Twelve Principles of Spiritual Activism

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Twelve Principles of Spiritual Activism 1. The underlying motivation must be rooted in compassion and love, not anger, fear, and despair.2. There must be a non-attachment to outcome. If our work is to fosterlasting positive change, we must commit to doing something even if we neversee the results in our lifetime.3. If our work has integrity, that in itself will protect us.4. Integrity in means cultivates integrity in the fruit of our work; we cannotachieve a noble goal using ignoble means.5. Demonizing our adversaries leads to polarization. People respondto arrogance with their own arrogance.6. Move from an "us-them" consciousness to a "we" consciousness.7. Our work is for the world rather than for us.8) Selfless service is a myth, because in serving others, we also serveourselves.In giving we receive. Falling into the trap of pretentiousserviceto others¹ needs encourages a false sense of selflessness.9. Don't insulate ourselves from the pain of the world. We must allowour hearts to be broken open.10. What we attend to, we become. If we attend to battles, we becomeembattled. If we give love, we become loving. What we chooseshapes and deeply defines us.11. Rely on faith -- not blind adherence to any set of beliefs but a knowingfrom experience the universal principles beyond our direct observation.12. Love creates form. It is the mind that gives rise to the apparentfragmentation of the world, while the heart operates at greater depth. Adaptedfrom "Leading with Spirit: Transforming the Heart of Ecological Activism"by Will Keepin. (For an updated version, please visit www.satyana.org/principles.html