I’m a Spiritual Teacher, Not Your Advice Giver. What’s the diff? Find out by reading this blogpost.
I’m a Spiritual Teacher, Not Your Advice Giver
This truth was brought home to me today on receiving the following comment from JOHN B, over at “Changing Friendships in the Age of Awakening.” Comments #105 and following. Here are his exact words:
I realize this post is now six years old but I was wondering if you intend to write more on this?
I searched for a part two but I did not find one.
I ask because I recently went through this with many of my friends last year. I have come accept this as part of living in this new age, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was lonely at times now. I’d love to hear more advice on this topic.
One thing I am struggling with now is how to discern, when meeting new people, which ones are worth investing in or not. Wild times these days!
In response, I’m writing this blogpost. (Though I also wrote a few words directly related to JOHN’s original comments, Comment #105 and following, over at “Changing Friendships in the Age of Awakening.”)
Certain Practical Answers Are Essential
Did you catch them yet? In today’s article I’ll definitely clarify the differences between:
Later in my response here to JOHN B’s writing, I’ll include answers to the three questions listed next. But first, a very practical point:
As you read — which I hope you’ll do — and it could be well worth your time to read all the way through to the end of this article . . .
Feel free to COMMENT. That’s the purpose of our COMMENT boxes below. Any respectfully worded request will be published. Just give me some days to do that.
You see, I don’t have the budget to instantly publish your words in the manner of Facebook. (Or at Elon Musk’s grotesque takeover of Twitter. A platform which I have recently quit.)
On the positive side, this blog is monitored. No trolls allowed. Therefore, as you read comments here, you won’t have to use your muscles for cringing.
Which Assumptions Were Implied by John?
Certain questions in his wonderful blog comment — to me they were obvious. But three additional questions were also implied. Included as assumptions, seems to me. Before today’s article is complete, I’ll be sure to answer all three of these questions:
- Does this blog offer you free advice?
- Do I take requests for which articles to write?
- And if I really do serve as a spiritual teacher, what is that to you? What can that mean for you?
Absolutely, you may wish to pause reading and simply COMMENT below. What are YOUR first thoughts in response to these questions?
Now, together, let’s explore.
What you learn today can help you gain more from this blog. From very single article, and every single one of my comments as well. All my writing here was done as a spiritual teacher, not an advice giver.
Yet many of you may still be fuzzy about the difference, so let’s go into specifics.
I’m a Spiritual Teacher, Not Your Advice Giver #1.
So Many Advice Givers. So Few Authentic Spiritual Teachers
Having volunteered to give this blog to all comers, publishing regularly since September 3, 2007, guess what? I’ve received innumerable requests for personal advice.
Sometimes you may have seen me respond, “This is not an advice blog.” Yet you may know that I serve as a spiritual teacher, an Enlightenment Teacher. Some readers don’t seem to make any distinction at all between these two very different roles.
Yet it can help you to know what I really am as a blogger. Rather than what you may have assumed me to be.
I’m a Spiritual Teacher, Not Your Advice Giver #2.
To Illustrate . . .
Before you start reading this next Teaching Tale, I’ll admit this. Quite likely, you’ve heard the following tale as a clever story. But did you interpret the point as being wisdom from an advice giver? Or — less likely — did you understand that this story could apply to a more unusual kind of person? Namely, a kind of blogger who is seldom encountered, an authentic spiritual teacher.
Now for Our Teaching Tale
Sam was an accomplished fisherman. Gladys was a poor woman who lived in the neighborhood. Because she knew of Sam’s reputation, she walked barefoot for miles. Finally tracking him down, she stood before Sam in her ragged, stained clothes.
Gladys had a weather-beaten face. Clearly, weather wasn’t the only adversity she had encountered.Alhough Gladys was 30 she looked at least 40. Like a fortysomething who had been having a very hard life.
Mr. Sam, I’m hungry. My children are hungry. Please give me some fish. You can easily catch plenty more for yourself, can’t you?
When Sam looked at Gladys’ face, his first reaction went:
Man oh man, her face sure is more interesting than the fish faces I see every day.
Then he took a closer look. Sam thought, “Her life has been hard. Yet her eyes still sparkle. I see more in Gladys than desperation. I see a woman with a capacity for learning.”
Blog-Buddies, Did You Know? The Sam in this Story Was a Spiritual Teacher.
Sure, a person can be both a professional catcher of fish . . . and also a spiritual teacher. Sam told Gladys:
I hear you. I’m willing to help you.
