I'm back, and Finding a Spiritual Teacher

Hello everyone! I'm back!

Sorry I have been gone for so long. Personal and health issues, life changes, etc. It happens to the best of us. But, I am back and ready to share more of my occult and magical musings, teachings, theories and stories. So, without further ado, let's talk about finding a spiritual teacher!

We have all been there, haven’t we? You have a great desire to practice magic. Or maybe you want to explore the spiritual mysteries of a tradition. Maybe you want to uncover the spiritual nature within yourself. But you don’t know where to begin. There are all kinds of things on the internet. Anyone can put anything on there, and they do. What you find in one place may contradict what you find in another. You don’t know which book to follow, which article to read or which practice to try. Some people try to navigate the overflow of information themselves and often wind up in situations they did not intend with an incomplete understanding of how they got there or what to do. Others start on one path, then take another, then another and so on until they have started many things but have not actually progressed enough to get anywhere in any of them. Occasionally someone will find their way to a good understanding of things and make real progress, but these are the exceptions to the rule. So, what do you do if you don’t want to end up somewhere you don’t want to be? Simple. You find a teacher!

But, are all teachers created equal? Can they all guide you to where you want to be? Do they even know where that is? Unfortunately, these are real questions that you have to ask and the answer may not always be pleasant. Finding a good teacher is a challenge. When you do find one it can help your journey immensely. I have been fortunate in my magical career to be trained by several very good teachers. I have also worked with some not so good ones too. What I am mainly going to give you tonight, however, is the understanding and questions you need to have to make sure that the teacher is right for you. 

Now I am going to step onto my soap box for a second. (You have been warned. Lol!) There is a whole hell of a lot of people out there who claim to be able to teach you things. Most of them are no more teachers than I am a bowl of Fruit Loops. In this day and age, there is an overabundance of information that is accessible at a moment’s notice to anyone and everyone. The modern printing business and the internet have done a great service in preserving and making information available to all of us. Unfortunately, it can be misused easier than it can be used correctly. You can read something but still not have a real understanding of the information or how to properly apply it. I can look up a text on how to do an open heart surgery online. I can watch videos about it. Would you then want me to be your surgeon? We should all look at magical and spiritual teachers in the same way. (Stepping down now.)

Magical and spiritual work and development takes time. It is not just about acquiring knowledge. It is about putting that knowledge into practice and incorporating it into your life. It is allowing it to change you and improve you. Yes, it does work on things outside of yourself as well. However, the vast majority of the work is internal. That is not something you can get from a book or a video. It takes time. It takes correction. It takes making mistakes and admitting it. And it takes honesty with ourselves and with others. The teacher is expected to have already done all of this. Not just “I read a book, now I can teach”, but actually knowing it and living it. 

I am a Reiki instructor. I hold instructor certifications in five different systems of Reiki. For the past 17 years I have studied, practiced, attended classes, learned and grown in the system that I teach, as well as taking classes from others, which I continue to do today. In Japan, with the original Reiki organization, it can take 10 years for a student to go from the first level of training to the second. Many never become instructors. Yet here, in the USA, someone can go to a weekend class and become a “Reiki Master” (a term which I despise by the way). My question to them is “What have you truly mastered in a weekend?” Yet, they go out and teach others. And, when you look at Reiki here verses Reiki in Japan, there is a huge difference in seriousness, use and understanding. Many people do not care that they do not really understand it. They are “teachers” and they will teach. And, unfortunately, there are people in the magical and spiritual communities doing the same thing. 

So how do we find a good teacher? What do we look for? Well, my first suggestion is that you decide what you are wanting to learn. This is a very tricky thing. Many times, what we think we want is not what we actually thought it was, and what we truly need may be something very different than what we want. So, being honest with yourself, not giving in to fantasy and doing your research are very important. If you want to learn Wicca, a teacher on shamanism would not be who you want to study from. You would not want a druid to teach you ceremonial magic. So, knowing where you want to be is the first step.

Here is the danger in just following the first step. Anyone can say anything. People can read a book and then recite it back to you and claim to be a teacher. That doesn’t mean that they have internalized the knowledge, applied it in their own life, and can help you do the same thing. But, how do you judge whether or not someone has done this. That leads us to the second suggestion: Look at their life. In their life, do they follow and live what they are teaching? Is it a part of them and what they do or is it just something that they do on the weekends? Of course, not everyone is open about their beliefs and practices, but their life should still reflect them. For example, if you are interested in Asatru and have found a perspective teacher, do they exemplify the Nine Noble Virtues? If someone isn’t walking the path that you are looking for why would you want to learn the path from them?

This brings up another important point. When looking at their life, look not only at what they do magically but how they treat people. Look at how they handle conflict and problems. Look at where they are in their life. Are they generally happy? Is their life in order, or is it chaotic? Not that every teacher has to be perfect, but are they making life harder than it has to be? Then ask yourself “Is this the person I want to become?” That alone will also help you find the right teacher. Someone can not guide you somewhere they have not been yet.

There are other important things to look for. One is that no teacher can truly reveal you the mysteries. They can only show you how. If the person that you are looking to study under claims to have all the answers and to be able to tell you everything, they are lying. A teacher can’t make you into something better or different. They can only show you how to make yourself better. I would also stay away from teachers who claim to be the only authority on their subject. Or if they put down every other teacher or tradition. That is a good indicator that they are not ready to teach. A true teacher does not make claims about what they are, refer to themselves in titles such as “grand master” or things like that. These are ego and a need to seek self-worth. Those are good indicators that they have not made the spiritual journey yet, or at least not finished it. 

I once encountered someone who claimed to be a Reiki master and spiritual teacher. She charged a large amount for her classes. Now, let me be clear: there is nothing wrong with getting paid for your work. Teachers have to make a living too. Spiritual development does not mean that you no longer have bills to pay. In fact, it means that you recognize the necessity of the physical and that it is an extension of the spiritual and you keep it in balance. But she was charging an exorbitant amount. When asked if she did a sliding scale or barter, she replied with “If someone can not manifest the money for my class, they are not ready for it.” This tells me, and it should tell you too, that her focus was on money and not on teaching and helping people. To be clear, I usually charge for my classes. I have paid for nearly every class I have taken. But, I work with people, set up payment plans, barter and the like. Spiritual teachers often have to rent space, print materials and the like. Even if they don’t, the lights still have to be on. So, while charging is not an indicator of a bad teacher, overinflated prices are.

On the flip side of that coin is people who do not charge for teachings. Just like charging this is not necessarily an indicator of a good or bad teacher. There are times when I do not charge for classes. Usually when the cost of putting on the class is nothing or negligible and I have income coming in form other sources. What I have found, however, is that in many classes that do not charge you get exactly what you pay for. The teachings are often shallow, incomplete and not fully understood. Again, this is not in all cases but I have sat through many classes where no real instruction or knowledge was passed along. Beware of people who do not know the value of their teaching or who disregard the physical and material as something lesser than the spiritual. 

So, we have covered a lot of important points tonight. By far, the most important thing I would like to reiterate is to look at the teacher’s life. See if this is the life you want. If not find the right one. Don’t settle for second best in the magical and spiritual community. Don’t settle for “okay” in your spiritual and magical growth. Finding the right teacher can take you to heights and places you have never dreamed of. Don’t follow fads or what is cool. Follow your inner Light. It will not steer you wrong.