 |
 |
 |
 |
The lay and licensed ministry levels are stages in OIIM’s training for Ordained Interfaith Ministers. All Ordained Interfaith Ministers, in addition to being a Registered Spiritual Counsellor, are clergy within OIIM and as such are able to pursue provincial, state or country licensing as clergy. An Ordained Interfaith Minister is fully trained to perform all religious services such as weddings, funerals, baptisms, etc. OIIM Interfaith Minister has studied at least three, and usually six, different major religious traditions and is trained to help the individual to develop a sense of personal spirituality, drawing on the spiritual practices of many different religions. There is specific doctrine with respect to matters of faith for the interfaith minister, as well as a set of basic principles and ethics within which the Ordained OIIM Interfaith Minister must function in order to maintain his/her status. On the road to ordination, a student may apply to OIIM for the status of CASC (Certificate of Applied Spiritual Counselling), Lay Minister and LM (Licensed Minister). The Lay Minister and LM status allows the student to perform religious and spiritual ministrations in their community, establishing themselves and the Interfaith Ministry. One year as a Licensed Minister is also required through OIIM to be eligible to earn the status of OM (Ordained Minister). Lay Ministers can start up Chapters, perform Interfaith Celebrations and do most ministrations except for religious ceremonies. Licensed Ministers can perform all the functions of an Ordained Minister, except for weddings and funerals.
An OIIM ministry training includes training as a spiritual counsellor who uses a basic understanding of counselling, spirituality, energy work and many different spiritual traditions to help people achieve improved mental/emotional and spiritual wellness. There is one fundamental element that distinguishes a spiritual counsellor from other counsellors and that is a belief in a higher power or God. This belief in a Higher Power can bring order to chaos. It is the understanding that there is a unifying interconnecting influence in the universe, a purposefulness that helps the Interfaith Minister as a Spiritual Counsellor stand apart. The Interfaith Spiritual Counsellor brings the special perspective of the Interfaith Minister - an understanding of the many paths that spiritual life may follow to achieve spiritual wellness. The concept of an Interfaith Ministry could not be more relevant and important to a global society which craves for peace. Respect for different traditions, different religions and diverse cultures is part of the interfaith perspective. We must learn to embrace diversity before we can hope to embrace an infinite God. As an interfaith lay minister, a spiritual counsellor is dedicated to serving the spiritual needs of all those who seek their guidance, counsel, and assistance, regardless of race, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, ethnic background, gender or age. At any time, individuals, couples or families can be confronted by uncertainties and life experiences which threaten to exhaust emotional and spiritual resources. The loss of a loved one, parent-teen conflict, loss of job or the care of an elderly parent are just a few of life’s transitions and crises that can be depleting. While some individuals turn to a psychologist, social worker or psychiatrist, others want counselling support and the opportunity to discuss their problems or illness in a spiritual context. A 1992 US Gallup poll asked 1,000 men and women about the context in which they would seek counseling. 66% said they would prefer to receive counselling from a person who represented their spiritual values. 81% said they wanted their own spiritual values respected and integrated into the counselling process. The tools of an Interfaith Minister as a spiritual counsellor include traditional counselling skills, an understanding of the beliefs of many religious traditions, the use of intuition and gifts of Spirit, an awareness of Spirit-related phenomena, a familiarity with current research on life after and before death, the ability to listen to their inner guidance or intuition, an under-standing of holistic counselling tools and processes which include an integration of eastern and western philosophies. The techniques uniquely at the disposal of the Interfaith Minister as spiritual counsellor can include meditation, hypnosis (if certified), visualization, colour therapy, other certified holistic counselling tools (e.g. neuro-psycholinguistics, bio-energetics, reality therapy), spiritual healing (e.g. laying-on-of-hands, Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, Touch for Health, Chi Chong, Seiki) chakra balancing, aura readings, mandalas, regression therapy, past-present-future-life regression therapy and aromatherapy. In addition to these and other tools un-ique to the Interfaith Minister as spiritual counsellor, our students are trained with a foundation in traditional talk therapy and basic helping skills, all in the supportive and reverent context of an Interfaith Ministry. Interfaith Ministers as spiritual counsellors do not perform the job of a psychologist or psychiatrist in that they do not diagnose or treat psychiatric or psychological disorders or prescribe medication. Interfaith Ministers as spiritual counsellors are trained to enhance an individual’s sense of wellness: body • mind • spirit by promoting and enhancing a healthy perspective of personal spirituality