Plenty of fishermen are out hauling fish today, all up and down this river. But this fisherman is also a teacher. I would like to teach you how to fish. I am willing to do that for you, if you’re interested.
If I simply give you a bucket of fish, you and your family will have food for a day. What if you let me teach you how to fish? Then your family need never be hungry again.
How Did Gladys Respond?
This part of the tale may not be so well known to you . . . as Sam’s offer to Gladys.
She sneered at him and turned on her heel. While leaving she yelled over her shoulder:
What a stingy man you are! How much would it have cost you to give me some fish?
Frustration, btw, is a common response to words from a spiritual teacher. Advice givers are more likely to receive a positive response. Typically the questioners are eager to try anything, especially if the advice is given for free; even if that advice is pretty terrible.
Seems to me, when Fisherman Sam saw intelligence in Gladys’ eyes, he was right. Only she was choosing not to use that intelligence.
Quite often, a spiritual teacher will home in quite rapidly, home in to a person’s sweetest potentials. Yet each person chooses whether or not to mobilize that potential. Whether Gladys chose to use that or not was her soul’s choice, not Sam’s choice.
I’m a Spiritual Teacher, Not Your Advice Giver #3.
What IS a Spiritual Teacher?
The following seven points sum up the essence, as I understand things.
#1. Helping You to Evolve Spiritually
A spiritual teacher helps students to evolve spiritually, moving toward Spiritual Enlightenment. (And evolving further if already living within Age of Awakening Enlightenment.)
Incidentally, to this spiritual teacher, Enlightenment means using your full potential in life. Not having any necessary connection to traditional ideas and assumptions that you can find readily on the internet.
#2. Top Secret: Almost Nobody Succeeded in the Age of Faith
During the Age of Faith, relatively few people attained Spiritual Enlightenment. The pursuit was arduous, requiring a lifestyle of severe renunciation. Even then, relatively few seekers attained Spiritual Enlightenment.
Those who did, like Rumi or Meister Eckhart, were the rock stars of their day.
#3. Now It’s Easier to Gain (and Also to Lose) Spiritual Enlightenment
Mainly because the Age of Faith is over. Ever since the Shift,on Dec. 21, 2012, we’ve been living in the Age of Awakening. Now is these second consciousness era on Earth, which makes it relatively easy to evolve into Spiritual Enlightenment.
Incidentally, How about Enlightenment Validation? Both Then and Now.
Every Enlightenment teacher must have a way of discerning who has reached Spiritual Enlightenment. But a seeker’s actual mileage may vary.
During the Age of Faith, how did spiritual teachers evaluate who reached Enlightenment?
How about now? By all means, share your thoughts. COMMENT below.
#4. Emotional Growth and Social Skills, Supporting Your Personhood
Spiritual teachers now, in the Age of Awakening, also help students with Emotional Growth and learning very human Social Skills. That’s different from during the Age of Faith.
How come? Because personhood — detailed exploration of individuality — didn’t emerge clearly as a concept until about 1961, with humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers’ book “On Becoming a Person.” Learn more about that in Chapter 29, starting with Page 310, of “Seeking Enlightenment in the Age of Awakening.” (BTW, Carl Rogers, like Abraham Maslow, attained Spiritual Enlightenment.)
Today, psychotherapists, Life Coaches, and other members of society’s Enlightenment Establishment — they certainly help their clients with Emotional Growth and developing Social Skills.
How do you think that is different from what this Enlightenment Coach offers? Please COMMENT below, sharing your ideas. And maybe also you’ll also recount results that you’ve had from personal sessions of Energy Spirituality®.
#5. Transmitting the Faith Tradition
In addition, spiritual teachers impart knowledge about the nature of reality.
During the Age of Faith, Enlightenment Teachers taught a spiritual teaching backed up by scripture. Usually this included ideas from Enlightenment Teachers from the same sacred tradition.
Studying with Maharishi to become a TM teacher, I learned to call these masters, “The Holy Tradition.” During the Age of Faith, a religion’s scriptures and holy tradition enhanced faith. Originality was not important. Nor was direct experience of God.
An exception that proves the rule is Krishnamurti, and his “pathless path.” By all means, COMMENT below and ask about this. Or share what you already know.
Now in the Age of Awakening, Enlightenment Teachers do not necessarily impart any religious teaching. But we do teach our students “how to fish” through spiritual teaching. (And it remains to be seen, will humanity need — or produce — religious scriptures?)
