ll authentic spiritual traditions, at their core, are committed to the common values of peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassionate service, and love for all creation. Beneath the diversity of theological beliefs, rites, and observances lies the deeper common ground built on a clear understanding of authentic spiritual experience. While there is great value in learning what others believe about the Divine, it is only on that deeper ground of how we experience this vast presence of energy and intelligence that we can recognize and embrace one another as brothers and sisters, and help each other become more fully who we are.
We draw from the rich heritage of human wisdom to guide the deep inner work of developing a consciousness worthy of our common humanity, to support the emergence of humankind’s next level of conscious evolution. In our families, our communities, our nation, across the earth, and in each of our hearts the time has come for us to remember our common identity, and to recognize clearly that our fate depends on each other. Opening our minds and hearts to this deeper level of experience informs and guides our inner journey, and is central to One Spirit’s vision of Interspiritual education.
Essential Spirituality expresses deep, universal truths about the human condition, but not as a “one-size-fits-all” endeavor. Rather, it aims to provide a clear understanding and direct experience of those truths, within a framework that allows each individual to develop an inner life that best supports their own growth. Such spirituality is at home in every circumstance, and expresses itself as inner peace, wisdom, compassion, and skillful action in all aspects of life.
Interfaith Guiding Principles
We aspire to live and practice the following principles in our individual and collective life:
To bring increasing awareness to our interior and exterior lives.
To see every experience in life as an opportunity to grow.
To take responsibility for our intentions, thoughts, feelings, and actions in every communication and interaction.
To develop a personal practice that fosters inner peace and skillful action.
To see our outer life in the world as a reflection of our inner state and experience.
To remember that each of our lives is an interaction of our inner life and our outer life in the world.
To understand that our life in the world includes participation in multiple roles, relationships and communities, each of which may hold different values and each of which affects us in different ways.
To be willing to explore our cultural norms, family patterns, personal values and defensive routines as part of our commitment to our own development and our capacity to relate to others in an unbiased and open way.
To act in ways that create a safe container for each other.
To engage in authentic dialogue that seeks to surface what is true for both the individual and the community.
To seek to enter every situation from a centered place.
To be aware of the quality of our energy and its effect on those around us.
To recognize that we all have blind spots, and that our interactions with others help us recognize what they are.
To value each other, blind spots and all.
To seek the highest good in every relationship and situation.
To always say what is true, to always be kind, to only say what is useful.
