Guidelines

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY [NOTE: the guidelines below are important to read because they help establish and nurture the foundation of what TLE has organically shaped itself to be over the years. We want everyone here to know what that foundation is so we can share in a continued vision and evolution for TLE.]

THE NINE NEEDS OF A COMMUNITY - Members who participate in any of the various platforms for TLE Universe agree to support, embrace, and commit to the 9 Needs of our amazing community! Historically, our community has had very little need for moderation, but the time has come to help clarify the boundaries and infrastructure of TLE so that all members, new and long-time members, can more easily navigate and participate. To start, it can be helpful to note the NINE NEEDS that any community requires for success. Below describes the way these Needs are met on TLE.

 

SAFE
SECURITY - nurturing a safe space for members
ACCEPTANCE - embracing differences among us, and within us
FREEDOM - understanding and honoring the structure and guidelines that support our individual uniqueness
EXPRESSION - the commitment to being ourselves and encouraging others to do the same

 

PEACE
POWER - being present and aware of the impact of our actions and choices
EXCHANGE - Give and receive meaningful interactions and socializing
ADVENTURE - remembering to play and have fun
COMMUNICATION - watching, talking, and listening to each other and treating each other as real people
EXPANSION - helping each other and ourselves to grow as a result of our social interaction

 

If you have trouble remembering these guidelines, SAFE PEACE can help you remember each Need

 

A SIDE NOTE ON ORDERING SERVICES

 

We are a very small team running things and Troy is just one channel. Channeling is a sensitive art that can often be disrupted by moods, life events, current events, health, etc. If you order any channeling services, you understand that there may be delays, reschedules, or cancellations, but these will always be credited or completed. ALWAYS. Your patience is greatly appreciated. If there are any issues, please use the SUPPORT TICKETING system. Please do not directly message Troy about services. The Support Ticket system is the only way a response is guaranteed. You WILL get a response, but it may take time. Thank you for your understanding. 
 

 

COMMUNITY GOALS & VISION
The goals of this community are to assist students of the Michael Teachings in their social and study pursuits, to help maintain friendships and connections formed as students, to build strong and mutually beneficial bonds among students, to promote self-awareness, inclusion, kindness, consideration, and wellness in the community, to nurture personal and group interests and passions, and to create valuable and meaningful exchanges with Troy and Michael through free events and affordable private services.

 

To meet the goals of this community, it is important for members to feel that they are in a safe place that is populated by people sharing in similar values and consideration for each other.  TLE requests that you read and honor the guidelines that follow.

 

GUIDELINES
 

BE BETTER TOGETHER
 

• REAL PEOPLE - Remember that there is an actual person on the other side of the internet presence and they have feelings, fears, desires, and experiences that may or may not be the same as your own
• BE KIND - Communicate with kindness and consideration even if in disagreement or conflict.
• DIVERSE EXPERIENCES - Allow room for others’ viewpoints, even if you do not share them or understand them. Be open to meaningful understanding by seeing through their eyes, if possible.
• LISTEN & LEARN - When in doubt, triggered, confused, or upset, please PAUSE. LISTEN. LEARN. Not just from others, but from checking in with yourself about your reaction and what it may mean.
• USE EMAIL/MESSAGING/CHAT ROOMS RESPONSIBLY - all of the guidelines apply to all forms of messaging in the TLE Universe.

 

