A Spiritual Teacher has NO-THING to Teach – Tony Cuckson

For a long time I have wondered if I should refer to myself as a spiritual teacher. The answer to this question I find is paradoxical.  The answer is both “Yes” and “No” at the same time.

One of my favourite spiritual teachers is Eckhart Tolle.  My favourite book by this modern spiritual teacher is Stillness Speaks. This modern-day spiritual classic begins.

A true spiritual teacher does not have anything to teach in the conventional sense of the word; doesn’t have anything to give or add to you such as new information, beliefs, or rules of conduct. 

The only function of a spiritual teacher is to help you remove that which separates you from the truth of who you already are and what you already KNOW in the depth of your BEING. – Eckhart Tolle – Stillness Speaks.

Another spiritual teacher who I love is the master teacher Jesus speaking from the experience of the Christ within who he KNOWS in the depth of his BEING.

If I speak of myself (personality of Jesus of Nazareth) I speak of a lie.

Notice in the quote above by Eckhart Tolle the phrase “true spiritual teacher.”

“I AM” is the WAY the Truth and the Life – Tony Cuckson

There is a difference between the true spiritual teacher and the teacher of religion. In my experience the potential spiritual teacher comes to the realization that they KNOW nothing.

They come to the point where they KNOW that they can’t teach the way of the Spirit which is the direct experience of “I AM.” This is the experience of the unity of the personal “I am” (who you think you are) with the universal “I AM” (who a spiritual teacher KNOWS you to BE).

Such was the realisation of all great spiritual teachers such as Buddha and Mohammad.

Each of these teachers wondered how they could ever impart the KNOWING they have been graced to receive.

The best that any true spiritual teacher can do is to be a way pointer.

However, they cannot be a way pointer if they have not been authorised by GRACE to be such a way pointer. Grace gives you the direct KNOWING of that experience referred to by the word “God,” “Spirit,” or the “Divine.”

If you have not had at least one direct encounter with the ground of BEING, (God) then in the opinion of this writer you are not authorised to be a spiritual teacher.

You have nothing to teach other than words about an experience you have not had.

One thing I can guarantee is that a true spiritual teacher will not be searching on the internet for the phrase “How to become a spiritual teacher?”

More than this they will absolutely not be searching for the term “How to make money as a spiritual teacher.”

The teacher of religion will teach concepts and dogmas from their accepted religious standpoint.  They may or may not have been appointed a spiritual teacher by way of revelation.

In my experience all too few have ever been so appointed.

The true spiritual teacher may or may not follow a religious tradition.  They may use the language of that tradition, but the language is a way pointer and does not by itself bring the experience of revelation.

A spiritual teacher is certified to teach only by way of Grace – Tony Cuckson

The first thing in learning to be a spiritual teacher (which is a paradox) is to understand that you cannot learn “How to be a spiritual teacher.”

You can learn to be a teacher of religion but that is a very different journey.

Learning to be a teacher of religion is not such a difficult journey. It doesn’t require that much courage and you can do so without any real need for radical change of life direction.

It’s different with the individual who has a longing to live in God. In Christian terms this is the invitation to “Abide in Me.”

In order to be a spiritual teacher you have to die.  How popular is that invitation?

This doesn’t mean the death of the body. It means dying to the core idea of who you are as a separate personality.  Most of who you think you are is a combination of other people’s knowledge. It is your story as a separate sense of self.

The creation of the personality is a necessary step in this dimension of time and space. It is the experience of the separate sense of self called “I am.”

The spiritual teacher invites the KNOWING of the experience of “I AM.” This is the KNOWING of what the Christian mystic Thomas Merton referred to as “The True SELF.”

To be open to the possibility of learning how to be a spiritual teacher you have to be willing to come to the point where you accept that you KNOW nothing.

This doesn’t mean you give up all knowledge.  You will still know how to drive a car, cook a meal, get to a given destination, go about your everyday work.

What you will come to realise is that you do not KNOW what it is to live in God or to be still and KNOW God.

This is the difference between religion and spirituality.

The religious teacher whatever their tradition is happy to teach you to believe in what you do not KNOW and what they do not KNOW.

The spiritual teacher KNOWS that you do not KNOW but KNOWS that they cannot give you the experience of KNOWING.

However, a true spiritual teacher has one focus. This is to point the way o the experience of KNOWING the Divine within yourself.

Be still and KNOW that I AM God – Psalm 46:10

A true spiritual teacher is really a NO-BODY.  They have nothing to teach you, but they KNOW the treasure that is available to you.

