Dance Mentoring with me

In keeping with many other disciplines, the Mentor Teachers' Guild for the Dances of Universal Peace uses a system of mentoring to keep alive the tradition of the Dances of Universal Peace and this transmission takes place in a person to person relationship.

I am a Senior Mentor and it is possible to work with me in a mentoring relationship.

However the are certain requirements which need to met.

One must be or become a member of the International Network for the dances of Universal Peace. One needs to dance with me on a regular basis.

I now offer two levels of service as a mentor.

Level 1 - To have this person as a mentor this is the minimum requirement. This level offers a basic service which maintains the mentoring relationship and entitles one to have up to three hours of the mentor's time either by phone, email or in person during the course of a year.

The price for this will be £120 per year.

Level 2 - This level is for those who want to make a bigger commitment to work on their dance leading skills. To work on any aspects of themselves which they feel stand in the way of leading the dances. And they want a guide, partner and coach to help them along this journey. It will involve one 45 minute telephone call each month and other shorter calls in between plus email support as necessary.

The price will be £35 per month.

Anyone who's interested in mentoring with me please call for an informal chat.

Tel 01258 818067.

Metaphysical as this sounds, I would also say that the "transmission" doesn't only happen when these people are physically together. I have felt my own mentor most strongly, as a resource to draw upon, on the inner planes - even more so than physically taking up his time, which I rarely do.

Murshid Samuel L. Lewis uses the analogy of the "teaching battery" when he says, "It is a mistake to assume there is any 'teacher.' The teacher is the positive pole of a cell and as pupil or pupils - the negative pole - show more aptitude, the electromagnetic field of the cell increases and knowledge comes through the teacher which would otherwise have been impossible." I have felt the truth of this from both sides.

What follows is extracted from the Mentor Teachers' Guild Certification Packet available in full from the Peaceworks website.

Guidelines for Certification in the Dances of Universal Peace

Certification is a matter of validating the growth process of Dance and Walk leaders. The growth process involves the depth of feeling and increase of magnetism brought about by the practice of the Dances of Universal Peace. Our work as leaders is to share this light and feeling with the world community, with respect for ourselves as individuals and reverence for the traditions of all.

In addition, certification is part of the process by which the Dances of Universal Peace and Walks are kept alive for future generations. With increasing commitment to them as a path and vocation, comes increasing responsibility for passing them on in their ever-increasing fullness, with respect for our ancestors. Finally, certification is a process of companion-ing by which we travel together, as guides and teachers for each other, remembering our place in the cosmic web.

Affiliation with a particular initiatic spiritual group or religious/esoteric order is not necessary. Attunement is. As Murshid Samuel L. Lewis, founder of the Dances said, "I do not believe you have to become a Sufi devotee to become perfect. I find perfection in devotees of many paths.... My friends include many realized souls of many faiths, and I can substantiate this with facts, not emotions." (Diary, November 9, 1969).

Contributing members of the International Network for the Dances of Universal Peace (INDUP) and/or the Sufi Islamia Ruhaniat Society are eligible for certification. Membership in and contact with the INDUP or the Ruhaniat Society must be kept current for the Center to vouch for a person’s certification status. It is not necessary for a person to lead a regular Dance meeting to be or remain certified. These guidelines are based on the draft guidelines of 1988 and modifications are based on the feedback received and the experience of those who have been focusing on leadership training. The most significant changes follow:

The responsibility for seeking certification or validation lies with the seeker. In this regard, the Dance "certification" procedure becomes two-fold:

Dance Mentor Teachers keep their own records of their apprentices' progress, ongoing commitment to a path and fulfillment of the certification guidelines. It is the responsibility of apprentices seeking certification to make any financial arrangements necessary with their Mentor for compensation of time or travel necessary for this evaluation.

Mentor Teachers report in writing a list of those certified and at what level to their own supervisor as well as to the INDUP for referral to inquirers. Mentors and their students must be contributing members of the INDUP and/or the Ruhaniat Society for their certification to remain active. In addition, Mentors tithe (10%) from monies received for training and mentoring to the INDUP or one of its formally-affiliated international Regions. Mentors may withdraw, take a leave of absence or become inactive and are requested to inform the chair of the Mentor Teachers Guild of such action so that those whomthey supervise can be referred elsewhere.

Training is the responsibility of Mentors and apprentices, not the International Network for the Dances. Participation in INDUP events and camps does not formally constitute training or qualification to represent the Dances or the INDUP. Payment for participation in such camps does not qualify participants to reproduce, record, film or republish any of the teachings or Dances offered. A student may wish to receive feedback or evaluation of leading skills at an INDUP camp or event, but this evaluation is not for the purposes of certification unless agreed upon in advance by both Mentor and apprentice. Permission to represent more advanced Dances and cycles in public (like the Aramaic Lord's Prayer cycle) may be obtained directly only from their originators.

