"True teachers use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own". -- Nikos Kazantzakis

I have had many spiritual teachers for spiritual guidance in my life. They were many and varied in what they had to offer. I have gained insight from the sonnets of Lao-tsu and passion from the writings of Nietzsche. I’ve had inspiring Professors who aroused my interest in various subjects and others who were close minded and were bent on having their students conform to a system, method or belief. I’ve learned from my adversaries as well as my friends. I’ve learned most from tragedy and the experience of life. The teachers of spiritual life can be found in books, in friends and family, in joy and pain, in all aspects of your life. There is a famous saying, " when the pupil is ready the teacher will come". Most of us take this to mean that only on special occasions will lessons be given to you. This is far from the truth. Life is the teacher and is instructing us at every moment. It is our inability to see this that prevents us from learning its lessons. The teachers are always present; it is we, the pupils that fail to realize that class is in session.

As stated in the quotation from Nikos Kazantzakis, true teachers are facilitators that help the student on their own personal journey. Once they have outlived their usefulness the student must move on in order for new teachers to present themselves. The Buddha said that a man drowning in a river is saved by a raft. When he reaches the other shore, he leaves the raft behind. It is of no use to drag a heavy raft around on dry land. Thus it is with all teachers, philosophies and programs. They are not ends in themselves but rather guideposts and signs to help point the way. Listen and learn from the message and leave the messenger behind. True teachers will always encourage you to do this.

Spiritual Guides are similar to teachers; in fact you can often use these terms interchangeably in spiritual guidance. A teacher is usually someone who is knowledgeable on spiritual matters, religion and philosophy. They can also be a guide. A guide is a person who has made his own path in the forest and is living out the experience that the teacher only has knowledge of. One watches the game on TV and is familiar with it; the other is actually playing on the field. Both are necessary vehicles to aid the spiritual seeker in recovery.

Gurus on the other hand are different than a teacher or guide. An enlightened spiritual teacher will expose students to a multitude of ideas and beliefs and encourage them to choose their own philosophy. A spiritual guide, in a similar manner will try to have you visualize his playing field or path and encourage you to find your own unique spiritual journey. This is not the case with the guru. He or she has found their enlightenment on a certain path and expect you to follow in their footsteps. The spiritual journey is unique to each individual and if the path is already made your off track. Spiritual growth is smothered, hemmed in with a ceiling. Spiritual growth allowed to flourish will have no limits.

~ Just when I seem to grasp a small morsel of truth, a thousand new vistas appear to me, exciting me, yet confronting me with the realization that I know less than the day before. ~

As I stated previously, spiritual guides and teachers should be useful tools that the recovering person utilizes to forge their own spiritual masterpiece. The teacher or guide must find a technique that opens the heart as well as the mind to the spiritual experience. Through the mind you can create interest and anticipation. But it is only through the heart that the spiritual experience can be known. I have worked with many patients who already had a belief system or religion worked out in their mind, but their heart lacked enthusiasm. These people should be encouraged to continue in their tradition if they so desire and it is up to the guide to help them find that passion once again. I try to show others, not my way, but my passion, and instill that passion in their way.

I had a Christian and a Buddhist in treatment at the same time. Both of them practiced their religion faithfully. Yet, both of them admitted they lacked passion in their tradition and their lives. I exposed both of them to the others religion. I acted as a teacher and taught them the basics of the other religion and acted as a guide and helped them experience the passion of both traditions. When they were through with treatment they not only had a profound respect for the other religion, they also shared that they found deeper meaning and passion for their own tradition via the other tradition. They also focused on the similarities of the traditions and not their differences.

As I’ve stated in other papers, it doesn’t matter if we have or don’t have a specific religion or tradition. What does matter is that we remain open to new ideas and new opportunities for spiritual growth and regain a passion for the life experience. You can measure a person’s spiritual growth by their tolerance or intolerance to beliefs of others. A person with limited spirituality guards their beliefs for fear of losing what they have. A more enlightened spirituality is ever changing and open to new ideas. It can be compared to someone who has a small tree and puts a fence around it to keep it safe. They fear that if anyone gets too close they will harm their tree. One who is more secure in their spiritual growth is like a person with a large oak tree. They have no fear of others bumping into their tree or attacking it.

Spiritual recovery is about becoming. It is about recovering that sacred flame that has been covered with drug addiction, sex addiction, work addiction, religious addiction, and attachments of all kinds. It is not about becoming someone better or different from whom we are. That is a form of aggression against oneself. It is about loving ourselves once again. It is maitri, loving kindness toward ourselves. It is about finding passion once again for the life experience, an attitude of amor fati, love of your fate as Nietzsche wrote about. It is about the heroic individualism of the spiritual journey and the peaceful warriors we all can become.

As already outlined on our Psychic Scams Page, you will probably meet tons of charlatans before finding your right psychic. But this doesn't mean that you will have to be the victim every time someone tries to scam you. You do have rights, which every psychic should respect. If you feel that it is not the case, just RUN AWAY!

Something else to always remember ... A good teacher really does keep pointing the way upward and forward, and really does let the student grow without confining him in a cage. A bad teacher wants a power trip from his followers ... a good teacher wants the student to be free, able to stand on his own feet, strong enough to be able to reach out and help others, and wise enough to continue the course upward and forward to God, even without help from the teacher ;)

As a note, I have personally heard a good number of the quotes below (or something very similar), directed at me. Oh ... and these criteria apply to both people in a body ( readers) and those who are not (spiritual guides) - anyone who is supposedly speaking for or from God or the Light, or who claims or seems to be from Heaven or a higher plane. (You will notice a lot of friends and family may routinely fail these criteria, but most of them probably don't claim to be Inspired at the time.)
 

Patience.

No threats. Period. "Do this or you're choosing Darkness!" is a threat. So is, "This is your last chance to meet God!"

No bribes. No offers of fame, excitement, love, guidance. None of these offers of power, psychic power, influence, superhuman ability!

No flattery. None of the "You're special" treatment. "You're different from the others..."
"Your destiny is different" "You are from Arcturus and hence special"... none of that. Nothing that raises you higher than others, either.

No patronizing; no condescension. "You're doing pretty well ... for a human," for
example, is condescending. No condescension toward other people, either. Mockery is Right Out. Anyone who laughs at you or your failures mockingly is probably not helping.

No objections to being cut off or ignored. A caring spirit will not mind it when, in trying to tune out bad spirits, you wind up tuning out some good ones as well. Warnings that you're tuning out too many good ones are actually lies -- this I know from experience!

No attempt to prolong communication. Good spirits are typically very businesslike: they give a simple message, remind people to turn to God or a specific solution/reminder, and then they leave. The get to the point and it's done. Entities that like to linger and talk on and on, as if they like "hearing the sound of their own voice"(!) are rarely of God. (Note: many channeled books seem to be the latter.)

No micromanagement of your life. No attempts to live your life for you, either.

No attempts to separate you from the rest of society. Jesus, after all, continued to speak with his family and serve in his community.

No attempts to separate you from the rest of the world via new and cool-sounding terminology, or even old Capitalized Special Terminology. Oh, sure, the spiritual world must necessarily involve some new or unusual vocabulary/lingo. But when the techno babble gets really thick, watch out! That stuff is an appeal to elitist pride.

No usage of cryptic and "wise" or "profound" comments designed to impress you with his/her "higher knowledge" -- you should be able to freely ask for and receive clarification, and to see whether she/he really tries to live those words. If the words sound like they came straight out of a book ... and all your questions are answered that way ... are you talking to a "parrot" or a person? (No offence to real parrots, whom I respect a great deal.)

No attempts at coercion. "Sometimes we must force them to understand" is a coercive statement, even if it's well-intentioned ("Sometimes we must force them to understand that racism is evil").

No lying. Also, anyone who says that something will definitely happen is likely lying,
since free will means that the future can be changed, to some extent. But predictions
that are true are not necessarily proof of anything, either.

No badmouthing of others. Statements like, "So-and-so is blinded by his religion" can be dangerous --- it may be that so-and-so is actually right, and that the spirit you're
talking to is lying.

No attempt to blame other people for your current problems. "You were psychologically abused by so-and-so" with the implication you should now accuse them of their crime and blame them for your problems.

No over-dredging of minor childhood traumas, molehills blown up into mountains. "That incident when you were 3 is when this part of your soul split off, in shock and disappointment."

No attempt to impress you with names or relationships. "I was Jesus' aunt" or "I am Archangel Gabriel!" are included in this.

No attempt to impress you with who/what they are. "Archangel So-and-So" "Special commander of the seventh battalion of the Altaire fleet" is included. In spirit, it is NOT the origin, race, age, status, planet of origin, gender, etc., that is important; all that
matters is: Does the entity/reader serve God and love others, and promote the love of God and others?

No attempt to extol anyone except God (or maybe Jesus). Talk of "ascended masters" or "spirit guides" or other spirit teachers might sound great on the surface ... but what happened to God? Is the advice given that of "rely on God, speak to God, pray to God," or is it "rely on X, speak to X, pray to X" where X is not God? Beware the latter; it sounds like someone is trying to create a dependency that shouldn't exist.

No expectation of trust. "I'm insulted that you don't trust me," "Why can't you trust
me? Relax" and such things are dangerous. Good guys want to earn your trust, not
demand it.

No demand for performance. "You must do such-and-such," "Practice the piano more often," "Learn that foreign language you've been putting off," "Eat more fiber, exercise, floss your teeth, stay away from pollution, meditate 30 minutes daily, have more sex," and other such recommendations for intense, self-centered schedules are a bad indicator. It's especially so if the messages involve worldly concerns, even if justified (such as "earn more money so you can help more people").

No self-inflation. Images of the spirit sitting on a throne, or words about how advanced or wise the spirit is (especially when compared to "lesser spirits" or to you), are signs that the spirit has an inflated ego. "I am a spirit of the sixth plane/sphere" should not impress you. Neither should, "I am from Arcturus."

No badmouthing of those closest to God, or of God. "The Light is static, unchanging (i.e., boring and stupid)" or "The highest angels are bound by countless (bureaucratic) laws and regulations" are all subtle messages designed to turn you away from the Light. Don't believe them. Don't follow those unstated implications; look instead to the motivation behind what's being said.

No implication that reincarnation is the best thing or the right solution to peoples' problems. The most advanced teachers in human history taught that we should escape the reincarnation cycle, not that we should use it to cure ourselves of our karmic debts. Jesus, for instance, forgave people their sins --- which implies that God can help us overcome our karmic debts not through reincarnation, but through forgiveness and caring.

No advice or encouragement for you to rely on your "Higher Self." In many people's experience, the "Higher Self" is the most arrogant and obnoxious sub-personality of the person, or sometimes it's a complete fake --- a liar pretending to be someone's "Higher Self." Higher Selves, as such, may be less wise than you (if they exist), and are certainly less wise than God.

No implication or encouragement for you to totally rely on other spirits (aside from God) for guidance or growth. We must learn to stand on our own. This does not mean we don't need some guidance; however, it's up to us to show initiative.

No emphasis on bureaucracy, on "the process," or on hierarchies of spirits or planes. Rigid step-by-step ladders of ascension speak more of dogma than caring or truth. If you have to pay money to progress, be doubly wary!!

No anger, irritation, vindictiveness or other such things that are a subtle form of attack against others, even your enemies.

No implications that feelings of intense power, love, joy, peace, light, and so on are
proof of truth or of God's presence. The number of years you have known the reader/spirit is not a good indicator of trustworthiness! Liar entities can hang around for a lot longer than a single human lifespan or even three or more.

Respect for your free will and of others'. Stepping into your body and mucking around without your permission is often a bad sign.

Warnings of the possibility of deception. Any reader/spirit that advocates channeling, without warning about liars, is likely either unwise (foolish!) or is hiding something.
 

Your spiritual guidance consultation is private and confidential.

You are entitled to the full attention of your spiritual guidance consultant.

You are entitled to ask questions during the consultation to gain further clarification.

You are entitled to full and complete answers to the questions covered in your consultation.

Your Spiritual Guidance consultation is a complete service in itself; you are not required to purchase anything else.

You are entitled to know what your consultation will cost you beforehand.

Spiritual Guidance consultants are not qualified to give medical advice unless they are physicians.

Spiritual Guidance Consultants consultants are not qualified to give financial advice unless they are qualified financial advisors.

Spiritual Guidance consultants are not qualified to give legal advice unless they are attorneys.

This said, it should not be forgotten that clients, the same way as their spiritual guides, also have duties. As psychic reader, I have come across many unethical and unbalanced clients.

Therefore, We ask you kindly to remember the following:

You and only you make your own decisions. You are completely free to make your own choices.

You and only you are responsible for your own behavior.

Your psychic's job is not to tell you what you want to hear, but to tell you whatever information they receive for you. If this poses any problem, then it means that you are not ready to get a reading.

My goal is to enlighten, and empower others through awareness, understanding and education. In partnership with Divine Guidance, I strive to be The Pathway that spans the gap between Belief and Knowing. My mission is to be a celebration of healing for body, mind and spirit. My purpose is putting you in touch with yours.

If you would like spiritual guidance along your personal path, call me any time. I would be honored to be of assistance on your journey.