My Finest Teachers (…so far)
Make it stand out
When I admire someone
I always want to know how they got where they are. What were their learning sources? What was their path? I don’t believe any one of us gets healed without support. I believe we all need a support team of sorts. This is a large statement coming from perhaps the largest solo traveler, DIY-er, determined, self motivated human you’ll ever meet (that’s me). Making a list like this I run the risk of omission of something/someone of uncountable value.
my 2 littlest girls and their teacher that showed up…
At different seasons of life we are ready for different lessons and different teachers. The most important message I think is BE LOOKING for your next teacher, your next lesson. Be open to finding out that the way you “did it before” didn’t, or no longer, serves you. Living in this state of expectancy is ultimately exciting and fulfilling. We get what we look for and expect. Your next teacher, and mine, can come from about any source… IF we are looking `( ie-food, movement, the breath, another human, a pet, a trained guide, plant medicine, nature, our own bodies, etc.)
So without further ado…as a snapshot of this moment, I took a scan and noticed clear POWERFUL highlights that lit my path, and changed my course. May this help you be brave enough to invest in yourself (teachers often, but not always cost money), intend to identify your next teacher, and change the course of YOUR life. (If nothing changes, nothing changes.)
Each of these teachers offer completely different gifts. In a world of millions of offerings and things to “choose”, they are unique. They are not superior to me or to anyone but what they bring to the world is something that deeply affected me for good. They have gifts that are different than mine that they brought to the world to serve all of us. I have the deepest respect and gratitude for each of them. So settle in and prepare for a treat!
1. My 6 children. (Hands down number one choice.)
Not a lot more needs to be said here. Who knew 100% of your heart could repeat over and over? They taught me that I know very little. They taught me the capacity of a human heart to love and to sacrifice for love is limitless. Truly they are the combination ticket of “Great Love and Great Suffering that Richard Rohr speaks of as the 2 influences strong enough to dim the ego significantly and lead to transformation. I say great suffering with sacred respect not because my children were naughty hard children but because, to raise 6 children off of the collective stream of nonsense requires a stamina that is Great Suffering. Most of the time they knew more about what was true and right and good than I did in those days. Children, fresh from the creative space, bring that powerful clear aura with them. It baffled me that even when I tried to control them to my standards, they loved me unquestioningly. Go Figure.
2. Suffering
This sounds like something no one would volunteer for, and I’m not suggesting you ASK for it but if you are looking for your finest teachers you will find it powerfully in the things that were/are the hardest. Deep suffering has the potential to rocket launch our progress and healing OR it can dig us even further into destructive patterns. My most massive time of deep suffering was around 10-12 years ago as I left my then husband of 25 years and walked away from everything I had spent a lifetime building and thought was safe and good. It felt then like pouring kerosene on your own house with the children inside. Absolute horror. Only something even more troubling would allow a mother to do that. Suffering. Are you resistant to the idea? Can you sink into and trust the FACT that you are supported through all things? Can you disarm the system that says run from all suffering at all costs? What if you could trust that it was your finest teacher? It can’t be unless you open the door for that possibility. Suffering has taught me self respect, my own strength, deep self compassion, non-duality consciousness, and that I am never NEVER unsupported.
3. My Clients
Surprising addition to this list…even for me. But it’s true. As is the way with all things, when we hear others’ stories, we see our own, recognize our tendencies, and are strengthened. These people are sometimes “tough nuts to crack” (to use their lingo) but are determined to rise above and beyond what has held them captive. They have taught me what bravery is. They have taught me vulnerability. They have taught me that each of us carries a collection of traumas not only from our own lifetime, but ancestrally in our very cells. They have taught me the exquisite beauty of human spirit.
4. Consciousness Systems (Dr. Mark Dunn)
I was pulled to this healer before I even had any inkling of what he does. Have you ever ended up somewhere and thought ‘How did this even happen?’ As my fingers sit poised above the keyboard now, I wonder how on earth I can describe this teacher…? Working with him for the past 4+ years has been the hardest, most confusing, yet the thing that has changed me the most in the last 4-5 years (perhaps my life.) CS (Dr Dunn) is an energy and consciousness healer that cannot be described by English language that I know of. He has suffered greatly to do what he does mostly because it is not understood and traditions are threatened by what they don’t understand. To be able to do what he does has taken years of sacrifice and personal healing and exploration, and even near death. He has taught me to how to clean and feel and see my own Energy, my own Consciousness, my access to Spirit and how Force works. I use what he has taught me every single day to help my clients and myself. I will continue to work with him as long as he chooses to keep healing (may it be a long time) and I can get access. He and his work are perhaps the most unusual gifts I’ve been privileged to have.
