My Friend Ken Orchard was inspired by the Rule of St. Benedict, written in 516 as a series of precepts to guide the life of monks living together. Ken has written his own Rule as a guide for his life. When I first heard it read it touched my heart as ministry. He has allowed me to publish it here.
- Open your heart, mind and soul to the divine energy for every hour of every day. Live faithfully to your sacred potential. Make the divine energy central to you and in you and be true to it in all that you do.
- Surrender yourself to the divine energy without reservation and put the divine will even before your own.
- Total commitment brings change. Little by little or vast area by vast area let your life be transmuted in the life of the divine energy.
- The basis of simplicity is centring on the divine energy. The heart of the monastic life is to live always in the presence of that energy.
- Offer yourself as a place of prayer. Enter silence joyfully. May your presence be one that heals divisions and expands hearts.
- Celebrate embodiment. All of creation is a manifestation of the divine energy. Worship it with unparalleled commitment and a complete love that is without self-interest. Work to make the holy manifest.
- Refrain from possession. Love expands the spirit, possession contracts it.
- Treat all religions and spiritual paths, and those who follow them, with honour and respect.
- Seek the company of those who will deepen your spirituality and support your journey.
- Create community wherever you are. Make of your heart a home for the homeless, a refuge for the poor.
- Be simple, honest and authentic. Welcome humility and vulnerability into your life. Express your gratitudes and appreciations openly.
- Surrender yourself to the true glorifying of the divine energy.
Brave Spaces 