nice.
Evaluate the group. QUESTION EVERYTHING! THINK FOR YOURSELF!
CULT DANGER EVALUATION FRAME
Rate each from 1 to 10, with 1 being Very Low and 10 being Very High
1- INTERNAL CONTROL: amount of internal political
power exercised by leader(s)
over members. 1."2-WISDOM CLAIMED: by leader(s); amount of infalli-
-bility declared about decisions. 2."3-WISDOM CREDITED: to leader(s) by members; amount
of trust in decisions made by
leaders. 3."4-DOGMA: rigidity of reality concepts taught;
amount of doctrinal inflexibility. 4."5-RECRUITING: emphasis put on attracting new
members; amount of proselytizing. 5."6-FRONT GROUPS: number of subsidiary groups using
different names from that of main
group. 6."7-WEALTH: amount of money and/or property desired
or obtained; emphasis on members' donations. 7."8-POLITICAL POWER: amount of external political
inflience desired or obtained. 8."9-SEXUAL MANIPULATION: of members by leader(s);
amount of control over sex
lives of members. 9."10-CENSORSHIP: amount of control over members'
access to outside opinions on group,
its doctrines or leader(s). 10."11-DROPOUT CONTROL: intensity of efforts directed
at preventing or returning
dropouts. 11."12-ENDORSEMENT OF VIOLENCE: when used by or for
the group or its
leader(s). 12."13-PARANOIA: amount of fear concerning real or
imagined enemies; perceived power
of opponents. 13."14-GRIMNESS: amount of disapproval concerning jokes
about the group, its doctrine, or
leader(s). 14."
You should probably check the group using these questions too:
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REALITIES OF POWER
1. Who has power in this group? What kind?
2. How much power do I have?
3. How much do our perceptions of power in the group agree? Do
those people know they have it?
4. Do some people think they have more than they do?
5. How are decisions made in the group? Who has the power to make
them?
6. How is information shared in the group? What information is
private who keeps it, how is it make available to others?
7. What skills, knowledge, or experience do I have that can
benefit the group?
8. How much of it can I share?
9. What's stopping me?
10. What response do I get? How does it make me feel?
11. What use are we making of each other as resources in the group?
Are we squandering our gifts? What might we do differently?
12. What to people need to bring more of their strengths to the
group? How can we create the atmosphere that brings them forth?
13. Who do we respect in the group? Do we abdicate power to those
people? If so, how?
14. In what ways do we comply, withdraw, manipulate, or rebel?
15. Is this group really safe?
16. What expectations exist in the group? Are they clear?
17. How does someone gain power or respect in this group?
18. If this group is hierarchical, what controls, laws, rules or
other factors limit the use of power? Are they effective? If
not, can we make them more so?
QUESTIONS ABOUT PURPOSE
1. What is the group's primary purpose (stated in one sentence)?
2. What do I want the group's purpose to be?
3. What are my expectations? Disappointments? Satisfactions? Unmet needs?
4. Do we agree on our purpose? On what kind of a group we are?
5. What differences exist? Do they broaden and strengthen the group, or are
they dividing us? Are we in transition?
6. What expectations can we and can't we hope to meet? What needs are we
meeting? Failing to meet? Do we want to meet them?
7. What kinds of trust do we need in each other?
8. What structure or purpose will best help each of us to realize our
visions for the group?
And if the group does -not- follow some form of this checklist, GET OUT!
CHECKLIST FOR A WELL-WORKING GROUP
1. We are clear about our goals and how we intend to achieve
them.
2. We know and respect each other well enough to feel very
comfortable and attuned working together.
3. Our work is ethical, designed for our growth and
fulfillment and the benefit of those who request help, and it
never used to harm others.
4. We share the responsibilities of making the group work; every
individual's contribution is important.
5. We see each other socially outside the group, and support
each other through difficulties.
6. We enjoy. there is fun and laughter at our meetings.
7. We work at learning. We dig deep, compare different sources,
try new techniques, ask pointed questions, do it until we get it
right.
8. We keep ourselves healthy and fit in order to more readily
channel power and receive insight.
9. We keep our ritual area and tools orderly and clean.
10. We constantly seek knowledge from many sources -- people,
books, workshops, other paths...
11. We do not make a virtue of authority and obedience, but treat
each other as respected equals (regardless of the formal
structure of the coven).
12. We raise genuine power and channel it; our rituals are not
tame readings or rote gestures, but filled with energy, vitality,
will and purpose.
A PLEDGE TO PAGAN SPIRITUALITY
I am a Pagan and I dedicate Myself to channeling the Spiritual
Energy of my Inner Self to help and to heal myself and others.
* I know that I am a part of the Whole of Nature. May I
grow in understanding of the Unity of all Nature. May I
always walk in Balance.
* May I always be mindful of the diversity of Nature as
well as its Unity and may I always be tolerant of those whose
race, appearance, sex, sexual preference, culture, and other ways
differ from my own.
* May I use the Gifts (psychic power) wisely and never use
it for aggression nor for malevolent purposes. May I never
direct it to curtail the free will of another.
* May I always be mindful that I create my own reality and that
I have the power within me to create positivity in my life.
* May I always act in honorable ways: being honest with
myself and others, keeping my word whenever I have given it,
fulfilling all responsibilities and commitments I have taken
on to the best of my ability.
* May I always remember that whatever is sent out always
returns magnified to the sender. May the Forces of Karma move
swiftly to remind me of these spiritual commitments when I
have begin to falter from them, and may I use this Karmic
feedback to help myself grow and be more attuned to my Inner
Pagan Spirit.
* May I always remain strong and committed to my Spiritual
ideals in the face of adversity and negativity. May the Force
of my Inner Spirit ground out all malevolence directed my way
and transform it into positivity. May my Inner Light shine
so strongly that malevolent forces can not even approach my
sphere of existence.
* May I always grow in Inner Wisdom & Understanding. May I
see every problem that I face as an opportunity to develop
myself spiritually in solving it.
* May I always act out of Love to all other beings on this
Planet -- to other humans, to plants, to animals, to minerals,
to elementals, to spirits, and to other entities.
* May I always be mindful that the Goddess and God in all
their forms dwell within me and that this divinity is
reflected through my own Inner Self, my Pagan Spirit.
* May I always channel Love and Light from my being. May my
Inner Spirit, rather than my ego self, guide all my thoughts,
feelings, and actions.
SO MOTE IT BE
