Video replay of the ASI online meeting held March 22, 2021. The ASI is starting a new initiative aimed to build and strengthen community and peer support for spiritual teachers, counselors, and coaches. Spiritual leadership can be a pretty complex and isolating role, and when things are challenging we often have few or no colleagues that we can lean on to share what is really going on for us, and get honest caring feedback. The ASI is looking into ways of supporting small groups of spiritual teachers who want to build peer support circles of collegial friendship working toward deep trust. We are in early stages and this project and it will grow slowly, starting with a couple of prototype groups—but we are quite excited about the potential it holds for deepening our various gifts of spiritual service.

Welcome to the video replay of another ASI live online meeting recorded February 8, 2021. The topic was Spirit + DIBE: Connecting the Spiritual to the Cultural and Political with our special host Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins. We discussed our role as spiritual teachers in the context of a divided world. We hope you enjoy all that Dr. Nuri-Robins had to share with us all. Comments are welcome below.

Written by Lorell Frysh The Purpose The role of the spiritual teacher or guru is to mirror and reflect the true nature of awareness. The teacher’s presence should remind the student of their own essential nature. It is the love for the guru and the freedom that he/she represents, that triggers the unfolding of the spiritual journey. The whole of the success and validity of the relationship depends on who the teachers and who the students are, and on what each of them is willing to bring to the relationship. The Process It is the warm, open love for the teacher, and the freedom that he/she represents, that triggers the spiritual unfolding. This love enables the student to undergo the onslaught to the ego that is the work of the spiritual journey. Initially, there may be difficulty, as the neurosis of the ego is heightened. The ego needs to be seen in order to be purified. In these moments, the student comes to see the places that are closed to love and those places that crave it. They learn to see the nature of their defenses that arose due to early wounding. It is the unconditional loving regard of the teacher, characterized by the qualities of mutual recognition, equity, respect, honesty, vulnerability, curiosity, openness and trust, that fosters the best possible growth. Common Difficulties in the Relationship One of the difficulties students experience in the student/teacher relationship is the projection onto the teacher of their parent or authority figure who was responsible for their early wounding. In this case, students may unconsciously engage in the projection by trying to please or seduce the teacher, or alternately, by rebelling against them. This because deep down, they don’t believe that they are lovable just as they are. Initially they may project the good parent onto the teacher, and if the teacher disappoints them, they may see the teacher as manipulative or abusive. The judging mind can unconsciously create splitting defenses by flipping between what it likes and does not like. Another issue that may arise is the confusion between submission to a teacher and surrender to a teaching. Submission is the response of an ego that feels a lack of self-worth. It operates from a place of weakness and fear, and depends on the teacher for its sense of self-worth. Surrender on the other hand, involves allowing oneself to be really seen with all the frailties of being human. It is important for the student to be aware of the fact that it is they who grants permission to the teacher to act as an authority on their behalf. Naturally, it is hoped that the student has a strong enough sense of self to be aware of what it is that they want in a teacher. When a person does not have the inner strength of a well-grounded psyche, and embarks on spiritual work, there is a tendency towards spiritual bypassing. Therefore, there needs to be work on both the psyche and the spirit in order for true spiritual expansion to happen. It is a healthy ego structure that can support the deconstruction of the false ego self without further defensive splitting taking place. Ideally, the student should not idealize the teacher, as idealization constricts the energy. The work is best engaged in a spirit of curiosity, innocence, humility, and wonder, allowing for the primordial terrors that often surface as part of the process. Work should be able to contain the student’s feelings of being stuck, resistant, righteous, and struggling over power and judgment, with the recognition that these are part of the process. It is in being truly seen, that we heal. Healthy Student/ Teacher or Guru relationships. The relationship between student and teacher is an important “crucible of learning.” The crucible should be one of mutual recognition and equity that also embodies the qualities of respect, honesty, vulnerability, curiosity, openness, and trust. This allows the intimacy of the relationship to foster the best possible growth. The relationship that is created should be one that enables both the student and the teacher to come together in a way that allows them both to go beyond perception, projections and transference. Because spiritual work involves leaving behind what is comfortable and familiar, adherence to taboos against murder, stealing, lying, and abuse of any kind are imperative in order to maintain a relationship of trust and safety. A good teacher should have the ability to lead by example, and the capacity to admit it when making mistakes. The teacher’s purpose is to enhance the training of the student with appropriate commentary, offer knowledge and wisdom, and ultimately, through love, teach the student to fall in love with the Ultimate Reality. A student should be able to test a teacher in order to ascertain whether they feel the teacher is right for them. It is also imperative that the student be able to recognize when it is time to leave the teacher. A good teacher never creates dependency, as the teaching should be about freedom. When students are ready to be individuated away from the teacher, they should be able to reflect upon the teachings with gratitude, track their growth through the process, have awareness of the places they had been most challenged, and make reparations to themselves and others for anything that still needs to be mended. Unhealthy or False Teachers/Gurus Teachers who are not still working on their own development tend to maintain the dynamic of the parent/child projection. Unhealthy teachers are unconsciously serving their own ego gratification and narcissistic needs, and often have power issues. They prey on the vulnerability of their students and are consequently destructive both to themselves and their students. Warning signs that the relationship is unhealthy: The teacher/guru or upper hierarchy inner circle of the group mislead the student about the group’s purpose. The teacher/guru or upper hierarchy inner circle of the group denigrate the student’s interpretations and do not allow dissent. Students are fed the idea that if they don’t follow group rules or ideas they might “miss out” on some deep inner secret or promise of Enlightenment… or miss a great opportunity “in this lifetime.” Students are segregated within the community. Students are isolated from society. Isolation removes a person from their normal reference points and puts them in an environment that is controlled by the group. Students are deprived of sleep and protein. In unhealthy groups, students are subjected to peer pressure and reinforcement to group norms and behaviors are stressed. Fear and guilt are used as manipulative tools to get a student to adhere to the group ideals. Students who find themselves in this environment are often coming from a deep neediness for external validation and are easily manipulated and brainwashed. Questions for students to ask themselves about their experience with the teacher and the group: Answering “yes” to most of these questions is a sign that you may be in a Cult with a narcissistic teacher: Was I running away from something in my life? Was I in transition or feeling emotionally lost when I joined the group? Did I hope someone would give me something that I felt I did not have? Did I engage in deification of the teacher seeing them as “more than human” or super spiritually accomplished? Did I have an unconscious desire to be “special”? Was I promised Enlightenment or some deep inner secret knowledge that I would miss out on if I don’t follow group norms and rules? Was I told not to trust my intuition? Was I denigrated for being “in my ego”? Was I allowed access to the teacher? Or did I have to build up to that privilege by performing certain tasks and “proving my loyalty”? Did I feel seen, heard, and acknowledged? Was it deemed ok just to human? Was I told to separate from society and my family because they would hold me back? Was the teacher or the group sexually, physically, or emotionally abusive? Were my movements monitored? Was I allowed to work, travel, and move about freely in the outside world? Was I told what or what not to eat, read, and to follow group exercises against my better judgement? Did I crave the acceptance of the group? Lorell Frysh received her PhD in East-West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA. Her doctoral studies focused on interfaith spiritual counseling, transpersonal psychology and the development of consciousness. She is a Minister and Senior Teacher in the Inayati Sufi Order.