The true spiritual teacher is a PRESENCE. They are not out to convert you to some belief system.

They allow the perfume of the Divine to emanate through them.  They KNOW the real Law of Attraction. The real attraction is the KNOWING of the truth of who you are.

A Spiritual Teacher learns to trust in the flow of Money – Tony Cuckson

The way to make money as a spiritual teacher is to relinquish the desire to make money as a spiritual teacher.

The very focus on the idea of how to make money as a spiritual teacher is already a giveaway that you are not ready to be a spiritual teacher.

This does not mean that a spiritual teacher doesn’t make money but that is the least of their focus. The spiritual teacher points the way to the ultimate experience of fulfilment.

This has little to do with making money and everything to do with becoming available to the outpouring of Divine Intention as it is intended to be expressed through you.

Money is a resource.  I love this resource. I allows me to facilitate many ways of sharing the fulfilment I already feel.  However, money is only a symbol of exchange. It is an exchange of energy.

This is a finite energy.  The spiritual teacher is attuned to and abides within the energy of the Infinite.

The infinite energy of the Source is the energy of Love.

The spiritual teacher points toward KNOWING from the heart rather than knowledge from the intellect – Tony Cuckson

Becoming a spiritual teacher is a process of unfoldment. It is moving from the idea that you think you know what to teach to the transitional stage of realising you do not know.

You start the journey of becoming a spiritual teacher when you are empty of concepts, ideas, and desires. To be empty of desire does not mean you have no focus. Your primary desire is to flow from the Will to Love.

This is the stage of the spiritual journey referred to in Buddhism as emptiness.  It is the prelude to the experience of fulfilment.  In Irish mythology this is referred to as The Cauldron of Plenty. In Christianity this is called kenosis or self-emptying.

This is not something you do.  It is the willingness to surrender to non-doing. In the Lord’s Prayer this is invited by way of the phrase “Thy will be done.”

This is also the meaning of the strange spiritual wisdom that states, “So the last shall be first and the first shall be last – Matthew 20:16”

Becoming a spiritual teacher is a journey of humility and authentic faith.  It begins with a dawning of the Light.

A spiritual teacher teaches trust in the KNOWING of the Heart – Tony Cuckson

What the spiritual teacher teaches can be summed up in one word.  They teach you “trust.” They teach you to trust in the magnificence of the KNOWING that is within you.

They teach you to let go and let God. They don’t tell you what to believe or what you should do. They invite you to explore the possibility inherent within you. They do not tie you to a dogma or set of rules. They certainly do not invite you to feel guilty in any way.

The spiritual teacher uses words, but their words are no more than signposts.

They do not invite you to cling to the signposts (scripture and dogma) and avoid the journey.  Such is the teaching of most religious teachers who themselves are clingers of signposts and who have not taken the journey.

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in – Matthew 23:13

For a heart to be perfectly ready it has to be perfectly empty. — Meister Eckhart – Christian Mystic – 1260 – 1328

It intrigues me that someone would search for the term, “How to become a spiritual teacher?” Maybe this is from a genuine wish to help people.

Whoever writes a reply to this question should do so with a warning.

If you are not prepared to make this the most important journey of your life then go and teach something else. This is the most important journey anyone can ever invite.

In summary the “how to become a spiritual teacher” quest involves the following:-

• The willingness to give up the idea you think you KNOW anything.
• The willingness not to seek for students to teach.
• The willingness to be still and to be KNOWN through.
• The willingness to give no thought for what you will achieve or receive.
• The willingness to be a channel for the Will to Love.
• The willingness to go unrecognised and continue.
• The willingness to do it all for the Love of the teaching.

Recognise which of the above touches a nerve.  Do any of the above listing excite you.  Pay special attention to those invitations that excite you.  Also pay attention to those that touch a nerve.

For those who search for the term “How to make money as a spiritual teacher?” I suggest that there are thousands of ways to make more money. A spiritual teacher doesn’t make money.  Money arrives as a gift if that is what is needed.

I have more money now as a spiritual teacher than I did when I was an accountant.  I don’t know how that is.  I only know that it is.

Being a spiritual teacher in this world of time and space is about being a Presence that attracts others to want to KNOW who and why they are.  It isn’t about belonging to a religion although you can belong to a religion.

A spiritual teacher is a NO BODY special.

They are in love with being available to the Presence of the Divine that teaches through them. They are not a preacher.  They are not out to convert you to a belief system or to their way of thinking but to invite you to BE the revelation you are here to shine into the world.

Such is the beauty of learning how to become a spiritual teacher.