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ps-2

to: all processeans

20 august 1974
from: robert de grimston

brethren, as it is,

i wish i could write to each one of you personally, but fortunately

( !
)
there are too many of you. so instead, one letter to all of you.

first, to those of you who were in new york on 27th and 28th july,
bless you all for the warm and validating reception that you gave
us.
it was such a pleasure, and it made our visit so worthwhile. the
sense of unity, particularly when we were singing process hymns in
washington square on sunday afternoon, brought back a very old and
almost forgotten process feeling. we set a seal on something,
which
bodes well for the future of all processeans.

next, to those of you who are starting to establish your own

process
groups, most of this i've already said, but it feels appropriate to
put it down on paper. as far as i personally am concerned, there
is
at this time no official central process organisation. the only
practical manifestation of the process, which is laid down and can-
not be changed, are the written teachings. however this doesn't
mean that there can't be official local process organisations, all
linked together by the common bond of what those teachings
represent.
and they will have my full support and encouragement as long as the
teachings are their focus.

that last point is important, because if the organisation loses

sight
of the teachings and begins to exist for itself alone, then it
ceases
to be a process organisation, and confusion results because what is
being presented (the teachings) no longer coincides with what is
being practised (the organisation).

beyond that one stipulation, the choice is yours. you may form any
kind of group or corporatlon or commune that suits you. you don't
need my authority or my permission. the process is not even offi-
cially a church any longer, but if you want to form a local church
you're free to do so, and if you want to hold assemblies, baptisms,
healing circles, seminars, progresses*, or any other activities of
your own invention, that also you're free to do, and you may use
the old process formats, if you have them, or others of your own.

if you want ranks and titles, by all means have them. if you want
uniforms, the same. three other things though, which remain a
 process consant; the process symbol, the unity cross, and the
unity symbol, and i would prefer that you didn't use any other
symbols without first sending the designs to me for my approval.

*a syllabus and suggested format for a series of seminars covering

all process teachings will follow in due course.

now, a few guidelines to help you on your way.

1. where posslble, try to strike a balance between democracy and

hierarchy.

allow everyone the freedom to voice his or her opinions, feelings,

attitudes, disagreements, reservations, doubts and preferences.
and give them the consideration due to them, however much they
may differ from your owm. beware of the establishment of an exclu-
sive group morality and/or reality, where a stigma is laid (not
always overtly, but nonetheless effectively) on anyone with a
diver-
gent view. you don't have to agree with a dissenter - any more
than
he has to agree with you - but validate his reality, and give him
credit for it. and that doesn't mean tolerate it or condescend to
it. it means try to understand it and see its validity.

try to base your policies and your major decisions as much as pos-
sible on general agreement - and by that i mean genuine agreement,
not acquiescence under threat! argue your points by all means,
but avoid the questionable success of agreement by intimidation.

that's the democratic side. on the other side, a natural hierarchy

will almost certainly emerge, on the basis of such things as
knowledge, drive, imagination, initiative, control (real, not com-
pulsive!), innate authority (and that doesn't mean an ability to
intimidate, but a real willingness to take responsibility for the
welfare of others), intelligence, capability and experience. allow
it to emerge. but maintain its relevance. by that i mean, the
most capable in one particular field should not necessarily be the
leader in any other fleld. give him his authority only where it
manifests. and also remember that the higher you are in a hier-
archy, the greater must be your willingness to care for those who
are dependent on you. seniority which carries with it no more
than status, prestige and subservience is meaningless. so use
your powers of leadership, but remember how easy it is to misuse
them. rule through love, not fear.

2. where possible, remember that if a member of your group wants

to leave it, that is no reflection either on him or on you. he is
still a processean. you're still a process group. all you can say
is that your group's way of fulfilling itself is not his way.
neither of you is 'wrong'. so wish one another well, and part
friends.

3. where possible, try to find everyone's talents and capabilities,

and allow each person the scope and the opportunity to use them to
the full. if a person is unhappy with one function, give him
 another, until he finds one he enjoys and does to hls own and your
satisfaction. (if there's none, perhaps your group is not his way
of being a processean).

there's a link here with point one. as processeans, we are all

equal. none of us is better or worse than another. but each of
us has a different talent, and therefore a different function,
and sometimes this is a leadership functlon in a speciflc area.
in
that area a person may be superior because he has a greater capa-
bility than anyone else. allow him his superiority, but don't let
it overflow into areas where others are more capable, and don't let
it distort itself into an overall superiority - unless of course
he's
really better than eyeryone else at everything!

4. where possible, remember that the end can never effectively

justify the means. because the means are the end. fulfillment is
not an aim for the future, but an activity of the present. to make
war, for example, in the name of peace, is an anachronism.

only the game itself dictates the cycles of death and rebirth,
separation and unity. we're not here to implement them as a con-
scious policy. we may know, for example, that reconciliation is
only possible when conflict has reached a peak of intensity, but
that doesn't meam that our task is deliberately to intensify con-
flict. the game does that, at the proper time and in the proper
way; just as the game implements the unlversal law, without any
need for our intervention.

5, where possible, remember that process teachings are knowledge,

not morality. they tell you how the game works, the consequences
of certain actions, activities and patterns of behaviour, and the
reasons why things are as they are. they don't tell you how you
should behave, what you should do, or what your attitudes should
be.

certalnly they contain advice, based on the assumption that, on a

conscious level at least, everyone is looking for the greatest
possible real satisfaction, and they offer the wisest paths to
take in order to attain that. but that's not morality. everyone
is free to make his own choice, and the wisest ( ! ) thing a pro-
cessean can do is eliminate his own tendencles towards moral
outrage
and righteous indignation. they are both great reinforcers of fear
and guilt, which are the two corner-stones of the negative side of
the game.

6. where possible, try to find the points of agreement, rather

than dwelling on the points of disagreement. give the
disagreements
voice. don't be afraid of them or feel guilty about them. there's
nothing wrong with them. but, if you want progress and
fulfillment,
don't become trapped in them. resolve them as far as its possible
to resolve them, and then move on to common as opposed to differing
realities.
well, there are a few guidelines for you. and i must add one more;
the same as the last of the guidelines for bringing up process
children, in bi 29.

so, 7. where possible, avoid feeling bad about not invariably

following these guidelines!

and finally, never forget the process precept which tells us that
nothing is lost by falling, as long as we rise again.

so be it.

(robert)