Practical Spirituality – Understanding the Four Paths

In creation centered spirituality, Matthew Fox (founder of Wisdom University in Oakland, CA) outlines four paths of spirituality. These four paths are: The positive path; the negative path, the creative path and the transformative path. These are different names then the ones used by Fox, but the same paths. According to Fox, during our lifetimes we are always on one of these four paths, whether we recognize them or not. These paths are not linear. Sometimes they overlap, sometimes they can go backwards. We can be on different paths at the same time, because we have many roles in life. The above description is a linear explanation so we can get a basic understanding of how they work and affect our lives. As we do this, we can begin to use our experiences along the paths to make the most out of our lives. We can understand them and gain strength, spiritual growth, and awareness by consciously incorporating them into our spirituality.

In this article we will discuss the positive path, also known by Fox as Via Positiva. In later articles we will discuss the other paths and we can prosper by taking advantage of the characteristics of each one.

The positive path is the path on which we find ourselves when we are at peace and at rest. When we realize who we are and claim our true identities instead of our created identities, we are at peace, and in a state of balance and comfort. The human experience, according to this philosophy, is a very positive one. You may have experienced something like this your own life, while you were looking at a beautiful scene, taking a walk, listening to beautiful music, or meditating. The mystical experience, that feeling that we get when we are in the zone, so to speak, and feel that we are connected with everything, is not something that is novel or unusual. That is the way we humans are naturally, before we take on the socialization, and therefor, the cares and desires of this world. The positive path represents who our non conditioned selves are.

We are basically people who were born from a long line of ancestors that were human and pre-human. We all come from the first cell. We are even older than that. We come from the stuff of stars and pre-stars and the elements of the universe. We carry the same energy that brought for the birth of the universe within us. We call it life force. Throughout millions of millennia we evolved carried forward by the power of the life force. Life after life, birth after birth, beings were multiplying and protecting their offspring. This protection, education, and nurturing of offspring after offspring led to you. You are the fulfillment of the dreams of millions of beings who hoped that their descendents would be better than they. Note that I say be better, not have more. That is a modern phenomenon.

The knowledge and experiences that you have, just by being raised by your parents and through genetic memory spans back to the beginning of time. You are not a being steeped in sin, or in need of redemption, you are a vibrant part of the universe.
Realizing this, who and what you really are, helps you experience the path of the positive more easily and all of the other paths.

We human beings are, in actuality, beautiful beings when we are not being corrupted by the influences of the world and unjust society. We are intelligent. We are capable of making our own decisions, if we are given enough information. We are, if we would like, the hands of God who can not only change our fate and change our own destiny, but who can bring the love of God into a dangerous, frightening world. That same divine spark, the spoken word as it is referred to in many religions, is still working within us. We can use that energy to create love, peace, justice, and beauty or to fulfill our own selfish passions

If you are a person who is seeking love, but is often put down, or pressured to conform to become something that you don’t want to be, remember who you are. If you are not the best looking, the fastest, the brightest, the most perfect, remember who you really are. Remember that you are here, my friend, because you are a winner. You are here to express yourself and your positivity. Even being born here, as a human being, as a sperm cell raising against thousands of others and a thousand struggles, meant that we all had to win to survive. We are all here as a result of being winners. Let us never forget that. As long as we hold onto knowledge of ourselves on the positive path, we are free.

Human beings have created much beauty and wonderful things. We have reached for the stars. We have learned to feed millions. We have done many great things. Of course, with all of these great things come the negatives. This is the path of Via Negative, or the negative path. In our next article we will discuss Via Negativa and how we can make best use of this path in our lives.