Week of 7/21-26/2025:
Joanna Macy, Mentorship
& Shambala Warriors
By the Daily Meditations Team
This is a weekly summary of the previous week’s Daily Meditations.
July 21, 2025: Joanna Macy: A Note of Gratitude (MF)
Joanna Macy, a great soul, passed away on Saturday. She is the one who introduced Matthew to both Buddhism and Thich Nhat Hanh. They often taught together—she on the Buddha Nature, Matthew on the Cosmic Christ. Joanna and John Seed created a ritual called The Council of All Beings, to honor those species going extinct. Joanna combined a fierce commitment to systems theory and science, plus Buddhist practices and teachings.
Her ideas touched thousands of people of all spiritual traditions. She urged all to resist despair. Matthew often cites her teaching that “when your heart breaks, the whole universe can pour through.” Thank you, Joanna Macy, for your deep and passionate heart that was both Buddha-like and Christ-like.
Praises-Jennifer Berezan
Praises for the world, by Jennifer Berezan. This is an excerpt of Joanna Macy’s favorite song. (The CD is exquisite, a beautiful meditation on this Earth we are blessed to live upon.) Jennifer Berezan.
July 22, 2025: Joy in the Midst of Anguish: A Fruit of the Spirit (MF)
Today we talk about Joy. Why? “Joy is the human’s noblest act.” So says Thomas Aquinas. Paul talks about the “fruits of the Spirit” in his letter to the Galatians (5:22f.) Former labor secretary Robert Reich recently wrote: Lest we succumb to despair, a major part of not submitting to Trump’s tyranny is living our lives to the fullest—hopefully and cheerfully, in the face of him and his regime.*
A few years ago, Matthew and two others were speaking on the environmental crisis. Afterwards, Joanna Macy came out onto the stage and, at the age of 92, said something to the effect of: “Isn’t it a wonderful thing to be alive today at this critical moment in history and to contribute what we can to righting the ship!” Everyone was deeply moved by her energy and her joy in the midst of struggle.
July 23, 2025: Bad Trees bearing Evil Fruit: A Litany of Mortal Sins of MAGA (MF)
Christ said that we can judge people by the fruit that they bear. After six months of Trump and MAGA, what fruits of their labors do we see? Untold numbers of deaths in Africa as a result of the termination of USAID. The loss of health care for about 17 million Americans. The loss of food benefits for children and the poor—about 7.4 million of them.
The shutting down of PBS and NPR, leaving rural areas especially vulnerable to far right-wing billionaire-fed propaganda. Censorship of the media, as well as the loss of laughter, due to the shutdown of the Tonight Show with Stephen Colbert. Taxing the lower classes more, so that the super-rich can get away with few to no taxes. Welcome to Trump’s America. A lot of bad fruit in his orchard.
July 24, 2025: Shambala Warriors (GG)
In the face of great evil, we are called to cultivate our joy. Deeply unsettled by the violence in the world, it is time to become the Shambhala Warriors that the late and beloved Joanna Macy spoke about so eloquently and embodied so fiercely.
GG speaks regularly with people who are not activists, nor necessarily even political, who are saying: Enough of the daily massacres of people who are begging for food! Enough of mass starvation under the pretense of self-defense! GG says: When somebody like Joanna dies, a great energy of peace and strength is released in the world.
I don’t know how to explain it, but it is felt by many. Nobody like Joanna Macy will rise again. Yet we are all called to be Shambhala Warriors, we are all called to be Joannas.
July 25, 2025: Good News and the Bible (GG)
There are many signs that a positive change is underway. Many Jews, within and without Israel, are aware of the genocide and are actively opposing it. Some young Israelis who received a government letter telling them to show up for military service in the IDF have burned such letters in public.
Israeli volunteers are going to the border of Gaza to ensure that humanitarian aid is delivered, confronting those Israelis who try to block the convoys. So many journalists, who one year ago were on the fence, are now openly confronting the blatant lies of the Israeli government.
Unfortunately, there are also those like an Israeli man who stated in an interview that “wiping out” the Palestinians is affirmed and blessed by God, because “such is the teaching of the Torah.” The interviewer was appalled and kept expressing his surprise that any religion today blesses a genocide. Using God to justify the genocide is blasphemy.
July 26, 2025: Mentorship as an Archetype (GG)
In recent conversations, Matthew and GG have been reflecting on the valued role of mentorship in today’s society. GG suggested to Matthew that a subtitle to his upcoming book on Marie-Dominique Chenu could be “A Story of Mentorship.”
In addition, Matthew has been a significant mentor to GG. To those of us who are the black sheep in their family, mentors are extremely important. Often mentors are the first ones who see us and appreciate us for who we really are. The best values of humanity can be taught and experienced through mentorship.
This includes rejoicing together (via positiva), crying together (via negativa), imagining creative solutions together (via creativa) and changing institutions (via transformativa). True mentorship can support us in resisting the barbarism of these days.
*Robert Reich, “Sunday thought: On being a warrior” – Democratic Underground Forums
See Matthew Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
And Fox, Trump and the MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
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