Certification I (Certified Teacher):

1. Attunement: ability to present (with appropriate understanding) at least 20 Dances from a minimum of 6-8 major spiritual traditions of humankind. No more than three of the Dances counted for certification at this level may be in the vernacular language of one's country (for instance, English in predominantly English-speaking countries). This should include the ability to lead a partner Dance with progression, the ability to lead a Dance in combination with a walking practice and the ability to lead several Dances in a row, building on a central tone or sacred atmosphere invoked by the dances. In addition, one must master at least four of the original Dances of Samuel L. Lewis (a short list of those usually done is attached). These Dances provide a direct connection to the atmosphere and feeling of the person who first brought the Dances into being.

2. Walks/Embodiment: ability to lead one simple heart-centered body awareness practice ("Toward the One" Walk or other) and one feet-centered practice (earth Walk or other). At least one Walk should use as part of the group experiment a basic rhythm (4/4 or other). Other suggested Walks to be mastered in this first series include the astrological sun (positive) and moon (receptive) walking practices. These embodiment practices are necessary to integrate the states involved in the Dances into everyday life. Whether a leader uses them in every meeting is not as important as mastering their effects in one’s being.

3. Technical proficiency, knowledge of the tradition of the Dances and sacred atmosphere. The above presumes enough technical proficiency to "get the job done" with balance: additional work with rhythm, voice or sound may be needed. The leader should be familiar with the basic history and tradition of the Dances of Universal Peace as exemplified in the writings of Hazrat Inayat Khan (especially Unity of Religious Ideals and writings on Music and Sound), Ruth St. Denis (Wisdom Comes Dancing) and Samuel L. Lewis (Spiritual Dance and Walk, Sufi Vision and Initiation and other published writings).

In addition, one's Mentor will evaluate the ability to convey a sacred atmosphere consistent with the tradition of the Dance being represented. Ultimately, most Mentors regard this as the ability to efface one's ego-personality (even and especially when the personality is still present) in order to let grace flow through. It cannot be overemphasized that when working with the Dances "externally," they will have "internal" effects. The Mentor looks at one's ability to face oneself rather than praise or blame others.

4. Creative Project: In all cases, an in-person evaluation or interview is preferred. This will be at the Mentor's discretion. In some cases, in lieu of a personal interview, one may be asked to submit in writing or on audio or video cassette a description of one’s work with the Dances. This project could contain several parts: 1) speaking as though to one uninformed, tell a little about the Dances (much as you would introduce them to a meeting or class); 2) From your experience, describe two or three occasions when, while leading the Dances, a challenge was imposed by the circumstances (for instance, within your own class or by taking the Dances to another setting). What came of it? The Mentor will also review the student for basic proficiency, attunement and walks ability.

5. Time: While the time taken to work through the first level of certification varies from person to person, most Mentors expect that an absolute novice (i.e., with no musical ability, experience with a path or experience with the Dances) will need at least three years of dedicated study to complete this level. Much of this time will be spent on the basics of learning to dance under another's leadership (see Spiritual Dance and Walk, "How to Dance--10 Keys").

Certification II (Certified Mentor):

Those working toward certification as full Mentors are certified teachers who feel that their direction of work calls them to helping others learn to lead the Dances. They are called "Apprentice Mentors." In addition, the Mentor Teachers Guild is grateful for the presence and experience of spiritual teachers, who are also certified in the Dances, who have agreed to serve as Dance mentors for their own spiritual students, or others, as they specify. They are called "Adjunct Mentors." Full Mentors become members of the MTG Core Group (see "Way of Working" guidelines which follow). The guidelines for those working toward full Mentor status follow:

1. Attunement: ability to present with appropriate presence, magnetism and balance, at least 50 foundation Dances; that is, enough to begin to help novices work on their first level certification. Foundation Dances are defined as using simple, non-vernacular, sacred phrases connecting the Dance deeply to a particular stream of blessing. At least 10 of the 50 Dances counted for certification at this level must be original Dances of Samuel L. Lewis.

2. Walks/Embodiment: leadership skills for the basic sets of embodiment Walks: elemental, centering and planetary. The leader should, in addition, be able to lead any eight wazifa (or divine attribute) Walks (see Spiritual Dance and Walk) and be familiar with the experience of the Walks of effacement (Sufi term, fana) and realization (baka). The further extension of heart quality via tassawuri walk—effacement in one or more of the divine messengers of humankind—is expected of the leader at this stage. This demands a practical understanding of how the spiritual or expanded states produced by the Dances (Sufi term, hal) can be brought into one’s everyday mode of living (makam) through embodiment work with the soul/self (nafs).

