Post by Nathaniel on Mar 20, 2009 12:25:22 GMT -5
Hi Shawn,
I do honor the heartfelt motives and intentions behind what it is that you appear to be doing on this site. And, while I do believe that what you are doing is coming forth to make a difference in the world, I do find some of the content of your site to be a matter of some concern.
As I said, I do believe your motives to be true and your intentions sound. And, while I also believe that your poetry credentials do seem to offer some insight as to what it is that you like to do with your time, I am troubled by the absence of any clear detail that would render you in the eyes of your readers an authority of any strength in the areas of spiritual study, teaching and critical review. Granted, I haven't read everything available on your website. And, I'm willing to concede that somewhere within the pages you might very well have demonstrated these strengths. It's just that when I started with your "ratings" I was immediately compelled to find out just who you are and who you are being in your life that would leave me with the experience that you are someone of some reckoning in these areas. Being that one's bio is the most likely place to find such information, it's where I began my inquiry. And, it's your bio, once read, that gave rise to this reader's comments.
Now, while some of your readers do seem to enjoy your input, I wonder if they have ever considered just exactly what it is that you have actually done along your spiritual journey that has left you with such an enormous command on the subject of ontological study, human consciousness and spiritual pathways, and that would make a good case supporting the notion that your proffering of critical review of the teachings of world renowned and globally respected spiritual teachers is a wise and highly valuable thing for you to be doing with your time and that of your readers.
I read your remarks on your disinterest in "convincing anyone of anything" and honor you for such a powerful statement. However, what I found in perusing your site and reading your reviews was my own lack of interest in hearing what you have to say on these matters when all I can know about you through your own offered bio is that you have...
"...spent a decade in a spiritual search that led you from a Zen master in the wilds of West Virginia, to an iconoclastic Christian mystic in the heart of Los Angeles, and an architect-turned-sage in Nacton, England."
You see, before I devote myself and my time to absorbing the thoughts of someone who professes to be on a path not dissimilar from my own yet spends time criticizing the work of others, I demand to know, for my own edification, who it is exactly that I am listening to.
I do see that you believe that there is iron in your words, Shawn. This belief of yours is there for all to see. But see, I am left with a question or two the answer to which will satisfy my own curiosity to know if you are, in fact, someone with whom I wish to engage.
First, what exactly does it mean to have been "led" from one spiritual teacher to another and then still one more? You see, the way your bio reads, some people might imagine in their own minds that this remark of yours means that you actually went and spent extended periods of time as a student of these teachers in their physical presence, having consistent audience and engaging with them personally over time. At the very least, the remarks suggest intensive study, extensive practical application and learned command of those teachings. If this is all true, then yes... you might actually be someone with whom I wish to engage at this level here on your site. Conspicuously missing too, are the names of these teachers. How do I know, for example, that this is a recognized and well-respected master of Zen Buddhism of whom you speak. For all we know, he could say anything he wants just as anyone could. Without them, not only can I not do my own homework on them, I am left with that you could just be one of those guys who dresses up his own dossier in order to facilitate some ill-founded credibility to satisfy a narcissistic need to steal some limelight from the front of the room, sort-of-speak.
But you see, your bio doesn't actually say anything about your study with those teachers, now does it? No. I'm afraid that it offers no such detail. All that your bio actually offers is that the path you have followed for 10 years has presented to you 3 different teachers along the way with no indication at all as to the extent and nature of those studies nor any indication at all as to the foundation of those teacher's philosophies and direction of their particular pathways. It's one thing to say that you were "led" to a Zen master. It's another thing altogether to distinguish clearly for all to see the benefits you personally derived by the event of that encounter in whatever form it took. You see, Shawn, credible and verifiable biographies are a rather critical element when presenting one's self as an authority on any matter. You could easily have more experience, cognition and insight in these matters then 10 people put together. Yet, I could never know this by reading your biography. Your ratings pages too, are merely an indication that you have read a few books, listened to a few cd's and perhaps attended a few lectures and seminars. Yet nothing I encountered up to the point where I wanted to express my thoughts with you had left me with the distinct experience that I was, in fact, reading the musings of a bona fide expert on the matters of which he speaks.
How exactly, Shawn, are we supposed to relate to you as an authority on these matters? You may very well have some interesting things to say. And you do. However, in my own decade of spiritual study I can tell you that I have encountered many people who's period of spiritual study began long ago with a single encounter of one kind or another that led to another some time later then another some time after that. And, these encounters did leave them with many "interesting" things to say. They learned a few key words and to speak eloquently on their own opinions of what others have to say offering actually quite little of their own cognitions about how they started to look into the abyss of their own narcissistic egos and began to shed the trappings of self-flattery and promotion. But this doesn't make them any kind of authority on these matters. Most of those types were merely trying to find some new and improved way of looking good to those around them while never truly stepping upon the path themselves. They are full of, and ready to offer, all kinds of great advice. Yet they never truly seemed to get it themselves, it having never occurred to them that the truly limited amount of time they actually spent in their own study before claiming authority may be at the root of why they don't get what they want from their own life's reality. In short, they put the cart before the horse by stepping forth as a teacher and presenting themselves as masters long before they had ever attained mastery of study. One must become an expert student before stepping into the role as teacher, much less a master.
My other question addresses the voracity of your teaching credentials. You see, when one steps forth as you have with this site addressing the topic of rating and criticizing the expertise of others in the way that you have, mere presentation of your particular point of view of this kind [through the published written word] in and of itself, automatically injects high credibility into the minds of many, if not most, readers depending upon where they are on their own spiritual journeys. If it's written and someone published or broadcast it...it MUST be true, right? Or so most do believe. We can all find countless examples of this merely from our own lives. The innate innocence of human consciousness allows for the belief of just about anything, particularly information that emerges from a source with the appearance of authority. And, in our culture, there are few sources of information in existence with more the appearance of authority other than the published word.
