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Teachers
As long as one is a disciple, they will never find truth. AAAAAUUUUUMMMMMMEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!! (AMEN!) Are you forming a brotherhood of those who have rejected discipleship? I wonder who will be their leader? <wan smile> Kindest, __________________________________ Ha Ha! When Thik Nat Han (spelling?) was asked about the cycle of death and rebirth, he stated that sometimes we die once a minute, because that's how quickly we can attach to an idea and have to move on (die). He who is not a disciple (of the Inner Teacher) will never find truth. As long as one is a disciple (of an external teacher) they will never find truth. All any teaching (or external teacher) can do is to help prepare you. The prize cannot be taken by force or by making any deal with any priest, master, guru, etc... All one can do is to go to work to try and make themselves worthy of the experience. All truths along this path of preparation or purification or "making oneself worthy" are but relative or half-truths (including what I'm writing right now). That's why it is essential to be able to let-go of them when required. According to Joseph N. this is a natural process which occurs when the new point of view becomes more attractive and its superiority to the old point of view, self-evident. The old concept of "truth" dies because we let it go for a new concept of truth which looks "better" to us. Our attachments to these relative truths merely act as God's polishing wheels which He uses on us to bring us (the vehicle) into a more polished (more liberated) state. (this is an inexact analogy, I know) When one has done its work, another one takes it's place. The relative truth itself may be useful in a particular field (such as engineering, or medicine), but to be "attached" to such a temporal and relative thing is to bring on suffering. Use it within its particular field of effectiveness, yes, but be attached to neither the means nor to the ends. Be attached to neither our truths/methods Nor to the results which we earnestly and cheerfully endeavor to accomplish. Easier said than done. It is the process (of purification / perfection / tempering/ etc..) which we (as vehicles of the One) are undergoing which is the important thing. Qualities of Mind /Heart /Soul are more important than knowing XYZ. The value of struggling to know XYZ is that it develops qualities of Mind /Heart /Soul. The Great Work is not about getting the right answer to the question of life, it is about the One Self perfecting it's vehicles in order to carry out its work. The answer to the most important questions in life is this: "Thy Will be Done." And Thy Will is done through US. I now let-go of my words, half-truths though they may be . . . . . . my work is done . . . . . I see why the skeleton smiles. The rising Sun on the horizon is a new Point of View! JC __________________________________ 25 May 2001, 12:07:28 PM Esoteric Teacher training basically consists of being in a situation where you have the opportunity and need to clarify and organize your concepts of reality in communicating to your surrounding peers. Plus personal interactive factors. PFC certainly qualifies as such a training faculty. No discussion allowed there which reduced the opportunity for refining one's ideas. Some very high level information has appeared in this forum, more than i ever heard in [esoteric] lectures, closed or public, and here it's open for discussion. BOTA teachers had a need to level the playing field in considering the levels of understanding of their listeners at lectures. No such restrictions here. Some concepts, however, simply cannot be put into clear language, they can only be hinted at. I remember Ann struggling to bring her listeners up to a certain level at the beginning of new course she was giving. Pick and shovel work, she said. I was a BOTA teacher for 19 years so my opinions are biased by my experience. IMO, some are definitely drawn to this forum, albeit unconsciously, for teacher training--to refine their ideas through formulation for general dissemination and the other important factor in teacher training --interactive relationships and learning to trust their spontaneity. Personal experiences are great to illustrate a principle--and as entertainment too. Rural Mexico has a tradition of story telling in the dark, where the listeners imagination is not visually restricted. Powerful stuff. It is my understanding that the founding philosophy of pfc was to discuss and elaborate the teachings of Paul Foster Case. I think it should remain so. But teacher training will happen in our futzing around and through a level far higher than ours.. Joseph N. __________________________________ Our opportunities for education and insight should not be 'based' on following after Mystery School teachers for answers to OUR questions. We should take advantage of our own inner guide and move from that center and not the center of "hero worship" or play that often disappointing game of follow the Guru. The answer to our questions comes from all around us. Our Mystery school teachers are found in all the faces and personalities we meet day in and day out. You may disagree with that, but I would ask that you look deeper. Just yesterday, I learned about beauty in the eyes of a 2 year old girl on a Mini bus heading for work. The little child was like the sun, her radiant smile and innocence taught me that beauty is a matter of perception and reception. I was open to seeing and in that openness my inner guide showed me a truth. That truth being that all the personalities are our teachers. We simply have
to give up the idea of placing any of them upon false towers of expectation. The
true teacher of life's wisdom lies behind the breastplate of the Charioteer. In
our own inner adytum lives the only 'real' guidance we have. Everything else is
merely an outward projection of that. __________________________________ "Teachers" are valuable for things like making sure we hold our back straight while sitting in asana. Or making sure we obtain the right result when practicing pranayama. Or teaching the correct way to look at the Tarot Keys. But do not look for any particular teacher to "lead you to truth." The fact of the matter is that the entire Universe is working towards your Liberation. In L.V.X., Frater 111 __________________________________ I watched many times as Ann Davies "lead" someone to a bit more reality than they had previous to the question.. I don't like to use the word "truth, as it sounds so final and fixed. Example: A student would ask for a consultation with Ann and would be accepted if she had time, and sometimes asked the student to write the problem down to clarify it in the querrents mind. I never heard her answer the question directly in the sessions i observed; she would ask leading questions until the student discovered the answer within his own awareness. She worked on the principle that when the question was clear in the mind of the querrent, so was the answer, but there was usually a leading to its recognition. The correcting of form function of the "teacher" you mention I have never seen, have you? I try to lead others to self discovery with my questions. Seems the natural thing for me to do. Joseph P.S. Self-discovery is the only kind there is.
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