In this video clip, part of a larger interview, Adyashanti talks about one of his central pillars, not abdicating authority. Discernment is important in our relationship with spiritual teachers. Ethics matter.

This article, written by Helen W. Mallon , points toward the need for a broader discussion on the topic of trauma. Written from a student’s perspective, we hope this piece stimulates your thoughts and encourages a fresh conversation in the comments below this blog post about trauma within the context of spiritual teaching and guidance. Try telling a goldfish that it’s wet. Assuming you speak its fishy language, it’ll probably say you’re nuts. The water it depends on is so inextricable from its goldfish self that it can’t perceive water as a separate thing. It’s like what the spiritual teacher Adyashanti says about enlightenment. Our consciousness is our arena for awakening, yet consciousness so permeates our being that we can’t feel or grasp it. We can’t experience how obvious enlightenment is until our preconceptions are utterly confounded. The goldfish has to be tossed out of the bowl. The goldfish also reveals something about life for trauma survivors, especially those for whom the identity-building phases of childhood were marred by abuse. Just as the fish can’t see water as separate, we grew up so fused to the trauma reactions embedded in our bodies that our notion of “me” was equivalent to those reactions. I was attacked sexually at a young age. After completely suppressing this memory, I developed an irrational fear of spending the night away from my parents. Sleepovers were torture. Lacking support around my fears and the abuse itself, I concluded that I had been born that way. Shame and feeling defective warped my sense of “me.” The effects persisted as I entered spiritual practice as an adult. As helpful as meditation is, expanded awareness also confronts me with as-yet unhealed pockets of trauma. Unfortunately, sometimes spiritual practice can eject traumatized people from their fishbowls too quickly, with damaging consequences. Occasionally, I’ve winced at the things spiritual teachers say. More than once, I’ve thought: I hope nobody else in this room has been through what I have. Being taught that “anger is never okay” is dangerous if a survivor has blamed herself for her abuse.  Given the teacher’s authority, that self-torture becomes spiritually sanctioned. In Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing , David A. Treleaven describes Brooke, who had lost her baby to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Before the tragedy, Brooke had benefited from meditation, so she thought a weekend retreat would be helpful. “At the end of the first day, disturbing memories (of cuddling her dying daughter) began to engulf her”…She felt “a black hole, pulling for her attention. Rather than feeling the expansiveness she’d experienced in the past, she felt trapped.” Brooke brought her problem to a retreat leader, who listened compassionately. Brooke was instructed to “to keep being mindful of the images and notice when they shifted.” It would have been good advice for most people, but the retreat leader was not equipped to deal with trauma. The images had already thrown Brooke outside her window of tolerance. Once the traumatized brain is hijacked in this way, it becomes frozen in its panic. Despairing, Brooke “left a note to the teachers saying…she had the flu” and left the retreat a day early. She may have viewed leaving the retreat as a failure. Actually, it was wise to leave a situation where she’d been encouraged to dig herself more deeply into a hole. The retreat leader is not to blame for the bad advice, but bad advice it was. The onus is not on people in crisis to correct this problem. The shame of complex trauma makes it hard for survivors to question their teachers or trust their own intuition. Spiritual teachers do not have to become psychologists or therapists, but they must become genuinely trauma-informed. This means more than recognizing signs of trauma and referring people to therapy, though these are important actions. Engagement with traumatized students has to go further. If we begin where we are—which is the only way to begin—then a traumatized person’s spiritual path is fully valid. I don’t view trauma as an impediment for a simple reason: Contemplative practice means engaging with immediate experience, and my immediate experience sometimes includes frightening symptoms. I can usually be with these in friendly curiosity. Recently, though, I did become overwhelmed. Last summer, I started a program designed to open students to their soul-level purpose, the unique way we were each born to be and to serve in the world. Prior to joining, I went through a vetting process, after which the director gave me a cheerful green light. While in the program, I experienced a deeper connection to nature and its messages for my soul than I had known before. It was lovely; I communicated with the energy of trees, and when I became lost on a long hike in a forest, putting my arms around trees gave me a surge of energy to keep going. I reveled in the magic of the forest. Yet the soul-exploration work mined our psychic depths. From my healing work, I was used to this kind of deep digging, but the program accelerated the mining. I shared this with my small group, admitting that the practices had churned up significant trauma. Afterwards, my small-group mentor contacted me with her concerns. She was worried not only about me, but the group. After we talked on Zoom, I decided it was best for me to leave. The program director wrote that once I was ready, I was more than welcome to enroll again. The people I dealt with were extremely kind. My mentor expressed regret that the program was not set up to deal with trauma. The experience left me with more questions than answers. First, I was “ready” before. My healing began about thirty years ago, but the process never ends. Who’s to say the same problem wouldn’t arise? And how could I bring my whole self into the program if it wasn’t equipped to deal with people like me? The subtle messaging wasn’t intentional, but I felt it. I could come back once I was fixed. Or at least more fixed than I currently am. After my plans for the next year crashed and burned, I felt disoriented, with a lot of time on my hands. I kept focusing on meditation. Here’s what I’ve learned: If what Adyashanti says about enlightenment being impossibly close to our everyday experience is true, then trauma survivors are pretty damn close to being monks. Our consciousness is highly tuned to the moment, if not in the most productive ways (we’re wired to look for danger and interpret life accordingly). We know that the world only offers hollow promises of peace. We are courageous and resilient, and spiritual practice demands both. To the extent we’ve experienced healing, we’ve done it through a practice. Like monks, we turned toward our pain and discovered it cannot devour us. My confusion about leaving the program was helped by a wise friend. He wrote, “You (have) tremendous gifts to offer. You are navigating the razor’s edge between deep, intense trauma and spiritual presence/awakening. One side drops off to powerful feelings and can swamp you; the other side drops off to the calm or nothingness connected with spiritual bypassing and disassociation. The task you face is to be on the razor’s edge… with courage and grace. Very few people are doing what you are doing. You have shown… perseverance to plumb this territory and this territory includes numbness, grief, confusion, and self-doubt. Stay the course.” While still in the program, I kept encountering dead butterflies: Twice, unnaturally plastered to the sidewalk, and once in a dream. These images felt significant. That day in the forest, I had fallen asleep under a tree. When I got up, I noticed a caterpillar hunching its way up the tree trunk. I watched it for a while, then blew on it to see what would happen. It froze in fear, flattening against the tree. 15 minutes later, when I continued walking, it hadn’t moved. The insects had something to teach me. The caterpillar reminded me of myself. I felt I was in a similar process of waiting. During metamorphosis, a caterpillar rots inside its cocoon. It doesn’t sprout tiny wings and expand like some happy embryo. I, too, felt spiritually dead. The mature, dead butterflies? It seemed they hadn’t completed their life cycle. Butterflies don’t simply drop dead on suburban sidewalks. Through years of healing, I’ve experienced many transformations. But these always related back to my history. I have shed fearful identities for more-healed versions of myself. I could continue on, but the butterflies I encountered were dead. What did it mean? In meditation, it came to me. Protective walls keep my small self in isolation from other beings. As a child, I needed those walls. The reality of abuse disappeared behind walls of forgetting, thin as butterfly wings. The new transformation is no longer about healing, though that will continue, but about releasing the walls of identity. Seeing myself as a trauma survivor was my self-orientation for decades. But ultimately, this was an idea about myself: a mental construct, true in the relative world, but reinforcing separation. Yes, the goldfish has to be thrown out of the bowl. But how can spiritual teachers support students who struggle with trauma? They can normalize it. More teachers can speak openly (perhaps about their own trauma), reframing it as an opportunity rather than a hindrance. The courage of survival can be harnessed. Some retreats might offer trauma-friendly practices. One such practice could be inviting students to titrate their own experiences. It can feel intimidating and shaming to tiptoe out of a meditation hall when you’re overwhelmed. If this were treated as a natural part of someone’s practice, perhaps leaving a retreat wouldn’t be necessary. The more students spiritual teachers have, the greater chance that some of them struggle with serious trauma. To the extent that teachers don’t recognize these students’ gifts, they may fall prey to the same attitudes as society at large: Survivors are “weak,” and we need to “get beyond it” in order for real life to happen. Wise practice opens us up to abide in the spacious Mystery that includes trauma, because it’s immensely bigger than all we experience. Trauma is not a spiritual curse. It contains tremendous possibility, and teachers can go a long way toward supporting that possibility. Helen W. Mallon writes about trauma and healing at Medium . She is co-editor of Collective Power , the publication of Home for Good Coalition. She has trained as a Gestalt therapist and has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Philadelphia. hmallon@navpoint.com

