Good morning, and welcome to Patty’s Worlds.
This morning, we’ve Tasha Halpert with one of her most excellent essays.
Heartwings Love Notes 2050: The Importance of Spiritual Teachers
Heartwings says, “Teachers of spirituality appear in many ways.”
It is a great help to have someone who can teach you or guide you. This applies especially to any spiritual work, and is certainly proven by the number of books available to be of help in a variety of situations and circumstances.
While I have explored and benefitted from many different books, still my human teachers have taught me more than all the books put together. Were I to name them all, the list would be long and not necessarily of interest. However, I will tell you about two very special ones, and what they taught me.
My long time Yoga teacher, the late Joann Sherwood, originally began her professional life as a dancer. After studying with several prestigious spiritual teachers, she began her own classes. When I met her, she had already inspired many students as well as brought them helpful knowledge and techniques to enhance their personal as well as professional development.
A most special aspect of her work was the array of remarkable individuals she presented to us in her monthly lecture series. However, one of the best lessons I learned from any of them was that regardless how holy or how knowledgeable a teacher might be, he or she was also a human being, with normal behaviors. There was one who fretted about his tea, another about his scheduling, and so on. It was enlightening. I was able to observe these issues because Joann had put me on a committee to look after their needs. It was heartening to me. I learned and observed, and finally completely understood I didn’t have to be perfect to be spiritual.
I first met the late Father Angelo Rizzo, my second special teacher, at one of Joann’s monthly gatherings. He spent a part of every year in Brazil doing missionary work, and the remainder in and around New England, speaking and preaching about how the mind is the healer. This was more than forty-five years ago. Stephen and I got to know him personally while we were living in Marblehead. We offered to help him write a book featuring the themes of his teaching. He agreed.
These were not traditionally Catholic nor were they usual for a priest to be espousing. He gave us a title and his lecture tapes to work from. “I Believe Using Mind Power We are All Healers” was typed up and then fashioned into the book. His precepts were simple. While there were others, these first two have guided my life for the last forty or more years: All is a belief. You can choose your beliefs.
With his help as well as that of others, I have been given a better understanding why things work the way they do, and how to navigate the world in general. I consider myself most fortunate, and I am grateful to him and to all my many wonderful teachers.
May you find helpful teachers for your spiritual path.
Blessings and best regards, Tasha Halpert
PS Questions, comments, suggestions? Love to hear from you. Make my day; write to me at: tashahal@gmail.com
And visit me at:http://tashasperspective.com
More on Tasha and her work…
AD: NEW RELEASE
Poems and Prayers
By Tasha Halpert
Website
Poems and Prayers by Tasha Halpert is a poignant tribute to her late son Robin Greenough Lorenz and his brief, yet meaningful, life. Written over the years since his passing, the book is evocative of his spirit and of the love they shared. Readers may feel echoes of their own experiences with the loss of life of a loved one, and may feel comforted by the shared feelings. Tasha Halpert’s poetry has been published in The Unicorn and other publications.
Poems and Prayers is available to purchase on Amazon today.
About Tasha Halpert:
Practical mystic, poet and writer Tasha Halpert lives in a small central Massachusetts town where she writes a weekly column for the local newspaper and a weekly inspirational Internet column. She is staff poet and storyteller for The Unicorn. Mother, grandmother and great grandmother, she and her husband Stephen, a writer and collage artist do what they can to make the world a happier, healthier place.
Make sure to see Tasha and her work at: https://www.heartwingsandfriends.com/