Spiritual Teachers

Weblog Spiritual Teachers
January 16, 2008
By Chris DiGiorgio

I have been quite fortunate to have many spiritual teachers in my life and I am grateful. My interaction with them has always shed new light in areas of my life. Sometimes in places in my life that I did not think I needed light shed on. Enviably these new insights help move me to a new understanding on myself and my spiritual path. A spiritual teacher facilitates bringing you to the insight, but it is your work that brings you there.

I would like to give an example of this. One of my spiritual teachers, Steve Thompson works with Native American Shamans. As part of our work together, a group of men and I do a Native American Sweat Lodge. For those of you who have not done a Sweat Lodge it is probably one of the most challenging things you can put your body and mind through. During the Sweat Lodge you are in a small teepee with hot rocks and you chant, pray and meditate to your ancestors, GOD or GODS. The heat is tremendous and it challenges your breath. Many times it puts you face up with your fears. Now I can’t say that I have gotten new insights when I was in the Sweat Lodge. However after the Sweat Lodges I have gotten many new insights. One insight I recently had was my relationship with fear. How fear many times rules my life and how it stops me from going forward in my spiritual life and my life in general. Another insight I have gotten from a Sweat Lodge is that I have it in my capacity to heal myself without the aid of traditional western medicine. (I have not perfected that so I am going to western doctors still)

As part of any spiritual path ask yourself, who are my spiritual teachers? They may be people who are in your life right now, people you need to seek out or people that you read about in the past. Take the time to find out how they can facilitate moving you to a greater understanding about yourself and your spiritual path.