[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
Top Reason For CEO Departures Among Largest Companies Is Now Misconduct, Study Finds.. "For companies, they are recognizing that if they don't get aggressive with this type of behavior, they are going to face exceptional liabilities when it comes to court cases," Executives are still being pushed out because of poor financial performance, but only about 35% of the time https://twitter.com/PwC/status/1128920534383828992. ..ethical lapses connected to things like fraud, bribery and insider trading, the study found. https://www.npr.org/2019/05/20/725108825/top-reason-for-ceo-departures-among-largest-companies-is-now-misconduct-study-fi https://www.npr.org/2019/05/20/725108825/top-reason-for-ceo-departures-among-largest-companies-is-now-misconduct-study-fi ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote : An objective framework, of spiritual morality? Doctrinaire TM’ers now aggressively contend that spiritually developed people must have a brain wave pattern that science has determined (according to their TM system). Then as people are practicing meditators cultivating consciousness as TM brain waves describe this then those cultivated people exhibit “increased moral reasoning” as ™’ers use that. This gets left off then as if, “increased moral reasoning” could connote as therefore being more moral and naturally ethical as TM’ers can appreciate moral discernment coming in Spontaneous right action as the greater alignment (awareness) with natural law. Towards being more objective in framework may be the SAND people should have the ™’ers come in and bolster the SAND morality board with TM’s more developed ‘measured’ framework. skymtsea writes:A strong objective framework for evaluating a teacher’s attainments and their method’s effectiveness is testing and measurement I would think that a group called Science and Non-Duality would be aggressively seeking to validate non-duality states with state-of-the-art research (and help identify / weed out, non-performing teachers and organizations.) Yet I don’t see any research agenda on the SAND website. .. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote : Good framework for thinking about this, Sky. However, clearly Science does not yet have a measurement handle on shakti in the human psycho spiritual body. MRI’s, EEG’s, blood chemistry and such as tools are yet way too coarse. People’s experience and the transparency of the internet age of communication about people’s experience with spiritual people is probably the best Consumer’s Report about spiritual people that we have to protect ourselves from organizational cultures of fraud or bad behavioral morality in particular teachers. Already there are some web pages that have comparisons. But the #MeToo means of report has its own reality in effect now with the internet. .. skymtsea writes: 437491Ethics and Non-Dual Teachers and Organizations A core ethical issue for the non-dual community is whether teachers are offering something of value, if they are delivering what they promise, and if they can speak with high veracity and confidence supporting these claims. That is, a) have they achieved the states and live the attributes that they claim to be able to teach others, b) are they able to effectively teach others to attain them, c) if so, what time frames are required, how much commitment is necessary (time and money), and d) are all, or only a subset of students, able to attain these states. It seems reasonable that there may be a correlation between teachers and organizations pursuing unethical actions and the degree to which they are more bluster than bliss, more talk than performance. Addressing performance could in turn address unethical actors in the community. A strong objective framework for evaluating a teacher’s attainments and their method’s effectiveness is testing and measurement by the tools of cognitive science. For example, a lot could be gained if the teacher, along with their top 10 or 25 students offered to undergo a standardized set of evaluation measures (fMRI, advanced EEG, blood work, comprehensive sophisticated batteries of cognitive tests, etc.) While the results of these tests do not, at least per current models of consciousness, provide definitive proof of any Enlightened state, they can provide insight into whether the practitioners have achieved various markers of achieved by other advanced practitioners. And possibly exceeding thresholds or prior studies, and or novel brain activity or cognitive responses. If on the other hand, the results of the test showed nothing special or unique of the normal non-practicing populace, one would question what the practice is achieving. If no change in brain, cognitive, neurotransmitter or other activity is observed, then claims of refined mental, cognitive or emotional capabilities would be in doubt. I would think
[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
An objective framework, of spiritual morality? Doctrinaire TM’ers now aggressively contend that spiritually developed people must have a brain wave pattern that science has determined (according to their TM system). Then as people are practicing meditators cultivating consciousness as TM brain waves describe this then those cultivated people exhibit “increased moral reasoning” as ™’ers use that. This gets left off then as if, “increased moral reasoning” could connote as therefore being more moral and naturally ethical as TM’ers can appreciate moral discernment coming in Spontaneous right action as the greater alignment (awareness) with natural law. Towards being more objective in framework may be the SAND people should have the ™’ers come in and bolster the SAND morality board with TM’s more developed ‘measured’ framework. skymtsea writes:A strong objective framework for evaluating a teacher’s attainments and their method’s effectiveness is testing and measurement I would think that a group called Science and Non-Duality would be aggressively seeking to validate non-duality states with state-of-the-art research (and help identify / weed out, non-performing teachers and organizations.) Yet I don’t see any research agenda on the SAND website. .. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote : Good framework for thinking about this, Sky. However, clearly Science does not yet have a measurement handle on shakti in the human psycho spiritual body. MRI’s, EEG’s, blood chemistry and such as tools are yet way too coarse. People’s experience and the transparency of the internet age of communication about people’s experience with spiritual people is probably the best Consumer’s Report about spiritual people that we have to protect ourselves from organizational cultures of fraud or bad behavioral morality in particular teachers. Already there are some web pages that have comparisons. But the #MeToo means of report has its own reality in effect now with the internet. .. skymtsea writes: 437491Ethics and Non-Dual Teachers and Organizations A core ethical issue for the non-dual community is whether teachers are offering something of value, if they are delivering what they promise, and if they can speak with high veracity and confidence supporting these claims. That is, a) have they achieved the states and live the attributes that they claim to be able to teach others, b) are they able to effectively teach others to attain them, c) if so, what time frames are required, how much commitment is necessary (time and money), and d) are all, or only a subset of students, able to attain these states. It seems reasonable that there may be a correlation between teachers and organizations pursuing unethical actions and the degree to which they are more bluster than bliss, more talk than performance. Addressing performance could in turn address unethical actors in the community. A strong objective framework for evaluating a teacher’s attainments and their method’s effectiveness is testing and measurement by the tools of cognitive science. For example, a lot could be gained if the teacher, along with their top 10 or 25 students offered to undergo a standardized set of evaluation measures (fMRI, advanced EEG, blood work, comprehensive sophisticated batteries of cognitive tests, etc.) While the results of these tests do not, at least per current models of consciousness, provide definitive proof of any Enlightened state, they can provide insight into whether the practitioners have achieved various markers of achieved by other advanced practitioners. And possibly exceeding thresholds or prior studies, and or novel brain activity or cognitive responses. If on the other hand, the results of the test showed nothing special or unique of the normal non-practicing populace, one would question what the practice is achieving. If no change in brain, cognitive, neurotransmitter or other activity is observed, then claims of refined mental, cognitive or emotional capabilities would be in doubt. I would think that a group called Science and Non-Duality would be aggressively seeking to validate non-duality states with state-of-the-art research (and help identify / weed out, non-performing teachers and organizations.) Yet I don’t see any research agenda on the SAND website. SAND or other non-dual groups could become a powerful conduit of advanced practitioners to the many university and research centers doing research on meditative methods. How to facilitate and fund such research is a larger topic which I may try to address in a separate post. At a minimum, core ethical values and codes of conduct revolving around full disclosure and a culture of transparency would be of value. Some useful areas of for consideration: 1) Encourage all non-dual teachers and organizations to provide evidence of the
[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
Sky, about policing spiritual teachers these points are quite fair considerations. Hopefully Rick Archer and his Batgap committee of awakened reporting at the SAND conference could take a look at your #6 suggestion in particular. Making the other suggestions operant likely would take budgeting right away of some thousands of dollars for salaries to administrate, fees related to lawyers and liability insurance. #6 interplays well with what is happening and fast moving in culture generally with social media, #MeToo and journalism. Number 6 could more simply become a committee report coming out of a SAND conference session. Also your opening comment is apropo of how certifying boards and standards can become tarnished.. For example read further down within this report from NPR: "It's about stopping this behavior." The allegations against Moonves, who is also CEO at CBS, were published in a lengthy and detailed report by Ronan Farrow in The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/08/06/les-moonves-and-cbs-face-allegations-of-sexual-misconduct. The reports come at a time when powerful men in a number of industries have lost their jobs and reputations following allegations of sexual harassment and assault. .. "When the whole Harvey Weinstein story broke, it just pushed all the buttons," says Kirgo. "And I just said this is the time — finally. You know, there is now a support system." Moonves has been a high-profile supporter of efforts to reform the media and entertainment fields. He is part of the Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace, led by Anita Hill, who accused then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of harassment in 1991. "The hypocrisy is just ridiculous, it's just so blatant," Kirgo said, adding that she had considered contacting Hill after hearing he was on the commission. Kirgo described this moment as a painful time. "I think when you're trying to redefine a culture it's just ... it's messy and it's hard and difficult." https://www.npr.org/2018/07/29/633621846/les-moonves-accuser-it-s-about-stopping-this-behavior https://www.npr.org/2018/07/29/633621846/les-moonves-accuser-it-s-about-stopping-this-behavior skymtsea writes: While Seals of Approval, etc is a good idea, there can be problems with such Seals and Certifications (like Organics.) They can be prone to corruption via payments, contributions, increasing or decreasing advertising with the supporting body, and a weakening of standards from cooption, adding friendly members to the governing boards etc. For example "Organic" has become a travesty of its original intent and meaning. And fake boards and review groups seem to be popping up, seemingly neutral, but who are driving the agendas of particular companies or organizations. An alternative might be along the following lines. 1) create a code of ethics as Rick has suggested. 2) SAND, Batgap, other groups and bloggers would invite all future (and ideally past) guests, members and participants, to sign the pledge which would include provisions for sexual and financial behavior, truthful promotion, the full disclosure of possible adverse effects, overview of advanced practices, etc. No direct restrictions if the teachers and orgs choose not to sign. 3) SAND, Batgap would list on websites all participants who have signed the pledge. This could create subtle pressure for reluctant ones to sign the pledge in that their current and prospective members would ask why they have not signed. 4) Members/participants orgs and teachers who sign the pledge, whose actions do not match up to the code, will motivate their followers to expose the hypocrisy. This could result in #MeToo-type stories and reports (broadly speaking, not limited to sexual misconduct, could include poor financial or coercive behavior, etc. ). 5)) Optional, an online complaint hotline could be established. If the number of complaints reached a critical threshold, reputable journalists could be given access to the material for independent review and generation of articles if warranted. Journalists give such material would be required to sign an agreement to use the material according to high journalistic standards, that is no trashy exposes. A provision in the pledge along these lines would enable teachers and orgs to pre-authorize such disclosure if they or their organizations went south. 6) Optional, a Guidelines for Seekers booklet / website, of things to keep their eyes open for. With a summary of things that have gone wrong with past teachers and organizations. What to do if things do go wrong. This would eliminate the active policing function for the Ethics Board, not require much funding, etc. While the devil is in the details, if implemented well, such an approach may significantly reduce non-ethical behavior in the non-dual community. ---In