In my experience, today’s spiritual knowledge emerges on demand, as students ask their questions. Somemes this happens during personal sessions. Other times, spiritual teaching emerges as the subject of a blogpost, like this one.
Yes, COMMENTING with your reactions and questions can bring forth new knowledge — even at a humble blog. As with today’s article, directly inspired by blog comments by that intrepid spiritual seeker, JOHN B.
#6. Additional Resources for Spiritual Teaching
For Energy Spirituality, systematic teaching comes in the form of full-length books. Prime examples are:
Also helpful are online workshops like “The New Strong Collection of Workshops.” Energy Spirituality online workshops have the benefit of being highly interactive, through our lively forums — which include responses back to all commenters, always a gift from this spiritual teacher.
Today’s Most Serious Problem Regarding Spiritual Teaching
During the Age of Faith, there was no such thing as consciousness lifestyles. While, in these early years of the Age of Awakening, everybody has a consciousness lifestyle.
Many of today’s most popular spiritual teachers are living in Extreme Spiritual Addiction. For instance, when first published, Eckhart Tolle did live in Traditional Enlightenment. For years, though, he has served as a mouthpiece for discarnate entities.
Just last night I saw a dangerous bit of advice from him, quoted on Facebook. I was tempted to comment there, “This advice will open you up to confusion. Just what the entities who run Eckhart Tolle want to happen to you. Advice like this is the opposite of authentic spiritual teaching.”
Some questionable spiritual teachers have become popular by offering free downloads, attunements, and initiations. Why are these dangerous for spiritual seekers? COMMENT below and share your experience. Or send this question back to me.
#7. Bringing Discernment for Questioning Popular Half-Truths
Effective spiritual teachers communicate discernment about relative degrees of truth value.
In the Age of Awakening, that includes helping their students to overcome the powerful subconscious-and- social influence of popular ideas.
Providing this discernment makes it easier for seekers like you to think for yourselves.
In your experience, Blog-Buddies, is this kind of knowledge always comfortable to receive?
In general, what can you do if you disagree with a particular statement from a spiritual teacher? Including this one! Yes, COMMENT away.
I’m a Spiritual Teacher, Not Your Advice Giver #4.
What Does It Mean, Giving Free Advice?
An advice blogger, or advice columnist, would tell Gladys how to catch fish. etc. Yum, free advice!
Note though: the purpose of free advice is not to help Gladys to succeed at any of the seven previous points.
Also, if you hold Psychology Talk higher than Human Talk, guess what? You may admire how common it is for today’s advice givers to sound like lay psychotherapists.
Examples, anyone? Please COMMENT below and give us a quote from a professional advice giver. Please add that writer’s name, and also the url of your quote. I’ll lead off with an example in our comments section.
I’m a Spiritual Teacher, Not Your Advice Giver #5.
Teaching of General Interest Stops . . . Where?
The public teaching of Energy Spirituality stops when it is time for the questioner to book a personal session with an Energy Spirituality practitioner. Because, at that point in the blog reader’s progress, nothing less will make a significant difference.
Near the start of each personal session, a client brings an idea. (See more about how to prepare for these sessions at the link just provided.) Following that . . . .
- I propose an official intention for that particular session. (Quite different from advice offered in any context, with no clear purpose.)
- Once the intention is agreed upon, I start to cocreate with my client’s choice of Divine Being! (Something advice givers do not do. Nor, to my knowledge, do psychics or psychologists or other members of today’s Enlightenment Establishment. When they claim to be “spiritual,” you might choose to question that claim.)
- Next I facilitate a Skilled Empath Merge. This allows me to experience what is going on with the client’s consciousness, and which type of session will be most helpful. (Of course, random advice — no matter how clever — cannot take this experience into consideration.)
Next the session client receives what will help most. As most of you readers know, many kinds of personal session are available in Energy Spirituality.
I’m a Spiritual Teacher, Not Your Advice Giver #6.
Knowledge Is Structured in Consciousness
That saying is one of my legacies from studying with, and serving, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. (From 1969 until I resigned from teaching TM in 1995.)
Such a brilliant assessment from a spiritual teacher! Learning is not one size fits all. For instance, in our story about Fisherman Sam, with his self-actualized consciousness how did he see Gladys? He saw her potential to learn fishing. And more potential besides.
- However, Gladys was not currently using that potential to learn. She didn’t want to.
