Good Guidance: Finding the Holistic Healing Journey
That’s Right for You

If you’re reading this magazine [Healing Springs Journal], chances are good that you’re interested in connecting with a teacher or holistic practitioner. You may be looking to reduce stress, lose weight, heal an injury, mend a relationship, discover your heart’s desire or connect more deeply with your spirit.

But, with the vast array of teachers, practices and practitioners available today, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the holistic opportunities available. It is often said that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. How do we prepare for that manifestation so we can recognize it when it happens?

Begin with an attitude of openness and discovery. Find time to connect with yourself by reflecting in a journal. Let this journaling occur consistently and invite it become a full body experience. Breathe deeply. Discover the words beneath the words. With this simple practice, you will begin to connect with your deeper wisdom, the wisdom that lies beneath the habitual mind. Notice if you feel a shift in perspective. For instance, you may become aware that the urgent message of “I need to lose 20 pounds” becomes “I’d like a healthier, more active lifestyle.”

This first step will give you a foundation from which to explore. And when you’re ready to explore, you have a wonderful map right in your hands—Healing Springs Journal. This publication brings together the vibrant, supportive and collaborative community of holistic teachers and practitioners who work in our region. Which articles and advertisements draw your attention? Clip out items that interest you and tape them on the wall above my desk or anywhere around the house. Where is your attention drawn? By working in this manner, you might discover that your intuitive longings are often different that what your mind thinks you “should” do.

Your exploration will resemble driving a car at night. With the assistance of headlights, you have enough light to drive safely. Enough light. Not too much, not too little. Your intuition and your common sense are your headlights and with these two qualities in balance, you are assured good guidance to move safely along your journey. Yet, often more is needed. Often, we long for a companion to accompany us on our journey. In our healing journey, that companion is often a teacher or practitioner. This person, through knowledge and experience, is a resource, one who can support you in ways both tangible and intangible.

The subject of the student-teacher relationship is a complex one. I have found through experience that authentic teachers (and I’ll use the word “teacher” to represent any guide on the path—practitioner, therapist, minister, etc.) share three qualities: experience, knowledge and a spacious heart. These qualities can be measured quantitatively and intuitively.

When you first contact a teacher, the conversation will likely center on your current needs and the teacher’s qualifications to address those needs. Certification in particular technique is one measure of the teacher’s training. A certification or degree attests to that teacher’s completion of a specific course of learning. A certificate or diploma does not, however, give you information about the teacher’s actual experience. To gain that insight, you’ll need to ask some deeper questions of any teacher who is qualified to work in the area of your interest.

Start by noticing if the focus of the initial conversation is on a specific technique or product or if the focus is on developing healing practices that make sense in your life. Ask about the teacher’s practice. Do you have a sense that the teacher walks his or her talk? You’ll want a meditation teacher who meditates, a yoga teacher who has a personal practice. You are looking for someone who embodies his or her teaching.

Elizabeth Lesser, founder of the Omega Institute, writes, “A teacher whose words sound more forgiving than judgmental, more open-minded than arrogant, more authentic than polished is probably growing along with her students.”

Has the teacher developed mastery of her subject or tradition? “A good teacher is steeped in the methods of a well-conceived tradition or school of thought,” Lesser continues. “She may modify what she has studied into her on system, but she has behind her the lineage of her teachers and the wisdom of her experience.”

Authentic teachers will also share knowledge and information that comes from their experiences in a way that is accessible to others. Can you easily understand what the teacher is saying? How do you feel as you listen? Breathe deeply. Notice how your heart responds to the tone and rhythm of the voice, the words and phrases used. Notice how (and if) the teacher listens to you. Knowledge that grows from practice and experience is open, expansive and kind.

Experienced. Knowledgeable. Open. Expansive. Kind.

Notice how you feel as you read those words. Read them again. Authentic teachers have spacious hearts—hearts that meet the joys and sorrows of their students with equanimity and grace. A person can spend years and fortunes on training and never develop a spacious heart, while the neighbor who cares for her elderly parents may embody it. The presence of an authentic teacher awakens the wisdom and light within you. Look for this presence in your life. You won't be disappointed.

What is the right holistic healing journey for you? It's the one that is taking place right now, in this moment. As Gurmukh Kaur Kalsa says, "It has taken every moment of your life to bring you to this place right now. Can you accept that?" In this moment, may you discover the depth of your experience, the clarity of your knowledge and the spaciousness of your heart.

This article first appeared in Healing Springs Journal. For more information on this publication, please link to: http://www.healingspringsjournal.com/.