Why do you do the things you do each day? Have you ever stopped to consider it? Why is one thing more important to you than another? Why do the things that matter to you seem to change from moment to moment in some cases, while other motivators seem to change more slowly.
I didn’t really think about any of this much back in the day when I was young. Those bigger questions just weren’t on my mind. Oh yeah, I recall Read the rest of this entry »
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. ” …..Martin Luther King, Jr.
I don’t like to dwell on negativity, but sometimes we have to look at things we don’t like so we can learn from them. The contrast between what we desire and any negative experience creates a gap that we need to transcend. The first step in moving across the gap is to bring its existence into our awareness.
Humanity is currently experiencing such a gap. As we look out of the world, Read the rest of this entry »
“Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.”
….Kahlil Gibran
Have you ever considered just exactly how lucky you are? You and I are both very fortunate indeed. We happen to live on a planet where the conditions were just right so as to evolve life – including you and I.
This is the so-called “Goldilocks effect”. A planet has to be just the right distance from its star so that it receives just the right amount of energy – not too much, not too little – so that it allows liquid water to exist, an atmosphere to form, and a number of other conditions to exist so that life may emerge and evolve. Recently, scientists have been discovering more and more planets out in the universe that appear to be in this opportune position. The vast majority of planets are not. Read the rest of this entry »
Today—the metaphor of the map, how we seek their guidance and a very basic metaphysical map of the Science of Mind and Spirit.
I love maps. When I’m in a new city, one of the first things I do is pull out a map and orient myself to the layout of my new locale. Online mapping websites and the map app on my iPhone are my frequent friends. I know I’m not alone in my desire to understand where I am, where I want to go and the best route to get there.
Seems like we humans have always had an innate desire to map our surroundings. Where we now employ talking GPS’s in our cars, I can still remember back in the day pulling into the gas station to look at the big map they had on the wall or buying the local foldout map that never quite seemed to have the ability to fold back up in its original condition. I still find it amazing that early settlers of the American west set out in covered wagons with only minimal maps to guide them. Yet they did have some maps – the rough approximations sketched out by those who first traversed the wilderness. And what about those early ocean explorers from the middle of the last millennium? Is it any wonder that one of their main tasks was mapping what they saw Read the rest of this entry »
Today in the United States is Independence Day. Historically, we celebrate our independence from Great Britain. Outwardly, we acknowledge the efforts of our forefathers when they proclaimed their independence by saying “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Inwardly, we sense that there is some greater truth in that statement.
Although these truths may be self-evident, we continue to consider them and debate them over 200 years later. What do we mean by the fact that “all Men are created equal”? Who is this “Creator”? What are these “Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” that we hold so dear? There are probably as many answers Read the rest of this entry »
Philosopher Ken Wilber frequently says that if we don’t take some action to help heal our shadow, it will rise up and bite us on the rear at the worst time. Any personal development plan we implement should include some action that gets at our shadow side. We all have one. If you think you don’t, then you’re kidding yourself.
The past few weeks my life experience has led me to interacting with a number of people who have been dealing with that proverbial “bite on the butt”. I’ve experienced individuals whose shadow has led them into the worlds of overeating, sexual addiction, narcissism as well as other forms of addiction and inappropriate behavior. Read the rest of this entry »
A few days ago a friend of mine forwarded me a link for a blog he thought I might like. In it, the author was posing a question regarding the rising trend for people to make statements such as they will “pray for you” or “you are in their thoughts and prayers”. Her question was – has this language of prayer simply become the generic way in which we show compassion? Here’s the link to her full article.
I’ve certainly noticed this rising trend of people using references to “prayer” and “holding thoughts” as a means of showing care and concern. However, I thought it was just my circle of friends. After all, as a New Thought minister, the philosophy I teach (as well as everyone in my organization) is that thoughts are things which have power. Read the rest of this entry »
Today, I want to simply bring to your attention a recent article of mine about filmmakers Kell Kearns and Cynthia Lukas which came out this week in Science of Mind Magazine’s online edition. I have known Kell and Cynthia for several years and twice hosted them for presentations when I worked at New Dawn Center for Spiritual Living in Aurora, Colorado.
Kell and Cynthia are all about bringing the experience of Oneness into our lives…..something that is obviously near and dear to my heart. Their new movie is called “Globalized Soul”.
Here is the link to my article at Science of Mind’s website. Check it out….and check out the trailer there for their new film!
Peace and love,
Mark
Here we are going to look at the fact that we are all teachers and we are all learners. Now, that probably seems fairly self evident to many of you. If you slice and dice your life up into its various components, then you can easily see situations where you play the teacher to others and where others play the teacher to you.
If you’re ever in a classroom setting, then it’s easy to see which role you are in (although one may be your official role, unofficially you’re also in the other simultaneously). But beyond formal instructional settings, we may also play the role of “teacher” when we guide our children, mentor coworkers or simply make choices in life that are observed by others. Similarly, those around us are our teachers – either formally, informally or by our observation of their actions and choices.
