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Mystical Potential

Fellowship of R-WAN (Reality Without A Name)

Although the following set of Constitutional principles was originally set forth in relation to a specific circle of individuals, any group of people who are interested in coming together to co-operate in such a moral venture are welcome to use the basic format outlined below as a means of establishing a set of principles, processes, and boundaries through which to engage the moral project being described here - or, the following can be used as the basis for a discussion concerning the development of a framework for a moral community.

Preamble of Constitutional Purpose

The Fellowship of R-WAN is dedicated to principles of truth, love, friendship, justice, community, morality, happiness, peace, service to others, and inner transformation – not just as ideals, but as duties of care which are to be realized in daily life. Through putting the aforementioned principles into lived practice, we aspire to contribute to, and enhance, the common good of all human beings irrespective of their ethnicity, gender, race, religion, social status, material resources, philosophical orientation, or political affiliation. The following Constitutional Articles give detailed expression to the underlying spirit that guides the values, beliefs, and actions of the individuals who have agreed to abide by the principles and purpose of this Fellowship.

Constitutional Articles

Article 1. A natural law right is a right which exists prior to, and independently of, social organization and arrangements. Such a right is inherent in the very nature of being human.

Article 2. Every human being has an inalienable, natural law right to gain (through peaceable means), and actively realize, control over her or his learning concerning the truth about what constitutes the essential nature of human potential – both generally (i.e., with respect to humanity) and specifically (i.e., individually or personally).

Article 3. A corollary of the foregoing natural law right is that there can be no compulsion in matters of either learning about, or acquiring control over learning about, the nature of human potential.

Article 4. The existence of such a natural law right carries an accompanying duty of care which consists in protecting the integrity of the aforementioned natural law right to acquire control over one’s learning in relation to the essential nature of human potential. This means one has a duty of care to protect (through peaceable means) one own’s natural law right to acquire control over learning concerning the nature of human potential, as well as a duty of care to protect (through non-compulsory means) the natural law right of others to acquire control over their own learning in this regard.

Article 5. The foregoing natural law right and duty of care are said to carry “binding force” within the Fellowship of R-WAN. In other words, those who wish to enter this Fellowship place themselves in a fiduciary relationship (that is, one of trust and responsibility) with respect to this right and this duty of care, and, as such, should conduct themselves in accordance with the protections, requirements, provisions, and opportunities that are made possible through honoring that natural law right and its accompanying duty of care.

Article 6. In the absence of active observance of such a duty of care, the effective meaning of the underlying natural law right is severely limited, if not devoid of substantive value.

Article 7. Realization of the aforementioned natural right and its accompanying duty of care constitutes two basic principles which generate the degrees of freedom, and their limits, through which healthy fellowships or communities may have an opportunity to arise, become established, and flourish.

Article 8. One cannot know the complete meaning of liberty until one comes to know the full truth about the nature and character of human potential and what this nature entails concerning the possibility of human freedom – for the greater one’s distance from the truth concerning the nature of human potential, the greater is one’s ignorance concerning what manner of freedom is most beneficially conducive to realizing the potential inherent in human nature.

Article 9. Therefore, in the absence of a definitive understanding of the nature of human potential, the best form of freedom is that which assists human beings, both collectively and individually, to gain control over learning about the nature of human potential. In other words, the degrees of freedom to be permitted to human beings both collectively and individually, are related to the issue of truth and do not stand prior to, nor independently of, this issue.

Article 9a. There is no right to freedom, per se, except in accordance with the search for truth, the requirements of truth, and the conditions which are necessary to create the individual and collective space, or degrees of freedom, which will assist this search. Freedoms are derivative from the nature of truth and give expression to the diverse, unique, and creative ways through which individuals and collectives bear witness to such a search, as well as the fruits or benefits of that search, and the lived realization of these fruits.

