BASIC AGREEMENTS
1) The information presented during the workshop, including ideas, suggestions, techniques, trainings, exercises, instructions, and other materials is educational in nature and is provided only as general information and is not medical or psychological advice.
2) The workshop is experiential in nature and focuses solely on personal growth and spiritual transformation and is not to be considered treatment for any physical, emotional, or mental disorder.
3) I understand that my participation in the workshop is strictly voluntary, at my own risk, and that I freely choose to participate. Since the workshop is experiential and the extent of the workshop’s risks and benefits are not fully known, I agree to assume and accept full and complete responsibility for any known and unknown risks associated with my participation in the Workshop, including any physical injury, psychological or emotional effects, death, loss or property damage. During the workshop and after I agree to take full responsibility for my self-care, abstaining from any practice or behaviour that can cause any harm or grievances.
4) I am aware that the use and possession of illegal drugs is strictly forbidden.
5) I agree that before using physical touch of any form with participants in the workshop I need to have their full consent and that consent can be lifted at any time. In case of physical touch, also when there is mutual consent during the workshop, I agree not to touch any intimate part of the body and not to have any type of sexual connection.
By signing below, you acknowledge that you have carefully and completely read and fully understand all aspects of this Agreement and you agree to all of the terms and conditions stated herein.
Acknowledged by (Name/Surname)
EXTENDED AGREEMENTS
These are the extended agreements we use in seminars:
1) I statements: express what you feel as a result of your individual experience, without generalizations or formulation of interpretations and judgments about others. For this purpose use “I”.
2) Confidentiality about what others share, or do, and about the process during the workshop. Keep confidentiality in your relationships with people or environments that are not part of the workshop group (including residents and guests in the center where the event is being held, your relatives or intimate partners, friends or the public on social networks and websites). You can talk about what happens and what you say or do, if you want, but you are asked not to talk about what other participants say or do, unless required to do so by the law. Do not divulge the names of the members of the group and do not post or distribute their images unless you have received direct consent. You are not asked to keep confidentiality and are invited to be trasparent regarding your connection with the members of the group, about what happens during the event in your interactions with them or other relevant people. This also applies to your connection with the facilitator.
3) Punctuality and Time Management: Take part in each meeting, arriving on time. In the event of an emergency or inability to be on time, inform the facilitator before the start of the meeting explaining the reason. The facilitator will also inform the group about the reasons for your absence. You are aware that in case there are absences or repeated delays your participation in the seminar and the group may be questioned. The facilitator or any person in charge may invite you to conclude your sharing or intervention when it is coming out of the time limits set. If this happens, stop talking within the terms indicated. The facilitator may also gently interrupt you when your intervention is not focused on the topic mentioned or for reasons that are appropriate for the ongoing process.
4) Freedom of Participation: No member of the group is required to participate in activities, answer questions, say, or do something if this is uncomfortable or causes strong resistance. Under any circumstances you can express your discomfort and refuse to start or continue. You also agree not to exert any pressure on people who do not take part in exercises or activities, or are cautious and moderate in their participation. If you have strong reservations about a practice, contact the facilitator, which may indicate an alternative activity. You are firmly invited to abstain from anything that is not the result of your total consent, even if the whole group has no problem in doing so. There are no majorities or hierarchies regarding your security and what counts is what is right for you, as long as it also honours the security of others. This means contacting the facilitator if you feel something is wrong or uncomfortable. If you are unable to take responsibility for your health, safety and will, and to express yourself in transparency in situations where you are compromised, immediately contact the facilitator or abstain from attending the seminar.
5) Boundaries: If you feel that your physical or mental physical space is uncomfortable because of physical contact, proximity or involvement in conversations with others, move away, ask the person in question to get away, not to touch you or stop talking, etc. You are aware that healing work involves expressing your No and Yes without inhibitions and realizing it if you are unable to do so. If there is a conflict between No and Yes, it is a No and expressing No can allow you to get out of the conflict state. If you receive a No from someone, you accept it completely, without asking or insisting. No means NO! To question a No, insisting on receiving consensus, trying to change someone’s mind even if they appear uncertain, can be considered a form of abuse.
6) Violence, abuse or intimidation: No violence to oneself, others, or the environment. Whoever acts violently towards people or things or threatens to do so will be expelled. You are aware that in rituals and cathartic practices, drama and theatrical and shamanic expressions, when the facilitator points to it, the expression of intense emotions and aggression is sometimes contemplated and encouraged for technical and artistic purposes, yet never with explicit manifestations among the participants. Expressions involving physical contact are possible only if preceded by related negotiations and always in accordance with general physical contact arrangements.
7) Physical Contact: can occur only if you have received or given express and verbal consent to the parties concerned, always excluding genital contact, or intimate body parts declared untouchable by the participants, as well as oral contacts. At any time you can decide to stop, move away and say no. At the end of the sessions, do not entertain yourself with physical, sensual, verbal, massages or other energy therapies and respect the silence or integration of the participants. During pauses, before you talk or physically engage (with hugs, or other light physical contacts) ask permission and if you receive a No, accept it fully and with gratitude (thanking the person in question for having honesty to declare it), if there is a yes, keep the exchange at a moderate level.
8) Circle and Sacred Space: The Circle, or other areas of sharing or rituals during practices and seminars, is a sacred space of shamanic nature and must be respected in all its aspects. Do not touch, use, move or pick objects of ritual nature such as drums, musical instruments, carpets, altars, astroshamanic cards, candles, etc. unless you have received verbal consent from the facilitator. In sacred spaces, keep as much silence as possible, avoid conversations, or other ways to distract yourself and others, including the production of sounds, chants, or acrobatic postures and extreme gymnasts, eating meals, etc.