Many people will find your site, Shawn. And there are thousands of places where their levels of consciousness can be found at any given time on their journeys. Coming forth as you have with this site carries with it a grave responsibility to your readers, unless, of course, your only motive is completely narcissistic in nature and purely self-serving in that you simply want the world to hear what you have to say. On the contrary, if your intention is to serve mankind then... that grave responsibility I referred to a moment ago? It's yours, Bro. And, I don't believe that your motives here are purely self-serving in nature. What I see, is someone coming forth to make a difference. It's what the innate innocence of my consciousness wants to believe.
So, when I read that you "conduct educational programs for schools and the general public through Louisville Metro Parks", the fact is, I don't know what this means, Shawn. So, what does it mean then, to conduct an educational program? It's a rather distinct, albeit ambiguous, way of expressing that particular notion. It's so distinct, in fact, that it makes one wonder if what you are saying is that you are something other than a teacher; because conveying that you are a teacher can be much more easily and clearly expressed. Do you have a teaching certificate? Are you educated in the distinctions of education? It's not necessary that you are in order to be a good teacher but if you are so credentialed then it certainly would lend credibility to your mission here. If you are a teacher in these educational programs to which you elude, what exactly is it that you teach? How long have you been at it? If by "conducting" you mean to say that you perhaps design educational programs and assist with their presentation then, by all means, say that. The fact is, demonstrating your prowess in the areas that you offer as giving credibility to your stand in these matters, is going to go a long way in actually supporting the very credibility you claim while expanding your readership along the way. Background, Shawn. We want to know your background - upfront, obvious and foremost...loud and proud.
And too, when I read that you are "waiting to make your fortune from poetry" it leaves me with the concern that while you are presenting yourself to be a genuine authority on the matter of spiritual study, what your true master is, and to what it is that you truly dedicate the focus of the time of your life... is poetry. And, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If this is the case, perhaps your time would be better dedicated to a website devoted to open forums on critical reviews of the works of world renowned poetry and prose writers.
While the writing of poetry is an art and certainly a gift you may wish to share with the world, and from which the world will surely benefit, being an expert and authority on poetry and prose writing hardly renders one an expert in the area of spiritual pathways to enlightenment. Does it? And, your biography offers more detail in the area of your own poetry writing expertise then it does in anything else.
You see, Shawn, there is an enormous chasm of difference between talking about spiritual pathways and actually being on one. And truth be told, good Sir, being critical of others is in any way neither part nor parcel of any spiritual pathway ever taught by any of the great Avatars throughout human history. From Buddha to Krishna to Jesus Christ to the Toltec warriors to Confucius to Don Juan and Carlos Castaneda and all the others, not one of them ever taught criticism as an access to enlightenment. It's negative energy, my friend. And there's just no room for negative energy of any kind on the path to enlightenment. This has always been and thus, shall always be.
What we do when we criticize others, Shawn... is judge and BE judgmental while putting ourselves on a pedestal where doing so and being so actually makes sense.. And, quite frankly, we can do little better than to judge anything or anyone if our mission is merely to feed the narcissistic ego's incessant need to diminish happiness, suffer and cause others to feel belittled and take away their power.
If we are to be an effective judge of anything, Shawn, particularly the spiritual work and teachings of others, then we would have to be aware and at the command of an enormous amount of information and knowledge of what was, what is, what will always be, and how all of that is either affected by or affects that which we are criticizing or judging. Now, I know that the narcissism within us all just LOVES to try to convince us that we actually do know enough to effectively judge anything we set our sights upon and that our own particular view of the world "really is the one with the most merit" (wink-wink) Oh, I'm well aware. I face down my own ego every day just like everyone else.
But in the end, Shawn, in the final analysis at the end of the day... Truth always reigns supreme. It is, after all, incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, and ignorance may deride it. But in the end... there it is. And the truth here, Shawn, is that we simply cannot judge. It's not even so much that we must stop judging. It's more to notice that it is simply not within the constitution of mankind to be able to judge. It's just not possible for mankind to do so. While our ego's try and try and try and try to convince us of otherwise, no more can any typical member of mankind be an effective judge of anything or anyone, then can we humans defy the law of gravity without grave consequences. We may want to step out off that cliff and levitate, but can we? We may WANT to judge something, but the simple fact is... we can't.
How often have we all said that something isn't right and should be some way other than the way that it actually is? Think about that for a moment. Isn't that absurd? Hmmm...the sky is blue but I like purple. The sky SHOULD be purple dammit!! Hmmm... my wife doesn't handle disappointment very well. The other day, she had the proverbial meltdown for several days when she found that something she really really wanted was not possible given the current level of available resources. My wife SHOULD NOT have had that meltdown!! She SHOULD have handled the reality of it all peacefully when it emerged!!
Hmmm... now, does my thought process - my opinion about what has already occurred - do a single thing to change what has already happened? Well, unless you are residing somewhere other than the physical universe, no... my opinion about what she already did doesn't change what she already did. Further, my being upset about it doesn't change it either. So, it comes down to a very simple choice. I am either devoted to wishing for what did not happen, being self-righteous about what SHOULD have happened, and dedicated to the emotional upset and inner suffering that comes right along, hand-in-hand with what clearly amounts to an argument with reality (what has already happened), OR... I choose instead to devote myself to the human being with whom I say I am in love and have chosen as my life' partner. In short, I could choose to devote myself to being happy no matter what circumstance is before me in any given moment no matter what my narcissistic ego tells me about the way things SHOULD be. It's all pretty simple then when we get right down to it... I'm either devoted to happiness or, I'm devoted to suffering.
