Teaching, A personnal experience of teaching Options

"When the pupil is ready a teacher appears", this quote has been said so many times that I can't even count
The point is that actually I'm at a point where many persons came to me asking me to be teached in magick
Well personnally I don't mind but why are all these guys so venal? I mean, there is nothing wrong with wanting to get powers
To converse with beings from other dimensions (from spirits to elementals) but It seems that they just do not understand that there is a little bit more behind the works. Am I somekind of a idealist thinking that the main aim for magicians is to search higher truths?
Is this stupid to think that magick is much more about expanding consciousness, that occult powers are onely a side effect that sould not distract from our personnal questing?
I mean I once found a web site where they told me I would be allmighty, it was the soul hunting site and the understandings I found during this periode are so different from what I percieve in most of members of the community as if they thought that magick is just about selling goodies
Sorry if I seem so desperate, I'm certainly not an (IMG:style_emoticons/default/angel.gif) but MAN if I only deserve that kind of pupils, I think I'm gonna change country for real!

yep, those that come these days seem want all the stuff in the world, while we were, or at least i was, taught that what lies ahead, as well as inside, is far more important that accumulation of stuff and powers - what's the purpose of understanding karma, three-fold law, or even do as thou wilt, if there is no tomorrow or higher great work to pursue - if the magnum opus of the mage isn't spiritual evolution, what else would it be? - world domination or some such nonsense?

nowadays i follow the old old old method of giving those who come to be taught a list of snipes to hunt, which gives them great experience in the multifold dimensions of the real world as they try to find the non-existent creatures, and those that do return for more are usually worth the trouble

i blame tv

es

You aren't the only one to have students like that. Just tell them that you teach a discipline for the purpose of spiritual evolution-- or words to that effect-- and that any supernatural abilities are side effects or distractions. There enough people catering to those sorts of goals teaching New Age workshops. But you have to keep your self-respect.

I avoid any talk of supernatural abilities all together. Usually they don't inquire any further after that. If interested parties make a serious attempt to get me talking, I talk about awareness, and control over the self, and healing. Connecting to yourself and world around you. As soon as talks of mind-reading, magickal powers, etc., come up, I like to just sidetrack the issue into something practical - reading minds becomes a talk about sensitivity to the subtle dimensions of our own consciousness; soothsaying or precognizance becomes understanding the fluctuation of possibility emanating from one's personal choices; talking to spirits becomes conversing with your own inner selves.

But if someone comes to you wanting to learn magick (I get requests for teaching energy work mostly, but that can go all sorts of directions, too often towards the insane), give it to them straight, I suppose. It takes serious dedication, hard work, personal transformation. Also really consider whether you are qualified to teach at all. If you don't think you are, don't touch it. Just being able to do something, doesn't mean you can teach it. Teaching is just something some people can do, or can learn to do. Some people are stuck strictly in the abstract research department, leaving the teaching to anyone who can benefit from what ever you give them on their own juice alone.

When most people learn they have to change in order to master something, they will either give up, or try to do it without making those changes.

I personally prefer to be more of a consultant while the individual works it out for themselves.

peace

I teach the use weaponry. I find magick and weapons are very similar. Most see them are tools of war or self-gain.

I failed at teaching my first student. He learned the motions but he never learned the art and the real power that it held. By the time my next pupil came to me I asked myself, "What do I have that I can that can teach and inspire this student with?" I eagerly taught him, and he learned it well, yet he had no respect for me or the art and abused it.

Now I have something that I do with everyone that wants to learn. I give them a brief lesson then I send them on their way. The next time I see them I ask them what they have learned. If they have learned something on their own then I will tutor them, if not then I won't. If I see anything that makes me mistrust their intentions then I will discontinue their lessons.

Teaching is great for personal growth. I would pick your student carefully. However, choose them on their actions and character, not what they say. Several of my students came to me with power in mind, but were consumed with peace in their hearts before too long.

"When the teacher is ready the student will appear."

Bait & switch!
A lot of people don't even know about the spiritual aspects innately connected with magick, (perhaps) thinking of only religious spirituality with all the associated crap, like holy wars & sexist orders, that comes with it. Most people looking for external power are really looking for internal power! What does creating fireballs and talking to spirits mean to them? Maybe proactive protection against threats and communication with individuals outside their local society. Maybe just being able to get your hands warm or gaining knowledge without paying gobs of $.

That you're more concerned with showing people the spiritual side of what you know instead of trying to raise a private army of loyal student minions could easily be a sign of readiness. Imagine if those power hungry would-be pupils who've approached you so far found someone who was more than willing to give them exactly what they appeared to be looking for. Allowing yourself to be taught is a vulnerability, the person taking the role of a teacher is given a great deal of control over the direction through which the student goes. Do you think they'd came to you asking to be taught because they know it all already? Show 'em more than they could ever hoped to learn before meeting you. And if it doesn't work out, you're not the only teacher in the world. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy.gif)

Thanks a lot to all of you for the answers
But I disagree with esoterica
Generally TV condemns mis use of magick. So Ok this is basic dichotomy and life is much more complicated then black and white
To Vagrant dreamer I think the best is to give advices, I sugger the truth to those who asck me for it
Actually my recent problem with the last person who came to me was that she wanted to learn onely of knowledge, when I asked the superior instances the insight that came to me was that I've been able to teach myself so I should give here advices and not decide for her
But the point is that I've discovered that she's bipolar, and it seems that the doctors confirm the spirit doctors diagnosis maybe this was the teaching she was supposed to learn to learn to reach an equilibrium between contradictory feelings and states of mind that are basically nothing else but the symptoms of imbalance of the energies
The second one was a much more complicated case but in somesort of way he reminds me of myself, so desperate and wounded
Both of them are really instable and want he REAL FUNKY STUFF,
I mean there is nothing wrong with wanting to deal with archdemons and cast powerful spells but they just don't understand that they should learn to control themselfs and work on their personalities befor

Ok since there are no answers I'd like to add a few things
The more I practice magick, the more I learn and understand I become able to develop my own way of teaching
So now that I've explained that I'll continue about teaching
Magick is not a course in the classical way
Through my experience I've understood that it's onely about giving the answers the pupil needs
If this makes him a sorceror so let it be Trought conversations with beings I've understood that even in magick whe are still humans
We still have free choice of belief and it necessitates much more then a little curse on someone to become truly lef hand path
It's not because you performed one exorcisme or reiki energy transfer to be right hand path
Lif is much more complicated and even a saint may commit mistakes, because sainty is not a title but a state of mind and a way of living
It's a quest like evrything
When I've met right hand path students my first thought was that they weren't that good
Now that left hand path students come to me they're not that bad
I think that I've been at first shocked by meeting persons who already know what they want as if macrokynesis could be masterized in two minutes
Left hand students seemed in another philosphical state and much more realistic: "I want to beem the evil eye one my neighbour"
But for me it's only another aspect of the same spirituality,

My decision: intiating them to kabalah in order to masterize merkebah for the beginning
If they understand the basis of how the creation works, or onely seek to make their life easier, for me it's fine but I wont teach them the stuff they could se against me. After all, on day or the other the disciple will be stronger then the master

Left hand thought: I'll lose control and superiority among them

Right hand thought: They'll help me to evolve and to understand things

The thing is that even if you're from a well defined tradition, this doesn't mean that the pupils will all so be from the same thing

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/mf_popeanim.gif)

Blessed be

Is this stupid to think that magick is much more about expanding consciousness, that occult powers are onely a side effect that sould not distract from our personnal questing?

Siddhis are a side-effect of understanding. I've met at least one man who conceptualized advanced energy work before he ever tried to do any sort of healing or energetic body improvment and had the abilities from the get-go.

Magick is not a course in the classical way
Through my experience I've understood that it's onely about giving the answers the pupil needs

I disagree with this, as it comes from equating magick with spirituality. Related they are, but not the same thing.

Spirituality is a process of growth, renewal, understanding, and change. Magick is a science based on principles that can be taught, in a proper sequence, with various degrees of 'attainment' as it were which can be used to measure a student's growth. Whether a student should be taught in the first place begs questioning, of course, and it is fine to give a student a run in spirituality before explaining magickal principles, but giving only the answers you think the student needs is disregarding the structure of magickal practice. A student may not know to ask the right questions.

While there are many forms of magick - witchcraft, ceremonial magic, energy work, various levels of psychism, chaos magick, etc. - all of them function on the same principles applied in different ways. That underlying structure is the important part to teach, the tradition itself is just the means of applying the laws of magick to effect.

peace

Spirituality is a process of growth, renewal, understanding, and change. Magick is a science based on principles that can be taught, in a proper sequence, with various degrees of 'attainment' as it were which can be used to measure a student's growth. Whether a student should be taught in the first place begs questioning, of course, and it is fine to give a student a run in spirituality before explaining magickal principles, but giving only the answers you think the student needs is disregarding the structure of magickal practice. A student may not know to ask the right questions.

As you said there are many practices and every form has it's own principles
Trought experience I've understood that many beliefs are the same and that you find many short cuts but in french whe say that "science sans conscience n'est que ruine de l'âme"
This means that knowlegde without a clear perception of reality onely leads to disasters
I think that from the moment you assume the reponsability to give hints (besause there is not such thing like mathematical certitudes in this field) about how the world is you must be sure he person will be able to use it right

For example, and this is a real case, a beginner started with talisman making and used a design and followed the rules described on a web site
Instead of a good luck talisman this became a posession talisman. How do I know it? Becaus when I used a l'doun jinx remover the talisman disappeared from his place to appaer in the l'doune!

So now you may think I'm wrong, I accept that you're opinion is different from mine but I am, was and will be absolutely positive that if someone wants to progress he's got to have a minimum of knowledge, has got to study a minimum and be open to foreign cultures and practices

And personnaly If anyone is able to coerce a jinn, to make a talisman or to focus without any practice of meditation or true will then let me know cause for the moment this would astound me for real

Finally those guys don't have to follow my advices but I've been practicing magick for eight years now and I've tried many things out and my personnal belief is to be prepared before any attempt to influence the elements or to use a spirit of any sort. Magick is just like a martial art : "you should be really good in defence and know how to fall without getting hurted before getting involved in a fight". And kabalistic exercices of inhaling energy is good for two things visualisation, focus and balancing energies. If you do not think that this is a good idea then what?