How to Find a Great Spiritual Teacher
When the student is ready, the master appears, but it doesn’t seem that easy. So how do you find a spiritual teacher after your awakening experience?
Think back to the first moment you felt the energy of the infinite, touched the heart of divinity or were filled up by an etheric light. It was most likely the moment you had the desire to step onto the spiritual path. This experience could happen anywhere but probably occurred during a sacred ceremony, church service, or spiritual ritual. At that moment, Spirit became palpable, unmistakable, and undeniable.
It is a feeling like no other and better than any drug or physical pleasure. It is such a mystery, where it comes from, and why it happens, but you become hooked once you feel it. You have awakened to an experience that is shrouded in mystery. You sense a force hidden behind the veil of consciousness waiting for you to remember it. You innately know that it is a truth that has been buried deep in your heart, hiding behind a shadow of illusion.
For the adventurous, now awakened to this unseen power, they decide to seek its wisdom and know more. For the incurious, they seek out a replay to get a fix of the high and find more sources of the ‘hit’ they felt initially. Each is a response to a gift that is rare and beautiful. One begins the authentic spiritual path of healing, joy, and enlightenment. The other resists the change offered through this awakening and instead feeds it as an addiction that does not benefit oneself or humanity. Just as any drug addiction holds no life-affirming experience, the high of Spirit can also become toxic.
The Adventurer Becomes the Seeker
The spiritual seeker takes on the task of traveling the depths and heights of human consciousness to evolve their being and become as close to divine consciousness as possible. It is an arduous journey that will take a lifetime of commitment. The seeker must be willing to give up all attachment a sense of self to find the wholeness with the All That Is. By going through every wound, fear, and worry and sifting them out, they will no longer be a barrier to healing. The seeker must evaluate their judgment by digging deep to discover its origins and release it to receive unconditional love. The seeker searches for every way to open to receive divine wisdom. These tasks very few are willing to take on. The true spiritual seeker is a rare find even in the most disciplined of spiritual or religious communities.
It is no wonder that the spiritual person you are more likely to encounter on the journey to enlightenment is the spiritual addict.
The Incurious Becomes the Addict
The high of Spirit is a real experience and one that can be addicting. Many substance abusers become religious fanatics exchanging one drug for another. The etheric high can come from any religion or spiritual practice. It is not a particular belief system that will bring about the spiritual high but any of them. Some will say it is from Jesus, meditation, or prayer to God, but any of those can bring a high from Spirit and can also open the receiver up to a powerful awakening. But the awakening can feed the ego if we have no desire to pursue Truth beyond our beliefs.
Think about why we meditate, go to church or pray and see that it is to feel better. Yet feeling better is only the high. What we can do with this connection is more profound and more challenging than most traditions share. The incurious are only interested in the high and the appearance of being spiritual. The ego is very supportive of appearing morally righteous and bragging about spiritual dedication. The ego will always make the most of feeling superior.
The awakened spiritual person, curious as to what lies beyond the high, will be aware that the ego will always try to take control. Thus, being ever diligent to the ego’s illusions is an awareness that grows on the path of Truth.
Finding Your Way After Awakening
For those without a structured spiritual practice or a religious tradition, having an awakening experience can be confusing. One might feel lost about what to do or how to find a teacher. This can lead to trusting the wrong teachers and surrounding yourself with spiritual addicts and not genuine seekers. Where to put trust and faith when you have just experienced an awakening experience can be challenging to discern.
Know what is true for you before asking what is true from others. Take the time to reflect in meditation or prayer to seek guidance from Spirit and build trust in yourself before seeking a teacher. Ask yourself questions and wait to see how the answers manifest. First, ask yourself what you think God is. Next, ask yourself what being spiritual is to you or your image of the life of a spiritual person. Then ask yourself if that is accurate. Finally, ask yourself how you would like to expand on the experience of awakening.
At first, asking yourself these questions may seem odd, and the answers will not necessarily come right away. But keep asking until the answers to come. Awakening is not a call to join a religious order or even being chosen by God. Instead, it is an answer to a prayer, a gift of the vision of wholeness meant to ignite the potential you hold. With a bit of nurturing, you will see that your potential will grow as a rose blooms in spring.
Paying attention to what is happening within, knowing your own belief about what you have been through, and seeing where you want to go will connect you with others who share your vision.
When the student is ready, the master appears, and that master is you.
