Home | The Logos Continuum | The Cosmic Plenum | The Imaginal Within The Cosmos | Consciousness In The Cosmos | A Cosmic Initiation | Living In The Cosmos | LogosTalk
 

The Logos Continuum: Cosmological Trinity

Matthew Fox--the exponent of Creation Spirituality--calls for a trinitarian outlook to cosmology, imploring that the great mystic Meister Eckhart "teaches that our very generativity comes from our dwelling in the Trinity in a panentheistic way..." [Matthew Fox, CREATION SPIRITUALITY, Harper, 1991, p. 56.]

Fox's Trinity is Cosmology, Liberation, and Wisdom.

Why the need for cosmology? Indeed, it is the primary means upon which we come to realize that the universe reveals a Creative Force. Fox's explanation is that this Creative Force "fills the cosmos everywhere with beauty and power, light and darkness in an ongoing act of creation." [Ibid, p. 56.]

Of course it has long been known that cosmology is humanity's approach towards comprehending the universe via both science and philosophy. But Fox believes, too, that cosmology must involve mysticism and art. Why so?

As the story of the universe unfolds--as our very own story unfolds--we cannot but stand in awe! And it is through mysticism that we experience such. And through art "we respond with gratitude to the awe by taking responsibility for expressing ourselves as cosmic citizens." [Ibid, p. 57.]

Fox considers that this Creative Force also becomes the Liberator, empowering the second feature of his new trilogy. How so?

Matthew Fox harkens back to the idea of the "Logos." Ancient concepts of the Logos refer to the "divine fire," the power and energy of the universe. The Ancients considered the Logos in terms of pattern and order, the foundational "arche" of the universe. Beyond this, there is the idea of the *expression* of the Logos: the Word.

Historically, ancient cultures considered their own respective "Incarnation of the Logos." This Logos, this Universal Mind, expresses itself through our voices! It has most profoundly done so through our great prophets and pronounced avatars.

Fox draws upon the "words" of the Word. Down through Time the Word has proclaimed, over and over, "freedom for the downtrodden." The poor of the earth be us! We have made our earth poor! We have diminished our planet, taking away its "health and beauty." We do the same to ourselves. Through our acts of injustice " we are dying at the hands of our own species." [Ibid, pp. 58-59.]

The Logos--this Word of the universe--begs for the restoration of what Fox calls "original blessing." Throughout history our prophets and avatars have voiced the Logos' plan towards which we can attain salvation. Saving ourselves is an imperative that should be accomplished not out of a sense of ignorant guilt, but rather out of a positive determination!

Fox believes this restoration, this Liberation, can be better understood through his "Four Paths of creation spirituality." They are the Via Positiva, the Via Negativa, the Via Transformativa, and the Via Creativa.

Throughout our history, the Word has provided us a *positive* blueprint upon which we can build our sense of liberation! This Universal Motif as described by Fox is that

"We shall have
the reign of heaven,
inherit the earth,
be comforted,
be satisfied regarding our thirst for justice,
be shown compassion,
see God,
be called sons and daughters of God,
possess the reign of heaven,
rejoice and be glad."
[Ibid, p. 59.]

In other words the reign of this Creative Force, the Logos, is ours *now.* We swim in this great Power and Glory! We have only to see it. Alas, mostly we don't however. We tamper with ourselves, we tamper with the earth. We are the one's in control, in charge. Need it be suggested how badly we have done?

Rather Fox calls for us to become more awake, "to wonder, to dance, to play, to let go." We need to get "in touch with our own mysticism." The NOW contains this Cosmological Reign, truly awesome! "We *have* the earth...sacred and present now." All that is required is a positive receptivity of Such. [Ibid, p. 60.]

Yet...

It would seem most of us simply cannot "let go" and engender the positive faith required to see this Great Reign all around and through us. It takes hard, oft negative grub and grief to come around. Matthew Fox says wisely: "we give birth to our grief."

But there are always limits to our grief, else we couldn't live. There is comfort that is called forth from our trouble, our emptiness, our hunger. This comfort Fox calls "Compassion." For him, compassion is catching: "others get it from you and you get it from them. Compassion is the culmination of the New Law." [Ibid, pp. 60-61.]

Fox believes that "if we give birth to compassion in our creativity, morality, and choice making, we will share it in the Via Transformativa." [Ibid, p. 61.]

Harkening back once again to the Word, to the words of the prophets and avatars, there is the cry that "God is the Compassionate One." And, always through Time, the honoring of the peacemakers has remained steadfast. They call even today for justice and good work. Yet, in our imperfect human milieu, peacemakers struggle and struggle to bring forth any transformation. We still persecute our prophets! Fox aptly put it: "Part of the Via Transformativa is realizing that we share in the communion of saints. All saints have struggled to bring about transformation." [Ibid, p. 61.]

Still--it has been declared: "You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world." But as the great consciousness points of this planet, do we spend most of our time putting our light under that infamous barrel? Have we allowed our salt to become tasteless? The Via Creativa is about giving *birth.* We have a choice to recognize our unique gifts. We have the choice to enter upon good works. We have the choice of enacting the Great Praise that this universe demands.

Finally, Matthew Fox considers Wisdom the third leg of his Cosmological Trinity. He thinks of Wisdom as the Spirit of Sophia--a holy spirit, a "fecund spirit, the spirit of generativity, the spirit who broods over the fetal waters of birth, of transformation." It is the "spirit of the elements of the universe, the cosmic spirit of all nations of the earth." [Ibid, p. 62.]

Fox alludes to panentheism, theologically described as God (theos) acting in (en) the world which is also of God (pan). He believes this Cosmic Spirit "brings us the truth we have not yet heard... who unites us all in deep prayer and spiritual praxis, the spirit who sustains us in persecution and injustice." For Fox this Cosmic Spirit is the "transformer." [Ibid, p. 62.]

This good Cosmic Spirit, too, is a nurturer--a Mother that births us , embraces us, broods over us, helping us to learn to walk and come to dance.

As Matthew Fox implores: "Mother Sophia, Mother Wisdom, come to us! Come through us! Break through us, open our eyes. Set your tent among us." [Ibid, p. 63.]

 

 
Return to The Logos Continuum | Home