Spiritual Ethics

At Star Maiden Esoterica, we are passionate about spiritual ethics. In our modern spiritual community, the conversation about ethics & ethical spiritual practice has become lost. It is important that we restart these conversations now.

Our ethics are founded on one core tenet:

  • The sanctity of free will. Free will & intuition are held sacred and should not be wantonly imposed upon

The pursuit of this tenet is supported by the following core principles in spiritual practice:

  1. The posture of reciprocity. We are responsible for striving to treat others as we would wish to be treated
  2. The striving towards oneness. Our souls are seeking oneness with the divine & all things in a posture of compassion
  3. The inevitability of divine will. All things will return to oneness, so we should build faith and release control

In our Star Maiden Esoterica community and in our local communities, we strive to uphold these ethics and to spread their teachings. 

We have found these ethics present in the global community in age-old spiritual and religious traditions. We have also found that many of us naturally contain these core truths and feel their sacredness. 

Though we may disagree on the specifics, we fight for an ethical world by building discernment about what the violation of free will looks like, and speaking up when we see it being violated. 

  • We push against rigidity, ego, control, vanity, pride, envy, greed, selfishness, resentment, judgment, and sabotage
  • We promote open-mindedness, compassion, gratitude, softness, disinterestedness, generosity, justice, and support

We represent our truths but do not impose them. We wait for the divine to lead things as they are meant to, or until our will tells us that something must be done. We contribute to the world in the ways that we can, standing shoulder to shoulder with our ethical spiritual allies, to build the highest possible outcomes. We cultivate means of pushing back against the violation of will when we observe it.

We believe that the greatest advancement of our cosmos is possible when ethical discernment is used to lead us toward the highest possible outcomes. We have observed that enacting our free will inevitably leads us on a path toward oneness, reciprocity, and divine will, while violation of free will leads to stagnation, suffering, and separateness. Thus, the most beneficial contribution we can make to this world is to behave ethically, and the most harmful contribution we can make is to behave unethically according to this tenet. Therefore, we affirm that: 

Just as there are beings that are acting ethically (helpfully), there are beings that are acting unethically (harmfully)

As spirit workers, it is incumbent upon us to not only practice our spirituality in an ethical way, but also to only cosign the work of ethical spirits and ethical spiritual teachers & communities. It is our responsibility to build an understanding of our will, so that it can guide us to decrease the spread of unnecessary harm and increase the collective movement toward compassion and oneness.

Research

We believe in the collective wisdom formed by our ancestors and our fellow beings. We do not follow only one culture or creed, instead seeking answers in universal and/or widespread concepts of all traditions. Our beliefs are founded on principles expounded upon worldwide, as shown in our research below. We give thanks to those who came before us for making this knowledge possible. 

Free will in our ethical standard means that the part of ourselves that is certain of the course that is right for us to take is granted the ability to follow that course without imposition by any external force. 

Impositions upon free will can be as simple as persuading someone to follow a different course of action for a selfish motive, or as extreme as performing physical violence upon someone due to uncontrolled emotions.

All acts of coercion or violence in the broadest sense can be considered likely violations of free will. Many examples of these impositions are illegal worldwide, and virtually all societies have enacted structures to limit the more severe impositions upon will from being ongoing.

We believe that it is our responsibility to cultivate a softness and disinterestedness internally that will allow those we interact with the ability to act freely according to their will in all circumstances.

We also believe that our will may guide us to find means of limiting actions that impose upon free will, such as by choosing to exclude destructive actors from a community, speaking out against harmful behavior, or precipitating self-driven consequences.

The Golden Rule is a core tenet of ethics present in traditions around the world, represented in our 1st core principle and in the following statements: 

  • “Treat others as you would like others to treat you”
  • “Do not treat others in ways that you would not like to be treated”
  • “What you wish upon others, you wish upon yourself”

Religious, spiritual, and mystical traditions from around the world have taught pursuing closeness or oneness with the divine through mysticism, ecstasy, and meditation. 

These paths have been demonstrated to promote inner peace, gratitude, generosity, compassion, empathy, acceptance for the way things are, and wise instructions for how to spread these qualities to the world around us. 

The concept of good (helpful) and evil (harmful) is present in traditions worldwide, but conversations of this spiritual tenet have been lost in modern Western thought and occultism. It can constitute a general moral compass, or more precisely defined forces. But in the vast majority of religious and spiritual traditions worldwide, there is the concept of helpful and harmful spirits. 

Harmful spirits are often said to have a malevolent influence by causing sickness or misfortune and possessing or attaching to human beings. These spirits are also said to influence human beings to do harmful works or harmful spiritual practices.

Examples of the belief in the influence of harmful spirits present in various world cultures are listed below:

In addition, the ever-presence of shamanic and healing practices worldwide has historically been focused on alleviating the influence of harmful spirits and spiritual forces.

Wherever a concept of evil is present, it is also believed that there are good or helping spirits, such as deities, angels, bodhisattvas, elevated ancestors, or a supreme being. These spirits are said to guide us to heal, grow, advance, find answers, and pursue good fortune or destiny.

In our experiences, harmful spirits promote the restriction of free will, while helpful spirits encourage us to follow our free will. Following a spiritual practice of engagement with spirits identified as helpful has lead us toward oneness, individual & collective divine potential, and compassionate reciprocity with the world around us, while harmful spirits have been observed causing disunion, suffering, and stagnation.