Teacher vs Student Responsibilities

Teacher’s responsibilities

• help students see their own wisdom – be careful to no over-identify with being “the source of wisdom”
• affirm the student’s own authority, and support the student’s unique process and path
• Offer insights and perspectives, but recognize it’s up to the student to decide if they are useful or valid. 
• the TA model is to some degree arbitrary, but it has practical accuracy. Not “the” truth, but a helpful way to view things.
• to understand what TA emerged out of:
  • the gifts of the teachings, and
  • the toxic baggage and guru traditions and appropriation
  • why are we using sanskrit words, like ‘dharma’?
• be conscious of and hold students’ projections; and, as kindly and gently as possible, decompress and deflate students’ projections. Hold the student’s projection until student is able to acknowledge their split-off qualities.
• transparency
• be conscious of ‘teacher’ hierarchy
• be a container/ holder
• hold the current evolution of the teachings
• not over-inflate “my wisdom,” acknowledge what I’m saying seems wise, but people already know or have known it
• encourage the depth of perspective that comes from diving into different teachers
• deeply honor the student’s vulnerabilities
• deeply honor the student’s strengths and intrinsic wholeness
• don’t just give lip service to mutuality – really engage 
• don’t hide my imperfections – my imperfections liberate the student to be their own imperfect self
• first affirm student’s experience, and then, when the student is able to receive it, sensitively offer your own experience
• hold appropriate boundaries and do so with love and kindness
• own the projections and shadow material that arise in response to a student. Get extra support for this if needed!
  • become aware of my dependency on students positive projections – am I avoiding tarnishing student’s positive image of me in order to feel good about myself?
  • get support when old wounding is activated in response to a student’s negative projections on me. 
  • keep in mind that a student’s perspective of me holds a kernel of truth. What are they asking me to become more conscious of?!

Student’s responsibilities

• become willing to acknowledge both positive and negative projections I am placing onto a teacher
• become conscious of the ways in which I am giving too much of my power over to a teacher
• take ownership and responsibility for my spiritual process and path
• as best I’m able, bring issues forward to the teacher to work through in mutuality
• get extra support if I’m experiencing conflict with a teacher