9) Listening in the Circle without interruption, comments, feedback, evaluations, interpretations and judgments. Do not identify others with what they say or do during the seminar. Participants agree to detach themselves from what happens during sessions, as actors who cease to play their roles when the comedy is over. In particular, it is required to take a bit of distance after the practice from those with whom there has been a strong interaction.
10) Clothes and nudity: In some seminars and meetings participants can wear costumes, ritual dresses, or sheets, giving the body wide freedom in its expressions. In rare seminars where this is expressly contemplated, some participants may wear a white sheet, removing the rest of the garment, except those covering the genital and anal area. Under whatever circumstances you are responsible for choosing how to behave, about what to wear. Full nakedness is not allowed.
11) Transparency: If you have any problem or situations that you cannot manage individually, inform the facilitators and / or ask for assistance or help to those who can provide it. If you have something to say to someone you do it directly rather than talk to him without being present. Follow the instructions provided by the facilitator during the seminar, and if they are not clear or you have difficulty in accepting them, please let them know before starting the work. Return to the ordinary state of consciousness after shamanic experiences. Ask for support if there is any difficulty, also accepting to receive it when the facilitator deems it necessary.
12) Irony, humor, sarcasm: what happens during rituals is intimately sacred and profound. For many participants it takes a lot of courage to open up, share, show vulnerable, express unusual or embarrassing parts of themselves. To talk about it with a lack of respect, sarcasm, irony, discounting, is considered an abuse, a violation of sacred space. If after the rituals a participant expresses irony, allusions and judgments about others, you are invited to remind them of this agreement. We are open to humor, irony and lightness, but as a healing opportunity to create unity and support for others, not to suffocate or make the participants feel uncomfortable by violating the sacred space and the integrity of the work.
13) Drugs and smoking: It is absolutely banned, without exception, the use and possession of any unlawful substance. The use and possession of such substances implies immediate expulsion from any kind of event and venue where it is taking place. The use of legal substances that create alterations of consciousness is also banned. Full alcohol withdrawal is recommended. If this is difficult, never exceed moderate use (maximum of a glass of low-alcohol or alcoholic beer for a meal). Smokers are encouraged to reduce tobacco consumption by avoiding smoking in the building, in private rooms and in public places, including the open spaces in which they are held.
14) Health: If there are food intolerances, allergies, physical and mental health problems, these should be reported at registration or as soon as possible. In the presence of contagious disorders, it is recommended that you notify them and not participate in the event. Participants declare that they are not suffering from infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory and contagious conditions of the skin, psychopathic disorders, or any mental or organic disorder incompatible with physical or emotional efforts. Each participant takes full responsibility for the possible physical and mental effects of the seminars by acknowledging and being aware that the topics dealt with are derived from the personal opinions of the facilitator and are not intended to represent any prescription or indication of behavior or therapeutic advice. Seminars and sessions are in no way physical or mental therapies, and deal exclusively with artistic, philosophical and spiritual issues.
15) Sex and Romance: It is strictly forbidden to engage in sexual activities with the participants during the seminars (on this point the NO is total and unconditional) or in its pauses. This also includes any time after the workshop is over, until it has been established that physical union is not the result of dynamics derived from projections and roles of power put into effect during the seminar. In case of difficulties in this regard and strong temptations please contact the facilitator. During the seminar and in the breaks you are not allowed to indulge in sensual or massage activities, courtesy or romantic suggestions. It is also not possible to offer energy or healing performance to the participants unless they have been openly indicated as part of the work.
16) Greetings and hugs: embracing is part of the seminar conventions on arrival, departure, or other times of work and vary according to cultures. It is not compulsory to do so. We invite you to ask for permission before embracing or touching someone, and always respecting their boundaries.
17) Complaints: If you feel you have not been treated with respect, you have concerns about your safety during the proceedings, let the facilitator know. If someone does not respect the agreements, does not respect your physical intimacy, insist after you have spoken a No, speaks with a lack of respect for rituals, or commits other violations of sacred space, you must inform the facilitator as soon as possible. If we receive complaints about a person’s misconduct, this will be confronted and may be expelled from seminars and rituals as appropriate. In order to avoid unsubstantiated or distorted claims and accusations expressed later, any breach of agreement must be made known to the facilitator or a staff member before the end of the seminar.
18) Silence: During the seminars there are times in which silence or noise reduction must be guaranteed. This usually happens from 23 to 7. In this time zone you are required to respect the silence, avoiding talking loudly in residential areas, playing music or listening to music, or producing noises and sounds that can disturb who is resting.
19) Judgments and propaganda: In sharing and conversations during seminars and breaks speak about yourself, your experience, abstaining from expressing any kind of judgment on people present or absent, avoiding any kind of political, religious, nutritionist propaganda, including those related to commercial or therapeutic activities. In conversations, speak about people who are present and do not about people who are not present.
20) Distinction between Perception and Reality: You are committed to taking responsibility for your perception, your emotions and thoughts, without confusing them with what is happening in reality, what others really do, feel and think. It is not permissible to express judgments, premonitions, definitions, interpretations regarding other participants. At seminars we express ourselves transparently, communicating without accusing or judging others, making any request and accepting the availability or otherwise of others.
21) I am aware that I am obliged to honor these agreements and ask them to be respected. I can propose further agreements if I find it necessary.