This ASI online meeting (December 20, 2020) featured the hosts of the Conspirituality podcast: Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, and Julian Walker. Their backgrounds are in journalism, cult research and philosophy. Their Conspirituality podcast explores why our current era of pandemic fears and political disillusionment makes some spiritual teachers and students susceptible to misinformation and cult-like thinking. It promises to be informative and exciting discussion which will help us become more aware of the contemporary phenomenon of conspiracies within the spiritual landscape. http://www.conspirituality.net We hope you enjoy the video replay of our discussion. Details of upcoming ASI events are posted at our website.

By Mariana Caplan , Ph.D., Psychotherapist and Author Reposted from HuffPost with permission. The author has since published a related book, Yoga and Psyche . Every year brings a new major scandal in the yogic field. The majority of scandals involve inappropriate sexual boundaries, but also frequently include power, money, and manipulation. Sometimes there is death. Most, though not all, occur among male teachers, both Eastern and Western. I have been surprised to find myself as the go-to psychologist for many such devastations, as well as counseling numerous spiritual teachers who are willing to do the depth psychological work required to prevent such calamities from arising in their communities. In spite of bearing witness to copious amounts of disillusionment and human complexity and on the spiritual path over many years, I remain fully optimistic about the spiritual journey, the great wisdom traditions, the resiliency of the human spirit, and the power of forgiveness. The vast majority of spiritual scandals are due to human psychology rather than shortcomings in spiritual traditions. The scandals we find in the yoga world are rarely due to any fault in yoga philosophy or practice, but rather result from psychological blind spots and weaknesses in the teacher. Spiritual teachers themselves are often deeply versed in, and transmit, great spiritual knowledge and even transmission. They are usually sincere and often brilliant. Yet many have not done deep psychological work on themselves, even if they recommend it to their students. They have never uncovered the psychological roots of their own struggles, patterns, traumas, and wounds. Their failure to do so often brings about suffering in their students and followers. What is emotionally un-integrated in the spiritual teacher becomes psychologically imbalanced in the teachings and community. The Western psyche is constructed differently than the Eastern psyche. To migrate successfully from one civilization to another, the great traditions must take into account the deep psychological structures of the countries and cultures into which they are being imported. The yoga of the East cannot take root in the Western world without recognizing the particular gifts and challenges inherent in the Western psyche. Psychological pioneer Carl Jung coined the term gnostic intermediary to refer to people who personally incorporate the wisdom of a tradition, and can then speak directly from their own experience and translate both the experience and understanding into the language and concepts of the culture to which they wish to communicate. This insight brings with it the distinct possibility to help prevent spiritual scandals by understanding the importance of psychology to yoga for the Western practitioner. Developments in somatic psychology, yoga research, mindfulness, yoga therapy, neuroscience, and trauma research, can increase the effectiveness of yoga to treat the whole human being. By drawing upon the developments in psychology, teachers can work with their own psychological weaknesses so they will not be visited upon their students. Psychology is new in terms of the emergence of great philosophical and transformational systems. Even in the 14 years since James Hillman’s bestselling We’ve Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy — And the World is Getting Worse, the approximately 140-year-old tradition has had major advances. Western psychology, though much younger than the 2,000- to 5,000-year-old yoga tradition, skillfully reaches into the traumas and psychological challenges that are unique to the Western psyche. It addresses the areas that often result in spiritual scandal, and thus is invaluable to the continued expansion and health of yoga in the Western world. What wakes me up to inspiration in the morning, and sometimes deep into the night, is the endless ways which the brilliant traditions of yoga and psychology can enhance each other, stretch each other, and make each other more effective. Towards this vision I have invited 20 pioneers and scholars of these two traditions to come together for a weekend in San Francisco in April for The Yoga & Psyche Conference, hosted by The California Institute of Integral Studies. It is the first academic conference in the Western world to integrate yoga and Western psychology. The conference speakers and attendees will come from as far as India and Brazil, and include inspiring medical doctors, psychologists, spiritual teachers, yoga teachers and practitioners, neuroscientists, and trailblazers in the integration of these two fields. Spirituality should make people healthier and happier, not traumatized and further alienated from themselves and others. To prevent scandal on the spiritual path, maintain a spirit of optimism and integrity, and contribute to the spread of yogic wisdom, we are each are called to examine ourselves deeply, take inventory of our strengths and weaknesses, share our gifts, and address our psychological challenges. As yoga further embraces psychology, and teachers of yoga and other spiritual traditions understand the importance of addressing their own psychological challenges, we can diminish unnecessary suffering and bring forth new possibilities.

by David “Davidya” Buckland First posted on the author’s blog . Reposted here by the author. Through the cycle of descending ages , most spiritual traditions came to overemphasize the masculine – both in approach and in domination by men. This has led to drier, more austere forms of spirituality and issues with repression. Those traditions cultured well-prepared teachers though. Teaching did not begin until they were trained and deemed ready by their mentors. Rising consciousness is bringing a gradual restoration of the feminine. This means healing emotions, relationships, and raising women into leadership roles. It also leads to a much richer unfolding when both our masculine and feminine aspects are supported. Today we see many independent teachers and a more entrepreneurial approach to spirituality. Many teachers self-assign or come out of a brief lineage with less formal structure. This has led to a much greater diversity of voices but also to some teaching without understanding the interpersonal dynamics of their relationships with students. Often, we see teaching begin before there is professional development. They may act out, develop co-dependent relationships, or unload on their students. There isn’t peer support nor an understanding of healthy boundaries, power dynamics, and appropriate relationship. At the same time, students may venerate teachers. Yet spiritual development doesn’t grant interpersonal skills. They’re different kinds of development. This has been a recipe for disaster. I’ve seen some egregious issues and the resulting fallout. Students have far too often become victims. While we are shedding many of the issues of rigid traditions, we’ve also lost the structure. To make spiritual teaching reputable in the West, we need a professional association and ethical guidelines. Not as a control mechanism or out of spiritual correctness but as a framework for education and standards that protect teacher and student. In 2015, a group of us discussed some of these issues during the Sofia panel . Rick Archer did a talk on the subject at last year’s SAND17 Conference and then had lunch with Jac O-Keeffe and Craig Holliday to discuss how they might contribute. They worked together on a formal structure all year. At this year’s SAND18 Conference , Rick, Jac, Craig, and Caverly Morgan formally announced The Association of Professional Spiritual Teachers (APST) during a panel discussion*. (All have BATGAP.com interviews.) The association offers ethical guidelines, education, and peer support for spiritual teachers and anyone who offers spiritual guidance. It also offers guidelines for students, helping them understand appropriate behaviour; for them and for teachers. The idea is not to impose on what is often very personal and very direct teaching. It is to offer a support framework for teachers that has been lost in the shift away from ancient traditions. The association is very new and very open to feedback and suggestions. The founders have been consulting with various professional organizations and spiritual therapists who deal with the consequences of ethical breaks. I had several discussions with the founders during the SAND conference and attended their meeting and the recording of an introductory video. I’ve joined the association and will help some on the tech side. You’ll see their logo on the right sidebar here. The founders describe the association as an evolving work in progress. But now they need awareness and teacher members to join for free and grow the presence of the organization. If you are not a spiritual teacher or guide, the student guidelines may be valuable and you can offer feedback through their Contact form. [UPDATE:] They’ve added a public Facebook group for general discussion. Finally, it’s worth noting the beauty of this. Not so many years ago, teachers were largely in silos, seeing others as competition. Here we see an opportunity for the community to come together under one mutually supportive umbrella. Another symptom of the rising tide. David “Davidya” Buckland *The SAND panel is expected to be posted on batgap.com on Dec 15.

This conversation will explore the profound interconnections between ethics and Advaita Vedanta. An ethical life is foundational to the spiritual quest, a non-negotiable sine qua non to any real spiritual development. One can be good without being particularly “spiritual”, but there is no spirituality without goodness. But it is also true that ethics are a consequence of nonduality. For as long as thinkers have pondered ethics, they have searched for a foundation, a grounding, for ethics. Why should one be good and do good? The various answers thinkers have come up with through the ages – utilitarianism, deontology, and so forth – have all been found seriously wanting. Nonduality claims to provide a deep foundation for ethics. We shall explore the philosophical and practical, as well as the individual and social dimensions of ethics in nondual spirituality. Swami Sarvapriyananda has been Minister and Spiritual Leader of the Vedanta Society of New York since January, 2017. He was a Nagral Fellow at Harvard Divinity School during the 2019-20 academic year. Prior to this, he served as assistant minister of the Vedanta Society of Southern California for 13 months. Swami joined the Ramakrishna Math and Mission in 1994 and received Sannyas in 2004. Before coming to serve in the US, he served as an acharya (teacher) of the monastic probationers’ training center at Belur Math in West Bengal, India (the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa). He has served the Ramakrishna Math and Mission in various capacities including being the Vice Principal of the Deoghar Vidyapith Higher Secondary School, Principal of the Shikshana Mandira Teacher Education College at Belur Math, and the first Registrar of the Vivekananda University at Belur Math. http://www.vedantany.org/resident-swamis While we offer this special online event for free for everyone to attend, please consider making a suggested donation of $10 or more to support the Association for Spiritual Integrity to continue sponsoring more events like this one. All donations are made in USD funds. The ASI is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt corporation. Thank you!

This is was a live ASI Community Gathering event where the ASI Honor Code of Ethics was reviewed on August 12, 2020. The ASI Honor Code of Ethics is a living document and hence changes and additions have been made to the Honor Code of Ethics since this recording. For the most current Honor Code of Ethics for Individual Teachers/Leader/Guides

In the following interview, ASI member Jac O’Keeffe dives deep with Phil Goldberg of Spirit Matters Podcast. They discuss Jac’s own spiritual journey and her role as a teacher in the evolving spiritual landscape. Jac recounts early experiences on the path; from the opening of her third eye to her travels in India and the cessation of mental chatter and thought. Now working as a spiritual teacher, Jac shares her understanding of the relationship between student and teacher in the spiritual journey. She discusses her work as a co-founder of the Association for Spiritual Integrity (ASI), and bringing awareness to the need for cultivating honesty and transparency in spiritual leaders. A “post-guru” era of spirituality is on the horizon, and Jac calls for a new model where the students maintain their self-authority rather than projecting onto an external guru figure. She aims for a cultural shift to a more honest, open, and human way of being for all. Direct link: http://spiritmatterstalk.com/jac-okeeffe Stream Spirit Matters Talk music

Humility: What it is, what it is not, and how we can cultivate it within us. What goes wrong when we don't value it as a virtue within ourselves? Enjoy this discussion on humility with presenter Stephen G. Post, PhD and the Association for Spiritual Integrity. This event was recorded live on July 1, 2020. An opinion leader and public speaker, Stephen G. Post, Ph.D. (University of Chicago, 1983) is the best-selling lead author of Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to Live a Longer, Happier, Healthier Life by the Simple Act of Giving (Random House Broadway). He has been quoted in more than 4000 newspapers and magazines, and featured on numerous television shows including The Daily Show. Described by Martin E.P. Seligman in Flourish as one of “the stars of positive psychology,” Post is a leader in research on the benefits of giving and on compassionate care in relation to improved patient outcomes and clinician well-being. He addressed the U.S. Congress on volunteerism and health, receiving the Congressional Certificate of Special Recognition for Outstanding Achievement. Stephen G. Post: www.stephengpost.com Association for Spiritual Integrity: www.spiritual-integrity.org

Shared by Stephen G. Post Citation: Stephen G. Post PhD, Maria E. Pagano PhD, Matthew T. Lee PhD & Byron R. Johnson PhD (2016) Humility and 12-Step Recovery: A Prolegomenon for the Empirical Investigation of a Cardinal Virtue in Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 34:3, 262-273, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07347324.2016.1182817 . Click here to watch the replay of our live webinar event on “Humility” with Stephen G. Post on (recorded June 30).

Preventing the Abuse of Sexual Energy in the Student/Teacher Relationship By Dani Antma n “The weekend was powerful, with many meditations that left me swooning in a state of ecstasy. On the last day of the weekend, we each had a private exit interview with him. I came into the room and sat cross-legged opposite him. “Come closer,” he said. I moved in toward him till our knees were touching. He pressed his thumb into my third eye, and my whole body shook rapidly as light spiraled up my spine. Then he chanted the bija mantras in Sanskrit, which are the seed syllables for each chakra. “Lam, Vam, Ram, Ham, Yam, Om…” More intense light spiraled up my spine, exploding in my head. I opened my eyes and stared into his. Then he leaned over and kissed me on my lips. I was shocked. And also flattered. I just sat there, not knowing what to do. Then he told me to leave the room.” –    Wired for God, Adventures of a Jewish Yogi by Dani Antman I am writing this article so that both students and teachers can become more aware of the challenging aspects of Kundalini process and its effect on sexual energy. I believe this knowledge is essential for anyone who is a spiritual teacher, even if they are not working directly with Kundalini. Kundalini is defined as the Divine force within every person, that guides us toward liberation. It is the inner power of awakening of every spiritual path. Knowledge of Kundalini process allows for realistic assessment of spiritual progress and could inhibit tendencies toward grandiosity, ego inflation, and narcissistic behavior that lead to abuse of power. Unfortunately, misuse of sexual energy has been a common occurrence in our times. We have seen many sexual scandals involving teachers and students, despite the assumption of a higher standard of ethical behavior in the spiritual environment. I am grateful to the Association of Spiritual Integrity (ASI) for putting forth their guidelines for good and ethical practices, and I hope that the discussions being facilitated by ASI continue to happen, creating a non-judgmental, compassionate environment for teachers and students to share honestly and vulnerably about their challenges. The topic of ethical sexual boundaries between teachers and students is important to me. Many years ago, when I was a novice on the spiritual path, I was seduced by a spiritual teacher. At first, being showered with the teacher’s attention was electrifying. I felt special. I felt spiritually validated in a way that I had never before experienced. His transmissions of energy were intoxicating; they left me in a state of craving, like an addict. I fell in love with him despite the fact that I was married. He became the constant object of my longing for the perfect sexual/spiritual partner. He would come to me in his astral body at night and infuse me with the most delicious sexually charged energy. I was in an unhappy marriage, and my fantasy and longing for a perfect partner, transferred onto him. When I separated from my husband, I had a sexual encounter with him which ended as quickly as it began. The teacher disappeared from my life, as he was already pursuing his next conquest in the group. Although the encounter was consensual, it didn’t excuse the behavior of the teacher, who used his formidable energetic powers for the purpose of seduction. At that time, I didn’t know anything about Kundalini. Later, I learned that the upward moving energy and bliss I experienced were actually a characteristic of my particular kind of Kundalini rising. But I attributed all those effects to him, and dazzled, I surrendered my soul to him. This experience was devastating. I felt betrayed, abandoned, and ashamed as word of the encounter leaked to the whole community. I knew I had a choice to make: I could remain angry, blame it all on the teacher, and quit the spiritual path completely or I could choose to do my own inner work and heal my broken heart. I chose the latter, and found a compassionate, spiritually oriented therapist to help me. Therapy enabled me to see my own shadow, as well as the teacher’s unhealed narcissistic tendencies. I had to face my need to feel special and seen, and I had to acknowledge my own seductiveness. To this day, I don’t believe the teacher in question ever did his own inner work around his abuse of power and sexuality. I heard that he continued to seduce women in all his other groups. Introduction to Kundalini I met Swami Chandrasekharanand Saraswati, (Swamiji for short) and his protégé, Joan Shivarpita Harrigan, Ph.D., the founders of Patanjali Kundalini Yoga Care, (PKYC), at a two-day presentation on Kundalini Vidya in New York City. The knowledge shared in this article includes oral teachings received from Swamiji and Joan, information from Joan Harrigan’s books, Kundalini Vidya and Stories of Spiritual Transformation, and my own experience of Kundalini process which has been supervised by PKYC for 18 years. Both of Joan’s books are treasure troves of information about Kundalini, available on Amazon.com . Swamiji and Joan presented teachings on the nature of Kundalini process, its symptoms, and its role in the spiritual awakening process. In my first consult, I learned I had a challenging Kundalini rising that if not corrected, had the potential to manifest as seduction, or misuse of sexual energy. Over the course of many supervised retreats, I received guidance and practices, which helped me safely navigate the correction and advancement of this Kundalini process. What is Kundalini and Kundalini Shakti? I use the word Kundalini to describe the Divine force within all human beings, which motivates us to return to the Source. When Kundalini is active in our subtle body and chakra system, the term Kundalini Shakti, and the feminine pronoun She is used to describe Her, because like a mother, she is the essence of love. Her prime directive is enlightenment and she is the inner spiritual power that brings us to realization. On the macrocosmic level, Kundalini is the force that creates and sustains the whole universe. On the microcosmic level, Kundalini is the force that sustains human life by working through our physical body and our subtle body systems. Contrary to what most people think, Kundalini is not another term for energy. Prana is the correct term for energy in Sanskrit. Kundalini often gets confused with energy, because of the different manifestations of energy during Kundalini process. In an unreleased state, Kundalini Shakti resides in a contained, coiled state at the base of the spine, in Muladhara, First chakra. In a released, active state, she rises from her starting place at the base of the spine and makes her way to completion at the top of the head, Bindu . Kundalini process is complex and is unique to each person. The process can be peaceful, ecstatic, or challenging, depending on the person’s life history, karma, subtle body, and type of Kundalini rising. It is Kundalini within us that inspires us to explore spirituality, philosophy, or religion. It makes us yearn to know the true meaning and purpose of life. Kundalini process can bring heightened awareness, glimpses of Oneness, enhanced sensitivity, visions of light, heat or cold in the body, movements of energy, spontaneous body movement, and mystical states. These experiences don’t necessarily indicate spiritual advancement, or the stage of Kundalini’s progress. Vajra Rising Process There are six types of Kundalini rising, each named after the nadi (channel) through which She rises. Each of these risings have specific qualities, with both gifts and challenges. Two risings, the Saraswati nadi and Vajra nadi risings, are in nadis that don’t go through Makara point in upper Ajna chakra, the Sixth chakra, and don’t culminate in Bindu, at the top of the head. These are called Deflected risings because Kundalini Shakti could not enter Sushumna nadi, the central column, at the time of Her initial release, where she can rise through the chakras to reach Bindu. The Vajra rising is called the Sex rising or the Left path rising, because the nadi starts in the sexual center, Swadhistana, the Second chakra, then travels down toward the first chakra, Muladhara , and then proceeds upward toward the brain centers. It doesn’t open the chakras as it moves upward and doesn’t pierce Makara point, a special gateway in upper Ajna chakra. To correct a Vajra rising, special right path (non-sexual, gentle) esoteric practices are necessary to bring Kundalini back down to the base of the spine. Then she can enter Sushumna nadi, and proceed upward. This shift can also happen through great devotion, prayer, and spiritual effort. The Vajra nadi is the channel used in all people to produce the unitive experience of orgasm, when prana flows through it. When Kundalini Shakti rises through this nadi, it can produce an enhanced desire for sex and amplified sexual energy. If a person is not aware of this propensity distorted behaviors can happen. All kinds of Kundalini processes enhance sensory acuity, intelligence, creativity, spiritual interest, and sexuality. Anyone, whether they have a Kundalini rising or not, can be unethical with sexual boundaries, but the stakes are higher for anyone in Kundalini process. This is especially true of someone with Vajra nadi process. Vajra nadi process gives a person a glimpse of Oneness and the unitive state, but this glimpse can’t be sustained, as it is unstable, and Kundalini Shakti falls back down. The Vajra rising opens many subtle brain centers and bestows the gifts of intelligence, intuitive capacity, and esoteric talent. When Kundalini descends from the brain centers to the Second chakra, the person then loses the glimpse of Oneness they received and can become depressed. With the gifts of a Vajra rising and the glimpse of Unity that the rising provides, a person could assume that they have reached a higher level of awakening than is actually present. One could become a gifted teacher with the gifts of this rising, even though the diversion into the central column has not yet happened. In my own experience of the Vajra rising, the amplified desire for sex bordered on addiction. I was searching for union in all the wrong places. I attracted partners who were non-committal playboys driven by lust. I experienced heartbreak and disappointment in love, which caused holes in my auric field and created weakness in my second chakra. In Vajra process, Vyana vayu , the prana associated with the auric field, is super charged and highly sensitive. By the time I came to PKYC for guidance, I felt depleted, and my Second chakra had damage. I experienced deep fatigue because the Second chakra sustains and maintains the whole subtle body. The holes in my subtle body also allowed for unpleasant and scary astral experiences. Vajra rising people can be driven, charismatic, intelligent, and attractive. They have a certain sexual vibe in their energy field. As a spiritual teacher with this rising, one could be especially tempted to succumb to sexual relationships with students. A student with this rising would likely be attracted towards a teacher with this rising – like attracts like. I would guess that many people today who take part in so-called Tantric sex workshops, also have Vajra risings. Without the esoteric knowledge needed to divert the rising into Sushumna nadi, these Tantric methods just produce prolonged orgasm and enhanced sexual pleasure, rather than real spiritual progress, because Kundalini stays in the non-culminating Vajra nadi. Some of the “fallen” gurus in the spiritual world have used their heightened sexual energy and charisma as a way to seduce their students into believing that a sexual encounter with them will help their spiritual progress. Other gurus exploit the power differential in the student/teacher relationship to extract sexual favors, even if the student consents. Pamela Dyson, in her memoir, Premka, White Bird in A Golden Cage, says of her illicit sexual relationship with Yogi Bhajan, “For me he was the most important and precious being on the planet. Devotion, Devotee. There was something so appealing about this concept. As a woman, I had an organic, instinctive urge toward giving myself to a man. In this case, there was the added dimension of serving a higher purpose, surrendering, and trusting in a greater wisdom of a superior being.” Pamela spent years serving Yogi Bhajan and his organization as his main spokesperson. She secretly serviced his sexual needs without any mutuality, until she woke up and was able to see the distortions of behavior in both herself and her guru. When she tried to leave, she was shunned, accused of not telling the truth, and threatened. The truth is that the only way we evolve spiritually is to do our own deep work. An experience of disillusionment with a teacher offers the very potent lesson of finding discernment on the path. Discernment is perhaps one of the hardest lessons a seeker will learn, because it forces one to find the truth from within. Teachers can point the way, give appropriate practices, and bestow a transmission of their own stage of enlightenment, but there is no spiritual advancement in exchange for sex, it is a bogus deal. Kundalini Rising to Makara Point All Kundalini risings have to eventually reach Makara point to progress further to Bindu, at the top of the head, and complete the Kundalini process. Makara point is in Upper Ajna chakra, the Sixth chakra. Makara point is reached when the conditions are right in the subtle body, the mind is strongly focused, and there is enough vitality in the prana system to pierce the diamond-hard cap on Itara Linga , in the Ajna chakra. Kundalini Shakti’s progress to Makara point is a one-time sacred and holy event. This opening is a permanent shift in spiritual life; Kundalini will not descend below Makara point again. Reaching Makara point signifies the beginning of stable, advanced, spiritual process. It can happen after slow and steady spiritual progress through many lifetimes, or it can be a result of the rapid, spontaneous ascent of Kundalini Shakti. This remarkable event is so sacred that it can seem like the end of the spiritual quest. Yet it marks the beginning of the next stage, the renovation and restoration phase. This can last for a good while, as the system is prepared for Bindu, and realization. Renovation and Restoration Phase “After Kundalini reaches Makara, Kundalini Shakti systematically starts to clear the chakras and renovate the subtle body. This type of clearing is a permanent, spiritually driven upgrade of the entire energy system. As the chakras are purified, all your hidden wounds are brought to the surface so that they can be healed. Here the seeds and roots of your karmas are completely burned so that they no longer sprout.” -Joan Harrigan, quoted in Wired for God Adventures of a Jewish Yogi The duration of the renovation and restoration phase can be short or long, depending on the person’s vitality, condition of the subtle body, and karma. During this phase, the person’s samskaras (latent impressions) and vasanas (desires) arise to be cleared, and this can cause spontaneous movements in the physical body called kriyas. Past life images, fantasies, intense emotions, and physical symptoms can appear as each chakra is purged of its storehouse of past impressions. It is important to have guidance in this phase in order to avoid being overwhelmed by the relentless clearing process. A daily spiritual practice to support Kundalini’s clearing work is helpful. Right nutrition and plenty of time to rest are essential. In my own process I noticed the uncanny accuracy with which life seemed to put me in the exact situation that replicated my past in order to heal it. The real test was to witness the situation without re-enacting the drama, and to learn from past mistakes. This is easier said than done. I needed help to avoid the most common pitfalls of ego inflation, delusion, projection, and transference. Changes in Sexual Energy Sexual energy can increase or decrease during the different stages of Kundalini process. Increased awareness and discernment are needed as Kundalini purges our system of old modes of being, including our relationship to sexuality. Sex is sacred and affects the entire subtle body system, the endocrine system, our emotions, and brain function. It should be held as sacred, especially for the sincere seeker. Vajra rising people are not the only ones with the propensity for amplified sexual energy. Sexual energy can increase in a rising through Sushumna nadi, when Kundalini is stuck at the Throat chakra or Brow chakra. This can produce heat in the head, and a person might turn to sex, drugs, alcohol, or other forms of relief, leading to possible addiction. Shifts in sexual energy can also occur as Kundalini passes through the Second chakra on her ascent from the First chakra, or when the Second chakra is being purged from Kundalini’s post-Makara basecamp. Other people report having a decreased libido and no interest in sexual relationship during the most active phases of Kundalini process. One can experience satisfaction from inner absorption for quite some time. Then life gradually gets more “normal,” and attention turns outward again, with integration and stabilization of the process. In my experience, as Kundalini cleared and repaired my Second chakra, the strong tendencies produced by past experiences with men, manifested in many sexual dreams. I experienced involuntary lower body pumping movements, (kriyas) that were akin to the movements of intercourse, with the energy in reverse, as my body purged impressions from previous sexual encounters. These movements lasted many years, and to some extent are ongoing, as clearing the Second chakra is one of the main endeavors my soul came to address in this lifetime. During this time, I chose to be celibate in order to give my subtle body and physical body a chance to heal from the past. Upper Process and Bindu In Upper Process, Kundalini chooses a subtle body path toward Bindu, which is the gateway to Oneness experience. Different types of Upper process bestow different experiences to the seeker. After reaching Bindu, Kundalini rising is complete, but the process is not finished until full realization. Bindu is the ineffable experience of “the one without a second.” It is an indescribable experience in that there is “no-thing to report.” The experiencer disappears into Pure Consciousness, Vastness, the One. It is the merging of the lover and the beloved in Unity Consciousness. Reaching Bindu is the first experience of THAT which cannot be named, but can be experienced through Consciousness. Yet, there is still a deepening, a stage of process called Plateau experience, or expanding process, when the ongoing immersion in the Oneness experience expands. According to the Yoga Sutras, the experience of Samadhi progresses through deeper and deeper stages, until one is liberated. Even after Samadhi, the appearance of vasanas and samskaras can still cause great distraction and disturbance. It is necessary to stay vigilantly aware to allow the content of the vasanas and samskaras to process through and burn the seeds of karma. It is important to maintain a disciplined spiritual practice so that Kundalini has the inner support to continue to clear the karmic baggage from the subtle body, and this is especially true for those who are advanced enough to have taken on the responsibility of being a teacher. As long as we are in a body, there is still an ongoing clearing process powered by Kundalini Shakti herself. Conclusion In conclusion, I hope sharing this esoteric knowledge, which is unique to the PKYC lineage, provides more consciousness about sexual energy, Kundalini, and spirituality. I hope that more people will ask for professional support when the spiritual awakening process gets challenging. I hope more teachers will model spiritual maturity, responsibility, and ethical boundaries with their students. I hope that more students will have discernment in picking spiritual teachers. I want to emphasize again that a sexual relationship with a spiritual teacher is not a spiritual practice, and can be wounding and detrimental to the seeker. My message to all seekers is this: Spiritual longing is holy. When your yearning for the Divine is intense and you call out for help from the depth of your soul, the call is always answered. Help arrives, a path opens up, a teacher appears, or grace opens the way to the next stage of spiritual process. But we should never abdicate our own authority. We need discernment. We have the right to test our teachers, to observe them, and see if they walk their talk. We can observe students closest to the teacher to see if they model maturity and ethical boundaries. We can also leave teachers when we have outgrown them or their teachings. There is always help for a sincere spiritual seeker. Don’t give up until you reap the rewards of your practice. Spiritual guidance provided by PKYC is temporarily on hold. For further updates, check the website www.kundalinicare.com Dani Antman is an internationally known energy healer and spiritual guide, based in Santa Barbara CA. She is the author of Wired for God, Adventures of a Jewish Yogi . Her website is: www.daniantman.com To watch her Buddha at the Gas Pump interview with Rick Archer click here:  https://youtu.be/K-Vv2z-SQEU

