“The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it” – Henry J.M Nouwen
The spiritual pathway is one of continuous learning, knowledge, and practice. How we learn and access the knowledge will vary for all of us. Our only constraint is our willingness to learn and our search for someone to teach us. Teachers come in many forms depending on the spiritual model or modality you adopt; your teachers and the form they take is highly variable. Depending on your spiritual practice and modality, the role and nature of your teacher will also vary. Each modality has a philosophy or convention associated with the practice, which will direct your perspective of who or what constitutes a teacher.
Let’s compare the two dominant spiritual models. The first is Spirituality, as defined by self awareness and universal consciousness, often associated with Eastern Religious Philosophies such as Confucianism, Buddhism, and Sufism. The primary spiritual practices within these philosophies are orientated around Meditation and Yoga. Within these practices are established learning, accreditation, and teaching system. The other main arm of spiritualism is the more Animistic, Indigenous, or Paganistic practices, encompassing everything from Wicca to Mayan. Practitioners believe everything has an energetic or spiritual entity and connection. These systems establish mastery based on the perceived level of spiritual skill, talents, and age.
Regardless of the modality you practice, your decision to learn will depend on your choice of learning experience or a teacher. For most of us, we have a blend of different beliefs.
So How Do We Choose a Teacher?
Firstly, the teacher and their methods must fit in with our values and expectations of what a teacher does and what we expect from the sessions. We may trust a friend’s recommendations, or our research may suggest a person we may or may not like. Then last but not least, our budget.
So, let’s start at the beginning and ask ourselves how we like to learn:
- Do I like structure? Experimentation or Reading?
- Do I prefer groups?
- Am I after long-term, continual learning, or do I need an
- injection of knowledge, and I take it from here?
- Am I seeking more than just learning? Is there healing
- Companionship? Support Group? Or am I after a tribe?
- Can I work online, or do I like face to face in person?
These questions give you a checklist for the experience and what forms of teaching experience are preferable. We then add the constraints of timing, duration, and budget. We have to consider the very real impact of personal learning styles and preferences at a more subtle level. We have to ask about the person’s teaching style. This question addresses our preferences for how we like to learn. For a teacher to be effective, we need to trust who they are and how they behave. What is their background? Not just in the modality but in their ability to understand and address our learning needs. Do they know how to teach? Do they vary the learning experience, or is it all just one teaching style? Am I after a content expert or a knowledge transfer expert, someone who knows adult learning? The values and experiences of the teacher present different learning experiences. Hand in hand with teaching skill is the ability to express complex theories of Spirituality in a way that makes sense to where we are at as learners. Do we trust them? Do they understand enough about their practice to give me the understanding and explanations I need?
We need to be aware of cultural diversity in our understanding of the teacher-student relationship.
Different cultures have different values and behaviours in the learning environment. Often we may like to choose teachers from other cultures as they have in depth topic knowledge, but without exposure to your learning culture, they may prove to be a poor fit. When we think about our teacher choice, we need to ask ourselves how flexible we are to learn under a different teaching style.
When looking for a teacher, decide what you need for the learning to be a successful experience for you in an honest way. Develop a checklist and if you are unsure, book one session, try it out, then commit. I would also ask you to be open to the opportunity that a different teacher or teachers can offer, as sometimes we choose who we feel most comfortable with. Still, comfortability is not always the best environment for learning. Learning best takes place under a little discomfort to trigger our curiosity, but not enough stress to make us resist the teachings.
The spiritual pathway is one of continuous learning, knowledge, and practice.
Michelle Luehman, Our Expert (Former)
Michelle Luehman is a healer, guide, spiritual coach and philosopher. She combines her innate spiritual work with what she has learnt through her spiritual studies and business skills.
- Michelle Luehman, Our Expert (Former)
- Michelle Luehman, Our Expert (Former)
- Michelle Luehman, Our Expert (Former)
- Michelle Luehman, Our Expert (Former)
- Michelle Luehman, Our Expert (Former)
- Michelle Luehman, Our Expert (Former)
- Michelle Luehman, Our Expert (Former)
- Michelle Luehman, Our Expert (Former)
- Michelle Luehman, Our Expert (Former)
