Being Your Own Guru

 

Is it possible to be your own guru?  We think it is

Fortunately for us, we have had the occasion recently to speak with many college age men and women.  In our conversations we’ve noted a recurring theme. The young people we have spoken with have a strong desire to live a life exemplifying good values and they have a desire for wisdom.  Several students have commented that they wish they had access to a “guru.”  To them the word guru implies a spiritual leader, one who imparts wisdom and understanding about life and life lessons.

In the absence of gurus we were wondering—-is it possible to be your own guru?  Sandra and I think it is very possible and we want, today, to suggest a step in that direction.

First and foremost, if we are to become gurus we need to learn to respect our inner voice and our inner wisdom.  Perhaps that marvelous invention the internet can interfere with this process.  Certainly, the internet has offered us many wonders but sometimes I think having access to global information can be harmful to self confidence. After all, don’t we all want to know everything and although we know “everything” is within our grasp we also know that we cannot possibly know it all.  How does one find the time to access such a plethora of information and if you do have more than twenty-four hours in your day how do you retain all this information?  The end result is that most of us believe we should know more than we do know. Gurus need self confidence and we need to begin by accepting our limitations and overcoming any anxiety about “holes” in our knowledge base. After all, information is good—but it is not the same as wisdom.

A second problem which interferes with our “guru-ness” has to do with the fact that we are rational beings.  As rational beings we also often make the mistake of rationalizing how we feel about pretty much everything.  We tend to put constructs around our emotions.  We think way too much about our feelings and in so doing we suppress them.  Suppressed emotions can and will cause physiological havoc and will interfere with our ability to develop wisdom.

Emotions are guides……every emotion, every feeling is telling us something.  If we listen to our feelings and allow ourselves to feel them fully we will learn from them.  Letting our feelings be our guides is very different from rationalizing and putting a framework around them.  Using feelings as guides is liberating and if we move slowly with this process we will begin to hear the message behind the emotion.

Becoming your own guru begins with listening to yourself.  Listen to your heart as that is the source of your inner wisdom.  Not putting mental constraints on your emotional life is an excellent way to begin becoming your own guru—-wisdom is within and it will show itself if we allow it to blossom.

Have a great week everyone.

 

 

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