[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
To Spiritual Ahimsa, hows about.. A Science and NonDuality Seal of Ethical Approval, Something like The Good Housekeeping Seal of approval? ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote : An Old meditator here who knew Maharishi and of the back story in the 1960’s suggests Rick run his spiritual ethics board something like the Organic Standards is set with ‘recertification’ and inspections to standards, every year, in certification that there has been no such #MeToo activity the previous year. Rick Writes: A Code of Ethics and “The Association of Professional Spiritual Teachers” .. Good framework for thinking about this, Sky. However, clearly Science does not yet have a measurement handle on shakti in the human psycho spiritual body. MRI’s, EEG’s, blood chemistry and such as tools are yet way too coarse. People’s experience and the transparency of the internet age of communication about people’s experience with spiritual people is probably the best Consumer’s Report about spiritual people that we have to protect ourselves from organizational cultures of fraud or bad behavioral morality in particular teachers. Already there are some web pages that have comparisons. But the #MeToo means of report has its own reality in effect now with the internet. .. skymtsea writes: 437491Ethics and Non-Dual Teachers and Organizations A core ethical issue for the non-dual community is whether teachers are offering something of value, if they are delivering what they promise, and if they can speak with high veracity and confidence supporting these claims. That is, a) have they achieved the states and live the attributes that they claim to be able to teach others, b) are they able to effectively teach others to attain them, c) if so, what time frames are required, how much commitment is necessary (time and money), and d) are all, or only a subset of students, able to attain these states. It seems reasonable that there may be a correlation between teachers and organizations pursuing unethical actions and the degree to which they are more bluster than bliss, more talk than performance. Addressing performance could in turn address unethical actors in the community. A strong objective framework for evaluating a teacher’s attainments and their method’s effectiveness is testing and measurement by the tools of cognitive science. For example, a lot could be gained if the teacher, along with their top 10 or 25 students offered to undergo a standardized set of evaluation measures (fMRI, advanced EEG, blood work, comprehensive sophisticated batteries of cognitive tests, etc.) While the results of these tests do not, at least per current models of consciousness, provide definitive proof of any Enlightened state, they can provide insight into whether the practitioners have achieved various markers of achieved by other advanced practitioners. And possibly exceeding thresholds or prior studies, and or novel brain activity or cognitive responses. If on the other hand, the results of the test showed nothing special or unique of the normal non-practicing populace, one would question what the practice is achieving. If no change in brain, cognitive, neurotransmitter or other activity is observed, then claims of refined mental, cognitive or emotional capabilities would be in doubt. I would think that a group called Science and Non-Duality would be aggressively seeking to validate non-duality states with state-of-the-art research (and help identify / weed out, non-performing teachers and organizations.) Yet I don’t see any research agenda on the SAND website. SAND or other non-dual groups could become a powerful conduit of advanced practitioners to the many university and research centers doing research on meditative methods. How to facilitate and fund such research is a larger topic which I may try to address in a separate post. At a minimum, core ethical values and codes of conduct revolving around full disclosure and a culture of transparency would be of value. Some useful areas of for consideration: 1) Encourage all non-dual teachers and organizations to provide evidence of the teachers’ attainments and the effectiveness of their teaching methods. 2) Guidelines as to what to do when witnessing or experiencing ethical breaches by spiritual teachers and/or organizations. Possibly implementation of hotlines or database of unethical reports. 3) Full disclosure of possible adverse effects of the practices. 4) Financial transparency. Ability to audit the financials. 5) Ethical considerations of requesting or promoting “Surrendering to the Teacher” 6) Disclosure (or some indication of) what’s in the back rooms (the esoteric teaching, the weird and wild stuff that may not become evident for several years after the student has made substantial time, effort, identity and financial
[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
An Old meditator here who knew Maharishi and of the back story in the 1960’s suggests Rick run his spiritual ethics board something like the Organic Standards is set with ‘recertification’ and inspections to standards, every year, in certification that there has been no such #MeToo activity the previous year. Rick Writes: A Code of Ethics and “The Association of Professional Spiritual Teachers” .. Good framework for thinking about this, Sky. However, clearly Science does not yet have a measurement handle on shakti in the human psycho spiritual body. MRI’s, EEG’s, blood chemistry and such as tools are yet way too coarse. People’s experience and the transparency of the internet age of communication about people’s experience with spiritual people is probably the best Consumer’s Report about spiritual people that we have to protect ourselves from organizational cultures of fraud or bad behavioral morality in particular teachers. Already there are some web pages that have comparisons. But the #MeToo means of report has its own reality in effect now with the internet. .. skymtsea writes: 437491Ethics and Non-Dual Teachers and Organizations A core ethical issue for the non-dual community is whether teachers are offering something of value, if they are delivering what they promise, and if they can speak with high veracity and confidence supporting these claims. That is, a) have they achieved the states and live the attributes that they claim