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Review of “The Hidden Spirituality of Men” Part 3
I have struggled with this post; you may have noticed that I did not post this part of the review last Monday, choosing instead to post Rosemary’s Mother’s Day message link. And I didn’t post yesterday, on schedule, either. The cause of my struggle is Chapter 5 of Matthew Fox’s book on Men and Spirituality, subtitled Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine. Is it inevitable that when talking about and writing about men and spirituality the notion of warrior has to be raised? The title of Chapter 5 is “Spiritual Warriors”. I knew it was coming; Fox referred to the notion in earlier chapters, but somehow I was hoping he would thread his way carefully through this swamp and avoid the pitfalls. Sad to say, he didn’t.
OK, I don’t like war. I am probably not a pacifist in the strictest sense of the word. I am currently reading the poetry of William Stafford who refused to fight in World War 2; he had his very good reasons. Had I been a young man then I may have taken up arms against the fascism that had taken over too much of the world at that time. Instead I was born at the very end of that war just days before this country dropped the two atomic bombs on Japan. Perhaps the impact of those bombs somehow vibrated through my young being setting up an abhorrence of war. In any case I have been opposed to all of the wars I have been old enough to fight in; I consider them the highest folly of human-kind and an absurd waste of resources, not the least of which is human life, that most precious “commodity” this planet has yet produced.
So, when I read about spiritual warfare I am repulsed. Intellectually I can understand that this is a metaphor, that the term warrior is meant to represent strength and determination to stand for something good, righteous, just. And yet I struggle. For me war is an act of separation. It is about “us against them”. It is a reinforcement of the duality and a staging of one side of that duality aggressively opposing with the intent to annihilate the other side. But if we live in a dualistic world how can we ever hope to annihilate one side and still remain whole ourselves!?
Fox’s Chapter 5 is a meandering attempt to soften the whole notion of the warrior through anecdotal reports of others who he calls warriors but in my mind are far from it. He begins with Thomas Berry who “talks about the need for ‘the Great Work.’ What is this Great Work? It is ‘the task of moving modern industrial civilization from its present devastating influence on the Earth to a more benign mode of presence.'” I couldn’t agree more! Fox further quotes Berry as saying: “‘The nobility of our lives, however, depends upon the manner in which we come to understand and fulfill our assigned role.'” Again, I couldn’t agree more! But then Fox leaps to: “Noble warriors are called for. The archetype of the spiritual warrior helps to answer in a constructive way two issues raised so far: What to do with male aggression? What to do with competition? How to steer both into healthy directions?”
So, the call here is to “fight” the “devastating influence on the Earth” with aggression and competition in order to move toward “a more benign mode of presence”! Oh, and to do it nobly, of course! This is the age old call to “fight fire with fire”. Berry calls us to move to a “benign mode of presence” and Fox requires spiritual warfare to accomplish this move. I don’t think this will happen. So, from the outset of this chapter Fox falls into the trap I saw him heading toward and when he falls in he loses me. And I channeled my own aggression and sense of competition right into his points, his stories, his style, and his cavalier way of conflating the “warrior” and the “lover”.
Fox attempts to draw a stark boundary between soldier and warrior: a soldier follows the orders of an officer; a warrior follows orders of his soul. He claims “the warrior unlike the soldier is a lover.” And, “the warrior relates to God as a lover.” This chapter is peppered with non sequiturs; in the context of the soldier/warrior argument he states: “I believe the confusion of soldier and warrior feeds militarism and the reptilian brain. It’s also an expression of homophobia, since I suspect that heterosexism is behind much of the continued ignorance and fear of the real meaning of warriorhood.” Huh? What did I miss here in this leap?
In this chapter Fox rambles on with several stories about people he has known or interviewed who he believes are spiritual warriors. As I read them I kept waiting for how they waged war. For the most part they are or were strong in their beliefs and generous of spirit; they worked diligently to move humanity toward a “more benign mode of presence.” But I did not see them waging war. As one example he tells the story of Bhante Dharmawara, a Buddhist monk, meditation teacher and healer. He quotes a friend of Bhante’s as saying: “‘There is no heart that doesn’t melt in his presence, and people leave him with their minds open to the infinite possibilities that living a life of awareness can bring.'” And then Fox say: “A spiritual warrior indeed.” [and here’s another non sequitur] “Bhante served and transformed his fear and aggression into such peace-sharing and peace-giving that even the wild animals respected him.” I wonder how Bhante would feel about this “spiritual warrior” label.
Am I overly sensitive here about waging war for the sake of peace? Hasn’t every war ever fought been in some way justified by the call for peace? For me the term “spiritual warrior” is a divisive term. It contains the word “war” and implies warfare. War separates. Peace requires a joining together. How can an act of separation ever bring people together? How can any kind of fight move humanity toward a “more benign mode of presence”?
In Chapter 6: “Masculine Sexuality, Numinous Sexuality” Fox regains my attention and respect. (And, don’t get me wrong here; I may argue with this notion of spiritual warriors and still respect Matthew Fox. In fact, I think he struggled himself with Chapter 5; it doesn’t flow well, the non sequiturs are examples of his struggle to make his point. His stories of people, e.g. Bhante Dharmawara, do not make his point. But enough on Chapter 5!) In chapter 6 Fox presents an excellent argument for men to get in touch with their sexuality as a gateway to their spirituality. This may be the best part of the book to this point. And he waxes eloquent at the end of the chapter as he concludes:
“I believe, beyond being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual, that we are pansexual. Ultimately, embracing the archetype of the lover means recovering our pansexuality, which nurtures and feeds all our relationships, including our humanly sexual ones.
