The role of the teacher in magic

The teachers who come into our lives are not always the teachers we think would be ideal. But such a teacher can sometimes teach you far more than you would otherwise learn. It may take you years to learn all the lessons your teacher had to offer, but once you've learned those lessons you'll never forget them. The good teacher is the teacher who helps you focus, who provides some direction and gets you asking questions. These questions may be uncomfortable, but getting pushed out of your shell is very crucial to doing effective magic. By being uncomfortable, we learn to adapt to our situations, to change the situation and to face the discomfort.

So even if you think you're with a teacher who isn't suited to teach you, think carefully about the situation. Is the teacher getting you to question yourself, or question your take on issues? Remember that a good mentor pushes and challenges you, even, and especially when you don't want to be challenged. The teacher may be more suited to teach you precisely because s/he represents what you don't expect. Certainly my teacher ultimately helped to provide me with the calling I have today. A more agreeable teacher would likely have not helped as much as my mentor did. In the end the teachers we find are the teachers who give us the gift of a direction, a push toward it and the occasional feedback that allows the student to consider what s/he is doing. Remember though to question the teacher as well as yourself. Although my teacher did get me to ask questions, I also questioned why he was the way he was and I questioned a lot of his comments. By doing so I was able to determine what really applied to my circumstances and use that information to help me grow as a magician and an individual.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic