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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.

Transcript of this meeting

Recorded October 24, 2019

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 – Introduction and Purpose of the Meeting
00:01:04 – Discussion and Breakout Groups
00:01:57 – Appreciation for Gifted Leaders
00:02:52 – ASI: Continued Education and Growth
00:03:54 – Incorporating Yin Teachings into SAND
00:05:09 – Supporting Each Other in the Process of Bringing Balance
00:06:15 – Creating a Safe Space for Teachers
00:07:22 – Online Teacher Assessment and Community Support for Spiritual Teachers
00:08:23 – Increased Support and Accountability
00:09:26 – Creating a Referral Listing for Affordable Retreats
00:10:28 – Difficulties with Dual Relationships and Power Dynamics
00:11:31 – Power dynamics and emotional triggers
00:12:42 – Keeping data on ethical behavior and misbehavior of teachers and guides
00:13:37 – Awareness of Misconduct
00:14:37 – Bringing forth the importance of the feminine and women’s voices
00:15:39 – Spending time in silence and self-reflection
00:16:35 – Commitment to Women’s Video Conference Group
00:17:35 – Organizing Information and Workshops
00:18:20 – Commitment to Authentic and Heartfelt Communication
00:19:13 – Personal Commitments to Self-Care and Understanding
00:20:05 – Creating Online Safe Spaces for Peer-to-Peer Interactions
00:20:58 – Commitments to Marginalized Communities and Openness to Learning
00:21:48 – Committing to Integrity and Love
00:22:49 – The Teachings of Don Juan Matus and Padmasambhava
00:23:48 – Commitment to Awareness and Empowerment
00:24:51 – Commitment to Service and Divine Embodiment
00:25:59 – Recommitting to Integrity and Healing for All
00:27:00 – Commitment to Personal and Professional Evolution
00:28:03 – Supporting and Connecting with Each Other
00:29:05 – A Beautiful Thing We’re Creating
00:29:54 – Appreciation for support and resources

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