Week of January 5-10, 2026: Otto Rank, Marching Monks, and Ecstasy as God-Experience

This is a weekly summary of the previous week’s Daily Meditations. Some are written by Matthew Fox (MF), and some by Gianluigi Gugliermetto (GG). You can click on the title of a DM in order to view the original piece in its entirety. Also, please note, we will continue to offer a video teaching by Matthew each Monday.

January 5, 2026: Otto Rank’s Spiritual Vision, continued (MF)

Calling psychologist Otto Rank a “spiritual giant of the 20th century,” Matthew compares Rank’s Jewish spirituality to that of the historical Jesus. Rank wrote of “original wound” rather than “original sin;” and diverged from his mentor Freud by celebrating the “unio mystica” (mystical union) instead of treating it as a neurosis, as well as insisting that Freud’s “masculine ideology” did not serve women well. He predicted, correctly, that women would need to create their own psychology. Rank also emphasized the human need for the “irrational” (music, dance, laughter, art, play) as a necessary counterbalance to excessive rationality.

January 6, 2026: Monks March for Peace while Politicians Make Crazy Wars (MF)

Over the weekend, a crazed president conducted an unwise, and unauthorized by Congress, war strike upon Venezuela, kidnapping its president and first lady — using a very similar excuse to that of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago. Set against this is the very inspiring peace action being conducted by 19 Buddhist monks, making a 2,300-mile trek from their monastery in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington DC. Many crowds and local law enforcement have come out to support them along the way. Ours is a time for all humans and all religions to put aside their differences and to march together for what matters: Peace and Justice, Compassion and Kindness. Currently in South Carolina, you can follow the monks’ route HERE.

Why a Buddhist Monk Walks for Peace| Dhamma Talk | Venerable Pannakara |DEC 30-25 | BƯỚC CHÂN HÀNH GIẢ

January 7, 2026: The Experience of Ecstasy as the Experience of God (GG)

Looking back to one of Matthew’s earliest works, 1976’s playfully-titled WHEE! We, wee All the Way Home, Gianluigi notes how “ecstasy” is too often commodified into a search for meaningful, out-of-the-ordinary experience through chemical substances or other addictions. Yet even these are squashed by lack of time to savor them because our regimented lives force us to get back to “reality.” Matthew’s definition of ecstasy is a memorable experience of forgetting oneself, of getting outside of oneself. There are many genuine ways to have such an experience of life — unregimented or controlled — including nature, friendship, music, art, playing a game. In experiencing ecstasy, we are experiencing what our forefathers in spiritual traditions called ‘grace.’

January 8, 2026: Natural Ecstasies (GG)

A further explanation of the ecstasies described in WHEE! We, wee All the Way Home. Of nature, Matthew says: Our ecstasy or standing outside of ourselves is so real in nature that we may truly come to believe what is the fact: that we are the sea; we are a part of the stars; we are of the earth. Of friendship: In friendship we are relaxed enough to experience something greater than ourselves. And that experience some call God and others, love. Of music and arts: Who has never lost herself, stood outside and beyond himself, while listening to a Mozart sonata? Natural ecstasies are the easiest ways to reach the self-forgetfulness we need, in order to balance our other goal-directed activities.

January 9: Tactical Ecstasies (GG)

When natural ecstasies fail us, it becomes necessary to put effort into what Matthew calls “tactical ecstasies.” Our ability to experience God, harmony, integration and synthesis is often blocked by our conscious everyday existence and attitudes of survival and problem solving (from WHEE! We, wee All the Way Home). How to break through this? Matthew recommends several strategies. Chanting lulls one level of our mind so that a different one might flood over ourselves. Also fasting and voluntary celibacy — as long as they are not practiced as self-punishment for imaginary sins. Meditation and retreats also calm the conscious mind and allow a different mental state to emerge. All these serve to purify the senses, not repress them — and clarify our best course of action.

A Namah (salutation) Yoga asana. Photo by **THLT LCX** on **Unsplash**.

January 10: Keeping the Heart Bright in Times of Heavy News (MF)

The Venezuela invasion, state-sponsored terrorism in Minnesota, the shutdown of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting while rightwing billionaires continue to buy-up all major media, all to keep the public’s eyes off the Epstein files — in one week alone, the news is relentlessly dark. The news was rarely positive in Jesus’ time either, yet he still spoke of “the kingdom of God” in our midst. Matthew encourages us to keep alive our love of life, by asking ourselves: “What can I contribute to biophilia? How can I best stand up to the forces of necrophilia?”

Demanding “ICE Out in Justice for Renee Good.” Image from the January 8 protest, “From DC to Minneapolis: Stop ICE Terrorism” organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation – DC. **Photo** by **Geoff Livingston** on **Flickr.**

* Robert Kramer, Otto Rank and the Creation of Modern Psychotherapy, pp. 224f. (This link will take you to the publisher’s page, where you can order a discounted copy; use code “AUFLY30” to claim your 30% discount.)

Banner Image: The Buddhist Monks’ Walk for Peace crossing into Lexington County, SC, on the morning of January 9, 2026. From the Dhammacetiya website.