“ ‘What is a teacher?’  I’ll tell you: it isn’t someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.”

Nabil Alaihi to Athena in The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho, 2007

When I first went to University, one of my flatmates, Glenda, took a fancy to a guy on a stall at the Fresher’s Fair.  It was for something called “Nightline”.  She thought it was all about clubbing, and wanted to see him again, so she signed up and persuaded me to go with her that weekend to find out more.

So we did.

And it turned out that Nightline was basically like the Samaritans (a listening service for people needing someone to talk to), but for students.

So we ended up as volunteers.

A year later, following some amazing experiences as a volunteer, I wanted to get involved in the Committee for Nightline.  The Committee was a group of volunteers who took on certain responsibilities to help run the organisation eg fundraising, social activities, administration, training and so on.  I can’t remember the exact position I wanted to do now, but it would have been something social I think.  There were lots of different meetings on at the same time for people wanting to be involved in Committee work, depending on the positions they wanted.  I ended up in the "wrong" meeting - the one for those wanting to join the Training Team.  I was 19 years old, and too embarrassed and shy to speak up and say “erm…..I think I may be in the wrong meeting……”

2 weeks later, when I was facilitating a discussion as part of the training programme for 60 new volunteers, I was convinced that they could see the steam rising from the – quite frankly elephant amounts of – poo I was sure was piling up behind me.  But, despite my nerves, I held it together – and more importantly, I LOVED it.  I adored facilitating a safe space so others could develop and learn what they felt they needed to.

I ended up being a trainer with Nightline for 3 years – even when I moved universities.  The sessions I loved the most were those that really challenged people to look at their “stuff”; their emotions, their fears, their stereotypes, like when we considered suicide, HIV, drug and alcohol use, abuse or bereavement.  I was always in total awe of the individual and collective journeys we would go through – what we would learn, how we would all grow.

I went on to work as a trainer in different capacities, running management skills and soft skills training and my very favourite has always been training other trainers – empowering others to empower others.

I have since had the huge priviledge of being able to bring together my love of training and teaching in a spiritual context, and there are many aspects of it all that have really struck me.

I have been blessed to experience a wide range of learning opportunities, teaching styles and skills as part of my own spiritual journey.  One of the things that strikes me the most is how many teachers seek to empower their students to find their own Truth – and how many still feel it necessary to tell students “how it is”.  It feels to me that we are entering a newer time of celebrating our humanness as people and as teachers – making spirituality more accessible – whilst recognising that none of us knows it all, or indeed can tell others what their truth is.

I have come to several conclusions that, for me, underpin all of the work that I now do based on what I have learned along the way.

Firstly, I don’t know the answers. I only know my answers; the ones my life has taught me, the ones I have been willing to learn from.  I don’t believe that any teacher has the answers.  I do believe that all we can do, as teachers, is to hold a space for others to find their own way in whatever ways feel right for them.

Secondly, I am not an expert or indeed a guru.  I don’t consider myself to be a Master, even though as an Angelic Reiki Teacher that is how I am recognised by title. I don’t believe that any of us are “Masters” of anything other than ourselves.  I am an ordinary person who is able to share what I have learnt as a teacher and as a continuing student, and it feels like an honour and a priviledge to do so.

Thirdly, I am still learning about my spiritual journey, who I am, what I am here to do, how I can make a difference.  I am not “Buddha Enlightened”.  As a human being, I still have meltdowns, I get cross with The Universe when I Don’t Understand, I love watching South Park and comedy swearing makes me giggle.  I am, however, also committed to learning more about my own journey, including my shadow so I can come to a place of balance, unconditional love and compassion as quickly and easily as possible (and hopefully with some humour thrown in along the way……!).

One of the aspects of how we learn that fascinates me the most is that of how we do so energetically.  Carl Jung described the “the collective unconscious” – the part of the unconscious mind shared by humankind - almost 100 years ago.  The “100th monkey” theory stems from research into the learned behaviours of monkeys that showed that if a population was taught a new skill, only a small proportion had to learn it before it was automatically known and understood by the rest of monkeys – learning seems to occur through that collective unconscious.  Since then, our understanding of how we learn has evolved to include quantum physics theory.

Quantum physicists have been able to prove that we are all connected – and how a change in the behaviour of one photon (light particle) can lead to a change in the behaviour of another particle which is separated by a massive distance.  This theory, “entanglement theory”, could explain why spiritual teachers and leaders in different places of the Earth will bring through the same knowledge at the same time.

This has led me to being a bit sceptical that any of us who are teachers are ever bringing through something “new” or groundbreaking.  I have come across the exact same theories being presented by completely different teachers, who I guess have been tuned into that same wonderful amazing collective consciousness at the same time.

So I feel that all learning opportunities are actually recycled, but are all needed, as each can be a gateway for a student to learn more about what they need to know.  It does also make me question the validity – or appropriateness – of using copyright or even trademarking – especially for anything openly “channelled”!!!

I feel blessed to have been able to bring together my love of training – which developed just because my flatmate fancied a guy on a stall all those years ago, with all my experiences on my spiritual journey to create this.

