Karuna Care Education – Right Use of Power – Course

Online | Paid | June 12 – July 3, 2021

People seeking help are in a position in which they must trust in the knowledge and guidance of their caregiver or guide. This results in a greater-than-ordinary vulnerability. Consequently, people are unusually susceptible to harm and confusion through misuses (either under- or overuse) of power and influence.

Stated another way, there is a power inequality whenever you take on a role that gives you authority over another or creates the perception that you have authority. Power differential roles include: supervisor, healer, coach, group leader, therapist, counselor, mediator, teacher, guru, temple president, preacher…

In talking about the power differential, it is necessary to clearly describe and distinguish between two kinds of power. This distinction is important because it makes clear that the increased power that accompanies a position of authority is role-based and not the same as personal power.

• Personal power is our ability to have an effect and to have influence.
• Role power is the added-on power (and responsibility and opportunity) that accompanies a positional role.

Because the power differential is role-dependent, it is easy to over-identify with (or get inflated by) this increased or enhanced power. However, it is just as easy to misuse this increased power by under-identifying with it. The central idea here is the necessity to understand and own your role power so that you can be conscious and informed.

Join us for experiential training to explore how our histories with power influence our lives in many different ways. Learn valuable information to increase your skill in using your power compassionately and ethically. Enhance your impact whether you feel you have power in the situation or not. In this 10-hour course, you will have the opportunity to practice the skills in and out of the sessions. The Right Use of Power will offer you ways to optimize your interactions and develop deeper relationships with others that you work with, for, or under.

About the facilitator: Janaki devi dasi has been practicing Krsna consciousness since the early 1980s. After twenty years of practicing bhakti-yoga she returned to school and completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology and her Master’s in Social Work. She is dually licensed as a clinical social worker and addiction specialist with over a decade of practice. In 2015 she was trained as a Right Use of Power instructor and in 2021 completed the advanced trainer level. 

More information and enrollment: https://karunacare.iskcon.org/training/power/

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/mqXg5OZS0as