We would all do well, as we proceed along our own spiritual pathways, to steer clear of anything we automatically feel the compulsion to judge or criticize as well as those who would focus their energies on the same. Truth will always present itself. Falsehood need not be routed by force as it will always be illuminated well enough in due course. Exposure of falsehood (untruth) is already in the flow and a direct consequence of alignment with truth.
I believe that what you are attempting to do here, Shawn, has honor. I believe that you are trying to help others avoid spending time with ill-meaning and self-serving "teachers" out there who's sole intention is to sell books and seminars and make money, as well as those who are well-meaning but... a little "off track" shall we say? I can see this in your intention as sure as I'm sitting here.
But Shawn, who are we to say that following for a period of time an ill-intended or even well-meaning but ill-fated teacher is not exactly what any one particular person needs along their own spiritual journey? How can we know that the lessons they will learn through those experiences are not precisely what that particular human spirit requires in order to pay off some karmic debt? How can we know this, Shawn?
Fact is, my friend... we can not know this. And, never will we. Follow a path of truth, Shawn, be of service to others and keep with positive energies through holding positive thoughts in mind. Continue your work with presenting and endorsing the work of teachers you believe in. Can you not see that your same initial intention will be reached in this way? If you establish credibility by loving and accepting all that is around you while presenting the works and teachings of those from whom you have derived great benefit without going to the trouble of denigrating those from whom you have not, the people will come and become dedicated readers of your work. Our credibility is found in the experience we have with each other. We find credibility in others by who they are and what they have become. Shawn, you need not expend your energies by exposing for the world who you regard to be the ill-intended or unfortunately inept teachers of the world. Simply teach great things that have at heart only honor, integrity and the very best interest of mankind. Follow and endorse the great teachers. If you have profound credentials from your life experience... share them with us. By these acts alone you will do your readers a great service. What I tell my clients is simply this...
If what "they" are writing does not inspire you... don't read it. If what they are saying does not answer your hearts deepest questions... don't listen. If what they are doing does not fill you with wonder and enthusiasm about your own path... don't follow them. We all know in our heart if something is supportive of life and when something is not. We all know in our hearts when someone has ill intentions with us and when they bring us power. All we need do is listen to our bodies (which always follow the mind), employ our own faculties and seek out truth.
Simply put, truth will neither leave us feeling poorly nor diminish our energies. The physical experience of truth instead, is always an uplifting one. Now, by "uplifting", it does not always mean that we'll feel spectacular in what we have seen the truth. Sometimes the truth stings a little does it not? But, we can always notice too that even the "bad" news, as long as it's truthful, always "sets us free", causes us to stop feeling bad while noticeably experiencing a lift upward. Ergo, the uplifting experience. Is it not better to feel neutral on some matter than to have the physical experience of feeling bad? Is this not an uplifting experience? I know that it seems right from the way we were programmed that feeling bad or worse in certain circumstances is not only normal but in some way almost biological and predetermined (as though it came along with the body to do so with such automation). But, I've got a news flash. Suffering in this life on earth, truly is just one option.
We need not be polarized on the topic of feeling good and bad. In fact, we could easily and simply notice that we are either loving and accepting what is in front of us a whole bunch, not much at all, or somewhere betwixt the two. Why, if we have the choice - and we do - do we choose to lable feelings in a way that merely exacerbates the bad feelings from the outset? I feel something. I've been programmed to lable that feeling as bad. And feeling bad, in and of itself, is a bad thing. Have we not all been taught this? Do we not all readily recognize this thought process?
How about abandoning that thought process altogether and only relate to our feelings, no matter what they are, as simply levels of lovingness? Why not that? Would that make a difference in our overall life experience? I can't speak for anyone who hasn't already tried it. But for those of us who have and continue to do so, I can say without equivocation that it makes an enormous difference in how we experience life, particularly with the results we get in those areas of life that are most important to us.
Listen, Love and Peace are not the polar opposites of hate and war. Peace and Love are merely the direct consequence of removing the barriers to them. Peaceful and Loving are, in fact, the default states of human consciousness. Love isn't missing when we are angry, upset, disappointed, sad, apathetic, hateful, or in dispair. We just can't see love, we can't get to it through the barriers we through up by simply aligning ourselves with falsehood - thoughts, beliefs and opinions ABOUT truth that simply are not true.
Consider that the only knowledge holding within it any genuine value at all and is worthy of our time and attention is, in fact, truthful knowledge. Consider that "truthful knowledge" is itself a reduntant way of describing knowledge. Knowledge and truth are one in the same. If we engage with something that is not truthful, how can this be a valuable use of our energy? Could anything not truthful even exist in the physical realm? In fact, it can be better said, that the ONLY knowledge IS truthful - ONLY the truthful has knowledge. What is something if not based in truth, in the many wide and varied aspects and facts of the physical universe? If something is false can it even exist beyond mere thought? Or is this more a perfect example of pure opinion about something that IS true and that someone is trying to "sell" us? Many will try to sell us thoughts, ideas and opinions dressed up in the sheep's clothing of knowledge and truth. Beware the truth seller. For he cannot have a unique perspective on the truth. Instead, seek out the guides to it. There is after all... but one truth. And truth, is available to all. It's time we all tuned in.
Try this for practice...
If I feel bad, I am holding a thought in my mind that is untrue and trying to make it true by causing myself to feel bad about it. It may sound silly initially, but isn't this how we have all been programmed to react? We don't even have any forethought about it. We just do it. We react and it's so automatic. I might argue with myself or others on the untruth, turn it over and over and over in my mind and keep jumping up and down trying to come up with a way to make true the untrue. And hopefully, at some point, I might notice that spinning truth out of the untrue is no more possible than spinning straw into gold. And, it's frustrating even to attempt it. Better to simply align myself with the genuine truth than to spend my time and energies trying to create truth where there is none. How does one accomplish such a feet? Quite simply really. Here's the excercise...
