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| One thing I've always found interesting about the photo on the left is that the characters of don Juan and the Eagle are both inside the head of the apprentice. To me, this indicates that our greatest teachers and our greatest fears are reflection of the Self - the ability to create ourselves Whole, or the ability to destroy ourselves completely. "Look within," as the old saying goes. |
If one happens upon a teacher or benefactor with whom one can personally connect, then they might consider themselves truly fortunate. But I do not for a moment think an extant teacher is necessary, for the simple reason that the first knowledge had to come from somewhere.
Who was the first Zen master?
Who was the first Toltec benefactor?
Who is The One?
It is always and only the Self - connecting with the infinite through gnosis (silent knowing). I did not gain my experiences sitting at the feet of any guru, nor uploading the belief systems of any religion, nor analyzing my reflexive behaviors through the prodding of any human being. Human beings have agendas. There can be no exceptions, for that is the nature of being in human form. Psychiatrists have a vested interest in keeping their patients coming back, so they aren't going to offer a "cure" right away unless they themselves are truly evolved, and most simply aren't. The same is true for spiritual teachers, psychics and the like. Unless they are spiritually evolved themselves (and most aren't), they have a powerful interest in keeping the hook in the student, and so even if they have their finger on the pulse of All Knowledge, they aren't going to reveal it in a single setting because it isn't profitable to do so (nor is it possible). Even those who offer their services and advice for free are often feeding on the adulation and dependencies of their apprentices, so there is ALWAYS an agenda from ANYONE in human form.
Not all agendas are bad, but to think they don't exist is foolhardy. What matters is having sufficient AWARENESS to *see* this. This was addressed briefly in one of the CC books, when don Juan was talking about how everything we do is "self-centered" in one way or another. Even if we give money to a homeless guy with no strings attached, somewhere inside ourselves our agenda involves making ourselves "feel better" - not just about the homeless man, but most of all, about the self.
Each of us has to do the work of our own evolution, and it's always the self/double at the helm. A really good extant benefactor can point out our weaknesses and strengths, and maybe even provide advice or working with both, but all too often the student gets ensnared in the process to the point that the process can take the place of actual evolution. The double will not allow this to happen, because it isn't in his/her own best interest, and so it's like a constant "push" once we set our intent and begin opening to our own gnosis - which really is the only "guide" we ever need, because it is the direct interface between the Self and the Infinite.
Put simply, any warrior who has come far enough on the path to recognize the need for a benefactor is rather like Dorothy in Oz. The ruby slippers were right there all along, but Dorothy had externalized her salvation to "the wizard"... who... in the end... couldn't save her at all.
Click your heels together. Meet your double in the mirror. Take back your own power. Within that equation lies the single centimeter of chance that leads to Freedom.
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