Teacher Role and Western Programs

My dad always wanted me to be a Teacher. Being rebellious, I choose not to go into higher education until much later in life. I became a teacher alright, an art teacher... then a teacher of the Medicine Wheel! My dad was on to something, he just didn't know what kind of teacher I was to become. 

When I started on this path, I was already 39 years old with lots of life experience behind me. I began teaching the Medicine Wheel almost immediately after my initiation with the Wolf Clan tribe. Grandmother Twylah Nitsch always said that Wolf was Teacher.

I didn't know how I knew the things I knew about the wheel or how to go about teaching. I didn't question it, I just did it. After awhile though, I did question my right to teach. I hadn't been brought up by Traditional Medicine People, I didn't have anyone to consult with about anything. So who could I ask?
 

Well, I asked Spirit. 

Then I got a dream, a memory of a past life where I was Native. I saw the whole story, my entire life, marriage and death and even after death. It was incredible and confirmed that I was indeed on my path. I continued hosting Circles and they helped a lot of people find beauty, power and healing. 

Over the years I was the target a few times from both Natives and Whites. Being Metis and looking white can cause all kinds of judgments in people, especially when you do what I do. I learned at an early age to not care what people thought, to listen to my own heart and to my Spirit guidance. I've had gossip and persecution from all sides, even threats and attempted curses put on me. Some of these hurt and some threw me off my path for a short time. But, hey, if it's yours, it will come back to you, right?

Its been 20 years now that I walked the red road as teacher, pathfinder and healer. And it seems that things never change. The persecution, the expectations, the western programs still occur from both red and white people. It seems that the abuse of authority in our society has caused many to mistrust anyone who is teacher. And that some people judge you by the color of your skin, not by your heart and spirit.

Also. I find that almost everyone expects a Spiritual Teacher to be some kind of angelic saint with wings and no human shortcomings. They would put me on a pedestal and then hate me when I fell off of it, into my own programs and issues. Once I picked myself up, I would find that I lost their respect because I was human. 

In our culture, we do not judge our humanness, weaknesses or ego. We see everything as being balanced or imbalanced, and do the work we need to do to find balance. It is when we are in denial or resistance to looking at ourselves that is the problem. That is when we need others to show us where we are.

We do not hold the image of someone's dysfunctions in our minds, we hold an image of them in their power, of us in our power, even as we stumble and fall or go off our path. We are not our issues! We are much greater than that, we are all powerful and divine creatures. We are human, animal, spirit and more..... If we continuously only see each others issues and not our medicine, we are missing a huge part of the picture.

It would be nice if we were all perfect, if we lived in a world where there was no issues, no ego, no judgments or persecution. I say, "Just take the message, don't judge the messenger".  We often overlook the message being given because we see only the person in their issues. We deprive ourselves of a great gift when we do this. 

Yes Dad, you were right, I am a Teacher, I have lots of knowledge and wisdom given to me through life experiences. But I don't teach what you can learn in books or in schools. What I teach comes from Spirit, Nature, the Ancestors and the Medicine Wheel. I teach Sacred Ways.

Sometimes, the way I teach can trigger people's issues, sometimes I am harsh, I am an Initiator, I have my own issues and I can be impatient with people. I also had to let go of western programs of what a teacher and how it is different from the Shamanic perspective. I now use my own lessons and imperfections and stories to teach. I use myself as an example of imperfection and how to use the Medicine Wheel as a guide towards perfection.

What I teach something incredible that can change people's lives for the better, that can help to heal the Earth, that can bring healing on so many levels, something that can connect us to the Stars and our Ancestors, to bring healing to past and future generations. It can bring people together, it can help to bring up healthy children, help to grow good crops, to make it rain so the crops can grow. It brings consciousness and connectedness with all life everywhere.  The teachings I bring are infinite and yet practical at the same time.

How much more can anyone ask?