My passion is facilitating the development of others, which has led me to develop a development programme for Spiritual Teachers and Leaders. It aims to be an empowering, professional, comprehensive, inspirational and fun programme for those who are new to it as well as those who are experienced.  On the introductory 5-day course, we cover everything from psychological and energetic learning theories, to stimulating the senses, structure v channelling, ethics, self-development, legislation, using equipment, teaching skills, dealing with challenging situations, grounding, protection and space clearing, working with colour and sound, the chakras and the aura, the role of a spiritual teacher, humility and much more.  We play with toys, play-doh, crystals, affirmation cards, games like charades with spiritual concepts and we dance along the way.

The “Inspirational Spiritual Trainer”

Every teacher has their own style of teaching, based on their experiences, their background, their spirit, soul and personality.  These are suggested attributes and principles in spiritual teaching that can help to inspire and empower students to get the most out of learning opportunities and stand in their own strength and Truth as quickly and powerfully as possible.

1.  Humility
An inspirational spiritual teacher is able to publicly recognise that they are still learning too; even when they are in a teaching, facilitating or leadership role. Your learners are partners in the learning journey, not your subordinates.  Being open to challenge, and understanding that your Truths may not be other people’s Truths is an important part of this.  Invite your learners to check what resonates with them so that learners are empowered to feel more confident about recognising what they already do know as their own Truth.  Respond to questions and challenges with love and acceptance – be conscious of your ego’s needs to “be right” to help you remain in a place of respectful love as much as possible.

2.  Facilitation
An inspirational spiritual teacher takes on a facilitative role as much as possible so that learners have the space to explore their own ideas and abilities. An inspirational spiritual teacher will not judge what is contributed.

3.  Leave personal issues outside the learning environment
An inspirational teacher is able to act as a model for others, “holding the space” for others to develop.  Any personal agendas, personal prejudices and personal problems need to be left outside of the learning environment.  Do share personal experiences that are relevant for you to share, however, if you still have an emotional reaction in any way about your experiences (even if you think you can contain it), learners will feel this.  This is likely to be perceived by your learners as you being in need of support, and they may want to give it to you.  If this happens, this takes the learners out of their role as learners, and alters the dynamic of the learning situation, and it is not their responsibility to support you. You may also be perceived as someone who is not balanced enough to be teaching at that moment, which can lead to a loss of trust.

4.  Commitment to own self-awareness and development
An inspirational spiritual teacher recognises that we all are continuing to grow and learn about ourselves and our journeys and are “works in progress”, including themselves, and is committed to learning as much as possible for the benefit of their own healing and growth.  This includes regular spiritual practice and knowing what your professional limitations are – including knowing when to refer.

5.  Spiritual hygiene
An inspirational spiritual teacher is aware of maintaining a balanced energetic space before, during and after workshops, and is committed to clearing space energetically, maintaining a safe and protected energetic space, and to ensuring that low frequency energies are transmuted into higher frequency energies.

6.  Equality of opportunity
An inspirational spiritual teacher ensures that everyone in the learning group has an equal opportunity to develop their skills, ideas, knowledge and attitudes.  This includes avoiding the use of jargon which can exclude some learners if they don’t know what you mean.  Even terms such as “grounding”, which are commonly used in a spiritual context may not be understood by all learners, so ensure that you make all of your learning opportunities accessible to all by not making assumptions.
 
7.  Confidentiality
An inspirational spiritual teacher respects the right of every learner to feel, say and think whatever they want to without this being discussed with others outside of the learning environment.

8.  Acting as a model
An inspirational spiritual teacher reflects the behaviour, attitudes and skills contained in the workshop (for example, being in a place of unconditional love when facilitating a workshop on unconditional love or having worked through issues around money or weight if facilitating workshops in these areas).

9.  Sense of humour
By being relaxed ourselves about our own journeys, we can allow others to be more relaxed about theirs.  The challenges we all face at times are made so much easier through humour – and in the humour is lightness, which can also help raise lower energy frequencies.

10.  There is no such thing as “perfect”!
Or maybe there is – accepting yourself as you are, whilst being conscious of your own journey and developmental needs.


© Dee Apolline 2009

Dee Apolline

Danica (Dee) is the creator of The Big Chi which supports the empowerment of others to live happier, healthier and more positive lives.  Dee has developed the Spiritual Teacher’s Development Programme – a fun, interactive and professional development programme for all spiritual teachers, facilitators, trainers and leaders. It brings together psychological and energetic learning theories including Accelerated Learning and NLP, and aims to enable teachers to confidently and humbly support the spiritual, emotional, physical and mental development of others from a place of unconditional love and compassion, and their truth. 

Dee brings together her many years as a trainer with her experiences as a spiritual teacher, therapist and healer, integrating approaches that include Angelic Reiki, Angel Healing, Aura-Soma, Starseeds, EFT, EmoTrance, TAPAS Acupressure Technique, Reflexology, Angel cards, mediumship, channelling, meditations, and work in mental health, the corporate, public and education sectors with love, compassion and humour to empower people to facilitate their own physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing and development.

Dee is currently working on a Handbook for Spiritual Teachers and developing guided meditations connecting with Starseeds and Angel Healing that will be available on her website as of the end of October 2009.

www.thebigchi.com