Adapted from
A Contemporary Exploration of Eco-Spiritual Intentions / Commitments / Vows
by Dennis Rivers, Maía, Gene Knudsen Hoffman, and Paloma Pavel
November, 2004

1. REVERENCE FOR LIFE
I open my heart to consider, to delight in, to nurture and to celebrate the beauty, integrity and well-being of all life-forms and natural systems: people of all ages, kinds and races, animals and plants, lands and seas, which co-exist with me now and which will come after me into the far future. These I take to be my kin, expressions of the same Heart of Being, the same Living Universe, of which my life is an expression.

2. SERVICE
Holding reverence for life to be one of my deepest values, I commit myself to serving the Web of Life, to hearing the pain of both people and our sister and brother life forms in distress, to finding the path of service that is right for me, and to inviting and joining, encouraging and accompanying, others to do the same.

3. QUESTIONING AS A PATH OF TRANSFORMATION
Mindful of the way that answers can become meaningless without the questions that evoked them, and that even great truths can become lifeless dogmas, I embrace the practice of creative, open-ended, questioning of self, of others and of institutions as a way of deepening my engagement with the ongoing quest for a wiser and more compassionate world. Following in the spirit of Gandhi’s teaching “to be the change you want to see,” I vow to translate every “Thou Shalt…” into “How will I…?” and “How will we…?”

4. SAINTS AND EXEMPLARS
I open my heart to receive the grace of all those who have walked before me on the paths of compassion, caring, creativity and courage. I open my life to receive the empowering gift of their lives and their love for all.

5. COMMUNITY
I commit myself to befriend others who love, serve and celebrate the Web of Life, and to work with others to build cooperative communities of mutual support, that honor and encourage such love, service and celebration.

6. GRATEFULNESS AND PRESENCE
Learning of the countless ways that people, the Earth, and the Universe support my life, I vow to expand the circle of my gratefulness by becoming more fully present to each moment of the life that is given to me, and by surrounding with mercy and lovingkindness all that is wounded and incomplete in myself, in others and in the world that we might journey together into a deeper completeness.

7. FORGIVENESS
Learning from the way that nature starts anew each year I open my heart to the new possibilities hidden in each moment and I vow to deepen my practice of forgiveness, to make amends for my mistakes, and to ask others to forgive me when I have injured them.

8. UNIQUENESS AND VARIETY
Understanding that nature thrives in variety, I open my heart to celebrate and to of that learn from difference as well as to delight in agreement, and I affirm the rightness of each person to find their own path of service, and their own unique vocabulary and community with which to express their love for and concern about the Web of Life.

9. CHANGE
Understanding that nature is a continuous flow of change, I open myself to acknowledge all that is changing in my life and world, and to the periodic reevaluation, renewal and restatement of all my commitments: to organizations in which I participate, to points of view, citizenships, affiliations, ownerships, etc. I will affirm and bless all those who leave my familiar circle to follow their own path.

10. PEACE, NON-VIOLENCE & CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Understanding that human conflicts in a technologized world have ever more drastic consequences for both people and the Web of Life, I commit myself to work for the peaceful resolution of conflicts between persons, between nations and between humans and other species. Following the saints of all religions, and my own deepest inner guidance, I renounce the intention to injure others, and as part of that process, I commit myself to facing, and working through, my own anger, fear, greed, ignorance, self-deception, unfulfilled needs, lack of skill, and lack of creative engagement, such as they may be, and also the same, of my culture and my country.

11. JOY, SORROW, PASSION AND COMPASSION
Learning from the cycle of the seasons that holds both the harshness of winter and the pleasure of springtime I open my heart to embrace more fully all the joys and sorrows of my life, of all people, and of all Life.

12. EXPLORATORY SPIRAL OF ENDLESS BEGINNINGS
Understanding the limited capacity of words to hold spiritual meanings, and understanding the temptation to try to complete with words what can only be completed in living, I affirm these Commitments as a way of mobilizing my inner resources to continue my path of exploration, action, embodiment, and dialogue, of compassion, reflection, and celebration. Not as completing, resolving or even fully describing any of the themes they name. I open my heart and mind to affirm and learn from all that is reverential toward life in every tradition and culture, and to evolve new affirmations and practices as my reverence for life deepens.