and purposefulness. The goal of helping for the Interfaith Minister is to assist the individual in getting in touch with themselves, to gain an enhanced awareness of their relationships and to provide tools to empower individuals to meet the challenges they identify. An additional goal of the spiritual counsellor is to assist the individual in getting in touch with their spiritual self, their personal sense of spirituality and to assist the person in balancing and aligning their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual self. The long-term outcome of the work of a spiritual counsellor is that the individual is enabled to take charge of their life, to learn from life challenges, and to handle issues in a constructive, loving and growth promoting way. Helping individuals acquire power over life’s stresses and fears is one of the products of spiritual counselling. One of the most unique
and important outcomes of spiritual counselling is a validation
for individuals of their mystical experiences and a validation
that their loved ones continue to live after the change called
death. Most people have at least one mystical experience and many
are afraid to discuss it with others. This can result in feeling
that there is something wrong or unnatural a-bout the experience,
or feeling that they have to hide this natural part of themselves,
or living in fear that they will be ridiculed for speaking about
their experiences. Spiritual counsellors in the Interfaith Ministry
offer validation for genuine Spirit related and mystical experiences. Not only is this a time of increased emphasis on therapy, but also a time of increased interest in spirituality. Combining these two areas in a person’s life in helpful and healing ways is what professional Interfaith Ministers as spiritual counsellors do. Just as a pastoral counsellor is generally trained in Christian beliefs and counselling, so as to integrate the two, a spiritual counsellor is trained in the beliefs and practices of the Interfaith Ministry, having knowledge of the major world religions, and in counselling, so as to integrate the two. Intuitive Adjunct: All counsellors and clergy, although they may not be aware of it, work with their intuition. All counsellors and clergy gain insight from the unseen world even when they do not believe that world exists. It is the Interfaith Minister as spiritual counsellor that works consciously with their spiritual awareness, responsibly allowing it to be a tool to help others. OIIM Interfaith Minister has developed his or her innate ability to work with the subtle unseen forces of the unconscious and the Spirit realms - they are able to tap into those intuitive skills that are a natural part of being a soul. OIIM Intuitive Registered Spiritual Counsellor has the authenticated gift of intuitive insight and spiritual mediumship. This means that the Interfaith Minister with the Intuitive Spiritual Counsellor designation has the validated ability to tap into the unseen world to share with individuals information which would otherwise be unaccessible to them. Additional services offered by the Interfaith Minister with the Intuitive Spiritual Counsellor designation includes intuitive/psychic readings and communication with departed loved ones, angels and spirit guides so as to empower individuals with insight and ‘heavenly messages for the soul.’ Most training in psychic mediumship draws on either the Modern Spiritualist movement or the field of parapsychology and the study of the paranormal or the study of mysticism in the major religions. NTI is inclusive of all approaches, embracing both the scientific as well as the religious aspects and explorations of the field. Our students benefit from this breadth of training. The course work for this designation is exactly the same as the spiritual counsellor designation with a few additional courses and an internship in mediumship. These supplemental courses draw on the Modern Spiritualist movement as well as parapsychology and the study of the paranormal and draws on the tradition of mysticism found in the world’s major religious traditions. Standards of Excellence: Those working in the Open International Interfaith Ministry as Interfaith Lay, Licensed or Ordained Ministers will adhere to rigorous standards of excellence, including education and practical training, professional certification and registration. Those earning the registered spiritual counselling designation will possess a depth of training that is at least as intensive if not more intensive than that of many other human service professionals, including the need for on-going CEU’s. For example, few, if any, human service fields offer training in holistic wellness as part of their curriculum; most interfaith seminaries focus on either spiritual counselling, comparative religion or Spirit related phenomena such as mediumship, but not all three content areas. NTI’s comprehensive programme includes all three areas. Specialty Options: NTI’s programme offers specialty Ministry options that allow for participants to be trained and receive certification as either a Spiritual Counsellor or an Intuitive Spiritual Counsellor. In addition, those whose gifts include creating vibrational art, music or dance, inspirational speaking, writing and administration will be awarded a specialty designation for their creative gift. For example: Spiritual Counsellor with Art; or Intuitive Spiritual Counsellor with Dance will be written on their certificate of graduation as an area of specialization.
|