I just posted a new article on LinkedIn. It begins:
“For a couple of years, I taught college chemistry and absolutely loved it. Many people, including myself, love to teach. We enjoy sharing knowledge and watching the ‘lights go on’ inside other people when they come to those new understandings we’ve conveyed. However, for the past twenty years, my motivation for teaching includes, but has gone beyond, the more traditional motivations”…
Read more:
“Why I Teach: Reflections on Awakening Others to the Wisdom Within”
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
Why so cynical toward other teachers and practices?
Hi Rita,
Your question is very good and very important.
Is it cynical for a math teacher, for example, to correct errors a student or colleague might make? Yet if the intent were to mock, that would be improper. But my intent lies in my dedication to spiritual understanding. The world of spirituality today certainly can use a lot of clarification, correction, refinement, and purification.
So many long for spiritual understand. They long for a path that actually works in the deepest sense. To not speak up when teachings are in error would be to turn our back on those sincere spiritual aspirants. That could not be right. To separate the wheat from the chaff is not cynical. It is deeply heart felt and well intended.
Thanks again, Rita, for the excellent question.