“Sexuality is sacred because it is bigger than all of us. That is also why it is irrepressible, funny, fun, amazing, surprising, generative, serious, playful, mystical, and unpredictable. It is one area in our relationship with the cosmos and with Father Sky that has never fully succumbed to anthropocentric mastering and control. Sexuality thrusts us into a relationship with the cosmos. Which is a big part of its appeal. A big part of our staying alive. A big part of the joy of living.”
It is good that Fox follows chapter 5 with a chapter on the Numinous Sexual Man. Robert Moore places the Lover archetype on the opposite end of the Warrior archetype axis in his quadrilateral model. It is a direction of growth and evolution to move from the warrior stage to the lover stage. Isn’t it more likely that we can love our way toward a “more benign mode of presence” than fight our way toward that high state of consciousness? Can’t we channel our aggressive and competitive tenancies into a pansexual, generative relationship with the cosmos? I, for one, would like to try; I’d like to throw out the whole notion of war, warfare and warriorhood as we move toward a higher stage of consciousness.
Inner Work using Divination
As predicted we got our five inches of snow; it is still coming down as I write! And by equinox time tomorrow, 11:32 am locally, we will see the Sun and experience the light for half the day; and then we’ll have half a day of night: equal parts light and dark to balance our inner and outer natures.
I’ve been writing about inner work lately. I’ve cited several methods I have used with varying success to get in touch with the inner being, to process loss and grief, to get in touch with our spiritual bodies and minds, to get in touch with Self. And in clearing up one of my piles of papers yesterday I found a single typed sheet, isolated, waiting for me. I glanced at it before pitching it in the recycle bin and read a few lines. This sounds interesting, I wonder who wrote it; maybe I should set it aside to read later.
I read this note today; I had written it, who knows when, I discovered about half-way through the piece. It was a response I had written, perhaps 10 years ago, to a “shusta card” drawing I had done. Shusta cards are a deck used for divination that I was trained in some time in the 90s. I haven’t used them in years. I have used other cards on occasion. Divination cards are very useful as a means to communicate with our higher consciousness, the Self. One year I drew a card from three different decks each morning and wrote in a journal what I interpreted the cards to mean. It is fascinating to go back and read that journal now.
With that as introduction I offer this “reading” of self, and Self, for your consideration, not only as the message for today as we approach equinox, but as a method you can use to get in touch with your higher Self:
“I can not hope to serve others successfully unless I am serving myself to a point where it becomes clear I am host to God/Goddess, a point where wholeness is growing inside. Then there will be a platform from which to serve.
“Now my Shusta cards from this morning become clearer. Destiny, Self, Unconditional Love. Of course, I have a destiny which is unalterable and set in motion from the beginning of time. I know that, and hard as it is, I accept that, at least intellectually. It is harder to accept it emotionally, but once it is admitted, life becomes easier to bear. Acceptance of this condition is a step on the path to wholeness. Let the moment unfold as it will. I can’t change it. The minute details may alter but the overall pattern of my existence is set, so let it be.
“Self within the established pattern – what does that mean? Is there a self within the motions of the plan that has any importance? Perhaps only in the context of the Self can the self be considered significant. Everything needs context. The Self has its context in Oneness, the Unity of All, the Way/Tao, the Am that I am. I am that Oneness, that Oneness am I. In the great beingness, isness, suchness, I am, the Self. From this one point derives all existence. The self is the conscious level of the Self. It is awake, aware, and built to serve the Self. It gets in its own way a lot. It second guesses everything. It thinks way too much. Out of this thinking derives worry, guilt, and many other destructive emotions. The shadow emerges from the self. The Self has no shadow, can not be split or divided onto itSelf, because it is only the Self. Consciousness of the Self is the only path of salvation for the self. Dwelling in the Self is the source of hope. Awareness of the Self is the platform for wholeness, and service. All derives from the Self; the first derivative (dS) is the self. The only purpose, meaning is to be aware of the Self, to serve the Self, to reflect the Self in the outer realm of existence.
“Unconditional love is what the Self has for the self. The Self knows what the self has to endure; the entire plan is available to the Self, nothing is hidden. From this knowledge derives love. Self-love of self is the dynamo of the universe, of all creation. The Self is Love. Suchness, beingness is love; love is suchness. There is an identity here which is the key. Unconditional love is the root, the central core of the All. Yes, even the most dark and evil corner of all creation has love at its center. It couldn’t exist without love; nothing can exist without love. Love Is. If this is true, then the only possible response to everything is love. How can it be otherwise. Love can only generate love. See the love in all things and you become love. The self becomes the Self. And emptiness engulfs the self in an ecstatic state of bliss.”
I got all that from three little cards. It’s a good meditation to consider as we move to the balance of the Spring Equinox and into the new year of growth and activity.
Using divination cards is a wonderful way to get in touch with Self. Have any of you had good experiences with cards?
Men and The Goddess 