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POLITICS & SPIRITUALITY Philosopher Matthew Fox inspires Ashland audience Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jul. 19, 2016 at 8:45 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jul. 19, 2016 at 8:45 PM » Social News Speaking to a crammed house at Unitarian Church Saturday in Ashland, noted philosopher, author and priest Matthew Fox called for bigger religions that can encompass the growing spiritual longings of modern people and ground themselves in the sacredness that is nature. Fox, 75, said, “The deeper spiritual journey is into our own souls” — and it’s something broadly needed “if we are to survive.” Fox, a former Catholic priest, won notoriety in 1993, when he was expelled from the Dominican order for calling God a “she,” refusing to condemn homosexuality and tapping into pagan and Native American practices. He then created the University of Creation Spirituality in Oakland, California, and wrote 35 books on religion. “Only one thing is wrong with humanity,” he said. “We have forgotten our sense of the sacred. If it comes back, we will do everything differently — economics, politics, media, religion. It will return when we return to the reality of the sacredness of nature, which is all creation.” Meditation is vital but it’s difficult when we meditate on our “crucifixion” of rain forests, which took tens of thousands of years to build, he notes, adding, “The human venture depends on our sense of awe for the universe, which can only be explained in celebration. All beauty yearns to be conspicuous. We must feel supported by the same energy that brought the universe into being … Nature is the language of God.” Fox said that, while there’s lots of exploration of the sacred feminine among modern women, there’s a public health crisis of unrecognized depression — “a fatalistic self-hatred” — in men because they’ve lost any sense of the sacred masculine — the “nobility inside,” which Celts once celebrated by having the king ritualistically marry Mother Earth. “Men are five times more likely to be depressed and commit suicide. We operate on the old reptilian brain, which is: operate on reaction and be number one, dominate in the economy, politics, life. The mammalian brain is only half as old, evolutionarily, than the reptilian, and it has compassion.” Compassion, he adds, is “the secret name of God.” The reptilian instincts, however, can be harmlessly acted out in sports, with plenty of fun rah-rah ritual piled on. Organized religion is overly rational or left brain and has lost most of sense of ritual, which appeals to and bonds with the right or intuitive brain, he said. Protestant Christianity is the most bereft of ritual — and he urged incorporating the practice of mantra, repeating sacred Biblical phrases such as “The kingdom of God is within me” or “What you do for the least, you do for me.” Fox urged people to recognize “retirement” as an obscene word and to keep working, calling it "re-fire-ment," and to help young and old generations to share their wisdom with each other. “Your contemplation must become action and you activists have to become more contemplative.” Fox said long-standing institutions are increasingly failing. Noting the explosion in housing costs, he said young people, more and more, not only can’t afford education, but they can’t pay rent for even the smallest flat — so they are realizing that hard times put people to the test and bring out creative innovations people really want, such as having to live in community and master gardening, teaching inner city folk to raise their own food. “Religion is so much part of the problem. It’s about compassion, if we are to learn a new spirituality. It can happen swiftly because it’s out of necessity.” Fox brought down the house with a closing comment: “We’ve got to create a new politics, economics and spirituality. It can catch fire and probably will because the competition is so lousy.” John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jul. 19, 2016 at 8:45 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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