Article 10. The aforementioned degrees of freedom, duties of care, and natural law right concerning the acquisition of control over one’s learning with respect to the nature of human potential, are best served by a fellowship or community which is dedicated to certain kinds of principles that have been attested to by civilizations down through the annals of history and which transcend (and, consequently, are independent of) all philosophies, theologies, political theories, economic systems, and frameworks of social organization.

Article 11. One dimension of the aforementioned common set of principles involves recommendations concerning certain kinds of constructive attitudes and behavior. A second facet of such common principles deals with warnings about various kinds of destructive attitudes and behavior that are to be avoided. Both of these dimensions, that are specified in the following two Articles, go to the heart of the kind of inner building or transformation of the Self to which the Fellowship gives expression and to which it is committed through its values, explorations, discussions, and activities.

Article 12. More specifically, qualities of: empathy, kindness, friendship, love, courage, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, honesty, fairness, cooperativeness, nobility, integrity, compassion, charitableness, gratitude, contentment, steadfastness, loyalty, objectivity, humility, modesty, trustworthiness, commitment, self-sacrifice, magnanimity, thoughtfulness, generosity, courteousness, encouragement, harmony, peacefulness, justice, beneficence, service to others, and sincerity have been valued in almost every, if not every, single society known to human kind, and none of these qualities presupposes acceptance of, or belief in, a particular philosophy, theology, political framework, economic system, or social arrangement. These are among the qualities which the Fellowship of R-WAN seeks to realize.

Article 13. On the other hand, qualities of: anger, hatred, hypocrisy, selfishness, disagreeableness, unkindness, dishonesty, insincerity, discourtesy, ingratitude, impatience, disloyalty, arrogance, injustice, untrustworthiness, discord, immodesty, jealousy, envy, stubbornness, unfriendliness, intolerance, unfairness, hard-heartedness, miserliness, ignobleness, gossiping, bias, prejudice, egocentrism, cowardice, pettiness, treachery, cruelty, dishonorableness, harboring grudges, pride, uncharitableness, lack of compassion, inconsiderateness, and quarrelsomeness, have been universally condemned in virtually every society known to human kind -- again, entirely independently of philosophical, theological, political, social, or economic beliefs. These are the qualities which the Fellowship of R-WAN seeks to avoid.

Article 14. Articles 12 and 13 above encompass a set of truths about human potential, and in order for an individual or collective to gain effective and complete control over learning in relation to the truth of human potential, the principles inherent in those two Articles should be mastered. In the absence of such mastery, whatever truth one acquires may be limited and, potentially, problematic, when implemented in relation to oneself, as well as in conjunction with others.

Article 15. A fellowship or community which encourages and practices the constructive qualities and attitudes noted in Article 12 above, while seeking to avoid the destructive qualities or attitudes listed in Article 13, will be able to establish the kind of interpersonal atmosphere that is most conducive to helping every member of that community to be in a position to have an opportunity to learn how to gain control over learning concerning the nature of human potential (both collectively as well as individually), while observing his or her duty of care to protect the like right for others in that community or fellowship.

Article 16. A fellowship or community which acknowledges the inalienable natural right of Article 2, honors the duty of care of Article 4, observes the spirit of freedom inherent in Article 8 as well as Articles 9 and 9a, practices the qualities of Article 12, while attempting to avoid the qualities of Article13, will be giving expression to a form of association which serves the common good and lays the foundations for a variety of protections and opportunities which can be utilized by all of the members of the fellowship or community in an equitable fashion that will assist people’s acquiring control over learning the truth about human potential.

Article 17. One of the most important expressions of the aforementioned protections and opportunities are the degrees of freedom recognized by the individuals within the Fellowship which enable and facilitate -- among both members of the Fellowship, as well as in relation to those who do not belong to the Fellowship -- the exchange of ideas, perspectives, thoughts, experiences, understandings, concerns, questions, and problems involving: the issue of truth, as well as the struggles entailed by the search for such truth, together with the difficulties surrounding the realization and implementation of various facets of truth, once these dimensions become known.

