Dilemma

The Dilemma of a Spiritual Teacher

It took years to get over the following dilemma:

Do I preach to the choir and those ready to go to the next level or do I act as a spiritual teacher for the newbies on the path?

Do I call myself Takara, a name I received in meditation that has so much depth of meaning, or do I use my given name of Debbie?

Do I offer programs that create powerful and permanent shifts or do I offer motivation and entertainment while subtly shifting paradigms along the way?

Do I speak the Truth, potentially frightening or angering those who are rigid in their beliefs, but who’s soul desires for them to awaken and therefore has sent them my way?

Do I share my true insights and experiences that seem like science fiction to the “average” Joe, or do I keep those to myself sharing only those things anyone anywhere could hear and accept? (Just for the record ~ I thought I was going to marry a Joe. He was definitely not “average,” as I’m sure none of them are.)

Speaking the Truth means risking rejection, judgment, or hatred from strangers and even some friends. It also means potentially scaring away people who might gain a great deal by sticking around.

I have fought this inner battle on and off for many years. And I’ve waffled back and forth between giving you watered down spirituality and the Truth as it is given to me.

I used to teach many workshops: first in the corporate world where I won awards for my presentation skills, and later on in New Age bookstores, private homes, spiritual conferences, and churches.

When I lived in California, my classes were very well attended. Some were literally standing room only. And regardless of the topic I chose, some people came just to learn whatever it was that I was teaching because I was the one teaching it.

But then something very interesting happened.

I had a pretty big crowd attend my Manifesting Your Beloved class at the Church for Religious Science in Encinitas, California.

What a great congregation and what a beautiful space. They had a live rock band at the Sunday morning service. Some well-known musicians performed with this band when they weren’t away on tour. The minister was head of the entire Church of Religious Science community ~ definitely in the U.S., but possibly worldwide. It was a wonderful community. And I greatly enjoyed the classes I offered and the people who attended them.

One of the participants at my seminar, who had also attended a few of my other classes, came up afterward to thank me for a wonderful and insightful class. She went as far as to call me the “seminar queen.”

I’m human. It felt good to be acknowledged and appreciated for my work.

Because the Manifesting Your Beloved class had been so successful, I booked the sanctuary for a whole day to present an intensive in energy healing and personal transformation.

Then Raven and I got married.

We flew to visit my parents in Virginia and then his parents in Shediac Cape, New Brunswick, Canada. We had wedding receptions in both locations. We had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends. I left this little vacation jaunt early to fly back and teach the workshop I’d scheduled at the church.

Only 3 people showed up.

I got through the day as best I could and then broke down completely. I felt like a complete failure. No-one wanted to know about what I was truly here to teach. I called my new husband crying to tell him the news.

We soon moved to Canada and deLightfully became parents.

I began teaching workshops out of a little New Age Bookstore outside Toronto. Each time I taught a class I might have 3, 5, at most 8 people in attendance. It was a bit discouraging.

One day I asked Deb, the shop owner, who her most popular instructor was. She told me the woman’s name. I asked about that woman’s next scheduled class. It was on “The Women of Camelot.”

Well, that was right up my alley. I have vivid memories of that time and I’ve read many books on the subject. I know the Lady of the Lake very very well. I LOVE Camelot and Avalon. I love Renaissance Festivals and all of that. I told her to sign me right up. I wanted to see what kind of class the people there wanted to experience.

I was amazed to say the least.

I found myself in a room with about 30 women. Standing before us was a lady with an overhead projector and the names of 5 or 6 women on a transparency with a tiny paragraph about each one.

She read, verbatim, the names and the information.

SIDENOTE ~ every professional presenter knows that one of the cardinal rules is to never read to your students. You paraphrase while making eye contact with your audience. ~ END OF SIDENOTE

The information wasn’t anything new. It wasn’t even interesting. I could have stood up right then and there and talked for at least 5 hours on the women of Camelot.

But as soon as she finished reading the names of the women and the paragraphs about each one on the transparency, the projector was turned off and that was the end of the discussion about the women of Camelot.

She had us form a large circle with our chairs. And she then did a one-woman play. I was a bit confused about how that was supposed to help me understand more about the Women of Camelot.

We put all the chairs away and broke into groups to make fairy wands for the rest of the evening.

