From 2008: Testimony

In the course of our spiritual growth, we step across the line of student/teacher and back again regularly. In the beginning clearly we are the student the majority of the time, our teaching generally limited to directing others to teachers or teachings that have helped us. As we progress, becoming more attuned to the "still quiet voice" our ability to teach and our range of teaching expands. This is all natural and comes with no conscious effort on our part. One of the most exciting moments in our growth happens when we are approached for advice and we speak from a place of knowledge we had never touched before. It is as if "we" stepped aside and a power greater than ourselves stepped in and spoke through us. The great mistake at this point is to step away from being the instrument and begin to believe that we are the master. Our job, yours and mine, is to continue refining our connection to the Power of Universe, God, which permeates all. By keeping our focus, we are in much less danger of being overcome by ego. I have never really cared for clichéd word plays but in this case, it is appropriate: EGO-Edging God Out. One of the most heartbreaking moments in life is when we meet someone who has lost the thread of awakening and become their own higher power, attempting to persuade all about them that they have the "answers." We are all connected and any teaching or teacher that proposes we need an intermediary who has a secret/special connection that only they can provide should be avoided. There are no secret handshakes or passwords on the path of enlightenment. "We believe that the realm of Heaven is open, all inclusive. Never exclusive or forbidding, we believe it is open to all who earnestly seek." As you progress in your awakening, you will attract more and more individuals to you seeking advice. This is happening because your inner light is glowing brighter by the day. This is all natural and as it should be. Never lose sight though of the source of the light. As time passes, you will spend much of your time as a teacher but it is a poor teacher indeed who does not recognize the need to remain teachable.

Some personal observations on teaching: First: never answer the unasked question. Often it will be clear to you what the answer is, but they must ask the question if the lesson is to be learned. I am sure you will violate this "rule" just as I did when I first learned it. In short order you will come to rely on it. I have been working with a man for nearly 20 years and although he was doing many things right, there was one area that needed healing. Had I approached him about this area, answering the unasked question before he was ready, I would have been greeted with a polite thank you and the deadly "yeah your right, I need to work on that" and would have lost him because he wasn't ready. I waited over 10 years until the pain became unbearable for him and he asked for help becoming honest in this area.

Second: never speak down to anyone. I have taught spiritual principles and ethics to high school students by speaking to them as spiritual beings and not the knuckleheads that most of them are. As a teen on my best days I rose to the level of knucklehead spending most of my time well below that level. Tell the truth, warts and all. Do not try to tailor your manner of speaking to fit the perceived audience. Speak from the heart and you will be amazed at the result.

Finally when you are speaking with someone and you see their eyes lose focus (always look at the eyes) stop, they have. I will stop in mid-sentence if it is clear they have reached their limit for this session. Let them go with a smile and remind them that you are available when they would like to chat again.