Discernment In All Things Spiritual
Discernment In All Things Spiritual
Recently I shared on Instagram that I was enjoying this new book.
I liked the directness of some of the author’s ideas. As I do when I’m diving into someone new, I checked out her audiobooks and interviews on YouTube, as well as her Ted Talk. I like to saturate myself with someone’s ideas to get a deep sense of ‘what they’re about.’
While listening to the audiobook [Essential Guide for Healers], I was struck by three things: 1) A visceral distaste for the frequency of this woman’s voice; not an aesthetic opinion, but what I felt behind the voice 2) a lack of humility with multiple references to her own importance, prowess and perhaps most disturbingly, power over others 3) the author’s ideas are obfuscated in word salad language.
Cognitive dissonance arose as I noticed myself trying to reconcile how lauded she is, i.e. multiple appearances on Oprah, Hay House, etc. with my gut feeling ‘this woman has a nastiness and is ruled by service to self.’
As I continued digging, I began to find the naysayers—people also noticing the service to self vibe. Comments about the enormous ego and desire for power, even abusing her radio audience.
One woman recounted traveling far to see her speak and surprisingly meeting her in the women’s bathroom. She approached the author wanting to express her excitement. The author pointed at the stall and dismissed her, ‘I’m here for this.’ That’s cold. And extremely nasty. When you watch a few minutes of her video interviews, it is not a stretch to imagine her behaving like this.
And this brings me to the most important point of this post—when evaluating a fellow human being, who is definitely not a God, to listen to, read, study with and perhaps even align your own belief system with – ask yourself one question – do I feel like this person has love in their heart for their fellow man? If you are hesitant in answering, or your brain takes over to argue a ‘yes’, the answer is likely no; they do not.
Love is the highest frequency and it is revealed in the tiniest of actions.
Standing in a slow line with someone mouth breathing on your shoulder. How do you react?
Talking to a nasty customer service person in healthcare. How do you react?
Interacting with a misogynistic man at the gym. How do you react?
These 3 things happened to me this week. I felt I was decent in most of them, but a few years ago I would have been really rattled by the mouth breather.
It is so important that seekers use discernment and ask the question – does this person have love in their heart for their neighbor? Listen to your inner guidance and ignore how popular or well-regarded someone may be.
I may finish the book above or not; I’m going to listen to my inner guidance.
Namaste,
Catherine & Satya Starseed of The Light
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Catherine Tingey
Entrepreneur, yogini, designer, award-winning filmmaker, personal trainer and former marathon runner. She left a career in finance to start her own business and along the way, became a yoga teacher. She has been practicing yoga for 31 years and teaching privately for 11 years.
About the Author
Catherine Tingey+ Entrepreneur, yogini, designer, award-winning filmmaker, personal trainer and former marathon runner. She left a career in finance to start her own business and along the way, became a yoga teacher. She has been practicing yoga for 31 years and teaching privately for 11 years.
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