Fairy wands.

What does that have to do with Camelot?

Well . . . nothing actually.

I couldn’t believe it.

There was no depth. There was no insight. There was no learning whatsoever.

And then I got it.

These people didn’t want their lives to change. They didn’t want an aha moment so profound that it would permanently transform their lives. They didn’t want to experience a meditation or process or energetic transfer that would change who they are at the cellular level. They didn’t want to have to look at their issues and face the fact that they aren’t perfect and needed to heal a few things.

They wanted to be entertained.

The girls just wanted a night out with their friends and to laugh. And that is exactly what they got.

After that, I stopped teaching except on rare occasion.

There was no point.

The people weren’t ready for what I was bringing forth.

I continued healing and creating lasting, permanent, and profound changes in my own life. And I continued to receive insights, energetic upgrades and experiencing amazing mystical moments. But I usually only shared them with the closest of soul sisters and those individuals who were brave enough to follow their inner guidance, take responsibility for their own life and issues, and enlist my counsel.

There have always been people that have enjoyed my personal flavor of energy healing and spiritual growth, that could really feel the energy and benefit of the products I create just by visiting one of my websites, that were ready to go deeper and higher in their level of consciousness.

Many of them found me on-line. Others packed the room when I offered a seminar in conjunction with a spiritual or health expo.

Some flew in, others drove, from all over the country to the remote place where I lived in northern New Mexico to work with me one on one and experience my energy and products first hand.

It’s such a blessing when someone calls and says Spirit told me I have to see you, or I need to do a private phone session with you, or I need to have you make a custom blend for me.

And even after all these years and the numerous calls and emails, I’ve received from people seeking my assistance, it still manages to surprise me whenever the person reaching out for my help is someone famous that I’ve heard or read about.

For the last couple of years, the newsletter has been aimed primarily at those who were just waking up, or simple reminders about fundamentals and basic truths for navigating the spiritual path. My more profound insights have been saved for the books I’ve been writing.

A lot of my personal focus has been on dealing with normal 3rd-dimensional stuff. I got divorced, took back the name Debbie along with my maiden name, moved to the east coast, and set about beginning again. A great deal of my time has been devoted to homeschooling my son and ensuring that he is participating in enough activities to create a circle of friends in our new location.

I was cleaning up a bunch of old issues along the way. Sometimes when things are really awful, the best course of action is simply to leave. So, as soon as I finished college, I left. And I stayed gone for over 20 years.

But the need to recollect some missing parts of myself, and to heal the wounds I tried to leave behind, required that I return and face my own deeply buried demons. You could say I had a few dragons to slay.

And slay I did.

I helped put together a team and co-chaired the committee for my 30th high school reunion. Now if there is anyway on earth to dredge up old sludge, that one will do it. I also revisited some old feelings of rejection by dated several guys from my past, my prom dates from my junior and senior years in high school, even one guy I’d fallen in love with in the 8th grade.

I went as far as to call myself Debbie again and introducing myself that way. I hadn’t said, “Hi, my name is Debbie” in over 10 years. But I allowed myself to feel what that felt like, to immerse myself fully in my old stomping grounds, making new friends, and reconnecting with old.

Luckily this little revisit to the past was fairly short lived. It served its purpose. I experienced some necessary healing and what some would term soul retrieval. Using the technologies I teach in Freeway to Freedom and a few completely new ones you will be able to experience in the new workshops I’ll soon be offering, I have become much more whole. I’ve also taken another giant leap in my personal evolution ~ in knowing who I am, what I’m here for, and in my level of consciousness.

WORDS OF WISDOM: You are never finished healing, growing, and evolving. Even Ascended Masters continue to raise their consciousness as they evolve in realms beyond earthly life.

The Dilemma is Solved

I have outgrown the girl I used to be. I still look the same, weigh about the same, and have the same zest for life and infectious laugh, but that seems to be where the resemblance ends.

I’ve grown and evolved so radically over the past 30 years, that it is simply impossible to live in the past for very long. My interests and mission lie elsewhere.

People everywhere seem to be waking up and seeking answers. Not just new ideas and ways to handle day to day problems, but really deep meaningful questions are being asked. I’m being “inspired” to get out there again and teach all the new information and technologies I have been receiving over the past several years. As well as share the powerful healing frequencies of Dancing Dolphin Energy Products with the world.

