L. USE OF THE GUIDELINES
L.1. Use and Modification of the Guidelines
Overview
The Guidelines are a set of agreements among members of the Re-evaluation Counseling (RC) Community that Community members are expected to follow.
The Guidelines implement RC’s one-point program (see Guideline A.3. The One-Point Program of the RC Community) and guide the work of the RC Community. A few Guidelines have the force of a requirement for being part of the RC Community (these are footnoted).[143]
Following the Guidelines
All Co-Counselors, including those in fundamentals classes, are expected to follow the Guidelines. Adults doing family work are expected to communicate to young people the main intent of the Guidelines (for example, not being harmful to other people, the no-socializing policy) and encourage them to follow the Guidelines.
RC Community members are expected to both follow the Guidelines and support their use. RC leaders are expected to know the Guidelines well, follow them, and support their use.
All Co-Counselors are expected to follow the Guidelines even if they disagree with them. If there is an apparent need for modification, they are expected to follow the Guidelines until they are modified. (See “Review and Modification” below.)
Discrepancies
When apparent discrepancies or inaccuracies are detected in the interpretation or meaning of the Guidelines, Community members are expected to encourage discussion and discharge to clarify the issues and bring about understanding on all sides. Reference Persons can be consulted about the meaning and use of the Guidelines.
Review and Modification
The Guidelines are reviewed and modified at each World Conference after all suggestions have been fully considered by Community members. (See Guideline G.9. Conferences.)
Modifications to the Guidelines are sometimes needed between World Conferences. The suggested modifications are communicated to the International Reference Person (IRP). The IRP may approve such modifications until the next World Conference. If approved by the World Conference, the modifications are communicated to members of the RC Community.
Distribution
The Guidelines should be distributed as widely as possible in the RC Community. Co-Counselors should be introduced to the Guidelines as a basic piece of RC literature by the end of their RC fundamentals class.
REASON
The Guidelines are a reference for our work. They guide our functioning as a Community. They have evolved over decades. They reflect what we have learned from applying RC theory to the functioning and building of the RC Community and to the teaching of RC.
The Guidelines are a starting place for our thinking. (See Preface.) They are needed because distresses can interfere with our innate abilities to think rationally and to function well together. Their purpose is to guide our work and help our thinking. They are not meant to be rules; they do not dictate how to handle every situation in RC. They are the collected best thinking of thousands of people. They challenge us to use our experience to think about our current situations and not simply apply our first thoughts or old solutions.
The Guidelines are most useful in the places where we struggle against our distresses. They can be a valuable contradiction to those distresses. If we have feelings about a particular Guideline, we can take the feelings to our sessions, discharge, and then reconsider that Guideline and the situation we are handling. We may need to find new solutions, but they must remain consistent with the intent of these Guidelines.
A few Guidelines are crucial to the functioning of the Community and have the force of a requirement for being part of the RC Community: Guideline A.5. Confidentiality; Guideline B.3. Use of the Terms “Re-evaluation Counseling” and “RC”; Guideline D.1. Certification of RC Teachers; Guideline H.3. (and H.3.A.—Online version), Regional and Area Classes, Support Groups, and Playdays, and Area Gather-ins; Guideline H.4. (and H.4.A.—Online version), Class and Area Workshops and Daylong Playdays; Guideline H.5. (and H.5.A.—Online version), Regional and International Workshops and Gather-ins; Guideline H.7. Outreach Finances: Communities Outside the United States; Guideline J.2. Duplicating and Electronically Distributing RC Publications and Other Materials; Guideline J.4. Publications Royalties; Guideline J.7. Preserving Confidentiality when Writing about Others; Guideline K.1. Internet Safety; Guideline M.1. The No-Socializing Policy; and Guideline O.2. Handling Attacks.
Reality is ever-changing. Our understanding of it continues to develop. We need to review and revise the Guidelines periodically to keep them up to date.
[143] Guidelines A.5., B.3., H.3., H.3.A., H.4., H.4.A., H.5., H.5.A., H.7., J.2., J.4., J.7., K.1., M.1., and O.2., have the force of requirement for being part of the RC Community. Guidelines D.1. and D.2. have the force of a requirement for teaching RC.