Article 18. All members of the R-Wan are to be protected against any form of attack, interference, involuntary servitude, or violations of due process (which consist of the Articles of this Constitution) that would undermine or impede his or her natural law right to acquire control over learning concerning the truth about human potential. Furthermore, wherever feasible, the members of this Fellowship should seek to extend these protections to others who are not members but with whom members may associate or interact.

Article 19. The purpose of all protections and opportunities existing within, and through, the Fellowship of R-WAN is to serve and preserve the integrity of the foundations of the community processes -- namely, the previously cited basic natural law right, together with its concomitant duty of care. Without these twin principles being intact, no fellowship or community, worthy of the name, is possible.

Article 19a. A true fellowship or community is not primarily about elected office, majority rules, representative government, legislation, or trying to interpret legalisms. Indeed, the Fellowship of R-WAN is about the exercise and preservation of the basic natural law right concerning gaining control over one’s learning with respect to the truth about human potential in order for people to have an opportunity to develop that potential in a way which might benefit the individual, as well as the rest of the Fellowship, if not all of humanity. In the absence of something akin to the foregoing sense of spirit, passion and sacredness concerning: truth, human potential, and life, then, considerations of such issues as: elected office, principles of majority rule, representative government, and leadership, are meaningless, empty, or lacking in character.

Article 19b. A fellowship or community is intended to establish a vibrant space within which people feel secure and through which whatever assistance deemed appropriate or necessary may be obtained via the willing, sincere, and committed service of its members to one another, to help facilitate an individual’s struggles to gain control over her or his learning with respect to the truth about human potential, and, thereby, to work toward bringing that potential to fruitful realization via the inner transformation of the Self through, for example, inculcating, understanding, and applying the truths inherent in Articles 12 and 13

Article 20. Justice is a function of truth because the former requires giving to each what is due to it, and this (what is due) cannot be known apart from understanding what the truth indicates is appropriate in such cases. At the very least, justice requires that what is due to each person is the right to acquire control over one’s learning with respect to the truth about human potential -- for through truth, one comes to know about identity, meaning, Self, wisdom, and morality, and, thereby, one has the opportunity to learn how to do better justice to each of these dimensions of reality by giving to them their due in accordance with the manner in which each gives expression to this or that facet of truth.

Article 21. Equality is not about everyone receiving the same thing or having the same thing or having an equal share of resources (and, obviously, there is a great deal of natural inequality with respect to talent, intelligence, beauty, strength, physical attributes, financial wherewithal, and so on) but is, rather, about everyone having an equal opportunity to gain control over his or her learning concerning the truth about human potential, as well as everyone’s basic natural law right being given equal protection, together with everyone being expected to fulfill the fiduciary requirements of her or his basic duty of care in relation to protecting the basic natural law right of others.

Article 22. Properly fulfilling one’s duty of care in relation to the basic natural law right of this Constitution is not possible except to the extent one’s efforts in this regard are rooted in empathy, love, compassion, and service with respect to one’s fellow human beings who must struggle with the many difficulties, as well as the triumphs and failures, inherent in the process of seeking and gaining control over the intricacies of truth concerning the nature of human potential and what this might entail with respect to identity, purpose, Self, wisdom, morality, and the meaning of life.

Article 23. The previously mentioned constructive qualities (See Article 12) are of vital importance to learning how to properly discharge one’s basic duty of care with respect to the basic natural law right concerning acquiring control over learning the truth about human potential. Even if the complete truth is never attained, the quality of life of both the Fellowship or community and individual are positively enhanced by people fulfilling their duties of care with respect to one another and oneself. Similarly, avoiding the aforementioned negative, destructive qualities (See, Article 13) is also part of properly discharging one’s basic duty of care in relation to the fundamental natural law right of human beings. Learning about these qualities – both constructive and destructive -- encompasses two sets of the great truths about human potential and is necessary to making further progress toward mastering objectivity, understanding, knowledge, and wisdom in relation to the truth, one self, others, and life.

