How to Work with a Spiritual Teacher

In the course of a lifetime we’ll all come into contact with teachers of many different kinds. There will be people who teach us things through good and bad examples, teachers who teach us the basic requirements for living, others who teach us about our deepest selves, and those we’d prefer to forget. In the spiritual community teachers, meaning spiritual teachers, are a major topic of discussion. People want one, have one, had one, are looking for the right one, a good one, one who can give them what they need, etc., etc. etc. This desire has become increasingly acute as we become more and more globally interconnected. Old communities and cultural definitions are breaking down, religious lines are becoming blurred, and identity is more generally self-directed than ever before. There is so much choice in spiritual practice and availability, yet the amount of choice has created a bewildering array of seemingly competing truths for the seeker to sort through.

It’s important in all of this change and opportunity to reawaken the old knowledge of how to study with different types of teachers in order to create a respectful relationship which is positive for both teacher and student. To do this I’d like to separate teachers out into 3 different groups. I’m speaking here of beings who take on the formal role of teacher, not people who teach incidentally whether by choice or chance…