to be able to teach others, b) are they able to effectively teach others to attain them, c) if so, what time frames are required, how much commitment is necessary (time and money), and d) are all, or only a subset of students, able to attain these states. It seems reasonable that there may be a correlation between teachers and organizations pursuing unethical actions and the degree to which they are more bluster than bliss, more talk than performance. Addressing performance could in turn address unethical actors in the community. A strong objective framework for evaluating a teacher’s attainments and their method’s effectiveness is testing and measurement by the tools of cognitive science. For example, a lot could be gained if the teacher, along with their top 10 or 25 students offered to undergo a standardized set of evaluation measures (fMRI, advanced EEG, blood work, comprehensive sophisticated batteries of cognitive tests, etc.) While the results of these tests do not, at least per current models of consciousness, provide definitive proof of any Enlightened state, they can provide insight into whether the practitioners have achieved various markers of achieved by other advanced practitioners. And possibly exceeding thresholds or prior studies, and or novel brain activity or cognitive responses. If on the other hand, the results of the test showed nothing special or unique of the normal non-practicing populace, one would question what the practice is achieving. If no change in brain, cognitive, neurotransmitter or other activity is observed, then claims of refined mental, cognitive or emotional capabilities would be in doubt. I would think that a group called Science and Non-Duality would be aggressively seeking to validate non-duality states with state-of-the-art research (and help identify / weed out, non-performing teachers and organizations.) Yet I don’t see any research agenda on the SAND website. SAND or other non-dual groups could become a powerful conduit of advanced practitioners to the many university and research centers doing research on meditative methods. How to facilitate and fund such research is a larger topic which I may try to address in a separate post. At a minimum, core ethical values and codes of conduct revolving around full disclosure and a culture of transparency would be of value. Some useful areas of for consideration: 1) Encourage all non-dual teachers and organizations to provide evidence of the teachers’ attainments and the effectiveness of their teaching methods. 2) Guidelines as to what to do when witnessing or experiencing ethical breaches by spiritual teachers and/or organizations. Possibly implementation of hotlines or database of unethical reports. 3) Full disclosure of possible adverse effects of the practices. 4) Financial transparency. Ability to audit the financials. 5) Ethical considerations of requesting or promoting “Surrendering to the Teacher” 6) Disclosure (or some indication of) what’s in the back rooms (the esoteric teaching, the weird and wild stuff that may not become evident for several years after the student has made substantial time, effort, identity and financial investments in the teachings, practices, etc.) 7) Seva -- work/study/service practices. A time-honored and useful tradition in many circumstances and implementations where students work at
[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching [1 Attachment]
This was published in the Trinidad Express this morning, Guru Purnima. There is no higher authority walking the planet. A key word in here is, "Eligibility" Sadguru finds you when the eligibility comes to fruition. Not the other way around.. Give up the ego. Jaya Guru Datta
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
The recommended procedure when looking for a guru is to test them for some time before becoming a student. That can be months (in some cases years). On 07/26/2018 09:26 AM, skymt...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife] wrote: I am simply suggesting that some better levels of validation would be useful when teachers make claims about their attainments and the effectiveness of their methods to enable students to achieve the same. If a teacher is not making such claims, then validation is not an issue. Using Batgap interviews as a large sample of teachers, most are making claims, at least implicitly, about their attainments and the effectiveness of their teaching. So I think validation is a legitimate issue in the larger non-dual community.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
I am simply suggesting that some better levels of validation would be useful when teachers make claims about their attainments and the effectiveness of their methods to enable students to achieve the same. If a teacher is not making such claims, then validation is not an issue. Using Batgap interviews as a large sample of teachers, most are making claims, at least implicitly, about their attainments and the effectiveness of their teaching.So I think validation is a legitimate issue in the larger non-dual community.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
"However, clearly Science does not yet have a measurement handle on shakti in the human psycho spiritual body. MRI’s, EEG’s, blood chemistry and such as tools are yet way too coarse" People can have lots of shakti and not be enlightened. Measuring shakti is not the primary objective. fMRIs can measure remarkably subtle brain activity. Many related and other technologies and methods are emerging. While there may be subtle changes and phenomenon that are currently beyond measurement, there clearly are a vast number of factors that can be measured and studied. Advanced states of awakening clearly must have neurophysiological correlates, for example, new or more developed brain networks which can be "viewed" and studied with fMRIs. Much can be learned from comprehensive studies on practitioners, in deep meditation and during active tasks, who have cultivated their nervous systems to sustain such states. Clear models of enlightened neurophysiology do not yet exist, but will emerge and become clearer over time. However, there are a number of markers common in advanced practitioners. Beyond neurophysiological studies, in-depth cognitive studies should identify a myriad of changes in performance tasks, memory, sensory acuity, fluid intelligence, etc. Relying on a teachers' followers for evaluations has serious limitations. Followers tend to be biased, both in the evaluation of their progress, their teacher's capabilities and what they share with others.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