Article 24. The quality of empathy ( a capacity to feel the sorrows and joys of the ‘other’) is a key to pursuing truth - for one’s empathy must resonate with the nature and rhythms of Being in order to access various dimensions and facets of the truth of such Being in relation to human potential. In addition, empathy is also key to observing one’s duty of care concerning the basic natural law right to acquire control over learning the truth about human potential, for only through such empathy will one develop the love, friendship, and service, that will help support others in their struggle to seek, and actively realize, the truth about human potential.

Article 25. Having empathy for the truth or having empathy for humanity should be given lived expression through a willingness – when asked or as a result of personal initiative -- to be at the service of truth and human beings. In other words, the people of the Fellowship should be ready to actively help others – whether members or non-members of the Fellowship – in whatever ways, and through whatever means, are feasible, according to one’s circumstances, inclinations, resources, talents, abilities, and commitments.

Article 25a. There is an intimate web of resonating connections among empathy, truth, and the principles encompassed by Articles 12 and 13. By adhering to the principles inherent in the latter Articles, one’s capacity to feel empathy is deepened, refined and polished. As this capacity for empathy is enriched, one’s ability to feel, sense, know and realize the many rhythms to which truth gives expression is also enhanced. Furthermore, as one’s empathetic awareness grows and as one’s openness to the truth is increased, one’s understanding and appreciation of the value of the principles encompassed by Articles 12 and 13 -- both for the transformation of one’s inner nature as well as in relation to the service of others -- begins to develop into a wisdom concerning life, humanity, and the Self.

Article 26. Membership in the Fellowship of R-WAN is voluntary and indicates acknowledgment and acceptance of the Constitutional Articles of the Fellowship, but entry into this Fellowship must be gained through, and sponsored by, one of the individuals among the Legends who, along with Knights and Knightae, make up the membership of this Fellowship. Once accepted into the Fellowship, an individual is free, at any time, to leave the Fellowship.

Article 27. The Fellowship is not a social club, but a collective of individuals who have agreed to actively live in accordance with the principles of the Fellowship for the purpose of seeking truth, love, friendship, justice, community, morality, happiness, peace, inner transformation, and service to others in conjunction with individuals who are like-hearted and like-minded, as well as seeking to extend the benefits of this Fellowship to all those among humanity who are open to such possibilities.

Article 28. The Fellowship may not be used in any way to advance, promote, endorse, recommend, contribute to, or serve the interests of any particular financial, commercial, political, social, religious, economic, or worldly organization, cause, program, group, or individual agenda.

Article 29. The members of the Fellowship may not use any techniques involving authoritarian, dogmatic, judgmental, oppressive, controlling, manipulative, and coercive attitudes, processes, or behaviors - either with respect to one another or the rest of humanity. All of these techniques have the potential to undermine, corrupt, and distort the basic natural law right to gain control over learning with respect to the truth about human potential to which the Fellowship is committed.

Article 30. The Fellowship is not a matter of religions, dogma, theologies, doctrines, rituals, philosophies, organizations, or systems of thought. Rather, the Fellowship is about uncovering and discovering the potential inherent in human kind for engaging, bearing witness to, communicating with, loving, treating as sacred, knowing, and serving the truth which flows through us all, by means of the experience of struggling, both individually and collectively, toward Self-realization as an expression of the truth.

Article 31. No rules shall be made concerning, or principles introduced into, these Constitutional Articles which abridge the privileges inherent in the basic natural law right of human beings recognized by this Fellowship or that will abrogate the protections provided by the obligations inherent in the concomitant duty of care that accompanies this basic natural law right.

Article 32. If one of the members of the Fellowship of R-WAN seeks to establish a new precedent in relation to processes, procedures, values, or activities of the Fellowship that are not covered, explicitly or implicitly, within these Constitutional Articles, such a precedent will have probative value only to the extent that its structural, logical or interpretive character can be demonstrated to be traceable to, rooted in, consistent with, or an enhancement of, the basic natural law right, and accompanying duty of care, on which this Constitution rests. Furthermore, in addition to being in harmony with the general framework established through the Constitutional Articles of this Fellowship, such a precedent must be in accordance with the spirit of the provisions specifically set forth in Articles: 9, 9a, 12, 13, 17, 25, 29 and 31.

