alt_religion_scientology/FACTNetARS20020328

(Inspired by a dumb post too idiotic to even replicate.)

Those who have no inclination to spiritual evolvement or spiritual discovery
have a hard time understanding the dynamics of trust between those who are
searching and those who are entrusted to lead.

Being emotionally open and vulnerable is an integral part of what aproaching
the divine is all about. We respect those that choose to follow this path.
Whatever their creed.

Betrayal of spiritual trust is as traumatising to the victim as spousal
abuse or child abuse is to its victims. (And how often one sees that abusive
cults and toxic faiths seem to co-exist with the abovementioned social
ills.)

It is illuminating to read the following document found at:
http://www.csp.org/development/code.html

Code of Ethics for Spiritual Guides

[Preamble] People have long sought to enrich their lives and to awaken to
their full natures through spiritual practices including prayer, meditation,
mind-body disciplines, service, ritual, community liturgy, holy-day and
seasonal observances, and rites of passage. "Primary religious practices"
are those intended, or especially likely, to bring about exceptional states
of consciousness such as the direct experience of the divine, of cosmic
unity, or of boundless awareness.

In any community, there are some who feel called to assist others along
spiritual paths, and who are known as ministers, rabbis, pastors,
curanderas, shamans, priests, or other titles. We call such people 'guides':
those experienced in some practice, familiar with the terrain, and who act
to facilitate the spiritual practices of others. A guide need not claim
exclusive or definitive knowledge of the terrain.

Spiritual practices, and especially primary religious practices, carry
risks. Therefore, when an individual chooses to practice with the assistance
of a guide, both take on special responsibilities. The Council on Spiritual
Practices proposes the following Code of Ethics for those who serve as
spiritual guides.

[Intention] Spiritual guides are to practice and serve in ways that
cultivate awareness, empathy, and wisdom.

[Serving Society] Spiritual practices are to be designed and conducted in
ways that respect the common good, with due regard for public safety,
health, and order. Because the increased awareness gained from spiritual
practices can catalyze desire for personal and social change, guides shall
use special care to help direct the energies of those they serve, as well as
their own, in responsible ways that reflect a loving regard for all life.

[Serving Individuals] Spiritual guides shall respect and seek to preserve
the autonomy and dignity of each person. Participation in any primary
religious practice must be voluntary and based on prior disclosure and
consent given individually by each participant while in an ordinary state of
consciousness. Disclosure shall include, at a minimum, discussion of any
elements of the practice that could reasonably be seen as presenting
physical or psychological risks. In particular, participants must be warned
that primary religious experience can be difficult and dramatically
transformative.

Guides shall make reasonable preparations to protect each participant's
health and safety during spiritual practices and in the periods of
vulnerability that may follow. Limits on the behaviors of participants and
facilitators are to be made clear and agreed upon in advance of any session.
Appropriate customs of confidentiality are to be established and honored.

[Competence] Spiritual guides shall assist with only those practices for
which they are qualified by personal experience and by training or
education.

[Integrity] Spiritual guides shall strive to be aware of how their own
belief systems, values, needs, and limitations affect their work. During
primary religious practices, participants may be especially open to
suggestion, manipulation, and exploitation; therefore, guides pledge to
protect participants and not to allow anyone to use that vulnerability in
ways that harm participants or others.

[Quiet Presence] To help safeguard against the harmful consequences of
personal and organizational ambition, spiritual communities are usually
better allowed to grow through attraction rather than active promotion.

[Not for Profit] Spiritual practices are to be conducted in the spirit of
service. Spiritual guides shall strive to accommodate participants without
regard to their ability to pay or make donations.

[Tolerance] Spiritual guides shall practice openness and respect towards
people whose beliefs are in apparent contradiction to their own.

[Peer Review] Each guide shall seek the counsel of other guides to help
ensure the wholesomeness of his or her practices and shall offer counsel
when there is need.

This draft for public comment was released 10 August 2001. The current
version is available on the Internet at www.csp.org.

Copyright © 1995 - 2001 Council on Spiritual Practices

Box 460820
San Francisco, CA 94146-0820
USA

Permission is hereby given to reprint this Code, provided that the text is
reproduced complete and verbatim, including the CSP contact information,
copyright, and this notice of limited permission to reprint.

IOHO
FACTNet Staff
--
F.A.C.T.Net, Inc.
PO Box 3135
Boulder, CO 80307-3135 USA

* Web site http://www.factnet.org/
* E-mail mailto: manage@factnet.org
* Donations http://www.factnet.org/donation.htm

* Subscriptions to Newsletters http://lists.factnet.org/mailman/listinfo/factnet-news

F.A.C.T.Net is a non-profit 501(c)(3) news source, referral service, and
archive protecting freedom of mind from harms caused by psychological
coercion.