It's kinda laughable to have the unenlightened make rules for the enlightened. Yogis and Buddhist monks will certainly find it good for a laugh. Music teachers often teach students that achieve far more in their careers than their teachers did. Music teachers teach techniques and methods for achieving success in music. Similarly gurus do nothing more than teach methods and techniques for achieving enlightenment. AND they don't NEED to be enlightened to do so. You just need to know the techniques to teach. No greater example of this than TM where teachers were given techniques to give many of whom were still experiencing "lots of thoughts" during TM and little enlightenment. BUT they may have taught people who did begin having experiences of enlightenment. I think Doug has it right. Some of you are looking for saints not enlightened teachers. On 07/25/2018 08:09 AM, skymt...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife] wrote: A core ethical issue for the non-dual community is whether teachers are offering something of value, if they are delivering what they promise, and if they can speak with high veracity and confidence supporting these claims. That is, a) have they achieved the states and live the attributes that they claim to be able to teach others, b) are they able to effectively teach others to attain them, c) if so, what time frames are required, how much commitment is necessary (time and money), and d) are all, or only a subset of students, able to attain these states. It seems reasonable that there may be a correlation between teachers and organizations pursuing unethical actions and the degree to which they are more bluster than bliss, more talk than performance. Addressing performance could in turn address unethical actors in the community. A strong objective framework for evaluating a teacher’s attainments and their method’s effectiveness is testing and measurement by the tools of cognitive science. For example, a lot could be gained if the teacher, along with their top 10 or 25 students offered to undergo a standardized set of evaluation measures (fMRI, advanced EEG, blood work, comprehensive sophisticated batteries of cognitive tests, etc.) While the results of these tests do not, at least per current models of consciousness, provide definitive proof of any Enlightened state, they can provide insight into whether the practitioners have achieved various markers of achieved by other advanced practitioners. And possibly exceeding thresholds or prior studies, and or novel brain activity or cognitive responses. If on the other hand, the results of the test showed nothing special or unique of the normal non-practicing populace, one would question what the practice is achieving. If no change in brain, cognitive, neurotransmitter or other activity is observed, then claims of refined mental, cognitive or emotional capabilities would be in doubt. I would think that a group called Science and Non-Duality would be aggressively seeking to validate non-duality states with state-of-the-art research (and help identify / weed out, non-performing teachers and organizations.) Yet I don’t see any research agenda on the SAND website. SAND or other non-dual groups could become a powerful conduit of advanced practitioners to the many university and research centers doing research on meditative methods. How to facilitate and fund such research is a larger topic which I may try to address in a separate post. At a minimum, core ethical values and codes of conduct revolving around full disclosure and a culture of transparency would be of value. Some useful areas of for consideration: 1)Encourage all non-dual teachers and organizations to provide evidence of the teachers’ attainments and the effectiveness of their teaching methods. 2)Guidelines as to what to do when witnessing or experiencing ethical breaches by spiritual teachers and/or organizations. Possibly implementation of hotlines or database of unethical reports. 3)Full disclosure of possible adverse effects of the practices. 4)Financial transparency. Ability to audit the financials. 5)Ethical considerations of requesting or promoting “Surrendering to the Teacher” 6)Disclosure (or some indication of) what’s in the back rooms (the esoteric teaching, the weird and wild stuff that may not become evident for several years after the student has made substantial time, effort, identity and financial investments in the teachings, practices, etc.) 7)Seva -- work/study/service practices. A time-honored and useful tradition in many circumstances and implementations where students work at ashrams, retreat centers, teaching centers, etc. for room and board and often reduction of tuition and fees for courses and instruction. However, over time, in some situations, this may evolve into a type of indentured servitude or guilt-driven labor bondage. Some ethical guidelines would be useful
[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
Good framework for thinking about this, Sky. However, clearly Science does not yet have a measurement handle on shakti in the human psycho spiritual body. MRI’s, EEG’s, blood chemistry and such as tools are yet way too coarse. People’s experience and the transparency of the internet age of communication about people’s experience with spiritual people is probably the best Consumer’s Report about spiritual people that we have to protect ourselves from organizational cultures of fraud or bad behavioral morality in particular teachers. Already there are some web pages that have comparisons. But the #MeToo means of report has its own reality in effect now with the internet. .. skymtsea writes: 437491Ethics and Non-Dual Teachers and Organizations A core ethical issue for the non-dual community is whether teachers are offering something of value, if they are delivering what they promise, and if they can speak with high veracity and confidence supporting these claims. That is, a) have they achieved the states and live the attributes that they claim to be able to teach others, b) are they able to effectively teach others to attain them, c) if so, what time frames are required, how much commitment is necessary (time and money), and d) are all, or only a subset of students, able to attain these states. It seems reasonable that there may be a correlation between teachers and organizations pursuing unethical actions and the degree to which they are more bluster than bliss, more talk than performance. Addressing performance could in turn address unethical actors in the community. A strong objective framework for evaluating a teacher’s attainments and their method’s effectiveness is testing and measurement by the tools of cognitive science. For example, a lot could be gained if the teacher, along with their top 10 or 25 students offered to undergo a standardized set of evaluation measures (fMRI, advanced EEG, blood work, comprehensive sophisticated batteries of cognitive tests, etc.) While the results of these tests do not, at least per current models of consciousness, provide definitive proof of any Enlightened state, they can provide insight into whether the practitioners have achieved various markers of achieved by other advanced practitioners. And possibly exceeding thresholds or prior studies, and or novel brain activity or cognitive responses. If on the other hand, the results of the test showed