Essay by Jerry Freeman (ASI Member) SAMPLE EXCERPT: Deep inside every seeker of Truth resonates a primordial archetype: The Enlightened One.   To find an enlightened preceptor. To be enlightened. To bring enlightenment to all. These are among the highest aspirations a human soul can cherish.   But then, in time, sooner or later, the cherished ideal clashes against the hard rocks of practical reality.   All teachers are human. All teachers are fallible. All teachers are flawed. Those who come closest to a true, mature enlightenment do not hide their humanity. They do not cover themselves with an “enlightened” persona. They are at peace with themselves exactly as they are. They present themselves exactly as they are: human, fallible, flawed and still a work in progress even though some of them, the best of them, may already be deeply enlightened.   (You may ask, “Deeply enlightened? Can you be a little enlightened? Isn’t a person either enlightened or not enlightened?” Thank you for asking, and please bear with me for a little while. These are the very questions we are about to explore.) Yes, there are enlightened teachers, but there are no perfect teachers. Contradictory though it may seem, enlightenment does not confer perfection… TO ACCESS THE PDF DOCUMENT AND READ THE WHOLE ESSAY, CLICK THE LINK BELOW: Draft version, for personal use only, not for publication without the author’s permission. Copyright © 2025, Jerry Freeman . All rights reserved. This essay will be included in the upcoming book, The Enlightenment Puzzle: A Practical Guide to Navigating the Truths and Fallacies About Awakening

