Life Coaches and Gurus: Taking Control of Your Spiritual Development

"It is not important to have the answer. What is important is that you asked the question."

This morning I was sitting in my back yard half meditating, half daydreaming looking at this walnut tree in the neighbor's yard. The sunlight was filtering through the branches, and the ash-green leaves slumped down towards the ground. Broken limbs were hanging by pieces of themselves. I knew by the size of the trunk that it's older than all the trees around it. I have opened the shells that fall from it sometimes to see if they bear any fruit, but they never do. I have no answer for why the tree is dying. I just know that it is and there's nothing I can do about it.

I don't know why that story fits this piece yet, but as I write I'm sure we'll figure it out together. There are more spiritual self help life coach gurus today than there are people who can actually be helped by them. They add you to their mailing list, send you articles written by someone on their team signed by them about manifestation and chakras, and may even offer you a coupon for a course on reiki basics. They seem to have it all together, even when they say, "hey, I don't have it all together." Their pastels and Georgia fonts lack imagination. They lack the depth and character that comes with being real about the ugly parts of the life experience. Nobody can be helped by that ignorance. I find that the most honest inspiration comes from those who are broken but haven't stopped trying to put the pieces together. They are the ones who have lost everything and still smile every day. They don't hide their pain. They just know that even though there's nothing they can do about it, the sun is still shining through the broken limbs. Those are the true healers, because they are healing. I think I found it. Follow me here.

There is a world in deep decay that we live in right now, and everything seems to know it but the unobservant. And that's most of us. We are plugged in to a feeder that we can't seem to disconnect from, and it's literally killing us and everything we really need on Earth. Look out your window. If you have to get up to look outside the window, go to it and look right out there. Put the image in your mind of standing naked outside in this very moment. You have absolutely nothing- no home, no bank account, no television, no college degrees, no car, no job, no food, no access- just your current state of being. Vulnerable to the elements. Starting from that place, what's the first thing you want do? Who is the first person you think of? Can you transition yourself from that vulnerable, open state by your own efforts, or do you need to call your best friend to assist you? Imagine your best friend is right there with you, also naked and vulnerable. Will you work together to get what you both need? Imagine your worst enemy is there with you, naked and vulnerable. Does it cross your mind to assert power over another life to get what you need?

We are all out here naked and vulnerable, but most of us just don't know it yet. If we did, we would see the incredible opportunity available to us to rebuild and reconstruct based on the elements that influence not only ourselves, but everything around us. There is no harmony, no common or complementing frequency between humans, or humans and nature, humans and this earth that we live on, that will take us from a state of death and decay to a state of life and wellness of mind, body, and spirit. Even those of us with spiritual keys desire to use them to unlock a door of physical wealth, and while there's nothing wrong with wanting beauty and security in life, we don't move to shift the image of what those things look like.

Until we start to see ourselves as a part of everything around us, we will continue to be like that walnut tree- broken and bearing no fruit. I think today I'll call the arboretum to come take a look at that tree. Meanwhile, look inside yourself and connect to your core for your healing. That's the only guru you will ever need.