- Had Fisherman Sam facilitated a Skilled Empath Merge with Gladys, he could have learned this immediately and clearly.
I’m a Spiritual Teacher, Not Your Advice Giver #7.
A Spiritual Teacher Does Not Recycle the Cliches of the Day
That teacher must have the standing to teach spiritual truths. Truths that are a direct experience. And truths that can lead toward having a direct experience.
This blogpost is so packed with info. I’ll invite you readers to COMMENT below with your reactions to what’s here so far.
Here I’ll offer just one example to set you thinking. Today, many people believe in mindfulness — as valuable, as important, as spiritual. What is YOUR curent opinion?
As Promised
Finally, here come answers to those three questions given near the start of this article. Remember those questions about assumptions for reading the Energy Spirituality Blog? Here goes.
Does this Blog Offer You Free Advice?
No. This blog offers authentic Enlightenment Coaching, which can be interpreted as advice. In which case, that interpreter might be missing the point.
Readers, with all respect, if your purpose in reading this blog is to receive advice, you might wish to turn elsewhere. Come back when you’re ready to learn something like how to catch a spiritual fish.
Does ROSE Take Requests for Which Articles to Write?
Absolutely not. Even if respectfully meant, that kind of request is inappropriate.
Think about it. Don’t I volunteer enough with this blog and our rare YouTube videos? On average, one of these articles takes six hours for me to write and edit.
Some of you might find it helpful to read this article on “Etiquette with an Enlightenment Teacher.”
And If ROSE Really Does Serve as a Spiritual Teacher, What Is That to You?
Only you can decide your personal answer.
For sure, my way of serving as a spiritual teacher does not mean I’m living as the nameless, faceless, servant of God. Available to help absolutely everyone. (Earlier in my life I’ve done that. No longer.)
In Conclusion
Thanks for reading, everyone.
Here are some questions that you might like to ponder, to answer.
Maybe you’d even like to COMMENT below, sharing your wisdom. Alternatively, you might wish to send any of the following questions back to this teacher. Or go ahead and do both, in turn. Up to you.
- When were the New Age Years?
- What characterizes New Age thinking?
- Why is it unhelpful, even inadequate, to refer to this second consciousness era on Earth as “The New Age”?
- Is it unusual to feel lonely in 2025? What can help? Any special recommendations to help empaths who feel lonely?
- Are there worse things than feeling lonely?
- When people describe themselves as “struggling” — the context is likely either psychological or religious. Have you ever won points for telling others that you struggle?
- At this time in American culture, struggling is supposed to be one of the better ways that a person can respond to problems. However, Energy Spirituality does not encourage any clients or students to say, “I’m struggling with . . . ” Why not?
Ongoing Comment Updates
At the end of each weekly blog post, such as this one, I will add a section called Ongoing Comment Updates.
I’ll list each blog post, in alphabetical order, and add a comment number that you can use to start reading our latest comments. Hooray!
There may be MANY comments at some of these articles. But all you’ll need is the first one, so you can start exploring the freshest archeological layer. Here goes.
Aura Reading Vegans. What’s Wrong with Vegan Diets?
Additions start at Comment #803
Commenter: RIVER FAWKES
Better Dreaming. 7 Tips from Energy Spirituality
Additions start at Comment #121
Commenter: JASMINE, OLIVER, VIOLET, RACHEL, ARIA, BROOKE, RYAN B., GRANT, SENN
Collective Consciousness Subconsciously Grabs You
Additions start at Comment #274
Commenter: ADRIAN
Covid Is Still Here: How to Protect Yourself.
Additions start at Comment #1,018
Commenter:
Eternal Souls Like YOU Always Have a Body
Additions start at Comment #92
Commenters: JENNIFER
Getting Tattoos. What Would You Get Energetically?
Additions start at Comment #78
Commenter: RIVER FAWKES
O.J.’s Dent of Denial
Additions start at Comment #5
Commenter: NOAH
Skilled Empath Merge FLASH CONTEST
Additions start at Comment #569
Commenter: CAMERON, RICKY S., SENN, ELINOR LOVES PICKLEBALL, CAMERON, IRIS, THEODORE, MARY, JASMINE, ISABELLA, ANNA PATRICIA, VIOLET, ANNA PATRICIA, BROOKE, PENNY CHU, LUCY, OSCAR MANUEL, SYLVESTER, KATHY,
Why Does Dreaming Feel Special?
Additions start at Comment #191
Commenter: NOAH
