“Only one person in a million becomes enlightened without a teacher’s help.”
—Bodhidharma
 

very so often, I’ll run into someone who will disagree with my point that a teacher or a master is essential to proper training. This person will typically argue by saying, “I’m my own guru. I follow my inner wisdom.” What I can know is that this is a potentially dangerous person – especially if this person is a teacher.

Blind spots are blind spots precisely because we cannot see them. Most people aren’t present enough to catch the majority of them. Stack on top of that the elusive nature of the voices. These voices in our heads think, speak, and act through us without us seeing that they’re voices. They just sound like us thinking.

Facilitating monks at the Zen monastery who were leading away workshops would always travel in pairs. At least pairs. The reason for this was because the ego is sneaky and can undermine what happens in the facilitation. Or it can even influence how a monk behaves outside of the workshop. When another set of eyes was present, however, it provided the opportunity for guidance. The hope was that at least one of the monks was awake enough to see the situation from a disidentified point of view. Because all it took was one “better idea” to sabotage the trip: A change in how an exercise was done or some random action that was not part of the plans. There was always a huge risk that the Dharma would be damaged. Guidance was set up to prevent that.

Until we are trained to see, understand, know, and experience all the nuances of how the voices of egocentricity work, it’s always best to seek guidance. And even you’re trained – seek guidance.

What’s the harm? Only the ego would avoid asking for the gift of guidance. Why? Because then it’s plans can be thwarted. It might not get the answer it wants. It might not get its way.

A great example of this is “just doing something without asking.” You know those situations. We’ve all been there and done that. You’ll be presented with a situation in which it’s unclear if it’s permissible to do something. The still small voice will suggest that you ask to find out. The voices will quickly interject and say, “Nah, it’s probably okay. Don’t bug people…” You act on that bad advice. And then what happens? A massive breakdown! You end up bugging people in a very big way by acting without asking. The final result: You get a royal beating in your head from the voices. Or they redirect that beating at others in the form of anger. “Stupid people with their stupid rules…”

How can the concept of guidance be useful to you out in the world? A great place to start is by consciously and compassionately communicating. If you don’t know, ask. If you notice you’re debating with an imaginary person in your head, talk to the real one. If you think you already know, check in with someone more experienced.

Not always for the answers necessarily, but for the opportunity to bounce around feedback. To shine a light on the voices and give you a chance to take your best step forward.