nothing special or unique of the normal non-practicing populace, one would question what the practice is achieving. If no change in brain, cognitive, neurotransmitter or other activity is observed, then claims of refined mental, cognitive or emotional capabilities would be in doubt. I would think that a group called Science and Non-Duality would be aggressively seeking to validate non-duality states with state-of-the-art research (and help identify / weed out, non-performing teachers and organizations.) Yet I don’t see any research agenda on the SAND website. SAND or other non-dual groups could become a powerful conduit of advanced practitioners to the many university and research centers doing research on meditative methods. How to facilitate and fund such research is a larger topic which I may try to address in a separate post. At a minimum, core ethical values and codes of conduct revolving around full disclosure and a culture of transparency would be of value. Some useful areas of for consideration: 1) Encourage all non-dual teachers and organizations to provide evidence of the teachers’ attainments and the effectiveness of their teaching methods. 2) Guidelines as to what to do when witnessing or experiencing ethical breaches by spiritual teachers and/or organizations. Possibly implementation of hotlines or database of unethical reports. 3) Full disclosure of possible adverse effects of the practices. 4) Financial transparency. Ability to audit the financials. 5) Ethical considerations of requesting or promoting “Surrendering to the Teacher” 6) Disclosure (or some indication of) what’s in the back rooms (the esoteric teaching, the weird and wild stuff that may not become evident for several years after the student has made substantial time, effort, identity and financial investments in the teachings, practices, etc.) 7) Seva -- work/study/service practices. A time-honored and useful tradition in many circumstances and implementations where students work at ashrams, retreat centers, teaching centers, etc. for room and board and often reduction of tuition and fees for courses and instruction. However, over time, in some situations, this may evolve into a type of indentured servitude or guilt-driven labor bondage. Some ethical guidelines would be useful in this arena. Rick Writes: A Code of Ethics and “The Association of Professional Spiritual Teachers”
[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
A core ethical issue for the non-dual community is whether teachers are offering something of value, if they are delivering what they promise, and if they can speak with high veracity and confidence supporting these claims. That is, a) have they achieved the states and live the attributes that they claim to be able to teach others, b) are they able to effectively teach others to attain them, c) if so, what time frames are required, how much commitment is necessary (time and money), and d) are all, or only a subset of students, able to attain these states. It seems reasonable that there may be a correlation between teachers and organizations pursuing unethical actions and the degree to which they are more bluster than bliss, more talk than performance. Addressing performance could in turn address unethical actors in the community. A strong objective framework for evaluating a teacher’s attainments and their method’s effectiveness is testing and measurement by the tools of cognitive science. For example, a lot could be gained if the teacher, along with their top 10 or 25 students offered to undergo a standardized set of evaluation measures (fMRI, advanced EEG, blood work, comprehensive sophisticated batteries of cognitive tests, etc.) While the results of these tests do not, at least per current models of consciousness, provide definitive proof of any Enlightened state, they can provide insight into whether the practitioners have achieved various markers of achieved by other advanced practitioners. And possibly exceeding thresholds or prior studies, and or novel brain activity or cognitive responses. If on the other hand, the results of the test showed nothing special or unique of the normal non-practicing populace, one would question what the practice is achieving. If no change in brain, cognitive, neurotransmitter or other activity is observed, then claims of refined mental, cognitive or emotional capabilities would be in doubt. I would think that a group called Science and Non-Duality would be aggressively seeking to validate non-duality states with state-of-the-art research (and help identify / weed out, non-performing teachers and organizations.) Yet I don’t see any research agenda on the SAND website. SAND or other non-dual groups could become a powerful conduit of advanced practitioners to the many university and research centers doing research on meditative methods. How to facilitate and fund such research is a larger topic which I may try to address in a separate post. At a minimum, core ethical values and codes of conduct revolving around full disclosure and a culture of transparency would be of value. Some useful areas of for consideration: 1) Encourage all non-dual teachers and organizations to provide evidence of the teachers’ attainments and the effectiveness of their teaching methods. 2) Guidelines as to what to do when witnessing or experiencing ethical breaches by spiritual teachers and/or organizations. Possibly implementation of hotlines or database of unethical reports. 3) Full disclosure of possible adverse effects of the practices. 4) Financial transparency. Ability to audit the financials. 5) Ethical considerations of requesting or promoting “Surrendering to the Teacher” 6) Disclosure (or some indication of) what’s in the back rooms (the esoteric teaching, the weird and wild stuff that may not become evident for several years after the student has made substantial time, effort, identity and financial investments in the teachings, practices, etc.) 7) Seva -- work/study/service practices. A time-honored and useful tradition in many circumstances and implementations where students work at ashrams, retreat centers, teaching centers, etc. for room and board and often reduction of tuition and fees for courses and instruction. However, over time, in some situations, this may evolve into a type of indentured servitude or guilt-driven labor bondage. Some ethical guidelines would be useful in this arena.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