One of my new friends was recently sharing about some workshops she’s been attending. As I listened to the topics, I was thinking “Wow, are they still teach that stuff? I was teaching classes like that 15 years ago. Is there still nothing new out there?”

The truth is, there is not a lot of new in the new age.

People wake up and they start reading and taking classes.

They take a Reiki course or study some other form of energy healing and they think they are a healer or that they understand energy.

Eye yeh yeh.

Reiki is kindergarten in the energy healing world. It’s a great beginning. But that is all that it is. Most people drawn to energy healing are drawn to it because they need it themselves. As one of my first teachers, Stuart Wilde, used to say, “God forbid the healers!” I have to agree with him. Instead of working on others, people who just learned how to do energy healing need to be placing their hands on their own body and working on themselves as much as possible.

Or they “wake up” and go to some psychic or channel and get a reading. And they believe whatever the person said and make it a truth in their life ~ even if it was incorrect information. Because the mind is that powerful. And when you go to a psychic, you give your power away to them believing they have wisdom because they can get information you don’t seem to have access to.

The Channel is only as clear as the channel is clear (a very true saying I developed) ~ meaning a large percent of psychics and channels are tainting the information they read and receive with their own fears, judgments, and limiting beliefs. Most of them project their stuff onto you.

Then, years later, you discover that you are dealing with some block or pattern that was caused by you believing something false that some psychic or healer once told you. This stuff can easily be cleared with the right tools. But it can pester you for years if you don’t know what to do with it.

The other problem with readings is that a person at a certain level of consciousness can’t really see the issues facing someone at a higher level of consciousness. There is an invisible line in the sand across which a person reading psychic energy simply can’t see. (I talk all about this in the second book of the series I’m working on)

I’m not here to bash people in certain professions. Many of my dearest friends are psychics, channels, and energy healers. I love them and have great respect for their work. It takes a great deal of personal deep work and healing to be able to profoundly assist others though.

So . . . clean up your own crap before you try to help someone else with theirs.

Jesus said something like don’t try to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye until you remove the plank from your own. I personally worked with the healing technologies I received in Freeway to Freedom for several years before I started sharing them with others. And using those processes, I healed and gained so much. You can too!

I’m done with being Debbie. And I’m done with watering down the truth so it’s more palatable for whoever might be reading.

So, you can call me Debbie, or you can call me Takara. I’m happy to answer to either one. But I’ll be introducing myself as Takara from now on.

Are you ready for your life to change?

I’m here to help you.

I figured out how to fix the dilemma and bridge my own gap.

Most of what I write about can help anyone at any level of the spiritual journey. Some of it, naturally, is for significantly more advanced students. However, my newest book series will take someone by the hand and walk them through the very beginnings of spirituality all the way to mastery. I can’t wait until it’s finished and you can reap the benefits!

Have a deLightful day,

Bestselling author Debbie Takara Shelor signature

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5 replies
  1. Cerenespirit
    Cerenespirit says:

    Takara,nThanks for sharing this from your heart. I can feel that you’ve done soul searching and wondering about humanity. So have I. Life is beautiful & challenging.nI chose issues to deal with in life such as, abandonment, sex, drugs & rocknroll, motorcycles, party girl, mother, now grandmother, sacred space holder. I spent the last 12 years learning everything I can. Reiki, tuning fork therapy, egyptian healing rods, AVESA, Weddings, acupressure, etc. Now my Beloved is experiencing kidney failure for the 2nd time and I will ride it out with him, I am still me channeling all the love from the universe and connections that I can. I also feel very connected to Native American spirituality & our Mother Earth, the Animals and all of creation. Sometimes I feel like I’m wrong with my hope for humans and that animals are more loveing and loyal. Right now I am totally retired but still in service to the Creator at a much different level.nAnyway thanks for sharing. Much love, light and Blessings to you,nRev. Cindy Spirit Hawk

    Reply
  2. Sonja Myriel
    Sonja Myriel says:

    Hi Takara :-)nnI find this article very moving as you present such personal experiences and insights with ease and grace – I would love to learn more about your spiritual teachings. Thank you for this beautiful post,nnSonja Myriel

    Reply
  3. Stephanie
    Stephanie says:

    Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for sharing your experiences and struggles regarding this issue. I thought I was the only one!nStephanie

    Reply
  4. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    Thanks so much to everyone for sharing! If you are experiencing it or feeling it, chances are very good ~ always ~ that you are not alone. The question becomes do we hide who we really are in order to attempt to fit in, or not rock the boat, or do we stand in our Truth and do what we came here to do. When we get out of our own way, the answer is usually quite obvious. As long as we carry old wounds of rejection, those fears will continue to taunt us. nnThat’s why I had to come back and revisit the people and places where I felt most rejected. It has been a truly liberating experience. Of course, while I was in the middle of facing all of this myself, the Universe was sending me to places and prompting me with insights that had me working with entirely new frequencies like Purity of Essence, Break Through, Finally Free, Phoenix Rising, Violet Flame, The Divine Mother, etc. I can only bring in and anchor the frequencies when I have integrated them for myself.

    Reply
    • Kintarian
      Kintarian says:

      Hi Takara!nI feel with and for you. I’m in the same boat as you were when you stopped and retreated for a while. Having been a spiritual practitioner and teacher for over 25 years, I would best describe myself as a healer. My most in-depth work is shamanic in nature and involves fully connecting clients with their Higher Selves, via deep relaxation and guided meditation rather than hypnosis, through their upper heart chakra. Once the conscious connection for communication purposes is made, the Client’s Higher Self, will literally speak through the Client’s mouth with me while the Client is fully conscious and an aware observer and contributor to the communication, seeing, feeling and going along with whatever treatments their Higher Self feels they are ready for. To this end I was given a specifc way to work by my own Higher Guidance to cover: soul retrieval; full healing in all bodies, dimensions, times and directions; full reconnection and activation of their original 12 strands of DNA; DNA reprogramming (de-programming negative self-beliefs and programming those in alignment with how Clients see themselves or wish to see themselves); activation of Mer-Ka-Va (4D & 5D interdimensional light vehicle); activation of their shield of light; healing of all past traumas by calling in Higher Selves of all parties involved; establishing Karmic progression for this lifetime and what needs to be done or let go of to release the remainder; past life issues resolution; remembering their life purpose for this incarnation; understanding reasons for having chosen painful experiences or relationships; remembering (where allowed) their true Angelic Name, home planet of origin after entrance into this reality construct and original Angelic function which permeates every incarnation in this construct (no matter which planet they incarnate on within it) etc. This work came about from many years of past life and later in-between life regression work. I also offer channeled readings (I work predominantly with Metatron, Saint-Germain and Archangel Michael (Mikal) in conjunction with tarot and numerology and of course hands-on healing, in my case working on the cellular level with sound, crystals and with the assistance of the Ancient Ones of Earth and stars, the Elohim, various Ascended Masters and some of my closest non-physical teachers. It is a lonely road, the further up one gets, as far as sharing the journey with other humans goes. Most feel too challenged, scared or uncomfortable going to the places that are most interesting. There also appears to be a general fear of the dark in many followers of the so-called New Age. This I have always felt to be a huge shortcoming, as it denies one half of our very own selves and because both are effective teachers. It is better to face fear, understand it and therby set oneself free to make the choices, one really wishes to make for oneself fearlessly. So I understand your plight and relate to it very deeply. It is a tough road being a catalyst for change and even harder to find a like-minded practitioner whom one can share and exchange experiences and healing with. To this end, I’d Love to hear from you. My higher given name is Kintarian, I female and my original function is that of Gate Keeper of Knowledge. I am based in New Zealand and I’m keen to share some of what I have learned and learn some of what you know about Vibrational Healing. Most especially, I am interested in learning about how to practically determine the individual musical/harmonic resonance frequency of a person, to help facilitate a deeper, faster healing process. I currently (and so far always have) work completely intuitively, trusting implicitly my Higher Guidance but it is my sincere desire to increase my healing abilities until I am able to instantly cure any condition as well as heal the underlying causes for permanent wellbeing. There are those who work with slowing down the vibratory rate of ecto plasm to facilitate instant healings. I have yet to learn the method behind it. If you are interested in sharing, my email is: [email protected] Blessings, Love, Peace and Joy, Knnnnnnnu00a0

      Reply

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Takara Shelor
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