No Guru
When a partial tranche of Epstein files were released, I was not surprised to read Deepak Chopra’s email to Jeffrey Epstein, in which he wrote: “Cute girls are aware when they make noises.” And, “Did you find me a cute Israeli? :) “
No one is immune to power trips, including spiritual teachers. The work for anyone, and especially those in powerful positions, is to recognize it, and learn to say “No.” To act from a place of integrity, not power and entitlement.
It all begins with being honest with yourself. There are many ways to seek these truths. I write. I teach. And of course, I’m flawed. And I am grateful to my Wild Writing practice because the only thing it asks of me, and everyone around our circle, is to write one’s own truth—whatever that is. We write so we can know ourselves better. Self knowledge doesn’t guarantee integrity, but it’s where we begin.
In all the years I’ve been in the spiritual space, I never found a guru I could believe in. Maybe because I am deeply suspect of the very notion of a guru, and I was never willing to give up agency to another human. But I did find some great teachers who provided trustworthy guidance, who helped me navigate my life. These teachers led me back to myself. They understood that they are conduits from something larger than themselves to others, but they are not the source of Truth.
The best teachers help heal others by expanding what it means to be a whole human. They never ask you to cede agency, they encourage you to own it. They help you “give your heart back to yourself,” as Derek Walcott writes in his poem below, “to the stranger who has loved you all your life.” That stranger is you.
“Greet yourself arriving at your own door,” he writes. ” Sit,” he writes, and “ feast on your life.”
Love,
Dayna
————
Writing Practice
LOVE AFTER LOVE BY DEREK WALCOTT
The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
Read the poem aloud to yourself. Don't rush. Really take it in. Take one of the following jump off lines:
The stranger who was your self…
Give back your heart to yourself..
To the stranger who has loved you all your life
Who you ignored…
Feast on your life …..
— or any other line or image that resonates.
An alternate line could be: A few things I’m thinking about…
Then write for 10-15 minutes, pen not leaving the page. When you are done, read it back to yourself, out loud to yourself if you wish. Thank yourself for taking the time to meet yourself on the page. Your practice is now complete.