The 11th Commandment

What if? What if you could write the 11^th commandment? What would it be? What would make the most difference in your life? In the lives of others? What if you lived by it?

Is it heresy? Is it presumptuous to think of adding to the original ten covenants between the Hebrew people and their Creator? Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t kill, honor your father and mother - for many, these are part of the collective consciousness. If consciousness, like the Universe, is continually expanding, perhaps an 11^th is an inherent part of natural growth and change.

The opportunity to expand on the ten was recently presented to a spiritual community of which I am a part. Interactive. That’s the key word. Co-creation is another. It’s no longer enough to watch CNN News, we have to Facebook and Twitter about it during the broadcast, becoming part of the news with others, co-creating it. During the past month, community members submitted their ideas for an 11^th commandment. There were thirty submissions, fourteen finalists, votes for top three, one final choice.

Some had fun with it. . .

• You shall eat chocolate in any form.
• You shall not upgrade to the latest electronic gear, even if it is shiny, just because you want it.

From 8-10 year olds. . .

• Be good. Be helpful.
• Love and respect each other.

Some were familiar. . .

• Be kind and gentle.
• Breathe before you speak.
• Don’t believe everything you think.

Among the finalists were. . .

• You shall not abuse or ignore your physical temple.
• You shall create peace in your heart, in your life and in your world.
• You shall not take things personally.
• You shall honor the earth; protect and preserve her flora, fauna and natural resources.
• You shall always remember that you are Love. Love everyone – no exceptions.

Author, and member of the TIME 100 (Most Influential People in the World), Deepak Chopra says, “When you make a choice, you change the future.” Choosing to live by a commandment has that impact. What about the commandments we, consciously or unconsciously, give ourselves? Some of the choices we make occur before the age of five. Those decisions can have the impact of commandments. The Spiritual Adventuress gave herself a commandment at age two, when startled awake in the middle of the night by the wailing siren of a New York City fire engine. While crying, when no one came to pick her up and comfort her, she commanded herself, “You’re on your own,” changing her future. She became an independent contractor as a real estate agent – working on her own. Her marriage ended in divorce, leaving her on her own. She became a single parent, raising her son on her own. After many years of personal growth work, the impact of that hidden commandment became apparent. And with it, came a gift - the power to choose a new commandment, and with it, the future. What commandment have you given yourself? If it is an unconscious one, it can be detected and deduced by observing life patterns which may no longer serve you. As its final choice, the spiritual community decided on its 11^th commandment, changing its future: “You shall remember always that you are an expression of the Divine; you shall know your own divinity and live from it.”