About Us
Our Core Values
Personal and Spiritual Autonomy
Spiritual abuse and structural coercion are rampant problems in the world. Authoritarian structures have dominated both religious and spiritual pursuits and have engendered financial, sexual and spiritual abuse in many organizations. Most of our leadership have been personally affected by these kinds of abuses and we have committed ourselves to creating and maintaining healthy power structures.
We believe that personal and spiritual autonomy are not only important for healthy organizations, they are an essential element of our personal and spiritual growth and development. Our teachings and practices, both religious and secular, encourage each individual to connect deeply to their own inner wisdom and to trust their own inner guidance.
In our communities it is a deeply held belief that each person’s path is unique and only known to themselves. It is therefore of utmost importance that every person in our communities is encouraged to maintain autonomy and self-direction as a core value, even as they also accept help, support and teaching from others.
Transparency and Accountability
Transparency is essential for the health of any organization but especially those which require a great deal of personal trust. Trust is a sacred privilege and we believe that that trust is earned by being open, honest and transparent with our members.
We practice this value in many ways including transparency in financial status, decision making processes and leadership. But perhaps the most important way we practice transparency in our leadership. Our leaders do not pretend to be superhuman or beyond reproach. We are open and honest about our personal processes and own our mistakes and weaknesses. We never use the edifice of spiritual authority to override anyone’s autonomy to self-direction and we are vehemently against the use of any coercive or controlling mechanisms.
Diversity is Essential
Diversity is essential to the health of every community.
We believe that every community is an ecosystem and that no ecosystems can be healthy without a substantial amount of diversity. We value and appreciate a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and types of wisdom.
Theama Institute demonstrates these values via representation of many marginalized groups at every level of our leadership. This is not something we have artificially created through corporate policy but something that has emerged organically. We hope that as the organization grows we will have the opportunity to include more and diverse voices into our organization.
We are an open and affirming community and do not allow or condone discrimination against anyone based on racial or ethnic identities, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, class, political or religious beliefs.
Respect and Appreciation for All Paths
We believe that each person is endowed with a divine element that guides them and that a person’s own inner guidance is sacrosanct. We honor the expression of that guidance for each person whether that leads them to atheism, agnostic beliefs or a specific religion of spiritual practice.
We do not believe in the superiority of any religion or non/religion. We believe that the diversity of spiritual and religious practices around the world is an expression of the complexity and beauty of God and is therefore not only respected, it is highly valued.
We have chosen this path because it speaks to our souls and aligns with our values. We continue in these practices because we have found that they illuminate our lives and support the unfolding of our most authentic and joyful selves. We offer these teachings and practices publicly so that those who have a similar calling can find us and share in our joy.
For those who are not called to our spiritual path but who would like to learn self-love and holistic wellness tools we created our Life School Program. The Life School courses are designed to help people build a loving and healthy relationship with themselves and those they love. They can be integrated with many other spiritual paths or applied in a totally secular way.
Community Connection and Support
We understand that communities are extremely complex organisms that can be extraordinary healing and nourishing when they remain healthy. We are committed to building healthy communities that support the thriving of all members. Respecting and honoring our core values has allowed us to build beautiful and nourishing spiritual communities all over the country and online.
We are deeply committed to always value and prioritize the well-being of our members over the preservation of the organization. We do a great deal to prevent any kind of abuse within our organization but we know that there are no guarantees. Lucille Isadora Tures (our executive Director) has said “I would rather this entire organization collapse than be maintained by denying or hiding abuse. The organization is only valuable as long as it stands with its most vulnerable members. An organization that protects those who abuse its members should dissolve.”
About Life School
Life School was established in 2020 out of the desire to share some of the life-changing transformative work we had been doing for decades with those who are not called to our spiritual path. Our Spiritual Director Lucille Isadora Tures recognized that there were so many people struggling with self-loathing, self-sabotage, and alienation from themselves and their loved ones. People in all walks of life that were confused about how to understand their emotional reactions, their moods and their choices who were not finding the tools they needed to make change. So, she applied her knowledge and experience as a psychologist and long-time spiritual advisor to create the first Life School Series called Whole Self Thriving. The Whole Self Thriving courses help students build an alternative to self-critical and self-destructive efforts to “fix themselves”. It offers a model that allows students to identify their core-needs, recognize the values of their defense mechanism and build a healthy loving relationship with themselves that becomes the foundation for organic change.
Since then, another Adept teacher from our spiritual community Daniel Knight, added a very popular series of self-love. The students in that course learned how to break down obstacles to self-love and build positive emotional habits that nourish the rest of their lives.
We are adding new Life School Courses, from more incredible teachers, all the time.
We will offer courses in three formats 1) Self-led, 2) Live Online, and 3) Hybrid Online / In-person.
About Mystery School
Theama Mystery school combines Christian Mystical practices, including mystical communion, meditation and devotional practices, with updated Western Esoteric practices and knowledge. Advanced practice students learn Hermetic Qabalah, Tarot and alchemy.
These topics are often the most intriguing, but we have found (through a great deal of experience teaching and learning) that the most important teachings and challenging lessons are the simplest ones.
Our Communities
We have small In-person Communities in 5 regions across the US and Online Communities that are accessible to people all over the world. Our in-person communities are located in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota, Colorado, and Washington State.
All of our Communities, whether In-person or Online, are built on a foundation of warmth, love, and respect. We understand that communities are extremely complex organisms that can be extraordinarily healing and nourishing when they remain healthy. We are committed to building healthy communities that support the thriving of all members. Respecting and honoring our Core Values has allowed us to build beautiful, nourishing Spiritual Communities all over the country and online.
Our leadership consists of about 25 ministers (most of whom have professional careers and volunteer their time).
Meet Our Ministers
Our Service Positions
We believe that people have different kinds of gifts and interests, so we have various forms of service positions.
All forms of ministry are equally valued and respected in our organization.
We have four kinds of Ministry:
Lay Ministry
Lay Ministry focuses on serving the marginalized and neglected members of our society with love and compassion. This service does NOT include proselytization of any kind.
Ordained Ministry
Ordained Ministry focuses on teaching and counseling those who are engaged in our Spiritual Path or Life School programs.
Priesthood
Priesthood focuses on the same things as ordained ministry, and also specializes in the creation of new teaching tools and structures.
Adeptship
Adeptship focuses on holding and guiding the mission of the organization, as well as the instruction and support of all of the other ministers.