NAVIGATING TENSION
 

• DISAGREEMENTS ARE NORMAL - Disagreements and heated discussions are not the same thing as being unkind, inconsiderate, offensive, or being personal. Allow room for disagreements. 
• DISAGREEMENT ARE NOT INSULTS - Respectful disagreements are welcome when opinions do not align. We learn from each other this way. Be mindful not to move into personal assaults or insults.
• PERSONAL LIKES AND DISLIKES ARE NOT INSULTS - Do not take another person's viewpoint, personal perception, or experiences personally. There are going to be people who hate what you love and love what you hate, or like what you dislike and dislike what you like. Let there be room for various tastes, preferences, and pleasures, ESPECIALLY regarding subjective topics like sex, expression, art, film, tv, books, music, etc.
• REACTIONS VS RESPONSES - A reactionary expression can create more reactions. Reactions are ways we protect ourselves when we feel threatened. If you find yourself feeling defensive or threatened, step back, allow time and space for your authentic reactions, find your center again, and then let your next words come as a conscious and thoughtful response.
• BEING ANNOYING IS NORMAL - Sometimes people are going to be annoying. We are not always going to be the way others want us to be. Allow room for people to be annoying because sometimes people are just being themselves and we are not here to shame or fix them. Everyone is annoying to someone, sometimes. If someone is disruptive and harmful though, please bring this to a moderator's attention and we will address it.
• OFFERING PERSONAL INSIGHT - There may come a time when you feel comfortable and confident in pointing out a flaw, misstep, or failure of another person as a way to help them. DO NOT DO THIS. Unless a member invites your insight or asks for it, please be careful about how you offer personal observations and criticisms. If you see a member who could use some insight, criticism, guidance, or awareness about problematic personal behaviors, feel free to invite the conversation through questions, or message them privately. If they are not interested, do not respond, or reject your efforts, please leave them alone. If the behavior needs to be reported to moderators, please do so.
• RECEIVING PERSONAL INSIGHT - Sometimes people may offer you criticism as "wisdom" or "help" or "insight" without your asking for it. If you choose to receive that criticism, great. If you do not wish to be publicly analyzed  and criticized, kindly say so. If you need moderators to step in, please let us know.
• GO PRIVATE - Arguments and conflicts are allowed within reason but if they carry over for more than a day, they must be shifted to a private exchange.
• RESPECT PRIVACY - Please respect the privacy and personal information of other students.
• TRIGGER WARNINGS - Trigger Warnings help our diverse community full of people with diverse experiences to navigate conversations more carefully when they approach subjects that may have been an extreme and personal experience. If you create a topic or share an experience or perspective on anything that may be of concern, please add to the top of your post a Trigger Warning. (e.g. TW - child abuse). If you do not add a warning and someone suggests that you do, please be open and understanding.

 

 

YOUR TLE HOST & STAFF

 

• TRUST YOUR MODERATORS - Moderators are here for ALL of us. You may not always agree with decisions made by moderators, but they are in a position where hard choices may have to be made and they are not up for debate.
• TROY & MODERATORS ARE HUMAN - Remember that Troy and the TLE Staff/Council are human beings who have feelings, fears, and perceptions that are as unenlightened, flawed, and bumbling as any other human being. Make room for these flaws and failures, especially if you regard anyone here as a leader, mentor, role model, guide, or healer. You will be sorely disappointed if you hold any TLE member to a higher standard than the average human being.
• COMPLAINTS ABOUT TLE - complaints about Troy, Moderators, services, delays, credits, personal objections, etc. should be done through Support Tickets, not in random public forums.

 

 

WE ARE PROGRESSIVE & INCLUSIVE
 

• SOCIAL AWARENESS - This community is a safe space for members of any marginalized, oppressed, or targeted community. This means we are a community of LGBTQIA+, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and Allies. Any inappropriate or problematic missteps in discussions or comments regarding sexuality, gender, gender identity, sex, race, body image, etc. will be met first with an opportunity to learn, but quickly redirected to resources for learning about these things elsewhere, if necessary. No individual is responsible for educating or explaining to others about their plight, experiences, or fights for justice and equality. There are subjects and sensitivities in marginalized communities that you may not always understand or consider seriously, so please sit back, listen, and learn if you are confused or surprised or unfamiliar. If you feel left out or confused, hang in there. It is worth it to learn about others who have very different social, political, and economic realities. Any intentionally offensive remarks will be met with a swift ban.
• VEGAN-FRIENDLY - This is a PRO-VEGAN community. There will be discussions, promotions, and support for all who choose to be vegan for the animals, each other, and the planet.  These are not opportunities for debate or conflict. They are for educational purposes only. NO ONE is required to be vegan. NO ONE is telling anyone to be vegan. That choice is yours. We want to make sure resources and support are available to all who see value in making the connection and making the choice to be vegan.
• FREEDOM FROM INSTITUTIONS - We are a community of older souls. Many commonly accepted and meaningful institutions of Baby and Young Souls such as Religion, Economy, Education, State, and Family can be systems of oppression that older souls may find important and healing to reject, criticize, and discuss from a personal as well as older soul perspective, especially by those who are particularly vulnerable to being high value targets of violence, hate, and discrimination from these institutions. Allow room for these discussions even if they are sometimes uncomfortable. These important and critical conversations help us move into a Mature Soul Age but should never cross the line into being an excuse for expressing bigotry toward a person or group of people.
• POLITICS ARE WELCOME - We are not a community that avoids politics. Politics are a very powerful force in the lives of many who are struggling for equality and justice. These conversations are important and supported. Though we welcome the discussion of politics, if these discussions in any way support viewpoints, policies, or representatives that support oppression and harm to marginalized people, they will be shut down.
• ANTI- WHITE SUPREMACY- Supporting or promoting or trying to justify white supremacy in any way will be shut down immediately.