1. Notice that I feel bad about something.
2. Distinguish the thought that I am holding in my mind that seems to be causing me to feel bad.
3. Determine whether the thought I'm holding in mind is "the truth" or if it is simply my opinion ABOUT something that IS true.
Truth = my wife got upset
Opinion = my wife SHOULD NOT have gotten upset (Remember "the sky SHOULD be purple?)
Go further to notice still that my opinion was created by me in my own mind - in fact, made up out of thin air - and since it was made up by me, I can change any opinion of my own that I wish. Can't I? Well, of course I can. It's my mind and I can think or not think anything I want and there isn't anything you can do to stop me.
4. Simply notice that the OPPOSITE of the thought I've been holding in mind that seems to be causing me to feel bad is actually more aligned with the truth - the truth being something that already exists or that has already happened.
Opinion causing my anger = my wife SHOULD NOT have gotten upset
Opinion aligned with the genuine truth of the matter = my wife SHOULD have gotten upset)
So, SHOULD my wife have gotten upset? Well, yes... indeed she should have. Why? Because she did. And that, my friends, is all there is.
Fact is, Shawn, your critical reviews of anything from a platform like this can't be verified without a great deal of effort and expense well beyond the limitations of banter on a website. Nor can your glowing reviews be verified without expending the same level of resource. That said, the only truthful thing you can say about the work of others is that you have an opinion about it and then share that opinion if you like. But don't commit the sin of packaging your opinion as some sort of truth. Doing so, takes you to the same level as those whose work you would dissuade and entire populace from ever seeing.
In the final analysis then, Shawn, we find that the best use of time is simply to focus on sharing with others that which supports life in your experience. Cease in your attempts to stop others from making mistakes. Mistakes are the most valuable tool we have in the learning process. Without them, how would we know that we have learned anything at all?
I like the work you are doing by endorsing great teachers, Shawn. My only thought on the matter would be for you to abandon dualistic thoughts and desist in polarized conversations. You need not disparage one teacher in order to endorse another. Neither need we speak ill of republicans in order to love democrats. Nor do we need to hate chocolate in order to love vanilla. It is quite enough - and necessary to follow the spiritual path, I might add - to express your enthusiasms about your favorites while saying nothing about those with whom you have none.
Anyone stepping upon a spiritual pathway has a reason and a goal not at all unlike everyone else who came before or who comes after. We all simply want to feel better, to enjoy life more and perhaps understand a little bit more about who and what we are and what we are doing here. We all encounter thoughts and things that do not bring power. Know then, that when we do encounter such thoughts and "things", by consistently bringing them into mere conversation we are perpetrating their existence and affect upon the world that already has quite enough negative energy as it is. If instead, we make a habit of no longer acknowledging with any consistency or intent that which brings negative energy into our space, how can we go wrong in this grand endeavor of simply feeling better about our existence? I'm not saying forget the past or ignore the lessons drawn from it. Spiritual work merely suggests that we decist in allowing the negative to dominate our thought processes and train ourselves to align ourselves only with positive thought. And from positive thought comes positive energy which bears only the tastiest of fruits.
"What a man thinks... he becomes.
~ Mahatma Ghandi
And, Shawn, allowing unverifiable critical thought patterns to consistently permeate our minds is merely allowing for the inflation of our own narcissistic ego and perpetrating the negative in the world mind. By "world mind" I am pointing to that source of energy that is at the source of all life, that inexplicable energy field that contains within it all knowledge and to that which all humans have access. Consciousness is not exclusively our own from one human to another. Like truth, there is only one consciousness into which we are all tapped.
A spiritual pathway then, is simply a means to remove the barriers - the blinders, if you will - to seeing and BEING that we humans do, in fact, have access to that singular consciousness that holds within all knowledge and the source of all positive energy available to mankind in this protoplasmic existence.
So, if your goal, Shawn, is to dissuade others from studying with various teachers whom you regard as non-beneficial to spiritual growth, then how is that end served by bringing attention to them? Have you forgotten already? The child told not to do something is more apt to do what? Obey? Certainly not. The child will be driven mad with curiosity and desire to do the very thing he was told not to do until he learns his own lesson that putting his hand on a hot stove might not be the best course of action (my own lesson came in the form of not pulling from electrical wall sockets a prong left behind in one of the holes by a faulty extension cord...oi vey). And would we foolishly convince ourselves that this tendency has been "grown out of" by mere time spent on earth? Oh yes, of course, adults always avoid the "hot stoves" in life. Don't we? Ehem. I think not. Many think not and own the tendency. It's the access to something else. Let's all give it a try. Notice the "hot thoughts" we hold in mind and which seem to cause us to feel bad. Then remember that taking our hand off the stove as a child seemed pretty automatic. Then notice that we can, by merely choosing to do so, stop holding "hot thoughts" in our mind and thereby stop the pain and bad feelings caused by them.
Persevere in you work, Shawn, if enlightenment and that of others is your ultimate goal. As the enlightened master said to his newly arrived student after allowing his head to emerge from the water under which he had held his head for over two minutes...
"When you want enlightenment in the same way as you wanted that first breath after I let you go... it will come just as easily."
Open forums on these subjects can bring only good to the world. If your heart is pure, nothing but good can come from it. We're all on a path of some kind. And if that path is a spiritual one with enlightenment being the ultimate goal, then remember...
Always the student... never the master. And everyone... my Sensei.
My very best to you upon your journey.
