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Monk Manifesto

Want to join us in starting a monk revolution?

For a PDF version of the Monk Manifesto click the link to download a printable file.

The Monk Manifesto is also available in Spanish, German, and Norwegian translations. Click here for PDFs of Manifesto del Monje, Mönchs Manifest, and Munkemanifestet.

We invite you to. . .

Sign the Monk Manifesto below (scroll all the way to the bottom for the comment box). State your solidarity with others who want to express their inner monk in everyday life.
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Monk: from the Greek monachos meaning single or solitary, a monk in the world does not live apart but immersed in the everyday with a single-hearted and undivided presence, always striving for greater wholeness and integrity

Manifesto: from the Latin for clear, means a public declaration of principles and intentions.

Monk Manifesto: A public expression of your commitment to live a compassionate, contemplative, and creative life.

I commit to finding moments each day for silence and solitude, to make space for another voice to be heard, and to resist a culture of noise and constant stimulation.
I commit to radical acts of hospitality by welcoming the stranger both without and within. I recognize that when I make space inside my heart for the unclaimed parts of myself, I cultivate compassion and the ability to accept those places in others.
I commit to cultivating community by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey.
I commit to cultivating awareness of my kinship with creation and a healthy asceticism by discerning my use of energy and things, letting go of what does not help nature to flourish.
I commit to bringing myself fully present to the work I do, whether paid or unpaid, holding a heart of gratitude for the ability to express my gifts in the world in meaningful ways.
I commit to rhythms of rest and renewal through the regular practice of Sabbath and resist a culture of busyness that measures my worth by what I do.
I commit to a lifetime of ongoing conversion and transformation, recognizing that I am always on a journey with both gifts and limitations.
I commit to being a dancing monk, cultivating creative joy and letting my body and “heart overflow with the inexpressible delights of love.”*

*quote is from the Prologue of the Rule of Benedict

1,553 Responses

William says:

September 28, 2010 at 9:17 am

Thank you for the call, the reminder, the inspiration.

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Ronald Dombroski says:

September 28, 2010 at 5:29 am

I am so happy to have found you. I made a commitment to live as a monk in the world a number of years ago. This is just what I need – companions on the contemplative journey!

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Joel Levey says:

September 27, 2010 at 9:25 pm

Dear Christine – It’s Wonderful to discover your site and all that you so generously offer here – and to find you are in Seattle – we live by Green Lake – and have small contemplative center on the Big Island (http://kohalasanctuary.com). We also teach for the ArtMonks at the ArtMonastery Project — which you might find interesting – http://www.artmonastery.org/home/?page_id=108 – which – We’ll tell our ArtMonks Network about you too! Blessings to you and all. Joel Levey

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ayn says:

September 26, 2010 at 3:44 am

I sign with elation to have found an environ that enhances, enriches and enables me….. my souls sighed with delight at the possibilities ahead….

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Margot says:

September 22, 2010 at 9:27 am

this articulates what life is about for me–I’m signing!

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Robert Messore says:

September 14, 2010 at 4:34 am

I hope this is the correct place to sign the Monk Manifesto

Robert Messore

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DENNIS-WISCONSIN says:

September 13, 2010 at 10:58 pm

09/14/10 – I REALLY ENJOYED THE 7 DAY COURSE. IT PUT ME IN THE SPIRITUAL MOOD I NEEDED FOR A LONG TIME !!

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Jose N. Crespo says:

September 11, 2010 at 9:27 pm

Signed, with great joy!
Also, I request your kind permission to offer you a spanish rendition of the text. Would like to see it spread in this language, too. Thanks.

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1. Christine says:
  
  September 14, 2010 at 8:14 am
  
  Jose, I would love a Spanish version. Thanks for the beautiful offer.
  
  Reply
Maddie Bruhn says:

September 10, 2010 at 8:14 am

Found still another: “Two roads diverged in the wood”. At this crossroads I lovingly commit to the one marked the Monk’s Manifesto and in the end that surely will make “all the difference.”

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Kel says:

September 9, 2010 at 12:55 am

I was a participant in the inaugural “Way of the Monk, Path of the Artist” course, and sign this manifesto as a continued commitment to live out these intentions and practices.

And now I’m off to meet all these other Monky folk :)

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