A 501(c)3 non-profit. Would be interesting to see the draft of the written mission statement, bylaws and statement of membership. You all want a membership association of people who are spiritual in some transformative way to some degree and who are moral. With authority. Who is going to rise to speak to this with (moral) authority? More broadly, “Morality is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper.” Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality Morals: 2. a person's standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote : What is a saint? Start there. Then, what is conscionable? ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote : Article I published at https://www.scienceandnonduality.com/?post_type=post=126334. Slightly updated version below. Ethics and Spiritual Teaching By Rick Archer, with Jac O’Keeffe, Craig Holliday, and Caverly Morgan. Significant contributions by Timothy Conway. It’s a safe bet that everyone reading this article has read accounts of spiritual teachers engaging in questionable behavior. Many of you may have been on the receiving end of such behavior. It seems that almost every week, the transgressions of some prominent spiritual leader are exposed. This has caused confusion, pain, and disillusionment among spiritual aspirants. We don’t expect movie moguls or politicians to be paragons of virtue, but the spiritual traditions tell us their saints and sages were. We’ve all been inspired by stories of their lives. Were these stories hyperbolic? Is there a correlation between spiritual advancement and ethical behavior? Should teachers be expected to embody the time-honored principles of Ahimsa, Loving-Kindness, and the Golden Rule? If they appear not to, have they assumed the mantle of teacherhood prematurely? Can one be an enlightened scoundrel? Are Ethics Relative? Some argue that moral standards are cultural fabrications with no absolute or universal validity, but some values are universally agreed upon. No one considers rape and pedophilia acceptable, except perhaps those guilty of them. Many consider working on the Sabbath, eating meat, and polygamy sinful, but they are acceptable or even the norm in many cultures. Some cultures practice things that most of us would consider barbaric, such as female genital mutilation. Hopefully everyone reading this would agree that this should be universally unacceptable and forbidden. The fact that many people consider it part of their tradition doesn’t mean it deserves our respect or tolerance in the world we hope to create. So perhaps we can agree that although ethical standards may vary from culture to culture and age to age, they are not mere personal preferences, all being equally valid. As human beings, there are baseline standards on which we should insist, and ideals to which we might aspire. Ethical Behavior is Good For You Most spiritual traditions regard ethical behavior not only as a reflection of spiritual development, but as conducive to it. Most have some notion of karma and say that if we hurt others we will reap the consequences and impede our own spiritual evolution. Both Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism teach that practicing ethical behavior makes the mind more open and subtle and thus more capable of deep nondual insight. Modern neurophysiology, with its discovery of neuroplasticity, may eventually corroborate this teaching. The body is the temple of the soul, the vehicle through which the Ultimate may become a living reality. We handicap ourselves by coarsening or damaging it, as unethical behaviors tend to do. In Buddhism, students are encouraged to develop deep compassion even before beginning with teachings on emptiness. In "The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World", the Dalai Lama is quoted saying, "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion”. Reality is Different in Different States of Consciousness People often fixate on one or another of three different perspectives, the transcendent, the Divine, and the material. But these perspectives, even though they may seem opposed to one another, are paradoxically yet simultaneously true, each in its own domain. For the sake of argument, let’s define Enlightenment as a state in which one has learned to coexist simultaneously in all three. Failing to do so, if one fixates on the transcendent, one might say, "Only unity is real and important. The world is unreal, and there is no personal self.” Some Nondual teachers have acted unethically, and then claimed that no one was doing it and that it didn’t matter anyway because the world is unreal. Others might say that there is a world, but it is perfect just as it is. All is well and wisely put; it's all Divinely
[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
A 501(c)3 non-profit. Would be interesting to see the draft of the written mission statement, bylaws and statement of membership. You all want a membership association of people who are spiritual in some transformative way to some degree and who are moral. With authority. Who is going to rise to speak to this with (moral) authority? More broadly, “Morality is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper.” Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality Morals: 2. a person's standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable for them to do. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote : What is a saint? Start there. Then, what is conscionable? ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote : Article I published at https://www.scienceandnonduality.com/?post_type=post=126334. Slightly updated version below. Ethics and Spiritual Teaching By Rick Archer, with Jac O’Keeffe, Craig Holliday, and Caverly Morgan. Significant contributions by Timothy Conway. It’s a safe bet that everyone reading this article has read accounts of spiritual teachers engaging in questionable behavior. Many of you may have been on the receiving end of such behavior. It seems that almost every week, the transgressions of some prominent spiritual leader are exposed. This has caused confusion, pain, and disillusionment among spiritual aspirants. We don’t expect movie moguls or politicians to be paragons of virtue, but the spiritual traditions tell us their saints and sages were. We’ve all been inspired by stories of their lives. Were these stories hyperbolic? Is there a correlation between spiritual advancement and ethical behavior? Should teachers be expected to embody the time-honored principles of Ahimsa, Loving-Kindness, and the Golden Rule? If they appear not to, have they assumed the mantle of teacherhood prematurely? Can one be an enlightened scoundrel? Are Ethics Relative? Some argue that moral standards are cultural fabrications with no absolute or universal validity, but some values are universally agreed upon. No one considers rape and pedophilia acceptable, except perhaps those guilty of them. Many consider working on the Sabbath, eating meat, and polygamy sinful, but they are acceptable or even the norm in many cultures. Some cultures practice things that most of us would consider barbaric, such as female genital mutilation. Hopefully everyone reading this would agree that this should be universally unacceptable and forbidden. The fact that many people consider it part of their tradition doesn’t mean it deserves our respect or tolerance in the world we hope to create. So perhaps we can agree that although ethical standards may vary from culture to culture and age to age, they are not mere personal