The Mentor Teachers Guild (MTG) and Teachers Guild (TG) of the Dances of Universal Peace and all supervised teachers agree to this Way of Working.

This Way of Working is an ongoing work in progress and will be modified as the experience of the Mentor Teachers Guild and Teachers Guild unfolds.

1. Composition
The Mentor Teachers Guild (MTG) is composed of Senior Mentors and Mentors of the Dances, all of whom are certified teachers.

Senior Mentors are those certified at Level II or III who are most active and/or experienced in training and mentoring teachers.

Mentors are those certified at Level I who are training and mentoring teachers.

The Teachers Guild (TG) is composed of all certified teachers of the Dances of Universal Peace, including all Mentors.

A supervisee is a Dance leader who is in a supervision relationship with a certified leader, but who is not him/herself certified.

A mentee is a related term for a supervisee when the supervisor is a member of the MTG. A mentee may be certified or not.

2. Chair of the MTG
The Chair of the MTG is the designated representative of Pir Shabda Kahn whom Pir Moineddin Jablonski appointed to carry on the spiritual transmission of the work of Murshid Samuel L. Lewis. Currently there are Co-Chairs, Murshid Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz and Sheikha Tasnim Hermila Fernandez, both of whom are mentored by Pir Shabda Kahn and at least one other MTG member. The MTG Co-Chairs consult, as appropriate, with all or some of the members of the MTG on issues of concern.

3. MTG Responsibilities
Members of the MTG have taken responsibility for being lineage holders of the Dances of Universal Peace. This responsibility includes training and supervising new teachers, issues of proper use of the Dances and the name and reputation of the Dances. MTG Members agree to uphold the TG Ethical Guidelines and this Way of Working and pay annual membership dues to the International Network for the Dances of Universal Peace and/or the Sufi Ruhaniat International. Members of the MTG accept the responsibilities mentioned in the Certification Guidelines and "Mission/Transmission Statement."

Each MTG member has another MTG member as his/her Mentor. Mentors are supervised by Senior Mentors (Level II or Level III). Senior Mentors may supervise each other as long as this provides a sufficient check on the training and development of their mentees. Mentors at any level are discouraged from mentoring each other when they share mentees or training courses that lead to certification.

Mentors will not mentor or supervise those with whom they have an intimate personal relationship, e.g., partners or spouses.

4. Teachers Guild Responsibilities
Members of the Teachers Guild are available to provide peer supervision to each other as well as to Dance teachers not working toward certification, but who wish to be actively connected to the stream of blessing of the Dances and who agree to the TG Ethical Guidelines and this Way of Working. Members of the TG accept the responsibilities mentioned in the Certification Guidelines and "Mission/Transmission Statement." All TG members and their mentees or supervisees agree to the TG ethical guidelines and pay annual membership dues to the International Network for the Dances of Universal Peace and/or the Sufi Ruhaniat International.

Certified teachers shall have a Mentor or an active peer supervisor in the Dances. Certified teachers not on the mentoring path themselves who do not have a Mentor must maintain an active peer supervisor in the Dances. This can be any other certified teacher, and, as the name suggests, peer supervision is mutual.

Certified teachers will not supervise those with whom they have an intimate personal relationship, e.g., partners or spouses.

5. The Name "Dances of Universal Peace"
In 1977, when the Ruhaniat Society and the Sufi Order International legally separated, Murshid Moineddin asked all teachers of the Dances to refer to them as the Dances of Universal Peace. Other names used by Murshid Samuel Lewis included specific types of spiritual Dances: Dervish Dance, Mantric Dance, Angelic Dance and Mystery Dance. But he named the entire body of this work Dances of Universal Peace.

6. Respect for Dances
We promise to respect the integrity of the Dances and Walks created by Murshid Samuel L. Lewis, members of the MTG and others following this line of transmission. If a Mentor or teacher has asked that a Dance which s/he originated not be changed by others, we will respect this. We recognize that Dances can and often must be modified to suit special circumstances (e.g., working with children or the elderly). We ask mentees to first learn a Dance as it has been brought through before attempting to modify it in order to first feel clearly the transmission of the sacred phrase as it has been brought through by the Dance's originator. If a Dance originator asks that his/her personal permission is necessary for one to lead a Dance, we will respect this.

7. Service to Dance Network and Dance Communities
We wish to follow the example of Murshid Samuel Lewis whose life emphasized open-hearted service and generosity rather than a desire for recognition, wealth or power. Throughout the existence of the MTG, Mentors have worked in positions of service in their own Dance communities and in the International Network at large. They have donated generously of their time, money and resources in order to further the work in benefit to all beings. We encourage Mentors to continue this tradition of service and generosity in whatever way they feel moved to do so.

