News:

Welcome to the Astral Pulse 2.0!

If you're looking for your Journal, I've created a central sub forum for them here: https://www.astralpulse.com/forums/dream-and-projection-journals/



How to Be Your Own Guru?

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

goingslow

I would love to know someone that could be a guru.  If nothing else it would help having someone understand certain things.  Its lonely not having a single person r/t who is interested in these topics or even knows a think about them.

I dont think a guru is necessary or realistic unless you happen to live in a country that has a lot of monks.  Even if a person has a lot to teach in our society they're more likely to write books than take the time out to be anyone's mentor.  Most famous or well known mediums, psychics etc are so busy with their lives and their books, appearances etc its not possible.

But It definitely would be nice to have someone.  Ive already realize I probably wont find a person to teach me certain things.  I guess the internet is the next best thing.

Fenris

I have never had a teacher, I originally came into the spiritual metaphysical world as a solitary wiccan, within Wicca there has always been the argument for and against solitary practice. I have made a lot of progress and learned so much on my own, but I can see now how a guide could have made my learning progress so much faster. However while I have gone full circle in so many of my ideas in what might seem a waste of time, on the other hand I have gained so much from learning through my own logic, not being told.  

The major factors are the teacher, and your own style of motivation. I am motivated when I need to impress another person, I have more of a need to show how clever I am than some other people. So I think I would thrive under the guidance of a good teacher. Most people are the same, there are a few types of personality which don't go well with having a teacher at all. The quality of the teacher is the biggest factor, and you need to figure out their motivation's before you even understand your own. While a teacher can show you the right way faster than you could have found it on your own, they can lead you the wrong way just as easily. On a more subtle level being in the pressence of more evolved people helps raise the quality of your own vibration, this is another advantage of a good teacher.

So having a teacher can go both ways, and teaching yourself is generally much slower, but much safer. There are so many books available that you can do so much on your own anyway. And there are communities like this one to help if you get stuck with anything. Doing what you can on your own until you find a really great teacher in your travels has got to be a good way to go I think.

jilola

In each of those areas you mentions, Usiimers, someone was always the first and had no guru.

If you can find a good teacher you will probably avoid some of the more obvious mistakes and dead ends. But a teacher is not necessary but not having one places a great challenge on you to be able to wade through the enormous amounts of crud to find the gems you desire.
A bad teacher will dump you in the crud and leg it with the gems so beware.

What to do without a teacher? Lots of thought, ditto meditation and please please pay attention  to your intuition. It's your friend when you use it properly. No snap judgements and always keep an open and friendly mind toward others be they living or inanimate.

2cents & L&L
jouni

Frank



quote:
Originally posted by jilola

No snap judgements and always keep an open and friendly mind toward others be they living or inanimate.

2cents & L&L
jouni




Making snap judgements I feel is perhaps the biggest pitfall when it comes to exploring non-physical realms. I've read loads of posts where someone has fallen into this trap, and I too repeatedly made this mistake in the early years.

Yours,
Frank


kakkarot

ah, it's good to see the old spirit of this place is still around. *basks in atmosphere for a while* [:)]

but anyway, i think that there are times in one's spiritual journey when one will be greatly helped by having another person to help them, and other times when it is best to sort things through on ones own.

after all, i know from my own mistakes that ALWAYS being one's own guru can lead to a lot of stupidity and bias. and sometimes one needs a good push from another way of thinking in order to realize how dumb they're being.

but there are some things that i've come to understand of which i couldn't see how any body else could have helped me understand them, and in fact may have hurt my understanding of the ideas if they had tried to shape my understanding of it.

but for the majority of the time when it "doesn't really matter", i think it really doesn't hurt one way or the other to be one's own guru or to have a good teacher helping you along the way. [|)]

~kakkarot

suzi29



Hello
I am very new here but i would like to say that apart from learning Reiki all of my spiritual progression has been solitary, sometimes by just becoming aware of things without knowing the direct source.

I think it is important even if you are not closely linked to someone who is wise, to talk about and share your experiences with like minded people and they can often reflect a different opinion to help you in your quest

sue

manueuh

quote:
Originally posted by suzi29


I think it is important even if you are not closely linked to someone who is wise, to talk about and share your experiences with like minded people and they can often reflect a different opinion to help you in your quest



So far I've met only two people who were open enough to share their
spiritual knowledge with me (bless them for that). However it
eventually turned out that I wasn't liking the way they gave me
advice or tried to impose their views on me (don't bless them for
that).

