When the Student is ready...

There is a quote by Lao Tzu that is “When the student is ready the teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready... The teacher will Disappear.”. This quote has been popping up quite often for me.  It makes me think about my Spiritual Journey and when I met one of my greatest Teachers. 

About seven or so years ago I was dealing with severe back problems,  I was literally on the floor for approximately seven months.   I was in severe pain and could not sit or stand for very long periods of time.  Without going into all the nasty details, it took quite some time to get the right doctor and heal.  That time was extremely tough to get through but somehow I new it was something I had to deal with and that God was putting me on the floor for a reason.  Having to spend so much time in one position and not being able to do anything but be still made me listen. 

Sometime during the first couple months of pain my Mother told me I should go to a Healer that she had heard about from a close friend.  I was willing to try anything and immediately made an appointment.  I went to the Healer with the expectation of having my physical body healed but what happened was much more profound than that.  I arrived at the Healer's home and immediately felt like it was a safe place for me to be.  She began her healing session and I new that this was not about the physical healing as much as is was about healing my Soul.  I had a feeling that I had known this woman before and that I was meant to meet her.  After that session I dealt with the pain but realized something else was happening.   I began to read books on the story of the Buddha, books written by the Dali Llama, The Bhagavad Gita, and books by Deepak Chopra, to name a few.  I was on a quest for knowledge and peace.  I started to connect my life experiences with my Spiritual Journey. 

About seven months into the illness I was sent to a surgeon who did a quick surgery to relieve the pressure on my spine.  This operation did not fix the problem and I went into a deep depression from the thought of not getting better and all the medications that the doctors had me taking to try and relieve the pain.   My husband made sure that the first Doctor referred us to a surgeon who could fix the problem. We were sent to a surgeon who fixed my back problems.

After I was back in the swing of life and out of physical pain I made another appointment with the Healer and after that I  returned to her a third time, and when I was there I told her that I felt I was supposed to be a Healer.  She said that she new that from the first time I was at her home but that I had to have that knowing without her telling me.  From that day forward she was not just my Healer but my Teacher.  She now is  my Teacher, Mentor, and most importantly, Friend.  I am now a Reiki Practitioner and my world has opened up.  My Teacher appeared when I was ready to learn. 

I also feel that since I have opened up Spiritually I find that when I have experiences that I cannot explain or need to make sense of, I will meet someone who can answer my questions and give me guidance.

I believe that Teachers appear to us throughout our lifetime until we are ready to see who we truly are, once we know our true selves the Teacher will disappear.   I believe we then become the Teacher.