 

 

BE YOURSELF

 

• RANTING AND VENTING ARE ALLOWED - If you feel like just getting something off of your chest or expressing a stream of consciousness wave of chaos, you are welcomed and encouraged to do so. Spaces are provided for you to do just this. They are safe spaces. Please look for these spaces and use them if you need to rant or vent, though please consider all of the guidelines, of course.
• PROFANITY IS ALLOWED - Profanity is a form of creative expression but should never be used to harm another person. Profanity is welcome, otherwise.
• HUMOR IS ENCOURAGED - We all want to laugh but be mindful not to present humor at the expense of any marginalized or oppressed groups. Punching up is always welcome (jokes about patriarchy, for example). Punching down is prohibited.

 

 

INTEGRITY OF THE TEACHINGS

 

• CREATIVE INTERPRETATION - Some students may feel inclined to express their creative interpretations of Troy's or other channels' work with Michael. This is encouraged and welcomed. 
• ACCURATE REPRESENTATION - If someone chooses to share their own creative interpretations of Troy's or other channels' work with Michael, they are required to clearly designate that this is their interpretation, to add a clear citation for any source material, and to clearly separate and clarify what is their work and the work of others.
• MODERATOR INTERVENTION - If anyone blurs the lines between interpretations and the original source material, or there is an intentional or unintentional misrepresentation of the source material as one's own, moderators will reach out to request a reformat and clarification of the presentation. 

 

 

YOU MAY BE BANNED
 

• NO PERSONAL ATTACKS - Personal attacks on other community members will not be tolerated. This includes repeated public criticisms about a person. It is not your job to fix, heal, or evolve another person. You are welcome to offer insight, but repeated criticisms, however well-intentioned, will not be tolerated. If you feel someone requires attention to their behavior, please report to moderators.
• NO SLANDER - false statements about others will not be tolerated - we cannot always determine if something is true, but if a member says something false about you, please let the moderators know
• NO BULLYING - bullying is the active effort to intimidate, harm, and coerce another. A difference in opinion or a passionate perspective or a confident tone ARE NOT bullying.
• NO MISINFORMATION - conspiracy theories can be fun, but this is not a community for spreading misinformation that harms others. We define "misinformation" as "false or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive." We determine what is misinformation based on its potential harm. 
• COMMUNITY HEALTH: If someone's presence in the community reveals an observable pattern of provocation, agitation, inciting, refusal to listen, arguments, discord, and defensiveness that diminishes and distracts from a healthy conscientious environment, and/or requires repetitive assessment by the moderators for how to navigate this problematic behavior, they will be asked by support to be aware of this pattern and to reconsider their approach. If this invitation is rejected or if the behavior repeats regularly, we will conclude that this community is not for them and they will be removed.

 

CONSEQUENCES
Moderators will take action when they see someone violating these guidelines. A misstep or miscommunication will be met with an opportunity for all to learn from the experience. However, instances of obvious assault, bullying, racism, homophobia, transphobia, white supremacy, misinformation, slander, or total disregard for guidelines will be met with swift non-debatable banning.
 

YOUR AGREEMENT
By logging onto the community and activating your profile, you are considered to be in agreement with all guidelines listed above.