Nathaniel
I do honor the heartfelt motives and intentions behind what it is that you appear to be doing on this site. And, while I do believe that what you are doing is coming forth to make a difference in the world, I do find some of the content of your site to be a matter of some concern.
As I said, I do believe your motives to be true and your intentions sound. And, while I also believe that your poetry credentials do seem to offer some insight as to what it is that you like to do with your time, I am troubled by the absence of any clear detail that would render you in the eyes of your readers an authority of any strength in the areas of spiritual study, teaching and critical review. Granted, I haven't read everything available on your website. And, I'm willing to concede that somewhere within the pages you might very well have demonstrated these strengths. It's just that when I started with your "ratings" I was immediately compelled to find out just who you are and who you are being in your life that would leave me with the experience that you are someone of some reckoning in these areas. Being that one's bio is the most likely place to find such information, it's where I began my inquiry. And, it's your bio, once read, that gave rise to this reader's comments.
Now, while some of your readers do seem to enjoy your input, I wonder if they have ever considered just exactly what it is that you have actually done along your spiritual journey that has left you with such an enormous command on the subject of ontological study, human consciousness and spiritual pathways, and that would make a good case supporting the notion that your proffering of critical review of the teachings of world renowned and globally respected spiritual teachers is a wise and highly valuable thing for you to be doing with your time and that of your readers.
I read your remarks on your disinterest in "convincing anyone of anything" and honor you for such a powerful statement. However, what I found in perusing your site and reading your reviews was my own lack of interest in hearing what you have to say on these matters when all I can know about you through your own offered bio is that you have...
"...spent a decade in a spiritual search that led you from a Zen master in the wilds of West Virginia, to an iconoclastic Christian mystic in the heart of Los Angeles, and an architect-turned-sage in Nacton, England."
You see, before I devote myself and my time to absorbing the thoughts of someone who professes to be on a path not dissimilar from my own yet spends time criticizing the work of others, I demand to know, for my own edification, who it is exactly that I am listening to.
I do see that you believe that there is iron in your words, Shawn. This belief of yours is there for all to see. But see, I am left with a question or two the answer to which will satisfy my own curiosity to know if you are, in fact, someone with whom I wish to engage.
First, what exactly does it mean to have been "led" from one spiritual teacher to another and then still one more? You see, the way your bio reads, some people might imagine in their own minds that this remark of yours means that you actually went and spent extended periods of time as a student of these teachers in their physical presence, having consistent audience and engaging with them personally over time. At the very least, the remarks suggest intensive study, extensive practical application and learned command of those teachings. If this is all true, then yes... you might actually be someone with whom I wish to engage at this level here on your site. Conspicuously missing too, are the names of these teachers. How do I know, for example, that this is a recognized and well-respected master of Zen Buddhism of whom you speak. For all we know, he could say anything he wants just as anyone could. Without them, not only can I not do my own homework on them, I am left with that you could just be one of those guys who dresses up his own dossier in order to facilitate some ill-founded credibility to satisfy a narcissistic need to steal some limelight from the front of the room, sort-of-speak.
But you see, your bio doesn't actually say anything about your study with those teachers, now does it? No. I'm afraid that it offers no such detail. All that your bio actually offers is that the path you have followed for 10 years has presented to you 3 different teachers along the way with no indication at all as to the extent and nature of those studies nor any indication at all as to the foundation of those teacher's philosophies and direction of their particular pathways. It's one thing to say that you were "led" to a Zen master. It's another thing altogether to distinguish clearly for all to see the benefits you personally derived by the event of that encounter in whatever form it took. You see, Shawn, credible and verifiable biographies are a rather critical element when presenting one's self as an authority on any matter. You could easily have more experience, cognition and insight in these matters then 10 people put together. Yet, I could never know this by reading your biography. Your ratings pages too, are merely an indication that you have read a few books, listened to a few cd's and perhaps attended a few lectures and seminars. Yet nothing I encountered up to the point where I wanted to express my thoughts with you had left me with the distinct experience that I was, in fact, reading the musings of a bona fide expert on the matters of which he speaks.
How exactly, Shawn, are we supposed to relate to you as an authority on these matters? You may very well have some interesting things to say. And you do. However, in my own decade of spiritual study I can tell you that I have encountered many people who's period of spiritual study began long ago with a single encounter of one kind or another that led to another some time later then another some time after that. And, these encounters did leave them with many "interesting" things to say. They learned a few key words and to speak eloquently on their own opinions of what others have to say offering actually quite little of their own cognitions about how they started to look into the abyss of their own narcissistic egos and began to shed the trappings of self-flattery and promotion. But this doesn't make them any kind of authority on these matters. Most of those types were merely trying to find some new and improved way of looking good to those around them while never truly stepping upon the path themselves. They are full of, and ready to offer, all kinds of great advice. Yet they never truly seemed to get it themselves, it having never occurred to them that the truly limited amount of time they actually spent in their own study before claiming authority may be at the root of why they don't get what they want from their own life's reality. In short, they put the cart before the horse by stepping forth as a teacher and presenting themselves as masters long before they had ever attained mastery of study. One must become an expert student before stepping into the role as teacher, much less a master.
My other question addresses the voracity of your teaching credentials. You see, when one steps forth as you have with this site addressing the topic of rating and criticizing the expertise of others in the way that you have, mere presentation of your particular point of view of this kind [through the published written word] in and of itself, automatically injects high credibility into the minds of many, if not most, readers depending upon where they are on their own spiritual journeys. If it's written and someone published or broadcast it...it MUST be true, right? Or so most do believe. We can all find countless examples of this merely from our own lives. The innate innocence of human consciousness allows for the belief of just about anything, particularly information that emerges from a source with the appearance of authority. And, in our culture, there are few sources of information in existence with more the appearance of authority other than the published word.
