Not the real Sister Dorothy but close!
Do you know Sister Dorothy? If you’re a Catholic grade school survivor, I bet you had a teacher just like her. The one who keeps the whole class after school because no one passed the math test. The one who smacked your hand with a ruler when you didn’t get your piano scales right. (Oh? Was that just me? Never mind.) Snippy, foreboding and just plain nasty, Sr. Dorothy was not high on my list of motivational teachers.
Which is why I found myself rather surprised that I resonate so strongly with the work of Caroline Myss. Well known in the field of energy medicine (she learned early on that she was a medical intuitive – able to detect illness in someone’s energy field), Dr. Myss has moved even more strongly into the spiritual arena in the past ten years with her books Sacred Contracts and Entering the Castle. All her books are well-researched and she’s somehow capable of bringing really big concepts down into understandable language.
She also does not suffer (spiritual) fools gladly. Placing blame on your parents, your friend who was mean to you once or anywhere else but sqarely on yourself will earn you a sharp rebuke from her. Sharp enough to intimidate and put off some of those who have listened to her audio books, even. Not me, though. I revel in her tone of voice, sharp and pointy though it can be.
Perhaps it has to do with my interest in the subject. Even if I had an amazing algebra teacher, I wouldn’t have cared to learn more. But on the topic of spiritual growth – I thirst to learn and to do and to be the very best I can in this lifetime. I don’t fear that growth, regardless of where it takes me, and so I think someone urging me to really look at the things I don’t want to see feels good to me in some weird way. Maybe it’s the way a good coach urges you to push through the pain to get to your potential. They can see the potential that you cannot. And so they call it forth from you.
Unlike the lovely and talented Sister Dorothy, Carolyn Myss calls forth that potential from me. But that’s probably because I was ready to bring that part of me out into the sunlight and look at it. I’ve spent years only looking at certain patterns in my life and running from the others. I did not want to take responsibilty for my choices and their (often unintended) consequences. And I deluded myself into thinking that much of what Myss said didn’t apply to me. I’m not an addict or someone whose life is running off the rails, after all. A comfortable life isn’t ripe for introspection. It’s when it all falls apart that we are forced to say “What the hell is going on and how can I fix this?”. At those times, a stern teacher may be just what helps you through the muck.
It’s my greatest wish to work with Dr. Myss in person someday. In fact, there’s a week long workshop in October and again in February 2011 that features up close and personal time with her. It has my name (if not my checkbook – OY!) written on it. Am I ready to stand in the light of her sharp tone and no-nonsense gaze? Am I doing all I can to look at my own life and make the needed changes? I’m definitely more prepared to do that now more than ever.
(You can see Dr. Myss in action here on her video page: http://www.myss.com/CMED/workshops/master_class1010/ – lots of good, free videos to watch and learn from. And she’s not quite as stern in them!)
What about you? Tell me about the stern teacher in your life.
(Special love and thanks to my fairy godmother, Jody, for her encouragement and guidance on this post. I wish you could all have a cheerleader like her because she rocks in a million ways!)
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9 Responses to Do you learn from stern?
The Groovy Chick behind Practically Intuitive
My gift is clairaudience, which means I am able to “hear” your Guides and Teachers speak to me as if they are dictating a message for you to read.
I’m here to help you connect with them, see the signs, and make the practical changes your biggest and best life requires. I use my strong intuitive skills to assist you in making those changes down here in the physical. More about me
I am just finishing Geneen Roth’s book Women, Food and God and she is very stern about what is truly loving and what is a lie. I don’t think I would have made such progress in my healing without her stern approach, but I am happy that it was written in a book with humor too!
My piano teacher and first grade teacher loved that ruler to the knuckles too…see you are not alone.
I have completed a small workshop with Carolyn Myss after a huge lecture series for my 40th birthday…she was not so stern in person in the good old days…but I think we have to be stern about excuses, blame and lying to ourselves if we truly want to make a change.
Good post
Hi Patricia … I think we do have to be stern with ourselves if we want to move forward in our life. Or at least be willing to look for opportunities to change things up a bit without fear. I’ve seen Caroline Myss in person too and she wasn’t overly stern but she definitely was a take-no-guff kind of woman. I rather like that about her!
Thanks for stopping by!
My spirit guide, Ali, is stern. Oh yeah. I think, although I can’t be sure of this, that he’s played a lot of “devil’s advocate” with me, which isn’t something one usually imagines in a spirit guide. I kept being told, over and over again, by EVERYONE, that a spirit guide is always honest and kind.
Not my darling Ali. He was tough. Now, as we’ve weathered more than seven years together, I find myself beautifully in sync with him, and I even, well, FLIRT with him. He’s my teacher, my stern teacher, and I am grateful to him beyond words. Thank you, Ali.
(And thank you for your kind — not stern — words, Lisa! I keep telling Ali that I really do like to be treated gently. He’s laughing at me as I write this.)
Dear Fairy Godmother,
I am most grateful to you and Ali for your not-stern-and-really-very-loving words!
My Guides are like buddies to me but they don’t hesitate to tell me something I may not want to hear. Good thing I listen! We all get what we need – it just takes us a while sometimes to know we need it!
(Hugs to you!)
Lisa,
Your post is very timely for me, as I have recently been reflecting on how fear induced in me shuts down my capacity for intellectual reasoning and learning. This is one of the reasons I shut down in law school – the “dialectic” method of randomly calling on someone and humiliating them in front of the class if they didn’t know something really made my learning so much more difficult.
I prefer to equate the word “stern” with “accountable” instead. For me, this is because all of my best teachers (especially mostly all my music teachers who I loved to death) did not let me get off easily if I didn’t put in the work or practice. They forced me to be accountable, and that in turn facilitated my growth musically.
I think you are acting as an excellent “stern” teacher when you tell people you read for that there is no point in them coming back unless they have acted on the info you gave them the last time. This keeps your clients accountable, and keeps their growth going.
Good for you! Good post!
Kara
Kara, yes … accountable is exactly the word that fits! And I do much better with that kind of teacher than one who is inclined to coddle me. (Although there are days when I enjoy a good coddle! hehe)
Thank you for the comment and the kudos!
How funny…I did not learn one bit from the stern/strict/no smiles allowed nuns at school…but I *love* Caroline Myss…I imagine she does smile:) How ultra cool that you will be attending her seminar..I know your checkbook will catch up with your name!!!
In my life, it depends upon the circumstance..I’m heart centered so all of my mentors and guides are heart centered as well–it’s where I connect best and can listen well…However, when I truly need to learn, when I know the Answer and am looking for another easier one…stern comes my way..and it’s necessary in those circumstances so that I realize how important my attention and actions are…
As I write, I realize I do this with my children..we are laughter, fun and games the majority of the time; yet when it comes to safety I am most stern and practical..as in listen to me and listen to me well…I think that mirrors how the Universe guides *me*
Hi Joy,
Isn’t it funny how the Universe always provides what we need (whether we think it’s what we need or not!). That old saying “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” is particularly apt. There are days when I need someone to just help push me through a rough period and if being “stern” (or as Kara pointed out, someone who holds me accountable) is what it takes, then I’m ready.
Thanks for stopping by – always nice to see you here.
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