3. Mentoring: When working on requirements for this level, the student will become involved in the process of mentoring others in learning to lead the Dances and Walks, using her/his own Mentor as a supervisor for the process. This may involve leading "foundation courses" or training retreats in the Dances, assisting in such retreats, individual mentoring or other experiments which aim to help new teachers acquire the skills and feeling necessary for level I certification. Candidates for Level II Mentor will be evaluated partially on the basis of the quality of leadership of their own Level I certified students.

At this level, evaluation of the ability to carry a sacred atmosphere becomes even more important. The MTG will look at one's ability to attune to the atmosphere of Samuel Lewis as well as Hazrat Inayat Khan and Ruth St. Denis. This will be reflected in the Level II candidate’s creative work, outreach work in different geographical areas or applications of the Dances and Walks and practical service to the INDUP or in their own Dance Region. "By their fruits, you will know them, ripe or unripe."

4. Creativity/Outreach/Service: This will be evaluated by the Level II Candidate’s Mentor, who will present the candidate to the MTG Core Group. Often, one's main creative work at this stage will involve developing relationships with new teachers, organizing or directing training events or outreach into new geographical or special interest populations. At this stage, creative work may also involve further in-depth research of a particular tradition and/or work with bringing through new, foundational (that is, non-vernacular) Dances based on the original method: meditation on a sacred phrase which generates music and group movements.

Certification III (Accomplished Mentor):

1. Attunement: ability to lead more than a hundred Dances from virtually all traditions represented; that is, enough to lead both Foundation and Advanced Courses without assistance. Included are those Dances and Walks through which one can directly communicate the transmission of blessing of this work, such as Samuel Lewis's "Zikr of Blessing with Leader" or others through which magnetism is conveyed person-to-person.

2. Walks/Embodiment: ability to lead advanced walking meditations including: Tassawuri (Attunement to Sacred Persons); Advanced Planetary (walking aspects, charts and signs) and Advanced Elements (combinations; cardinal, fixed and mutable).

3. Mentoring: at this level, the teacher will be supervising Level II apprentices, directing and organizing training retreats and events and actively involved with the work of the Mentor Teachers Guild as well as supporting the organizational work International Network for the Dances of Universal Peace and/or the Ruhaniat Society. It is recognized that a teacher once active may become inactive or take a sabbatical from the work. Such events are worked out with the chair of the Mentor's Guild so that those being supervised by a Mentor Teacher are not unduly affected.

4. Creative Work: Teachers at this level will be involved in advanced creative work in a particular area of the Dances and Walks: research of traditions, development of new Dances, musicianship, applications to new areas. At this level, teachers become channels for the Spirit of Guidance to meet unheard-of needs and possibilities of the human spirit. At the same time, teachers take responsibility for continuing the lineage of the Dances and are confident in their ability to do so, even in a strange country, without assistance or written/recorded resources. They are companions to all other Dancers on this path and at the same time satisfied with their own company when necessary. They are open to help and at the same time do not ask of others more than they are willing to whole-heartedly give. As much as possible, they surrender results to the Only Being.

"God is at home, it is we who have gone out for a walk"

--Meister Eckhart.

A Code of Ethics and Relatedness

The Dances of Universal Peace invite us to enter expanded states of consciousness--including expanded states of feeling--while joined in a circle, facing each other and moving together in pairs, often in close physical contact. As such, the Dances revolutionize traditional spiritual practice. Hatha Yoga, Kirtan, Sufi dhikr, Vipassana meditation and other forms of sitting meditation require very little interpersonal contact and involve low interpersonal risk. The Dances involve a high amount of personal contact and, while evoking feelings of joy, love, compassion and communion, present constant interpersonal challenges. One can easily confuse the feelings that arise with the person(s) who helped facilitate them.

Because of this, the Mentor Teachers Guild of the Dances and the International Network for the Dances of Universal Peace have articulated ethical guidelines for teachers. The leaders of this class, meeting, workshop or retreat have agreed to these guidelines as well as to a system of peer supervision, common to many therapeutic and healing professions. In part, these guidelines state:

If you would like a full copy of these guidelines or have any difficulties with or complaints about the ethical conduct of a teacher of the Dances that you cannot resolve between you personally, please contact the office of the International Network for the Dances of Universal Peace (below).

We invite you to enjoy the Dances in all of their simplicity, profundity, freedom and depth of feeling. We invite you to honor your feeling, and to help us re-establish the meaning of healthy, honest contact and relatedness in modern life.