respect my a-thor-eh-tie (that's "authority" for you non-South Parkers...)

I have had lots to say (as usual) but just haven't seemed to find the time, or be able to stay focused enough, to post a new blog. I'm doing well, feeling a little more balanced, little less hypomanic.

I have recently gotten into this pattern where, no matter what time I go to bed, I wake up at 4 AM every morning. I'm talking about wide-awake for no good reason. Not sure why. Okay, I take that back. Maybe *someone* is trying to get me up at 4 AM to prepare for the meditation course in February/March next year...??  (If you haven't already checked it out yet, here's my blog for the meditation course next year:  http://insightfoundinside.blogspot.com/.)

The other day I was reading an article about how to choose a teacher for Buddhist studies. The article spoke, not only of what to look for in your teacher, but also what is expected of the student. One of the things I noted as interesting is that the student, as a show of respect for the teacher, should check in with their teacher every now and again to see if they need anything.  I pondered where this would come from.  After all, don't we all think that the teacher is there to help us??

In some Eastern spiritual studies (Vipassana practitioners is an example), they do not charge for knowledge and education.  When I saw Paramahamsa Nithyananda at the Hindu temple a year or so ago, he made a similar observation.  He said in India, this knowledge is free, but in America we charge for it.  (Christian faiths and even metaphysical/spiritual faiths require some form of monetary payment for the education they will provide to you.)

In my studies I have learned that certain spiritual practices forbid monks or other "holy" people from receiving payment for anything they do.  They are dependent upon the generosity of the public to feed and clothe them.  If they aren't given food and cannot find any for themselves, they will starve to death.  They will walk around in rags during the winter, if clothing is not provided to them.  Their first and foremost commitment is to be in service to you, completely selfless of their own needs.

We all have teachers, regardless of if we are aware of it or not.  When I would hear that statement, "When the student is ready, the teacher will come", I always kept looking for that magical teacher that would one day appear to teach me everything I need to know.  I had forgotten the basic rule that we are ALL teachers and we are ALL students.

On the day I read the article about checking in with your teachers, I received a phone call from a friend of mine.  He's been involved in the spiritual community, well, heck, almost as long as I've been alive.  He just called to say hello and to check in with me because he hadn't heard from me in a while.  He just wanted to make sure I was okay.  While we are friends, it's not like we meet for dinner every week or have a regular schedule of contact like with close friends or family.  This was the first "checking in to see how you are doing" phone call I've ever received from him.  Coincidence??

As I was recounting this to my husband later that evening, he made an observation that completely blew by me.  (Thank goodness I have him to point out the obvious...and not-so-obvious!)   I mentioned that it was freaky to have read that and then get a phone call out of the blue with the same intentions as what I had read.  I guess it's just confirmation that I need to check in with my teachers.

Then my husband said...

                    "But who's the teacher and who's the student?"

Wow, that blew my socks off.  After all this guy has been doing this a heck of a lot longer than I have.  I had just automatically assigned him to the Teacher role and myself to the Student role.  But what if the real message was that I'm a teacher to more people than I realize?  If someone checks in with you, "just to see how you're doing", then maybe you need to examine if you are the teacher...and if so...how good a job are you doing teaching?  Sometimes people learn from us just by observing our actions.  What we do is so much more powerful than what we say.  Many times, we aren't even aware that we are teaching.

Live the example today so when you get that phone call out of the blue, you can feel confident that all you are teaching is healthy, loving, and good.