In the Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality by Matthew Fox, edited by Charles Burak, Fox posits what he calls the Four Commandments of Creation Spirituality which I turned into a these four mindfulness vows. I was inspired by the work of Rabbi Rami Shapiro in Minyan who did the same with the Ten Commandments. --- > “One way of grasping the Four Paths is to understand them as Four Commandments that can energize us for the journey. (Matthew Fox. Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality p. 78)" > > “1. Thou shalt fall in love at least three times a day (Via Positiva)” Aware of the suffering created by apathy, neglect, fear, and hatred, I vow to savor life seeking the face of the Beloved in all things. I will taste for myself and see that the Holy One is good, because God is in all and all is in God. Remembering always that God is Love, I vow to fall in love at least three times a day. Wherever I seek the face of the Holy One, I will find it and with it the Beloved in whom we live move and have our being. > “2. Thou shalt dare the dark (Via Negativa)” Aware of the suffering created by attachment, I vow to let go and let be, while not concealing, obfuscating, or hiding from truth. Daring the dark, I enter into silence, resting in its nothingness, receiving from the mystery what it offers. In grief, I release my pain, loss, and suffering as a river from darkness to darkness flowing through me. When held, the vitality of life withers, it only grows when set free to follow its own run and return, ebb and flow. > “3. Do not be reluctant to give birth (Via Creativa)” Aware of the suffering created by asceticism and the denial of the image of God in which we are all created, I vow to “assist nature and history in carrying on the creativity of the universe and bring even more awe into the world.” I release myself from the lies of the preachers of death who proclaim our sinfulness and inability to create, and embrace my art as an echo of the Wisdom of the One desiring to be made manifest in this world. > “4. Be you compassionate as your Creator in heaven is compassionate (Via Transformativa)” Aware of the suffering created by injustice, prejudice, and drudgery, I vow to embody compassion and the greening wisdom of viriditas, ever ripening into the perfect compassion of Our Father, With the voice of the prophet, I interfere with injustice and neglect to restore the world to balance and peace, celebrating both the victories and the journey.