Many people will find your site, Shawn. And there are thousands of places where their levels of consciousness can be found at any given time on their journeys. Coming forth as you have with this site carries with it a grave responsibility to your readers, unless, of course, your only motive is completely narcissistic in nature and purely self-serving in that you simply want the world to hear what you have to say. On the contrary, if your intention is to serve mankind then... that grave responsibility I referred to a moment ago? It's yours, Bro. And, I don't believe that your motives here are purely self-serving in nature. What I see, is someone coming forth to make a difference. It's what the innate innocence of my consciousness wants to believe.
So, when I read that you "conduct educational programs for schools and the general public through Louisville Metro Parks", the fact is, I don't know what this means, Shawn. So, what does it mean then, to conduct an educational program? It's a rather distinct, albeit ambiguous, way of expressing that particular notion. It's so distinct, in fact, that it makes one wonder if what you are saying is that you are something other than a teacher; because conveying that you are a teacher can be much more easily and clearly expressed. Do you have a teaching certificate? Are you educated in the distinctions of education? It's not necessary that you are in order to be a good teacher but if you are so credentialed then it certainly would lend credibility to your mission here. If you are a teacher in these educational programs to which you elude, what exactly is it that you teach? How long have you been at it? If by "conducting" you mean to say that you perhaps design educational programs and assist with their presentation then, by all means, say that. The fact is, demonstrating your prowess in the areas that you offer as giving credibility to your stand in these matters, is going to go a long way in actually supporting the very credibility you claim while expanding your readership along the way. Background, Shawn. We want to know your background - upfront, obvious and foremost...loud and proud.
And too, when I read that you are "waiting to make your fortune from poetry" it leaves me with the concern that while you are presenting yourself to be a genuine authority on the matter of spiritual study, what your true master is, and to what it is that you truly dedicate the focus of the time of your life... is poetry. And, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If this is the case, perhaps your time would be better dedicated to a website devoted to open forums on critical reviews of the works of world renowned poetry and prose writers.
While the writing of poetry is an art and certainly a gift you may wish to share with the world, and from which the world will surely benefit, being an expert and authority on poetry and prose writing hardly renders one an expert in the area of spiritual pathways to enlightenment. Does it? And, your biography offers more detail in the area of your own poetry writing expertise then it does in anything else.
You see, Shawn, there is an enormous chasm of difference between talking about spiritual pathways and actually being on one. And truth be told, good Sir, being critical of others is in any way neither part nor parcel of any spiritual pathway ever taught by any of the great Avatars throughout human history. From Buddha to Krishna to Jesus Christ to the Toltec warriors to Confucius to Don Juan and Carlos Castaneda and all the others, not one of them ever taught criticism as an access to enlightenment. It's negative energy, my friend. And there's just no room for negative energy of any kind on the path to enlightenment. This has always been and thus, shall always be.
What we do when we criticize others, Shawn... is judge and BE judgmental while putting ourselves on a pedestal where doing so and being so actually makes sense.. And, quite frankly, we can do little better than to judge anything or anyone if our mission is merely to feed the narcissistic ego's incessant need to diminish happiness, suffer and cause others to feel belittled and take away their power.
If we are to be an effective judge of anything, Shawn, particularly the spiritual work and teachings of others, then we would have to be aware and at the command of an enormous amount of information and knowledge of what was, what is, what will always be, and how all of that is either affected by or affects that which we are criticizing or judging. Now, I know that the narcissism within us all just LOVES to try to convince us that we actually do know enough to effectively judge anything we set our sights upon and that our own particular view of the world "really is the one with the most merit" (wink-wink) Oh, I'm well aware. I face down my own ego every day just like everyone else.
But in the end, Shawn, in the final analysis at the end of the day... Truth always reigns supreme. It is, after all, incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, and ignorance may deride it. But in the end... there it is. And the truth here, Shawn, is that we simply cannot judge. It's not even so much that we must stop judging. It's more to notice that it is simply not within the constitution of mankind to be able to judge. It's just not possible for mankind to do so. While our ego's try and try and try and try to convince us of otherwise, no more can any typical member of mankind be an effective judge of anything or anyone, then can we humans defy the law of gravity without grave consequences. We may want to step out off that cliff and levitate, but can we? We may WANT to judge something, but the simple fact is... we can't.
How often have we all said that something isn't right and should be some way other than the way that it actually is? Think about that for a moment. Isn't that absurd? Hmmm...the sky is blue but I like purple. The sky SHOULD be purple dammit!! Hmmm... my wife doesn't handle disappointment very well. The other day, she had the proverbial meltdown for several days when she found that something she really really wanted was not possible given the current level of available resources. My wife SHOULD NOT have had that meltdown!! She SHOULD have handled the reality of it all peacefully when it emerged!!
Hmmm... now, does my thought process - my opinion about what has already occurred - do a single thing to change what has already happened? Well, unless you are residing somewhere other than the physical universe, no... my opinion about what she already did doesn't change what she already did. Further, my being upset about it doesn't change it either. So, it comes down to a very simple choice. I am either devoted to wishing for what did not happen, being self-righteous about what SHOULD have happened, and dedicated to the emotional upset and inner suffering that comes right along, hand-in-hand with what clearly amounts to an argument with reality (what has already happened), OR... I choose instead to devote myself to the human being with whom I say I am in love and have chosen as my life' partner. In short, I could choose to devote myself to being happy no matter what circumstance is before me in any given moment no matter what my narcissistic ego tells me about the way things SHOULD be. It's all pretty simple then when we get right down to it... I'm either devoted to happiness or, I'm devoted to suffering.
