Journeying up from the fourth to the seventh chakra, we have been dealing with lighter and subtler energies, it seems to me. If we follow Matthew Fox’s revision of the seven capital sins of the Catholic tradition in his book Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh, after greed, the shadow of the compassionate heart chakra, we encounter consumerism, rationalism, and finally envy, the shadow of the crown chakra.
These last three traps seems much less visible to me than the lower three, the ones below the heart chakra, when it comes to our own personal situation. They are, of course, very visible if we survey our society with just a bit of wisdom, but they hide quite well within our individual souls. Who can say that their judgment is not obscured by the excessive introjection of some external stuff such as ideologies? Who can say to have a mind very well balanced between reason and intuition?
Even more so with envy, connected to the seventh chakra, or crown chakra. It is difficult to admit to be inhabited by this very damaging attitude, partly because it is frowned upon by society as a whole. While in many circles it is “cool” to be greedy or lusty/controlling of others or angry/violent, being envious is seen as the vice of the impotent. Also, the admission of envy engenders shame.
As a result, envy hides itself pretty well. I have known many people — including myself — who walk in life confidently, on the surface, while in reality they harbor feelings of envy and resentment. The accusation of being envious is also leveled against people who rightly protest about injustice and, for example, about their income level. Thus, this is a very serious problem for the human race, in many different and complicated ways.
Matthew says: There is something supreme and culminating about envy if it truly takes over our soul. Envy is in some ways more powerful than hatred, for it feeds hatred. It is as if people are more ashamed of their envy than of their hatred, so they keep it inside where it rankles and rots, decays and putrifies, all the time seeping bile into the imagination, which works it over and over until it gives birth to shadowy beings that come into existence by way of projections. Traditionally, these beings have been called demons.
No mincing words here! Fortunately, although many of us may be affected by this vice, most are not completely captured by it, and medicine is available. The opposite of envy is the feeling of belonging and contributing to the community. In an ideal situation, when all our chakras are open — which in traditional Catholic parlance means that our seven vices have been cleared out — the crown chakra connects not just to our immediate community, but to all beings. Thus, it is also an outreach to the angels, our light encountering their light, light meeting light, doxa (“glory and radiance”) meeting doxa.
But in less ideal situations we need help, and we can find it precisely by connecting to our communities and keeping at it. We should especially maintain and foster our connection with our ancestors (the “communion of saints”) and with those in need. A deeper exploration of our feelings of envy and resentment invariably result in discovering some even deeper needs within ourselves which we often are ashamed to confess even to ourselves. Deep friendships, then, are a blessing. Deep listening without judgment is one of the greatest blessing we can receive and offer.
At the end of our brief survey of chakras and capital sins I perceive almost physically a sense of despair for the sorry state of humanity today. All the vices that we have discussed are alive, thriving, and having a great time on the dead bodies of so many victims, including the Earth itself. Are we a failed species?
On the other side, having briefly touched, along this seven-step journey, on the amazing possibilities that human beings have precisely because they are humans, I feel grateful and empowered. I am grateful to all my community, including Matthew and all my teachers, including all you readers, including the great number of wise and humble people who lived in many cultures through the centuries and reflected upon these things and bestowed to us their writings. All of you together have made possible for me to reach this moment and write these meditations. Blessed be God!
See Matthew Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society, pp. 315, 318, 322
See also Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times
And Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
And Fox, Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality
Banner Image: Seeds of the first murder, arising from envy: “Cain and Abel.” Print by Jan Sadeler after Maarten de Vos, Antwerp, 1583. Public Domain image, courtesy of the British Museum.
Queries for Contemplation
How do I connect with my communities today, aside from my social roles, and in a more personal way?
Recommended Reading
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times
A stunning spiritual handbook drawn from the substantive teachings of Aquinas’ mystical/prophetic genius, offering a sublime roadmap for spirituality and action.
Foreword by Ilia Delio.
“What a wonderful book! Only Matt Fox could bring to life the wisdom and brilliance of Aquinas with so much creativity. The Tao of Thomas Aquinas is a masterpiece.”
–Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew Fox delivers a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of compassion. Establishing a spirituality for the future that promises personal, social, and global healing, Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate activity.
“Well worth our deepest consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register
Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality
Selected with an Introduction by Charles Burack
To encapsulate the life and work of Matthew Fox would be a daunting task for any save his colleague Dr. Charles Burack, who had the full cooperation of his subject. Fox has devoted 50 years to developing and teaching the tradition of Creation Spirituality and in doing so has reinvented forms of education and worship. His more than 40 books, translated into 78 languages, are inclusive of today’s science and world spiritual traditions and have awakened millions to the much neglected earth-based mystical tradition of the West. Essential Writings begins by exploring the influences on Fox’s life and spirituality, then presents selections from all Fox’s major works in 10 sections.
“The critical insights, the creative connections, the centrality of Matthew Fox’s writings and teaching are second to none for the radical renewal of Christianity.” ~~ Richard Rohr, OFM.