When we move into the arena of “student” and “teacher” in the spiritual areas of our lives, there are a couple of interesting things that happen, especially when one begins looking around for their “teacher”. The first thing I’ve noticed is that when many of us look at others as our possible spiritual teacher, we tend to forget that others may be looking at us as theirs. My second observation is that when we find someone whom we revere as our spiritual teacher, we tend to put them on a pedestal setting them apart from ourselves. Because we see them as having some esoteric knowledge that we want so deeply to obtain, we begin projecting things upon them – both good and bad.
Let’s be clear – It’s okay to want to honor those who are assisting us along our path. Those who have been instrumental in my growth, I have either acknowledged this fact to them personally or stated it to others. But, I’ve had to be careful that in my paying tribute to the role they’ve played in my expansion that I’ve not created separation between us.
Personally, I’ve always had a little trouble when people refer to their “guru” and even more trouble when people refer to themselves in that manner. Yes, some of the spiritual teachers who have taught me by way of their writings have attributed their wisdom to some Eastern guru. I think there was a time in our collective spiritual growth when maybe this was necessary. Someone from the West going off to India and then coming back and trying to teach some new spiritual philosophy probably needed to point at “their guru” to gain credibility – much like how we tend to value more the message of someone because they have a PhD. Hopefully, were moving beyond this need. Up to now unfortunately, self taught learners have not been given as much credence in our society as someone who has the “right credentials”.
Yet beyond this issue of establishing credibility, I do see how the acknowledgment of someone being one’s guru is also part of that natural honoring of our teacher. That’s okay to a degree so long as we’re not setting up an unnatural separation between ourselves and this individual. Yes, we may have learned from the one we call a guru, but if everyone’s honest – the guru probably learned from us as well.
I know I’m a teacher to others in many areas of life – including spiritual, but I’m no guru. And, I’m also a learner in many areas as well – including and especially in my spiritual life, but I don’t have a guru. As I present these writings, they come from a place of humbleness in my heart where I recognize I still have so much to learn. Yet they also come with a recognition that I have gained a degree of wisdom which I am called to share with others. I don’t see myself as separate – either better or worse, wiser or more ignorant than anyone else. Rather, I see myself as connected to everyone else – and with that wisdom comes a desire to want to teach you as well as learn from you.
Beyond the role we all play as models for others, many people intentionally take on the role to become a “teacher”. In my opinion, the best teachers have a clear vision of the information they wish to impart. The best teachers desire to assist others – to show them something specifically, to bring them wisdom and knowledge. The best teachers don’t see themselves as separate and apart from their students. The best teachers see that we are all teachers and learners, that we are all in this world together to learn and grow. A truly wise teacher would never call themselves a “guru”.
I’ve encountered a few people in my time who call themselves a guru. I was always amazed by the people who laid themselves at these peoples feet in order to gain their “wisdom”. I have to admit that I have felt the pull myself a time or two.
What is it about these people that calls others to them? From my experience there are generally two factors at play here.
First, these individuals frequently exude a high level of charisma. That is, there is something about them that just naturally draws us to them. Their behavior exhibits a confidence that we would like. There words indicate they possess some kind of knowledge that we don’t have.
Which brings me to the second point previously mentioned– we desire something that we believe these people have. Life is complex. There is something in us that wants to “make sense of it all”. We believe these “gurus” have the key to our understanding. We “follow” these individuals to gain the wisdom we believe they have.
It is natural that we have this pull within us where we want to learn and grow. One of the essential aspects of life is that we are here to grow and evolve, so all of this is appropriate. It’s also natural that we will encounter teachers at the right moment in our lives who can offer us guidance on our next step. Yet, we need to grow beyond that place where we put our teacher on a pedestal. Doing that sets up a faults sense of separation with someone who is only playing that role temporarily.
Which brings us back to our key point – let’s don’t lose sight of the fact that we are all teachers and learners. We are playing both roles simultaneously in different parts of our life and playing both roles with the same person at different times or areas in our life. It’s like we’re conga dancers who keep changing partners and directions – sometimes I’m following you, sometimes you’re following me and other times we’re off in teacher-student relationships with someone totally different. When you’re the student, you need to keep this perspective in mind!
Likewise, when we encounter a teacher who labels himself as a “guru”, we need to be cautious. Their self proclamation is setting themselves up as separate and apart from us. By the very aspect of their doing this shows the limitations in their wisdom. They are forgetting that at sometimes and in some ways they will be playing the role of learner.
Yet even if presented with these facts – watch out! Some so-called “gurus” will deny their vulnerability or ignorance using their talent at talking or displaying their charming charisma. If we try to point out that their actions are separating them from us, they will often use and manipulate us by way of their understanding very well our internal need to comprehend life. This inner need of ours to understand the meaning of life can be used by others to become their followers. No matter how much they tell us that they are “enlightened”, by the very nature that they divide themselves from us – they show that they are not enlightened and most likely have some shadow work to do.
So may we all be humble! We are all ignorant in our own way. Acknowledging this opens us to learning and growth. We may need a teacher but we don’t need a guru to evolve towards the higher possibilities of our life.
Yet may we also feel our power! We are all teachers in our own way. Acknowledging this opens us to sharing our wisdom with those around us who may need it. We may be their teacher but we’re not trapped in the divisive role of guru.
Always keep in mind that the evolution of humanity requires that we be receptive learners and gracious teachers.
