First Guest Blogger
A while back I asked for contributions from ‘Guest Bloggers’ as I was - and still am - a little too busy to post. I received the following from Mark over at Eternal Awareness and I post it here un-edited and with my apologies for taking so long to post it....sorry!
As requested, please accept this contribution, representing my hope that you will continue to maintain your blog.
I recently rejoined blogging after a seven month hiatus. I stopped because I was disillusioned, although not for the same reason you have given. In my case, I was discouraged by my inability to find the words to convey my message. I have studied for many years with a genuine master teacher of the esoteric arts and sciences. From reading some of your past posts, especially your recent series on “Why I am Abandoning Esotericism” and from reading comments from some of your readers, I have been struck by several things.
First, you point out that most spiritual systems and religions “place the onus totally on [you] to accept [their particular brand of mind control].” You continue, saying, your experience with teachers and teachings substantiate this, declaring “but surely the onus is on them to show they have what you are looking for.”
Robert replied on 15 May, with “The problem as I see it is that we do need the help of people who are going in the direction we want to go, and are a bit further on the path. Without help we can spend years going round in circles, convinced that we’re getting somewhere. If we accept that this is the case, and assuming we think it’s possible that such people might actually exist, the next problem is how to find them and not fall foul of the ‘gurus, hucksters and snake-oil salesmen’ of which there are so many these days. How to discriminate? How to recognize someone who really knows something?”
In your response back to Robert, you stated, “Basically - and this is only my personal experience so please no-one think I am making an absolute statement - even (actually imo especially) the ‘genuine’ groups are peopled by metaphysical madmen to a certain extent and, more devastatingly from my pov, people who exhibit all the ‘qualities’ I would not tolerate for 5 minutes in the ‘real world’: ie arrogance, fanaticism, cultic behavior, wooly thinking, rudeness and general impoliteness.”
Stay with me here! I have a (hopefully) sane, non-fanatical, rational and polite response in the works.
Robert thoughtfully replied, “I agree with you completely Segovius - why accept behavior in a group that one wouldn’t accept in ordinary life? Surely the aim of trying to develop in this way is to become more ‘normal’ - more as a human being should be - rather than weird or arrogant. If those who are apparently further ahead on the path I’m following are like that then I’d have to ask whether I’m on the right path!
“But is “find some other (easier or false) system and justify it” the only possibility? How about finding some other genuine system - one that may seem easier in some ways (less rudeness, less weirdness) - but may actually be much harder in ways that really count? And one where you still have that feeling of freedom even while being involved in it?”
From you came a comment that I view as particularly insightful, although you may not see it that way. It is found in the last sentence of the following quotation: “I was told by a friend I consider knowledgeable with respect to Shah’s groups, that he knows of numbers of group members that had not read a single Shah book. Further, they were loud, boisterous, uncouth, unorganized, unable to carry out commands, un-lots of things. That got me to thinking ‘what is going on here? ‘. Then I thought perhaps there are lots of different types of groups, and that perhaps some of them look just terrible ‘something one would definitely have trouble associating with’ and yet, in some strange way they are still authentic. The only thing I can come up with at the moment is that perhaps these people perform a function – and perhaps that function is to transmit an energy, something that has a life and a purpose which is not associated with ordinary acceptable behavior. I would imagine that these people themselves do not know what their role really is. And this certainly doesn’t mean that the goofy cults we all see are in actuality performing this function. I realize that “Do not look at my face, but take what is in my hand” may apply to ordinary people, not just to master teachers.”
Okay, here is where I suck in a deep breath and try to deliver a tidy response.
First, you and many of the fine people who visit your blog come across as truly thoughtful. The group represented by your blog appears to be articulate, sincere and intellectual in approach.
Second, many of the things that you and Robert are discussing and speculating about are things I have experienced first hand. I come out of one of the schools that you guys are wondering about, wondering if they even exist.
