diff --git ui/ui.core.inc ui/ui.core.inc
index b69a790..7855cb8 100644
--- ui/ui.core.inc
+++ ui/ui.core.inc
@@ -459,7 +459,12 @@ class RulesPluginUI extends FacesExtender implements RulesPluginUIInterface {
 
     if (isset($form_state['values']['vars']['items'])) {
       $vars = &$this->element->componentVariables();
-      $vars = array();
+      // Preserve non parameter variables.
+      foreach ($vars as $name => $info) {
+        if (!isset($info['parameter']) || $info['parameter']) {
+          unset($vars[$name]);
+        }
+      }
       usort($form_state['values']['vars']['items'], 'rules_element_sort_helper');
       foreach ($form_state['values']['vars']['items'] as $item) {
         if ($item['type'] && $item['name'] && $item['label']) {