That people who engage in, and take responsibility for, Re-evaluation Counseling activities, consider themselves members of an International Re-evaluation Counseling Community. That this Community be thought of, primarily, as a network of people who are responsibly engaged in regaining their humanness through Co-Counseling. That it be secondarily thought of as a network of local Communities, groups and classes. That in the third place it be thought of as a body of people united in theory and practice, who seek to attract all humans everywhere to a common effort to regain their intelligence, their humanness and the use of their full potential.
Our primary activity is that of Co-Counseling, of discharge and re-evaluation. The basic role which we all have with each other is that of exchanging counseling. All structures and organizations of classes, groups and Communities exist to support and extend this network and to serve it. The implications of Co-Counseling and of our community fellowship for the rest of the world are profound and need to be faced and implemented.
The Guidelines are a set of agreements among all members of the Community, which all members of the Community are expected to keep.
That all members of the Community immediately and carefully consider and practice the ideas communicated in these Guidelines. That if apparent discrepancies be detected in practice, Community members lovingly encourage discussion and discharge to clarify the issues and bring about understanding on all sides. That if any modifications are found to be desirable in practice between World Conferences, they shall be communicated to the International Reference Person for her/his approval and he/she shall have power to approve such modifications on a temporary basis until the next World Conference. Such approval of modifications on a temporary basis shall be communicated to the Community involved. That the widest possible distribution of these Guidelines within the Co-Counseling Community be encouraged, and in particular a copy be given to each new member as a basic piece of literature. That these Guidelines be reviewed and modified at each World Conference after full consideration of all suggestions tendered by Community members.
These Guidelines are intended to be a live, up-to-date reference for the work of all our Communities. Periodic review and revision will be necessary to keep them up-to-date.
That new Re-evaluation Counseling Communities can be permitted to work out modifications of the current Guidelines when necessary to meet their own cultural and heritage situations. That these new versions of the Guidelines shall be consistent with the current Guidelines in all matters relating to the use of the names "Re-evaluation Counseling," "Co-Counseling," "Re-evaluation Education," "Re-evaluation," and translations of the same; to basic theory; to the certification of teachers; and to financial matters. That any modification of the Guidelines to fit the situation in new Communities taking place between World Conferences must be worked out in agreement with the International Reference Person. The International Reference Person is specifically authorized to work out such modification by agreement with the cultural or national group of Co-Counselors, and such modifications are tentative until approved by the World Conference.
Our present experience in existing Communities does not make us competent to determine detailed Guidelines for Communities of every cultural background and/or language.
That all members of the Re-evaluation Counseling Community are peers. That we value and respect each other's essential humanness without reservation.
This follows from our theory but is also of great importance practically.
An individual may fill a special role in the Community. One may have more knowledge, more experience, may communicate better than another at a given time and may have had more counseling than another, may have more awareness, or be more rational in a particular area. None of this changes our essential peerness.
We need to be clear that all special roles which individuals will assume be to the service of the network of peers. We do not wish to absorb into our Community any patterns of hierarchy, professionalism, or leaders versus followers. Any special role which one of us holds should be because of ability and by acceptance of responsibility only, not because of position, title, or prestige.
That the only program of the Re-evaluation Counseling Communities which is binding on all members be: Through Re-evaluation Counseling to seek recovery of one's occluded intelligence and to assist others to do the same.
That all other activities undertaken by the Community be in support of this program and that no agreement beyond consistency with this program be required of members of the Community.
Agreement on this one point is a minimum requirement for our working together.
To this basic program of individual re-emergence, increasing numbers of Co-Counselors are choosing to add the programs of liberation from oppressions of all sorts and programs of taking responsibility, taking charge and taking power. This is by their own free choice. Agreement on the program of re-emergence will still remain the only required commonality for Community membership.
That, starting with Re-evaluation Counseling theory, all Co-Counselors are encouraged to illuminate, examine and arrive at correct, intelligent positions on all issues facing humanity, including the most controversial ones. That this process be helped by special conferences, workshops and publication of statements. None of the positions so emerging will be binding on members of our Community even if everyone is in complete agreement.
Encouraging humans to think about all issues will accelerate the process of human re-emergence. To wait for destructive trends in the environment to go away while we concentrate exclusively on Co-Counseling, would be a narrow, impractical view and a denial of our emerging intelligence. Increasingly, we will wish to speak out or take action. At the same time, we are determined to preserve our basic unity by requiring agreement on only the one point mentioned in Proposal 3.
That the Communities recognize that, at any given time, larger numbers of people are ready to accept and use some of the basic insights and simpler practices of Re-evaluation Counseling than are ready to function responsibly in the work of the Community.
That the Community undertake, to the extent of its resources, to disseminate these insights and practices (for example, that discharge is helpful, that listening with respect is more helpful than giving advice, that validation of young people is better than punishment, that physical touching is a rational need, etc.) as widely as possible in the general population.
That the Community organize and sponsor public lectures, fundamentals classes, special classes, support groups, topic (discussion) groups, leaders' groups (Wygelian type), publications and other means for disseminating these insights, both with classes, publications, etc., identified as Re-evaluation Counseling and also not so identified.
That participation in such classes and activities not in itself be considered as membership in the Re-evaluation Counseling Communities. Co-Counselors will be considered as members of the Communities, and given access to the resources of the Communities, upon assuming responsibility for assisting in the functioning and operation of the Communities.
It is helpful to differentiate between (1) using Co-Counseling, (2) taking responsibility for its accuracy and development (Community membership) and (3) assuming responsibility that everything goes well (Community leadership).
| The Re-evaluation Counseling Communities 719 Second Avenue North Seattle, Washington 98109 USA |
Email: Home Page: Voice: Fax: |
ircc@rc.org http://www.rc.org/ +1-206-284-0311 +1-206-284-8429 |