An ASI live webinar event with Mariana Caplan, PhD and Roger Walsh, MD, PhD, recorded February 26, 2020. There is now enormous and still growing interest in plant medicines and psychedelics. A variety of drugs are now being used for purposes ranging from curiosity to psychotherapeutic, spiritual, personal exploration, creativity, and performance enhancement. Psychedelics are rapidly finding their way into mainstream disciplines such as medicine, psychiatry, psychotherapy, and end-of-life care. Clinicians and scientists are again doing sanctioned research and documenting the benefits of psychedelics for issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, treatment-resistant depression, facing life-threatening illnesses and end-of-life care. And of course, they have become popular far outside mainstream institutions. Yet every light casts a shadow, and in the wake of this revolution, many have suffered. Medically, there are reports of psychological problems such as severe distress, even psychotic breaks and suicides. Interpersonally, there have been unethical behaviors, abuses of power and sexuality, and carelessness, misjudgments, and inadequate training on the part of those who share/administer the medications. Many of these stories remain “in the dark” as shame prevents people from sharing their difficulties and tragedies. Yet it is important to bring them into the light of awareness to inform discerning use of these powerful substances. Yes, used wisely, psychedelics can offer remarkable benefits, but how to ensure that they are used wisely? Join Mariana Caplan, PhD and Roger Walsh, MD, PhD as they delve into the ethical, personal, and psychological issues that we need to consider in order to ensure safe and fruitful explorations of psychedelics as they reemerge into Western culture.

