Since we remember 90% of what we
teach as opposed to 10% of what we hear, why not find someone or some group to
be your students – and to give them the chance to teach you Love as well?
Your role, should you decide to accept it, is to flesh out each of the elements of Love and imagine how those elements would be taught.
Who are the wisest teachers you have known? How did you learn from them?
Every week, I receive requests from
people who want me to explain how to teach loving care. What I have learned is
that the answers I send them are ineffective unless they choose to teach the
work in their own words….
There is a key flaw in most of the
inquiries I receive. Many people seem to imagine that teaching love is like
teaching math, history, or a foreign language. It’s not. Teaching love is an
a
wakening process. It is not, primarily, about mechanics or memorization.
This is the reason I advance the
idea of Caring Circles. In circles of trust, we can test these ideas with
others and we can also listen and learn.
If you are sincerely interested in
learning the practices of loving care, start the daily or weekly practice of
designing your own way of teaching using the Journal as your guide. This needs to
be fun for you so create your teaching in a way that you would enjoy. How would
you like to be taught? Design your
teaching accordingly.
With every topic you pick, ask yourself what
you think and how you would communicate your thoughts to others. Even if you
are an introvert, find a way to teach.
A good way to augment your teaching
is to begin by creating an imaginary student. If you are an introvert (or even
if you’re not) start teaching your imaginary student by writing your ideas to
him or her. Create questions or tests that enable you to probe more deeply. You
may even consider creating yourself as both teacher and student, taking
notes on what you are teaching yourself.
Most of all, I hope you find
persistence in your pursuit of loving care. I know you want your mother and others you
love to be cared for by people who are passionate about excellence and who are
compassionate toward others. How can you awaken this in others? How can you
teach in a way that would be so powerful that both you and those around you
will be transformed?
Reflect again: Who are the wisest teaches you have known, how did you learn from them, and how can you be a teacher to others in ways that will teach you as well?
-Erie Chapman
Journal of Sacred Work 
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