Learning with Master Bruce Frantzis

[Sloppy Zhang]

HOW TO LEAVE YOUR GURU

https://www.facebook.com/LifeWithoutACentre/photos/how-to-leave-your-guru-the-moment-you-follow-someone-you-cease-to-follow-truth-j/1336040623160209/

"The moment you follow someone you cease to follow Truth"
- J. Krishnamurti

If your spiritual teacher promises you unending bliss, an end to all your problems, freedom from anger and doubts and sorrows, permanent access to higher states and realms, the complete transcendence of all human concerns...

... well, then, your doubting is ingenious, and holds infinite creativity.

Walk away from anyone who makes you such promises, and never look back. Then, you are free. Because, finally, you trust yourself, as you did when you were very young and hadn't yet split yourself in two, the knower versus the known, the certainty versus the doubt. You are no longer a carbon copy of someone else, buying into the dreams of another, clinging to second-hand promises. You are original again. No longer seeking what others seem to have, but resting in original knowing.

No matter what anyone says, however enlightened they claim to be, however many books they've written, however many fans or followers or disciples they have, however shiny their smiles and charismatic their personalities, however perfect and 'spiritually correct' their language, they really do not know. They are a child of life, as you are, innocent at the core. They are not the authority, have no privileged knowledge, do not hold answers. They can only share their journey, their insights, what they have noticed. They are what you are, consciousness itself, and on that level, you are profoundly equal. There is no 'club' for the awakened. No wave in the ocean is more 'ocean' than any other wave. Life knows no levels in this way. Humility reaches everyone in the end.

Nobody can be 'in' a higher state. States come and go. Even the most blissful feelings, the most ecstatic highs, cannot be permanent, just as no wave can be permanent in the ocean, and cannot be maintained. If you are chasing states and experiences, striving for the 'next big thing', you will be exhausted before long. And that kind of well-earned exhaustion is a wonderful thing; it is the beginning of a great awakening.

Your exhaustion is sacred, see. Your sorrow is not a sign of your ignorance, but a fresh expression of life. Your fears are not mistakes. Your pain is not an indication that you are far from awakening, or that you are being punished for your ignorance. Your longing is not something that needs to be eradicated. Even your confusion is holy. And your doubts have kept you supple, curious, open; they have protected you from the greatest pain of all: arrogance.

You are not a victim, friend, but so damn alive. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It would be their loss, anyway.

You tire of the promises. You get exhausted from trying to be something that you are not. You get sick of walking another's path, following someone else, trusting their truth over your own gut. It is not your nature, to follow, to worship, to create external gods.

Slow down. Come closer. Get curious. Question everything.

And most of all, trust your doubts as you walk.

- Jeff Foster

[saxgentleman67]

21 hours ago, Creation said:

Since you mentioned the quality of instruction on subtle points, I did Frantzis' online programs for years and got a lot out of them, but I now study from Damo Mitchell's online program and haven't looked back. 

I like Damo, but he has a fraction of the material that Bruce does. I'm curious which EA courses did you study? I thought the Bod's in the Clouds was really good. And the heart-mind meditation.

[thelerner]

On 5/2/2022 at 1:59 PM, Sloppy Zhang said:

HOW TO LEAVE YOUR GURU

https://www.facebook.com/LifeWithoutACentre/photos/how-to-leave-your-guru-the-moment-you-follow-someone-you-cease-to-follow-truth-j/1336040623160209/  ..

There must be.. 50 ways. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEvimAmm7o4

 

 

addon> I read the book 'Life 102, What to do when your guru sues you'.  The author, Peter McWilliams, a smart guy got sucked into a cult, and the difficulty getting out.  Cults and marketing, prey on our elitist instincts- that we are the few exceptional ones who will really understand this.  The smarter you are the better you might be at rationalizing bull shit. 

We all need friends honest enough to tell us when we're going astray, and the wisdom to believe them. 

Edited May 8, 2022 by thelerner

[Robin]

20 hours ago, thelerner said:

There must be.. 50 ways. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEvimAmm7o4

We all need friends honest enough to tell us when we're going astray, and the wisdom to believe them. 

Thanks for this., and good to be reminded of the classic song.

 

I think sometimes it's useful to focus on the reasons for leaving ( a teacher/marriage/cult etc.) to get the clarity we need to stop deliberating and make the cut. 

 

However, that is often not the whole story, and from the outside people can't always see the complexity. Like a marriage which was genuinely wonderful but grew to no longer serve either partner. Once the clarity is there that we need to end things, and maybe with some water under the bridge, we can grieve and honour the good stuff that had to end.

 

Regarding my practice with Bruce, I'm clear that for the time being I don't want to pursue his spiritual work. However, the health stuff is great, and is deeply embodied in my system. It would probably be silly to go to the effort of trying to replace all the stuff I've learned from him with similar material from other sources.

 

Nonetheless I am conflicted, and I can't pretend otherwise or sweep it under the rug, however simple the situation may seem from the outside. I value what has come to me via Bruce. I have a lot of respect for him and he has had a big positive impact on my life in many ways. However I can't deny that with my current perspective I find what appears to me as a lack of humility and warmth to be a source of genuine distress and confusion.

 

I guess also there is some unease about the fact that I have criticized my teacher publicly. It is probably a complete non-issue but I haven't got to that point yet. From some of the messages I have receive it is as if I have committed some kind of sacrilege. So even if Bruce has no desire to be a cult leader (which I don't think he does), it looks like some people have given him that level of status in their own internal worlds. ON the other hand I've received many messages thanking and supporting me in speaking up about something which has bothered them. So overall it's probably for the best or at least of no consequence that I did what I did. However there is still a fire burning around it inside me, which won't be extinguished until it is extinguished.

 

I'm very happy to hear any further thoughts and reflections on this, particularity with people who can empathize/sympathize with the non-polarized nature of the situation.