preferences, all being equally valid. As human beings, there are baseline standards on which we should insist, and ideals to which we might aspire. Ethical Behavior is Good For You Most spiritual traditions regard ethical behavior not only as a reflection of spiritual development, but as conducive to it. Most have some notion of karma and say that if we hurt others we will reap the consequences and impede our own spiritual evolution. Both Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism teach that practicing ethical behavior makes the mind more open and subtle and thus more capable of deep nondual insight. Modern neurophysiology, with its discovery of neuroplasticity, may eventually corroborate this teaching. The body is the temple of the soul, the vehicle through which the Ultimate may become a living reality. We handicap ourselves by coarsening or damaging it, as unethical behaviors tend to do. In Buddhism, students are encouraged to develop deep compassion even before beginning with teachings on emptiness. In "The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World", the Dalai Lama is quoted saying, "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion”. Reality is Different in Different States of Consciousness People often fixate on one or another of three different perspectives, the transcendent, the Divine, and the material. But these perspectives, even though they may seem opposed to one another, are paradoxically yet simultaneously true, each in its own domain. For the sake of argument, let’s define Enlightenment as a state in which one has learned to coexist simultaneously in all three. Failing to do so, if one fixates on the transcendent, one might say, "Only unity is real and important. The world is unreal, and there is no personal self.” Some Nondual teachers have acted unethically, and then claimed that no one was doing it and that it didn’t matter anyway because the world is unreal. Others might say that there is a world, but it is perfect just as it is. All is well and wisely put; it's all Divinely
[FairfieldLife] Re: Ethics and Spiritual Teaching
What is a saint? Start there. Then, what is conscionable? ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote : Article I published at https://www.scienceandnonduality.com/?post_type=post=126334. Slightly updated version below. Ethics and Spiritual Teaching By Rick Archer, with Jac O’Keeffe, Craig Holliday, and Caverly Morgan. Significant contributions by Timothy Conway. It’s a safe bet that everyone reading this article has read accounts of spiritual teachers engaging in questionable behavior. Many of you may have been on the receiving end of such behavior. It seems that almost every week, the transgressions of some prominent spiritual leader are exposed. This has caused confusion, pain, and disillusionment among spiritual aspirants. We don’t expect movie moguls or politicians to be paragons of virtue, but the spiritual traditions tell us their saints and sages were. We’ve all been inspired by stories of their lives. Were these stories hyperbolic? Is there a correlation between spiritual advancement and ethical behavior? Should teachers be expected to embody the time-honored principles of Ahimsa, Loving-Kindness, and the Golden Rule? If they appear not to, have they assumed the mantle of teacherhood prematurely? Can one be an enlightened scoundrel? Are Ethics Relative? Some argue that moral standards are cultural fabrications with no absolute or universal validity, but some values are universally agreed upon. No one considers rape and pedophilia acceptable, except perhaps those guilty of them. Many consider working on the Sabbath, eating meat, and polygamy sinful, but they are acceptable or even the norm in many cultures. Some cultures practice things that most of us would consider barbaric, such as female genital mutilation. Hopefully everyone reading this would agree that this should be universally unacceptable and forbidden. The fact that many people consider it part of their tradition doesn’t mean it deserves our respect or tolerance in the world we hope to create. So perhaps we can agree that although ethical standards may vary from culture to culture and age to age, they are not mere personal preferences, all being equally valid. As human beings, there are baseline standards on which we should insist, and ideals to which we might aspire. Ethical Behavior is Good For You Most spiritual traditions regard ethical behavior not only as a reflection of spiritual development, but as conducive to it. Most have some notion of karma and say that if we hurt others we will reap the consequences and impede our own spiritual evolution. Both Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism teach that practicing ethical behavior makes the mind more open and subtle and thus more capable of deep nondual insight. Modern neurophysiology, with its discovery of neuroplasticity, may eventually corroborate this teaching. The body is the temple of the soul, the vehicle through which the Ultimate may become a living reality. We handicap ourselves by coarsening or damaging it, as unethical behaviors tend to do. In Buddhism, students are encouraged to develop deep compassion even before beginning with teachings on emptiness. In "The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World", the Dalai Lama is quoted saying, "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion”. Reality is Different in Different States of Consciousness People often fixate on one or another of three different perspectives, the transcendent, the Divine, and the material. But these perspectives, even though they may seem opposed to one another, are paradoxically yet simultaneously true, each in its own domain. For the sake of argument, let’s define Enlightenment as a state in which one has learned to coexist simultaneously in all three. Failing to do so, if one fixates on the transcendent, one might say, "Only unity is real and important. The world is unreal, and there is no personal self.” Some Nondual teachers have acted unethically, and then claimed that no one was doing it and that it didn’t matter anyway because the world is unreal. Others might say that there is a world, but it is perfect just as it is. All is well and wisely put; it's all Divinely orchestrated. If you adopt this perspective exclusively, you may feel that you can do whatever you like. You’re not doing it. God is. If we focus exclusively on the material plane, for instance, on the countless injustices and forms of cruelty to living beings, we can become angry political fanatics, vindictive zealots always finding evil-doers somewhere and throwing them out of our heart with the constricted mind of scornful anger and venomous disgust over what "those evil persons" are doing. The transcendent, divine, and material perspectives all have their relevance, but none can be taken to the exclusion of the others without creating imbalance. The spiritual luminaries we most admire seem to have integrated
