Walking a Fine Line: How to Be a Professional Wisdom Keeper in the Healing Arts

"Wisdom Keepers and Seekers: A Working Definition

For centuries, Native American and indigenous cultures have identified the elders and teachers in their communities as Wisdom Keepers. Wisdom Keepers have been revered and trusted not only for their sharp minds, but their compassionate hearts and strong spirits. Able to embody and impart sacred, holistic teachings, and to nurture a humble-yet-potent relationship with the Great Mystery, Wisdom Keepers have helped their communities through hard times for generations. Both spiritually and practically, they’ve served their communities by bringing everyone in the tribe closer together, as well as closer to the earth, and the cosmos.

Many people in today’s world are Wisdom Seekers. We long for the healing and empowering guidance Wisdom Keepers have traditionally provided in the past, but we have lost touch with the ways of our ancestors. Very few of us still live in indigenous or traditional communities where elders are respected and responsible for passing down ancient, experientially-tested wisdom to the younger generations.

Because of this, many of us turn to modern-day professional Wisdom Keepers for support and inspiration. Professional Wisdom Keepers are today’s therapists, healers, coaches, psychologists, bodyworkers, astrologers, psychics, spiritual counselors, yoga teachers, inspirational speakers, workshop leaders, meditation facilitators, metaphysical mediums, urban shamans, and more.

This book is dedicated to the
modern-day Wisdom Keepers of the world,
and to the Wisdom Seekers they aim to serve."

* * *

As professional Wisdom Keepers, sharing knowledge and techniques is only half of our task. Discovering how to share, with whom, when, how much, why, and where make up the other portion. Walking a Fine Line speaks to the wisdom, skill, art and balance we all need to live and serve with integrity.

If you are a professional Wisdom Keeper, 'Walking a Fine Line' will inspire, support and stretch you. It’s a warm invitation into an ongoing, nuanced and collective exploration of professional integrity.

If you are a seasoned Wisdom Seeker, this book will help you cultivate healthy boundaries and a discerning mind, so that you can successfully engage with professional Wisdom Keepers that best suit your needs.

If you’re just getting started on your Wisdom Seeking journey, this book will help you know what to look for, and what to look out for! It can help you assess your needs, clarify your wants and enable you to find the quality support you deserve.

Whether you live, work or learn in a spiritual or alternative learning environment, together—through a shared and honest inquiry—we can raise the quality of our collective service and grow as a planetary family of creative, caring individuals.

Here are just a few of the themes addressed in Walking a Fine Line:

-- Quality Control
-- The Important Role of Supervision & Mentorship
-- Supporting Ourselves and Others on a Path Towards Wholeness (a Jungian perspective)
-- The Ego Gets a Bum Rap
-- The Shadow's Role in the Healing Arts
-- Truth, Honesty & the Inner Child
-- The Art of Non-Attachment
-- Moving Beyond Principles
-- Creating a Safe Space for Conflict & Anger
-- Grief & Suffering
-- Resisting the Temptation to Explain it Away
-- Managing Transitions & Timing
-- Guilt, Blame, Resistance & Positive Thinking
-- Boundaries & Roles
-- Cross-cultural & Social Boundaries
-- Learning & Working in Wisdom Keeping Communities
-- Role Juggling in Communities
-- The Hazards of Hierarchy (The Popularity Contest)
-- An Invitation to Speak Out against Community Injustice
-- The Teacher's Special Role in Letting Go
-- Common Traps (The Self-absorption, Martyr, Money, Time, Like-Love-Approval, Charisma, Forgiveness, Guru and Perfection Traps)