8. Communication, Networking and Mail Meeting
In order to communicate important announcements to the entire Guild, the MTG maintains a listserv called MTG MAIL. Mentors are responsible to either subscribe to this listserv, view announcements on the associated website, or make arrangements with another mentor who does subscribe to receive important updates. On MTG MAIL Mentors also network with and provide support for each other around issues integral to the process of mentoring including, but not limited to, many of the subjects that follow below. We encourage Mentors to join the listserv for this reason as well.

9. Communicating with the MTG Secretariat
MTG/TG members who are actively working with mentees/supervisees will send the information on all their mentees/supervisees to the MTG Secretariat. The information will include name, address, phone and e-mail of all mentees/supervisees; indicate anyone who is certified, and at what level; and the date the relationship was begun, if known. Also indicated will be any relationships ended since the previous list and any co-mentoring relationships. Mentors/supervisors will receive annually a printout of their mentee/supervisee list from the MTG Secretariat for review and response by March 31.

10. Procedure for Appointment as a Mentor
If a certified teacher feels that his/her work with the Dances includes mentoring others and his/her Mentor agrees as to the timeliness of such action, then a certified teacher may begin to supervise developing teachers. These students should follow the usual procedures to request supervision, agree to the Ethical Guidelines and Way of Working, etc. The certified teacher may engage in other training-type activities as agreed by his/her Mentor.

When the certified teacher has been working with one or more supervisees for at least 6 to 12 months, the certified teacher and Mentor should discuss if mentoring continues to be part of the teacher's work and whether the supervisee(s) are, in fact, developing under the certified teacher's guidance. If the answer to both questions is "yes," then the Mentor will recommend that the certified teacher be appointed as a Mentor. Two Senior Mentors are needed to propose and second the appointment. If the certified teacher's Mentor is a Senior Mentor, then only one other Senior Mentor's approval is needed. The recommendation is made to the MTG Supervisor or one of the Co-Chairs, who will approve the appointment and then announce it to the full MTG.

11. Procedure for Appointment as a Senior Mentor Level II or III
When a Mentor is considered to have fulfilled the guidelines for either Level II or Level III certification, that person's Mentor will nominate him/her to the MTG Supervisor or one of the Co-Chairs. The Level III Senior Mentors will then consider the application and notify those involved of the result.

12. Sabbaticals and Life Changes
We recognize that Mentors are people whose lives change like those of anyone else. Moving, family crises and many other circumstances can affect a Mentor's ability to continue in the work. We encourage Mentors to be as clear as possible with their mentees when they need to take a sabbatical from mentoring or to stop mentoring altogether.

If a Mentor has not worked with any mentees for a period of two years, his/her Mentor will contact him/her to ask whether it is still appropriate for the Mentor to remain a member of the MTG. We will endeavor to support each other through various life changes with understanding and compassion for all involved.

13. Transfer of Mentoring/Supervision
Changing Mentors/supervisors happens with proper respect for both old and new Mentors/supervisors. A Dance leader wishing a new Mentor/supervisor shall first contact his/her current Mentor and take formal leave of that person. When a new Mentor/supervisor has been identified, the Dance leader will ask his/her former Mentor/supervisor to contact the new one to describe the leader's Dance leading ability and, if relevant, progress in Dance training, and to make recommendations. A new Mentor/supervisor will not accept a transferring leader without prior contact from the old Mentor/supervisor. Mentors and leaders who part on unfriendly terms shall seek the help of another member of the MTG to arbitrate their "exit interview."

14. Compensation Received for Mentoring and Supervision
Mentors may charge reasonable compensation for time, expenses and travel in relation to training and evaluating a mentee for certification. They will donate to either the International Network for the Dances or the Sufi Ruhaniat International from training/supervision income, after deducting expenses, and from event income when they mention their affiliation with the International Network for the Dances for purposes of promotion. If such money is not needed by Mentors, they may donate all funds received.

Mentors may discuss on MTG MAIL all issues related to money and mentoring including what constitutes reasonable compensation for their geographical area, what equivalent training programs charge for instruction in therapy or bodywork, attitudes toward charging for workshops and individual mentoring and working by donation. We may also discuss compensation for mentoring which is only for supervisory purposes, not for training. We may also discuss and clarify for ourselves under what circumstances we will do training without compensation (e.g., for outreach in countries without hard currency).

Mentees/supervisees may appeal against what they perceive as unreasonable charges for training or supervision to their mentor's mentor.

09/2002