Third, here is some context of my approach: An everyday guy with a job and family; only interested in spirituality if it can work within everyday life applications - versus fanatics, fundamentalists, solitary cave dwellers, etc. I acknowledge that each of these groups have their place. I view some of them as sincere, others as misguided, and others as climbing up the rungs of spiritual advancement. I have studied martial arts for many years, and am an instructor in Jiu Jitsu. My teacher has used Jiu Jitsu as a training aid in the esoteric arts and sciences. So, while I have learned self defense, even more valuable has been the learning of “self” defense.
I disagree with you that the genuine groups are peopled by madmen. I think that depends on how we define ‘genuine groups,’ wouldn’t you say? My teacher (who is my younger brother) and I are rational, level headed people. We are responsible members of our community, serving as volunteers in community-focused activities. We both have jobs and families. We wear normal clothes, don’t smoke, drink or do drugs. We are low key and tend to be fairly private. People don’t know what we teach, live and study unless we reveal it. In other words, we fit in. There are no flashing road-side signs that say “Guru! Turn left, and go 3 miles until you smell incense.”
So, to turn things around a bit - and I am not trying to be cute here - how do you recognize someone who really knows something?
Speaking from the perspective of someone who knows at least a little about this ‘something’, it can be difficult for us to recognize if someone truly knows something when they ‘the person who allegedly knows something - doesn’t actually know this certain deeper something that we are talking about but aren’t actually defining. It can also be difficult-to- impossible if they don’t choose to reveal it - unless you can see.
However, if someone truly does know about ‘this certain something’, then it is absolutely correct to expect it to be authenticated, not by words but by action - particularly if you are accepted as a student. Much more importantly, it should be authenticated by personal, inner experience. Such inner experiences, while subjective, should be subjected to the objective observation and scrutiny of the person who is experiencing the inner experience. Otherwise, how could it be truly authenticated? This is why so many ‘ways’ and religious or spiritual systems run out of steam, and resort to substitution: they can only take their students so deep. Sometimes this is because they are not all that deep themselves. Other times, the leader(s) may be making a deep connection but doesn’t want to share it, or wants to share it but sucks at teaching it.
None of this is easy. As Robert suggests, this genuine inner way is very difficult. I have invested a great deal into my studies. Along the way I have continued to be a productive member of society, integrating successfully into the world of business, family and community. But make no mistake, it is tough. While certain aspects of the path are not all that hard, the harder aspects are harder.
I backpack mountains from time to time. Parts of the trail are easy, but other parts are torturous. So, when we look at other people and the degree of difficulty they are encountering on ‘the path’ we have to view them within the context of where they are. Another way of looking at this is to ask: are they on a grade 1 trail or a grade 5? It pays, however, to pause and consider the perspective from which we are asking this question: are we a grade 1 or 2 level kind of person, who doesn’t even know that grade 5 exists?
I want to learn from a teacher who not only stimulates me intellectually, but helps me to practically and genuinely connect and balance myself in all dimensions of being: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. I want a teacher who doesn’t just hand me the task to perform, as you suggest, but allows me to look at his face and into his eyes and, well, see - experience - realize.
I have experienced how easy it is for people to be glib or dismissive of a guy like me. That is their choice. Sometimes they make that choice out of ego, negativity, resistance or selfishness, and sometimes simply because, as you suggest, they don’t know how to discern the real thing when it is standing right in front of them.
I do not present myself as a great teacher or a guru. I am only a simple student who is devoted to the inner path of deeper awareness, and who has traveled a fairly good ways down that path. I am trying, in my modest way, to share some insight - as a fellow student - from a certain perspective along that path.
Instruction on the truly deeper path should conform to each person’s individual needs. Deeper work is not accomplished via a cookie-cutter, puppy-mill version of enlightenment. It is marked by the learning and application of principles; and it takes dedication.
With respect to whether I actually represent the so-called ‘real thing’, look inside of your self. Be your own judge of whether it is or isn’t resonating on a deeper level. As my teacher often states, “Deeper Truth should be self evident.”
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