Fees, Emolument, Tribute, Charges, Offering
Whatever we want to call it, and since our whole effort in this
endeavor of knowing thyself is toward harmony and balance,
that also needs to be reflected in the exchange. I don’t have a
hard and fast rule and I try to make individual sessions
affordable to all who might benefit from our personal encounter.
I have tried all methods of payment in the past, from set fees,
sliding scales, collection plate and trade-offs. My psychiatrist
friend charges 250 per hour. My psychologist friend 200.
However, they have big mortgages, and expensive offices and
staff to maintain, as well as a persona of impeccable
professionalism. I don’t have any of that. And since this work is
in the heady realm of the philosophic-spiritual, and since I
consider myself to be like a monk practitioner who has been
entrusted, so to speak, with the keys to the kingdom, whatever
exchange is made for my services must fit within my parameters
of Right Livelihood, as well as fair value for the client. That
means whatever the two of us deem fair, whatever is
comfortable for both.
Mental health professionals like to say that the fee is an
important part of the treatment and that the patient/client won’t
work hard enough to overcome his or her problems unless they
sacrifice, unless it hurts; the no pain, no gain rational. Since
philosophical counselors don’t treat patients, and since what we
do is more in keeping with the idea of a philosophical or spiritual
friend, the word offering seems more appropriate: I offer myself
to you, you offer yourself to me. We all have something to offer
each other. To offer ourselves is the purest form of payment,
and to receive such an offering is a boon of great appreciation,
and a benefit to both.
.
Fees
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