To have a creative work (website, video, picture,
etc.) considered for the Shield of Approval (SOA), the author/creator must submit the
work to the Mission (send
an email to
shield@maitreya.org). The process then
proceeds as follows.
Note: Only those who have
joined the
Mission (following the teachings, involved
in outreach, paying tithes, etc. -
Light Seekers or above) are eligible to apply for the Shield
of Approval (SOA). This prevents those who do not
know the teachings and are not truly with the
Mission from attempting to gain the SOA for
their own purposes.
Step 1 - Initial Screening:
The work is first reviewed by a screening committee
to decide if it has the potential to be approved at
all.
If it does not, the process ends here and the committee
will inform the creator why their work cannot be
approved. Some possible reasons:
Not related to the teachings.
-
Contains vulgar or explicit content.
-
Poorly done (as part of Maitreya's
teaching is to become good in what you do,
evaluation of quality is part of the SOA
process! It must be clear that you did
your best to perfect it before submitting it to
us).
The creator always has the option to correct the
issue(s) (if possible) and re-submit.
If the work passes the screening committee, it is
then sent to the Mission Round Table,
which decides whether it agrees with the screening
committee that the work is worth considering for a SOA.
If it does, the creator is notified that the work has
been accepted for consideration and has moved on to the
next step.
Step 2 - Critique and
Revision:
The work is critiqued by the Mission
Round Table in the following areas:
-
All parts of
the work are 100% in accordance with
Mission
teachings.
Note: In the case of a website or
other online project, links to works that are not
approved can be acceptable. However, these links
must be relevant, and must not be needlessly
offensive, based on the discretion of the Round
Table.
-
The work is well-made, professional, and complete (or
close to completion).
Based on this critique, the Round Table develops a
list of any necessary changes, suggestions, etc. to make
the work approvable. This list is sent to the
creator, who, if he/she still wishes to receive the SOA,
must make the needed changes and then resubmit the work.
The work will then be re-evaluated once more, and the process will repeat until the work is truly Perfect.
Note:
If the applicant disagrees with a suggested change, he may appeal it to the Round Table.
If his appeal is legitimate, the Round Table may invite
the applicant to
discuss it further in a meeting of minds.
Step 3 - Approval and Certification:
After the piece is made Perfect, the Shield of Approval
is issued and a certification page (see
the example) is
created for the work.
The applicant must then do the following:
-
Put the Shield of
Approval in an obvious,
easy-to-see place on the work.
On a website, the Shield should be visible on
every page (in a banner or something similar).
-
For websites
or other online works, every Shield
of Approval graphic must be linked directly to the
certification page.
Note: If this is not possible for any reason, then
a text link to the certification page should be
placed near the Shield stating "Click Here to
Verify the Shield of Approval" or something similar.
Step 4 - Later Changes:
Anytime a material change is
made to an approved work, the Round Table must
be notified so the change can be reviewed.
Failure to notify the Round Table of changes may lead to
the loss of the Shield of Approval, possibly without
hope of reinstatement.
This process may seem complicated,
but it will help us keep the teachings Pure and
uncorrupted. That goal is worth a little complication!
All thanks to the Lord Almighty,
and to his extraordinary Plan for humanity.
Any questions or concerns should
be emailed to
shield@maitreya.org.