Here’s the excerpt from some research. Note that only 27% of the subjects who reported “stable higher consciousness” were also in advanced stages of psychological development. “Contrasting Higher Consciousness and Psychological Development" The most advanced range of [recognized] Psychological development – post-conventional – unfolds fully the feelings and ego levels, which are the basis of sound ethical behavior*. Higher consciousness is related to unfolding Transcendental Consciousness [samadhi or turiya into Turiyatita or Self Realization and further]. These two developmental ranges to a large extent unfold independently of each other. This means that higher consciousness may be available before one has reached for instance the post-conventional range. A study of a group of people reporting stable higher consciousness found that only 27 per cent of them were measured to be in the post-conventional range of ego or self-development (Travis & Brown, 2009). Although this is about three times the current norm of 10 per cent, it nevertheless indicates that full psychological development may not be a prerequisite for higher consciousness. Other researchers have found that persons in a wide range of psychological developmental enjoy peak experiences (Maslow, 1968; Panzarella, 1980), and this is also evident from our own research on world-class performers and their controls [research related to whole-brain functioning].” *this from Kohlbergs model for background: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg%27s_stages_of_moral_development David Buckland

Two videos have been released featuring the Association for Spiritual Integrity at the Science and Nonduality Conference held in San Jose, California in October 2019. SAND Panel on Sex, Money, Power, Trauma & Ethics in Spiritual Communities Meeting of Founders and Members of the Association for Spiritual Integrity You are invited to participate in the BATGAP Facebook Discussion Group for these videos: FB Discussion as well as leaving your comments below. The blog and embedded videos below are re-posted with permission from Rick Archer, Buddha at the Gas Pump . SAND Panel on Sex, Money, Power, Trauma & Ethics in Spiritual Communities Introduction by Rick The spiritual awakening sweeping the world may be critical to addressing our critical problems. Ethical breaches by spiritual teachers sabotage this awakening. How the ASI was founded. Its role & perspective. Discussion Qualities and Characteristics of a healthy teacher, student, and spiritual community. What to look for in a spiritual teacher The student’s responsibility. Healthy teacher/student relationships. Support for teachers recognizing their blind spots. Are higher consciousness and more ideal behavior correlated? Continual growth and learning, even in the teachers’ seat. Discriminating between Awakening, Integration process and actualization. Abiding exclusively in nondual awareness vs. developing a multi-layered perspective. What contributes to unhealthy behavior or cult-like tendencies. Questions and answers Guru addiction Money issues in spiritual communities The responsibility teachers and students share The importance of therapy. Teachers referring students to other teachers. How long to stay with a teacher Teachers inviting students to give them feedback Meeting of Founders and Members of the Association for Spiritual Integrity Forty-five spiritual teachers, members of “The Association for Spiritual Integrity”, met for four hours prior to the start of the 2019 Science and Nonduality Conference. For the first couple of hours, we engaged in a deep, honest discussion about the challenges teachers face, seeking to learn how we might better support one another. We then broke into six groups, each focusing on a particular topic. Then we reassembled and recorded the remainder of the meeting. This video includes: Introduction by Rick Summary of discussions in each of the six breakout groups: (1) Bringing forth women and feminine empowerment. Distinguishing between women and yin-style teachings in a way to not exclude men from the conversation. Action items: to have each day of SAND have a 3-hour session led by women. to have more yin-style teachings on the SAND website (2) Ongoing growth for teachers and continuing education, trauma, attachment, and shadow work. Teacher survey: what is working for you? Online teacher assessment through which teachers can assess themselves. Regular peer-group meetings, including teachers with younger teachers Workshop around developmental trauma that shows up in the teacher role. (3) Creating community and peer support Among spiritual teachers How to include more people of color and young people in the spiritual community, which tends to be white and middle class. Monthly online and annual in-person peer group meetings for spiritual teachers A system whereby teachers can refer students to other teachers, if appropriate. (4) Healthy power dynamics and dual relationships People will naturally come and go from spiritual training groups. There should be a balance between teacher and student accountability. (5) The Ethics of the Spiritual Community Have something like the Better Business Bureau which would keep the data on teacher abuse. (6) The importance of awareness of teacher misbehavior and discerning between real misbehavior and false accusations. A personal or professional commitment expressed by each teacher in the meeting.

Many of us feel the need to move beyond models of the “infallible guru” to find a new paradigm for sharing truth that appreciates a person may legitimately have a significant realization and transmission to share, but at the same time, is still a human being in a process of continual unfolding. Whatever blind spots or undigested material a teacher has personally will inevitably express somehow with their community of students. If this is not acknowledged, it inevitably creates suffering and stagnation for everyone. What does it mean to embody spiritual integrity when our less than perfectly integrated parts show up in the room? In this webinar, Miranda Macpherson will share a possibility for sitting deeply in our legitimate authority as a teacher, while modeling transparency as human beings who all must be humble in the face of their own shadow. How might we demonstrate integrity when it is obvious we have made a mistake, or have said or done something that is less than wise? How can we even harness these moments as opportunities for collective learning about what it is to be both inherently whole and also a work in progress? This webinar will include a rich teaching, where Miranda will share personally from her three decades of teaching experience which has involved equal parts of grace and clumsiness. Together, we will explore harnessing it all to become more truly authentic human beings as well as skilled and trustworthy teachers. The webinar will also include a breakout inquiry in pairs, followed by group discussion. Association for Spiritual Integrity: www.spiritual-integrity.org Miranda Macpherson: www.mirandamacpherson.com

The International Association for the Study of Dreams has included the following statement in the call for presentations for their June 2020 conference: Ethics and Principles of Community: All presenters must have read and agree to adhere to the IASD ethics statement as well as to honor the IASD Principles of Community; both of which can be accessed from http://www.asdreams.org/ethics-and-confidentiality . IASD supports an approach to dreamwork and dream sharing that respects the dreamer’s dignity and integrity, and which recognizes the dreamer as the decision-maker regarding the significance of the dream. IASD is committed to promoting an environment that supports every person in an atmosphere of mutual respect, cooperation, professionalism, and fairness. Above is an example of a statement to put in the contract for Organizations that have venues that host spiritual teachers or leaders.