5. Dr, Daniel Moshe Block (Holistic Counseling - the VIS Dialogue)
Three years ago I was drawn to this teacher because of the mind-body connection. But more than that, his course offered to teach ME how to use this technique AND it combined that with a “physician heal thyself” component. This meant that before I could be effective I would need to heal MYSELF…and I deeply knew I needed this desperately, and could help my clients on a more profound level if I could access my own deeper healing. Many coaches, guides, try to give away something they don’t possess yet and this is never effective. What happened then, was a year+ of the most intense training and self discovery. Can I say “Holy Shit?” It was. But it was Holy Good shit. I discovered things in my own subconscious I had no idea about nor would’ve even known to look for. His method is, I believe, THE most powerful ‘talk therapy” available hands down. And that is saying something because there are many good ones out there. I wasn’t sure I would ever get certified. Moshe, as I fondly call him, is unequivocally one of the most loving, honest, bright souls on the planet. There isn’t a single ounce remaining of judgement in him, yet at the same time he sees the larger picture and will hold space for that fullness. In other words, “he’s not giving anything away.” haha. He led me to freedom by his technique and allowed MY MIND to make the connection, which is the most powerful form of healing. He taught me there is always ALWAYS an answer (underneath everything) that lies in the connection to the self. And thankfully he taught me how to wield that sword (or scalpel) on behalf of others. Scary uncharted territory but deeply effective.
Make it stand out
6. Kym Showers, Life Coach
It is with great delight that I get to tell you the story of this old friend who was for most of the time I knew her just Kym Showers (no life coach attached.) I include her in this list for a few reasons. We’ve been friends since age 18 (that’s 40 years). We are very different in many ways but have helped each other immensely. She has taught me about pursuing pleasure, delight and abundance. I have taught her persistence and grit and maybe some toughness. We both transitioned into coaching women at the same time completely unbeknownst to the other. We have different styles and different energies and it could be said we are competitors. But we are not. We are generously in favor and approval of one anther. She was perhaps the first person I dared to tell that I was getting divorced (it felt like a secret no one could possibly accept), I remember the morning well. We were out on an early morning run and I hadn’t seen her for some time. The trail was dirt. I just spilled it quick, cold and dirty. She gasped as if she had been shot, stumbled and almost went down but caught herself. The next breath she said in a clear strong voice, “Okay Lu (that’s what she calls me), what’s next? What’s in front of you now? Do you love someone else?” The absolute honesty and acceptance she showed in this moment was burned in my brain at this most fragile time of my life. I have many examples like this of our friendship and her responses. She has taught me true acceptance without judgement at a time when I had never experienced it. She has taught me to own what I most want in an unashamed way. But the way she has taught me the most is when she has shared her own struggle zones. It would be easy to look at her and think she’s never had a problem and to therefore dismiss her teachings as fluff. Ummm, no. I learn deeply from her perspective and although we don’t do everything the same she is one of my finest teachers.
7. Ascended Health -Compton Rom
This unique human came on my radar (much to my good fortune) fairly recently. I heard a portion of his story from a mutual friend and in that single moment I knew everything about his character, consciousness and beauty. Has that ever happened to you? When you watch the behavior of someone under pressure you know the depth of strength and quality of character that defines them? I knew I had to (or really wanted to) meet him. Then, as things happen, I had a health project I was working on and really stuck on. I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me. This mutual friend connected us (again “randomly”) What I discovered was, in addition to what I already knew about him, he was deeply generous, extremely medically savvy and intelligent, and a creative genius when it comes to ‘making things’ to correct, support and cure the body. Go to his website ascendedhealth.com and explore the unique things this human has made as his response to enlightening the body and supporting all it’s consciousness. What has he taught me? The beauty of a stand up human and how one behaves in real time. He has also taught me how it feels to receive the best gifts from a perfect stranger. He has taught me I am supported by the very BEST men on the planet. They just surround me and are like warriors in their strength and goodness.
Be looking for YOUR teachers. Find them. Keep with them if they are trusted sources. Stay at it. It will take sacrifice on your part, but it is worth it.