How to teach Faith

[kelmh]

Hey all,

I've been, for the past month or so, teaching an informal class on paganism, more specifically, Wicca. I've been working on things like meditation, energy work, and the like. I was attempting to teach the group to read Auras, or rather, just SEE the auras... And most of them were having trouble.

Most of the energy work and visualization work that I've been doing, they just don't seem to get. I've been trying everything I can think of to help them, but they seem to be taking what I'm saying and doing and negating it with what they call "logic."

I keep telling them, if you don't believe, then you won't get much out of this experience, but I don't know what to do... if there's something out there I can do... that will make it so there isn't really a way that their "logic" will be able to negate what's going on...

I know that's probably impossible... and I know that there's no way that I can teach faith... It's just frustrating to see them basically all say, "this is all stupid, and nothing's going on" when I'm seeing all the miracle that each day brings... I just don't know how to get them to see...

Any suggestions?

[Toby Stimpson]

Change the way you teach.

If your teaching style or what you are teaching them fails them, then base and frame it around something they will respond to. Frame it in a way that they can easily see and understand. Then slowly move the bar.

Can I just ask, what are your goals for this class? What are you trying to accomplish? Are the people there to be taught or are they there to experience? What are their expectations? What are their mindsets? And finally, are the participants of a particular age group, and are they regulars or does it change all the time?

[kelmh]

My real question is: How do I change the way I teach? What are some things I could do to teach things like visualization and meditation in such a way that they understand?

My goal for this class is just to teach it. I'm not trying to form a coven or anything like that. My goal is that these people leave with a better understanding of whatever it is that they're searching for.

What they have told me that they are there for is to learn. Each person there (there's four of them) have had former "training" on various different levels. They each said that they wanted to learn more structure than what they had been taught. Things like holidays, meanings, how to do a ritual. They wanted the structure that they'd never seen before, and when we were doing things that were strictly informational (like the three hour long discussion we had on the Sabbats and how they related to the seasons and to life) everything was going well.

Then I tried the auras, realized people couldn't visualize, and took it back a step to teaching visualization and meditation. I was under the impression that they all knew how to visualize because that's what I was told. I'm having trouble getting them to visualize and trust themselves enough with what they're doing.

It's a group of four, plus myself (so five). The youngest turned 18 earlier this year or last year, and the oldest is 28.

I've been telling them to go home and study on their own as well, then to bring what they've learned to class and talk about it because I know that I can't go over everything. I told them I'm not here, really, to teach, so much as guide. I'm just not sure how to continue my guiding.

[Jenett]

One of the things I've picked up from my HPS and HP, which has worked very well:

Talk about what it means to 'act as if'. When we're starting out, especially, it's really easy for the rational mind to get in the way. But encourage them to 'act as if', in the sense of trying a specific short exercise being open to what's going on, and see what happens.

Some options:
- The 'rub your hands together rapidly and feel the slight pressure as you pull them apart and slowly push them back together' thing.

- Having each person bring in a small object with strong emotional connections. Have them hold someone else's object and write down their impressions. Do this for 2-4 more objects, then go around and talk about them. (Have them each mention a couple of things about each object before the person whose object it is explains it. Chances are *very* good you'll have people picking up 'hits' that get them more open to other things.)

- Try some specific exercises that engage different kinds of perceptions. I'm not a visual learner: exercises that involve seeing auras generally leave me cold. However, I both 'feel' and 'hear' them far more clearly. Treat 'visualise' as far more than just visual senses, in other words. (I'm glad to expand on this one, more, if you need.)

- Try stuff that works directly on them - techniques of aura cleansing work here, because most people will feel the energy shifting within them (especially around areas of chronic tension.)

[Altheea]

I second the idea of asking people to "act as if." Try asking them to imagine what energy (for example) would feel like or look like to them, and asking them to imagine working with the energy in different ways. For many people, the act of vividly imagining the energy will enable them to really feel it. Also try to work with many different senses and let them know that energy may appear to them as very different than it does to others. I for one am just not visual. Thus, I totally can't see auras at all, but I can feel them. However it took me longer to figure this out because I kept looking for colors I read about in books.

I can't believe I just used "thus" and "totally" in the same sentence...:)

[CzechWoods]

you cannot teach faith

faith is like a plant. in order to grow it needs support.

live your faith. dont teach it. be real.

your own faith atm is ragile. ppl are putting it into question, and you reply to it. as their idol, you are- no offence - failing them.

i advise against play as if.

either faith is, or is not.

in rder to grow it needs dedication and whats more time. if you/your students expect that that, which takes often years in practice can be achieved over night, the project is condemned to fail.

if their logic stands between them and their success in practicing, so be it. it is their loss, not yours. your faith is (or shouldbe) growing independendly from outside recognition, praise, criticism etc.

faith is

once you realize this and live accordingly all rest will follow - in time - by itself