Recently I visited 5 spiritual teachers in San Francisco. It was delightful to attend their satsangs and interact with others in the audience. I had sat with most of these teachers 12 years before, so it was especially rich to see them again. Each one offered real value in their meetings and I’m grateful for the contribution they make to people’s spiritual development.
Being with Canadian spiritual teacher John de Ruiter for 12 years, I was curious how I would experience John after my San Francisco journey. It was truly clear that, for me, John, is ‘The Teacher’s Teacher.’ He has the most profound depth and breadth of awareness. Sitting in meetings with him, I often marvel at how he can speak and connect at the highest, deepest and finest levels on any issue. At the satsangs of the teachers in California, I often thought how they would find great enjoyment in discussions with John about truth.
When John is speaking about the most subtle topics of ‘communion,’ ‘pure you,’ ‘purity of heart,’ he emanates what he speaks. He is being all that he speaks. He “is” his teaching. I’m humbled at the beauty of his heart again and again and how it touches and pulls on the heart in everyone.
John often reminds me in meetings that I know what I am at the core. He says, “In your heart you know what you’ve come from.” Each of us clearly knows something much deeper and more subtle than our surface self. John says the surface self is a cover we have created to provide us with our wants and needs and protect us from feelings, especially feeling vulnerable. In those moments, when I am humbled by John’s heart, I deeply know the truth of this.
Attending a meeting with John is like taking a dip in deep waters. The room is very, very still, and a thick, restful energy fills the space. John silently connects, making eye contact. It is easy to feel his tenderness, kindness and sensitivity. The invitation to drop deeper and deeper is always present.
In meetings with John people often wonder why there are so many silences. John uses stillness, silence, as a master of evolution. Deeply connecting with each person sitting in front of him, he sees what is next for that person to become more of who they are. He holds a space they can step into for greater evolution. Amazing. It is incredible how, after sitting with John, ways of behaving often change, improve, transform. I believe this is a result of my stepping into a space John holds, moving forward into what is next in my evolution.
Another question people have after meetings with John is, “Why does he use such unusual language?” His language is very unique. It is astonishing how he can speak about a similar concept again and again, each time using new language, new metaphors, always expressing newness. He defines everything in a totally fresh way so I don’t have the opportunity to drag the past forward and stay comfortable in old concepts. It encourages leaving the familiar concepts behind, allowing people to step into their next.
For me, the purpose of attending meetings with John is to relate to the breadth and depth of who I truly am. He gives the opportunity to directly relate with someone living the potential of our human beingness.
Experience an event with John in Edmonton at the College of Integrated Philosophy, 10930 177th Street, Edmonton. Friday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Sundays at 1:30 p.m. and again at 7:00 p.m. Also Mondays at 7:00 p.m. Cost is $8 at the door.
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