This subject has come up on numerous occasions on various threads here, and I've been giving it a lot of thought, because I believe that it's REALLY important for everyone, but perhaps especially for the kinds of people who are attracted to a place like MB because they are searching for answers, or guides, or are finding themselves opening up to the spirit world or other aspects of our universe that they never were aware of before, or are simply frightened, confused, lost, and desperate.  (As we all know, people in those situations are most often preyed upon by cults, etc. because they may not have the defenses available during those difficult times to make good decisions for themselves.  I'm not saying that those are the only reasons that people "show up" here, but many--myself included--have.)

So, my questions would be the following.  In your own opinion, what would you consider the qualities of a worthy spiritual guide (either the living or in spirit)?  What would make you feel that someone was NOT able to teach you the things you want and/or need to learn about spirituality and how to apply it to your own lives?  Are there certain qualifications that you would insist upon before accepting guidance from someone?

Also, what do you believe is the purpose of spirituality in your lives?  What would you consider to be the highest spiritual purposes/pursuits, and what do you think are false, or wastes of time and energy, or even dangerous?

I just really wanted to open this up to everyone, rather than making it a back-and-forth between a few people, because, regardless of differences of opinion, I believe that it's really important to think about.

Please try to be as specific as you can with your answers--even with specific examples--because that always helps to make things more clear for everyone else!

Thanks,

Doe

Simple, to-the-point and beautifully stated (it probably would have taken me four paragraphs)!  Thanks, Lightning.  I've learned amazing lessons that I might never have learned elsewhere from people, spirits, and even animals who may have seemed at first glance like the most unlikely sources of wisdom and truth, but who taught me things I might never learn elsewhere.

I'd still like to hear what others think and feel!

Doe

I agree.  We can learn something from everyone we meet.  We have to be able to listen to everyone, take what we want and leave the rest.  Come to our own reality of what we want our lives to be.  The hard part is knowing that our reality is never the absolute reality.  That is the basis for true tolerance; above all it is the basis for the possibility of growing beyond the limits of our previous mental boundries through interested participation in the reality of others, thereby allowing us to press forward to an increasingly deep understanding.  We can all be spirit or spiritual guides if can be truely tolerant of what others have to say.

We are all teachers and we are all students.