths and how they have navigated obstacles along the way.
Video: Robert Thurman and Matthew Fox: Cultivating Peace in Difficult Times (Part 3)
In part three of this historic meeting, leading Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman and Christian theologian Rev. Matthew Fox, discuss the men and women who inspire them, including the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Meister Eckhart, and Hildegard of Bingen. They offer insight into creating more compassion in our lives and hope for cultivating a more compassionate world. Robert Thurman is the co-founder of Tibet House U.S., bestselling author, and recognized worldwide as an authority on religion, spirituality, Asian history, Tibetan Buddhism, and the Dalai Lama. Matthew Fox is an expert on Christian mysticism and Creation Spirituality. He has written over 35 books and is the bestselling author of The Coming of the Cosmic Christ. Isa Gucciardi moderates this talk that takes place at the Sacred Stream Center, a school for consciousness studies, in Berkeley, CA.
Video: Robert Thurman and Matthew Fox: Cultivating Peace in Difficult Times (Part 2)
In part two of this historic conversation, Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman and Christian theologian Rev. Matthew Fox discuss their experience as monastics in their respective traditions, and what we can learn from societies throughout history that have been largely peaceful. Referencing the great teachers who have influenced them, they dive into a thoughtful and often humorous examination of how we might cultivate peace in our time. Robert Thurman is the co-founder of Tibet House U.S., bestselling author, and recognized worldwide as an authority on religion, spirituality, Asian history, Tibetan Buddhism, and the Dalai Lama. Matthew Fox is an expert on Christian mysticism and Creation Spirituality and the bestselling author of The Coming of the Cosmic Christ. This talk takes place at the Sacred Stream Center, a school for consciousness studies in Berkeley, CA.
Video: Robert Thurman and Matthew Fox: Cultivating Peace in Difficult Times (Part 1)
In this historic discussion, Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman and Christian theologian Rev. Matthew Fox examine the difficulties of our times, and offer thoughtful and sometimes humorous ways of cultivating peace individually and collectively. In this segment, Bob and Matt talk about what led them to their respective spiritual paths and how they have navigated the obstacles along the way. Robert Thurman is the co-founder of Tibet House U.S., bestselling author, and recognized worldwide as an authority on religion, spirituality, Asian history, Tibetan Buddhism, and the Dalai Lama. Matthew Fox is an expert on Christian mysticism and Creation Spirituality and the bestselling author of The Coming of the Cosmic Christ.
Blog: Finding Common Ground: A Meeting of Christianity and Buddhism
By Isa Gucciardi, Ph.D.
Last year I was asked to give a review for the cover of The Lotus and the Rose, a new book by Matthew Fox and Lama Tsomo. The book is the result of a series of workshops they’ve taught together that focus on the relationship between Christian and Buddhist teachings. I was so drawn in by the new perspectives they offer, particularly about Christianity, that I almost missed the most significant aspect of the book; it is a collaboration between two belief systems.
Podcast: Episode 34: Reverend Matthew Fox
This month on the Sacred Stream Radio Podcast, host Laura Chandler speaks with internationally acclaimed scholar, activist, educator, and spiritual theologian, Matthew Fox. In this episode, Reverend Fox talks about the importance of Christian mysticism and how the early Christian mystics were focused on creation spirituality and often found themselves at odds with the dominant paradigm of the church. He discusses his own dismissal from the Catholic church by Cardinal Ratzinger for the alleged heresies of being a feminist, referring to God as both masculine and feminine, for working too closely with Native Americans, and his belief in original blessing. Fox also discusses his latest work, books, the opening of his institute, and the painful effects of consumer capitalism on the spirit and how to mitigate them.