One was a person who told me 'Love' was the Answer (something I have
yet to 'understand' in case it makes any sense). She nevertheless,
in my view, tried to impose some views of hers on me, more or less
subliminally and with some self-righteousness (or is it only me
believing so?) and we brutally lost contact one year and a half ago.

The other person is a Jehovah Witness who is quite faithful to his
religion, very friendly and open (speech, maybe not mind), and, as
his religion bids, proselytizing. He used to give me friendly advice,
but once he took it too personally and he got angry at how I thought
about my own life, which I felt was like he was trying to impose
his views on me or to appropriate my soul. Since then I stopped
discussing personal matters with him, while still enjoying talking
about religion from time to time.

Eventually, one year after that, my life style has changed a lot,
or rather, I myself have made great efforts to change my life style.
So that I can recognize that some of the two previous people's
advice or 'values' has indeed some 'value'.

Yet I still think I was right to dismiss what they said when they
were not giving it really freely in a disinterested way but rather
in either a subliminal or passional way. Sometimes I was even angry
at it (yet only replying with silence and deafness), which I think I
could easily avoid next time.

Now, as I have read someone quoting "it is better to hear the rebuke
of the wise...", I am of course wondering if there are cases when
it is wise to accept being taught a lesson even when there are
subliminal messages or passion involved.

It might be beneficial to speak more openly to people, but so far
I have not come accross people who were open, without a sense of
self-righteousness, without a tendency to send subliminal messages,
and without a passional need to tell one how one's life would be
better.

Whatever people told me, I might eventually have realised that some
of it was true, but at the time what they said did not help in any
way. I only realised that some of what they said was true, after I
silently and alone engaged enough effort. Perhaps the anger and even
hatred they triggered in me by trying to 'appropriate my soul' and my
later refusal thereof (hatred), could be partly credited to them
however.

If I'm allowed to answer my own question, I'd say that in doubt about
whether one should accept advice, even if it not given in a pure way
(i.e. no self-righteouness, sublimals and passion involved), it does
not hurt to listen to it, remain silent, above all not to get angry,
and allow oneself to pursue one's effort undisturbed and remain open
to the possibility that some of the irritating lessons may one day
prove to actually contain some wisdom, or not.

I'd be happy to hear about other people's experiences and advice with
being taught 'irritating lessons' or in an 'irritating way'.

Usiimers

Thanks a lot for all the helpful comments!  It's overwhelming and very encouraging for me.  
You all have good points.  Many of the great spiritual and religious figures speak of using our intuition and life experience to improve ourselves.  
Let me now get into the nitty gritty of all of this.  If you can be your own guru, how do you reorganize your life so that today you are a better person than yesterday?  My problem is that I feel as if I have all the tools in front of me, yet I am not using them.  This question is important to me because sometimes I feel like it's very difficult for me to better my life, and be consistent in my spiritual practices and purity of mind, body and spirit.
I want to be aware of negative parts of myself and able to correct them on a daily basis.  I would like to be able to live a spiritually wholesome life built on my own beliefs and understanding.  I know Robert talks about this a lot and it's something I admire about him.  Many other great mystics such as Rajneesh and Vivikenanda say the same.  This takes so much dedication.  I would like to hear advice on how some of you act as your own spiritual advisor.  
Keeping a journal of spiritual progress seems be helpful to me.  
Please feel free to share any of your thoughts.  
I appreciate it!

Usiimers


This is a topic that people seem to polarize on.  
Some schools of thought say that one NEEDS a teacher and guide for spiritual progression.  
Others say that this is a hinderance and one can easily raise their consciousness through their own devoted effort.
For example, people learning Kabbalah, Sufism, Remote Viewing, Yoga etc. all seem to need a teacher for different purposes to help them along their way.  This makes sense, but at the same time we live in a society where one almost NEEDS to be their own guru.
Most of us work or are in school, and even if one finds a teacher, moving and family issues are so frequent.
Can one really know how to improve themselves and what steps to take?  
If so, what are the practices that a guruless spiritual seeker involves him or herself in?  Journaling, meditation, and what else?  
SOmetimes I feel like making my own way through all the information and hardships is difficult without someone to assist and other times I feel as if it's the best way to be.  
Please add your opinions about the matter and if you're in a similar situation tell me how you deal with these issues.