Code of Ethics
Often people wonder if Spiritualists have a code of ethics. This code of Ethics was written out by the Council on Spiritual Practices.
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.
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.
Copyright 1995-2001 Council on Spiritual Practices
Box 460820
San Francisco CA 94146-0820
http://www.cps.org
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.
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