Article 33. Whatever rules, principles, or amendments that are made to, or introduced into, these Constitutional Articles must be agreed to in accordance with the principle of consensus in which all members unanimously agree to such changes.

Article 34. Where possible and feasible, hiding the faults of others often is a desirable path to pursue. Furthermore, whenever possible, individuals who are at odds with one another, should try to settle their differences privately, amicably, and harmoniously. However, for a variety of reasons, such a course of action may not always be possible.

Article 34a. When a member of the Fellowship has tried, without success, to resolve a problem privately with some other member of the Fellowship, and this difficulty is believed to involve a major breach of the basic duty of care outlined in Article 4, or the difficulty is considered to involve a major breach of one, or more, of the other provisions of the Constitutional Articles, the first response of the members of this Fellowship should be to find mutually agreeable ways to restore the integrity of the Articles by helping -- through, among other approaches, the qualities of Article 12 -- a transgressing individual to regain a healthy, balanced, harmonious approach to the qualities which shore up and help an individual to maintain fidelity with respect to observance of this duty of care in a considerate manner.

Article 34b. When other attempts (as outlined in Article 34) have failed, then, a member who believes a major breach of Constitutional Articles has taken place may request that a Healing Circle, consisting of five members, be convened to receive, and at the discretion of this Circle (according to a 4-1 vote), investigate such allegations. If, based on this preliminary review of the Circle, there is sufficient evidence that a major breach of Constitutional Articles (again, according to a 4-1 vote) has taken place, the members of this Healing Circle should discuss the matter, in private, with the individuals involved in the problem and collectively seek to find a way of wisdom that permits these people to be re-integrated into the spirit of the Constitutional Articles and, where necessary, for amends to be made – but only if the transgressing individual acknowledges and agrees with the recommendations underlying the request for amends.

Article 34c. When, for whatever reasons, restoring the integrity of the Constitutional Articles is not possible via discussion and/or suggested amends with the concerned individuals, then, one of the options open to the Circle is for a transgressing individual to be isolated, for an agreed upon period of time (reached through consensus by the five members of the Healing Circle and the individuals involved in the difficulty), from the rest of the community but in such a way that the isolated person’s basic natural law right is not impeded or infringed. This time should be used as both a way for all concerned parties to disengage from the problematic situation, as well as provide an opportunity for all parties to reflect on the purpose and meaning of belonging to such a Fellowship.

Article 34d. The selection of the individuals for the Healing Circle should take place on January 1st of each year, and the method of this selection should consist of a fair method (the nature of which is to be decided by current Healing Circle members according to, at least, a 3-2 vote) from among the members of the Fellowship until five individuals are found who will be willing to serve on the Healing Circle for one year. Replacements that, for whatever reason, become necessary during the course of a year should be selected in the same manner by the available members of the Healing Circle.

Article 34e. This selection process should be conducted by the members of the Healing Circle who have served during the previous year and constitutes their last duty of office. The results of the draw shall be made public and communicated to the members of the Fellowship.

Article 34f. No member of the Fellowship can serve on the Healing Circle for more than two years, whether consecutively or otherwise.

Article 34g. The five members of the initial Healing Circle should be selected by the founder of R-WAN.

Article 34h. All allegations, as well as related investigations and/or modes of resolution, are to be kept confidential in relation to the rest of the Fellowship membership, and the forms of resolutions negotiated through the Healing Circle shall be considered to be final in such matters.

Article 35. None of the foregoing Articles should be construed as precluding or discouraging the members of the Fellowship from experiencing pleasure, joy, rapture, or ecstasy -- as well as the occasional willingness to dance and break into song or laughter -- during the pursuit of the truth, as well as in relation to our commitment to protecting the integrity of the Constitutional process through which this pursuit takes place, as we enjoy the camaraderie of this Fellowship.

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