We would all do well, as we proceed along our own spiritual pathways, to steer clear of anything we automatically feel the compulsion to judge or criticize as well as those who would focus their energies on the same. Truth will always present itself. Falsehood need not be routed by force as it will always be illuminated well enough in due course. Exposure of falsehood (untruth) is already in the flow and a direct consequence of alignment with truth.
I believe that what you are attempting to do here, Shawn, has honor. I believe that you are trying to help others avoid spending time with ill-meaning and self-serving "teachers" out there who's sole intention is to sell books and seminars and make money, as well as those who are well-meaning but... a little "off track" shall we say? I can see this in your intention as sure as I'm sitting here.
But Shawn, who are we to say that following for a period of time an ill-intended or even well-meaning but ill-fated teacher is not exactly what any one particular person needs along their own spiritual journey? How can we know that the lessons they will learn through those experiences are not precisely what that particular human spirit requires in order to pay off some karmic debt? How can we know this, Shawn?
Fact is, my friend... we can not know this. And, never will we. Follow a path of truth, Shawn, be of service to others and keep with positive energies through holding positive thoughts in mind. Continue your work with presenting and endorsing the work of teachers you believe in. Can you not see that your same initial intention will be reached in this way? If you establish credibility by loving and accepting all that is around you while presenting the works and teachings of those from whom you have derived great benefit without going to the trouble of denigrating those from whom you have not, the people will come and become dedicated readers of your work. Our credibility is found in the experience we have with each other. We find credibility in others by who they are and what they have become. Shawn, you need not expend your energies by exposing for the world who you regard to be the ill-intended or unfortunately inept teachers of the world. Simply teach great things that have at heart only honor, integrity and the very best interest of mankind. Follow and endorse the great teachers. If you have profound credentials from your life experience... share them with us. By these acts alone you will do your readers a great service. What I tell my clients is simply this...
If what "they" are writing does not inspire you... don't read it. If what they are saying does not answer your hearts deepest questions... don't listen. If what they are doing does not fill you with wonder and enthusiasm about your own path... don't follow them. We all know in our heart if something is supportive of life and when something is not. We all know in our hearts when someone has ill intentions with us and when they bring us power. All we need do is listen to our bodies (which always follow the mind), employ our own faculties and seek out truth.
Simply put, truth will neither leave us feeling poorly nor diminish our energies. The physical experience of truth instead, is always an uplifting one. Now, by "uplifting", it does not always mean that we'll feel spectacular in what we have seen the truth. Sometimes the truth stings a little does it not? But, we can always notice too that even the "bad" news, as long as it's truthful, always "sets us free", causes us to stop feeling bad while noticeably experiencing a lift upward. Ergo, the uplifting experience. Is it not better to feel neutral on some matter than to have the physical experience of feeling bad? Is this not an uplifting experience? I know that it seems right from the way we were programmed that feeling bad or worse in certain circumstances is not only normal but in some way almost biological and predetermined (as though it came along with the body to do so with such automation). But, I've got a news flash. Suffering in this life on earth, truly is just one option.
We need not be polarized on the topic of feeling good and bad. In fact, we could easily and simply notice that we are either loving and accepting what is in front of us a whole bunch, not much at all, or somewhere betwixt the two. Why, if we have the choice - and we do - do we choose to lable feelings in a way that merely exacerbates the bad feelings from the outset? I feel something. I've been programmed to lable that feeling as bad. And feeling bad, in and of itself, is a bad thing. Have we not all been taught this? Do we not all readily recognize this thought process?
How about abandoning that thought process altogether and only relate to our feelings, no matter what they are, as simply levels of lovingness? Why not that? Would that make a difference in our overall life experience? I can't speak for anyone who hasn't already tried it. But for those of us who have and continue to do so, I can say without equivocation that it makes an enormous difference in how we experience life, particularly with the results we get in those areas of life that are most important to us.
Listen, Love and Peace are not the polar opposites of hate and war. Peace and Love are merely the direct consequence of removing the barriers to them. Peaceful and Loving are, in fact, the default states of human consciousness. Love isn't missing when we are angry, upset, disappointed, sad, apathetic, hateful, or in dispair. We just can't see love, we can't get to it through the barriers we through up by simply aligning ourselves with falsehood - thoughts, beliefs and opinions ABOUT truth that simply are not true.
Consider that the only knowledge holding within it any genuine value at all and is worthy of our time and attention is, in fact, truthful knowledge. Consider that "truthful knowledge" is itself a reduntant way of describing knowledge. Knowledge and truth are one in the same. If we engage with something that is not truthful, how can this be a valuable use of our energy? Could anything not truthful even exist in the physical realm? In fact, it can be better said, that the ONLY knowledge IS truthful - ONLY the truthful has knowledge. What is something if not based in truth, in the many wide and varied aspects and facts of the physical universe? If something is false can it even exist beyond mere thought? Or is this more a perfect example of pure opinion about something that IS true and that someone is trying to "sell" us? Many will try to sell us thoughts, ideas and opinions dressed up in the sheep's clothing of knowledge and truth. Beware the truth seller. For he cannot have a unique perspective on the truth. Instead, seek out the guides to it. There is after all... but one truth. And truth, is available to all. It's time we all tuned in.
Try this for practice...
If I feel bad, I am holding a thought in my mind that is untrue and trying to make it true by causing myself to feel bad about it. It may sound silly initially, but isn't this how we have all been programmed to react? We don't even have any forethought about it. We just do it. We react and it's so automatic. I might argue with myself or others on the untruth, turn it over and over and over in my mind and keep jumping up and down trying to come up with a way to make true the untrue. And hopefully, at some point, I might notice that spinning truth out of the untrue is no more possible than spinning straw into gold. And, it's frustrating even to attempt it. Better to simply align myself with the genuine truth than to spend my time and energies trying to create truth where there is none. How does one accomplish such a feet? Quite simply really. Here's the excercise...
