Author Topic: Where to look for a teacher?  (Read 9419 times)

Offline Liminal

  • Posts: 7
Where to look for a teacher?
« on: July 20, 2008, 03:56:47 am »
I am in need of a teacher.  I don't know that I need a Native American teacher, but I know that, regardless of which culture you look to, the wanna-be's and frauds far outnumber the authentic elders.  And this is the first place I've found which both honors the real thing and denounces the fakes.  So this is the best place I know to start.

I won't burden you with the details of my personal history, but I am not a spiritual tourist.  I have a 20-year history of powerful experiences that I cannot explain and do not understand.  I have done my best to explore them on my own, but I have come to a point where I realize that I require the assistance of someone who knows more than I do.

The trouble is I'm a white guy born and raised in American suburbia, which means my "elders" don't really know much more than Wal-Mart and retirement plans.  But at the same time I'm painfully aware that I have no meaningful connection to any culture that still maintains a wisdom tradition.  So I feel rather stuck.

In short, what I need is someone to which I can say "I had a seizure when I was fourteen and my reality split open permanently" and they'll know what I'm talking about.  Can anyone offer me any thoughts on how I might proceed?

Thank you very much.

Offline Barnaby_McEwan

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Re: Where to look for a teacher?
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2008, 02:18:15 pm »
I'm not going to try advising you about your question, except to say that anyone claiming to be native and offering to teach you is probably a fake, since you are not part of a native community. Have you ruled out medical causes for your experiences? Do you have some form of epilepsy, for example?

Offline Liminal

  • Posts: 7
Re: Where to look for a teacher?
« Reply #2 on: July 20, 2008, 06:35:43 pm »
Thanks for replying.

I've seen every sort of mainstream Western health practitioner you could imagine many times.  They have had a variety of opinions about me, but the general consensus is that they're stumped.  I've tried any number of typical treatments and therapies at length, but none of them had any useful effects.

I only ever started making any progress when I ditched all that and started treating the situation as a spiritual matter.  My quality of life and sense of understanding has improved greatly in the pursuit of that perspective for several years.  But I seem to have reached a point where self-exploration alone cannot carry me further.

I'm not really expecting to have a native community accept me (nor do I even know if that would be useful), but I'm hoping that there might be some avenue of seeking out people of wisdom that has not occurred to me.  It might be worth mentioning that I'm not looking to be turned into a shaman or any such nonsense.  I just want to work with someone that could help me understand myself and my relationship to the world.

Thanks again.

Offline Defend the Sacred

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Re: Where to look for a teacher?
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2008, 09:26:56 pm »
I hesitate to even answer this, as I've seen so much abuse lately.

What I would say is don't go looking for a teacher. What I would encourage is that you slowly find in-person friends and family and community you can discuss these things with. Anyone, no matter how well spoken of they are by acquaintances or strangers on the Internet, could turn out not to be who they say they are. Or they could be who they say they are, but not have your well-being as a priority. Also, religious and spiritual growth happens in community.

The only reason I don't say "go looking for a community" is you can also find groups of deluded folks following a predator.

I would suggest lots of prayer and reading and listening to your heart and mind when you meet new people. Take it slow, and don't expect "the teacher" to ever appear. People who are "looking for a teacher" quite often find a predator to fill that void.

But if you slowly build up a solid network of people you can trust, over time, something may work out eventually.

More thoughts, later:

I also want to stress that, in addition to being community-based, spirituality and religion are culturally-based. The big difference between traditional ways and the nuage is that nuage approaches tend to think the culture doesn't matter, that it's all "techniques" that can be isolated and homogenized into a one-size-fits-all approach, where spirits and powers from different cultures are all reduced to psychological constructs, commandable archetypes (or psychic pets).

I would suggest looking into who your ancestors are, and asking them for guidance. Many of the old European ways that include visionary practices are about connecting with the ancestors. Look into the ways of those related to you. No one is without ancestors and history. The most important thing is to be patient. I know what it's like to have experiences that the people around you don't understand. In my quest to understand my experiences, I explored many things that led me far away from where I started. And during some of those explorations I got taken in by predators.

We all like to hear how special and spiritual and talented we are, but be very wary of anyone who doesn't know you well telling you how special and spiritual you are. Seriously. That's how I got taken in, and those who are looking to exploit have learned what buttons to push, especially if you are feeling isolated and lonely and needing of reassurance.

The best thing for me was to get back to my roots and the ways of my own ancestors, and there I found treasures no one else's ancestors or ways could have given me, because the ways of others weren't mine to inherit.
« Last Edit: July 21, 2008, 04:11:09 pm by Kathryn NicDh? na »

Offline Liminal

  • Posts: 7
Re: Where to look for a teacher?
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2008, 11:37:35 am »
Kathryn,

Thank you very much for your heart-felt words.  You've given me several new things to consider, and I have a sense that they will prove valuable to me.

Chris

Offline kimj

  • Posts: 1
Re: Where to look for a teacher?
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2008, 07:56:55 pm »
First, I want to acknowledge the struggle you obviously have had since your were quite young.  From what you have shared, it seems that you have explored many avenues of healing in a responsible and reasonable way.

I want to echo the response posted by Kathryn in her encouragement of pursuit of European traditional healing practices.  Although most of us white folks have completely lost our way, there are small communities of people and individuals who continue to uphold traditional practices and/or are searching to reconnect with their ancestral wisdom. 

I wish you well!
Kim

TrishaRoseJacobs

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Re: Where to look for a teacher?
« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2008, 05:52:06 pm »
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest you talk to a local Christian pastor. I know this isn't a popular solution in some circles given the history of the Christian churches in general but a lot of people - a *lot* of people - are quite happy in Christianity, and feel that its really helped them in their lives. Some of my relatives are quite decidedly Christian and they're among the most decent people I know. I have relatives that are both Catholic priests, nuns and Baptist preachers and they all do their best to help the people that come to them. "Organized religion" (and I use that term with a degree of caution because of the negative connotation it carries to some) is not all bad, and it can provide people with a sense of community and belonging - which is, apart from those with egotistical motivations, what people are looking for in many cases.