1. Notice that I feel bad about something.
2. Distinguish the thought that I am holding in my mind that seems to be causing me to feel bad.
3. Determine whether the thought I'm holding in mind is "the truth" or if it is simply my opinion ABOUT something that IS true.
Truth = my wife got upset
Opinion = my wife SHOULD NOT have gotten upset (Remember "the sky SHOULD be purple?)
Go further to notice still that my opinion was created by me in my own mind - in fact, made up out of thin air - and since it was made up by me, I can change any opinion of my own that I wish. Can't I? Well, of course I can. It's my mind and I can think or not think anything I want and there isn't anything you can do to stop me.
4. Simply notice that the OPPOSITE of the thought I've been holding in mind that seems to be causing me to feel bad is actually more aligned with the truth - the truth being something that already exists or that has already happened.
Opinion causing my anger = my wife SHOULD NOT have gotten upset
Opinion aligned with the genuine truth of the matter = my wife SHOULD have gotten upset)
So, SHOULD my wife have gotten upset? Well, yes... indeed she should have. Why? Because she did. And that, my friends, is all there is.
Fact is, Shawn, your critical reviews of anything from a platform like this can't be verified without a great deal of effort and expense well beyond the limitations of banter on a website. Nor can your glowing reviews be verified without expending the same level of resource. That said, the only truthful thing you can say about the work of others is that you have an opinion about it and then share that opinion if you like. But don't commit the sin of packaging your opinion as some sort of truth. Doing so, takes you to the same level as those whose work you would dissuade and entire populace from ever seeing.
In the final analysis then, Shawn, we find that the best use of time is simply to focus on sharing with others that which supports life in your experience. Cease in your attempts to stop others from making mistakes. Mistakes are the most valuable tool we have in the learning process. Without them, how would we know that we have learned anything at all?
I like the work you are doing by endorsing great teachers, Shawn. My only thought on the matter would be for you to abandon dualistic thoughts and desist in polarized conversations. You need not disparage one teacher in order to endorse another. Neither need we speak ill of republicans in order to love democrats. Nor do we need to hate chocolate in order to love vanilla. It is quite enough - and necessary to follow the spiritual path, I might add - to express your enthusiasms about your favorites while saying nothing about those with whom you have none.
Anyone stepping upon a spiritual pathway has a reason and a goal not at all unlike everyone else who came before or who comes after. We all simply want to feel better, to enjoy life more and perhaps understand a little bit more about who and what we are and what we are doing here. We all encounter thoughts and things that do not bring power. Know then, that when we do encounter such thoughts and "things", by consistently bringing them into mere conversation we are perpetrating their existence and affect upon the world that already has quite enough negative energy as it is. If instead, we make a habit of no longer acknowledging with any consistency or intent that which brings negative energy into our space, how can we go wrong in this grand endeavor of simply feeling better about our existence? I'm not saying forget the past or ignore the lessons drawn from it. Spiritual work merely suggests that we decist in allowing the negative to dominate our thought processes and train ourselves to align ourselves only with positive thought. And from positive thought comes positive energy which bears only the tastiest of fruits.
"What a man thinks... he becomes.
~ Mahatma Ghandi
And, Shawn, allowing unverifiable critical thought patterns to consistently permeate our minds is merely allowing for the inflation of our own narcissistic ego and perpetrating the negative in the world mind. By "world mind" I am pointing to that source of energy that is at the source of all life, that inexplicable energy field that contains within it all knowledge and to that which all humans have access. Consciousness is not exclusively our own from one human to another. Like truth, there is only one consciousness into which we are all tapped.
A spiritual pathway then, is simply a means to remove the barriers - the blinders, if you will - to seeing and BEING that we humans do, in fact, have access to that singular consciousness that holds within all knowledge and the source of all positive energy available to mankind in this protoplasmic existence.
So, if your goal, Shawn, is to dissuade others from studying with various teachers whom you regard as non-beneficial to spiritual growth, then how is that end served by bringing attention to them? Have you forgotten already? The child told not to do something is more apt to do what? Obey? Certainly not. The child will be driven mad with curiosity and desire to do the very thing he was told not to do until he learns his own lesson that putting his hand on a hot stove might not be the best course of action (my own lesson came in the form of not pulling from electrical wall sockets a prong left behind in one of the holes by a faulty extension cord...oi vey). And would we foolishly convince ourselves that this tendency has been "grown out of" by mere time spent on earth? Oh yes, of course, adults always avoid the "hot stoves" in life. Don't we? Ehem. I think not. Many think not and own the tendency. It's the access to something else. Let's all give it a try. Notice the "hot thoughts" we hold in mind and which seem to cause us to feel bad. Then remember that taking our hand off the stove as a child seemed pretty automatic. Then notice that we can, by merely choosing to do so, stop holding "hot thoughts" in our mind and thereby stop the pain and bad feelings caused by them.
Persevere in you work, Shawn, if enlightenment and that of others is your ultimate goal. As the enlightened master said to his newly arrived student after allowing his head to emerge from the water under which he had held his head for over two minutes...
"When you want enlightenment in the same way as you wanted that first breath after I let you go... it will come just as easily."
Open forums on these subjects can bring only good to the world. If your heart is pure, nothing but good can come from it. We're all on a path of some kind. And if that path is a spiritual one with enlightenment being the ultimate goal, then remember...
Always the student... never the master. And everyone... my Sensei.
My very best to you upon your journey.
Nathaniel
That alone demonstrates that this Shawn guy has no business posing as an expert on "Spiritual Teachers." 
