Do I Need A Certification To Teach?

In this short talk, David shares the benefits of getting training and certification and highlights the importance of mastering one's own meditation practice, learning how to teach effectively, and creating something in the world as key components to being successful as a meditation teacher.

Transcript

Okay, So let's talk about getting certified as a meditation teacher. And do you actually need a certification? The short answer is no. There are teachers out there that do an amazing job who probably don't have one, Like Eckhart Tolle. And then there are the rest of us mere mortals that probably can use some training. I know that when I go to a doctor or a lawyer, Although hopefully I'm not going to too many lawyers all the time, Or a therapist, Any kind of professional, I feel more comfortable when I know that they have a certain level of training and certification. But in the meditation world and like the spiritual world, There's no overarching governing bodies or boards really. So it is kind of the Wild West, Which is a double edged sword. On the one hand, The barrier of entry is really low as a teacher, You get started very quickly and reach an audience. And on the other hand, There are teachers maybe that need training, More training that don't have it. And maybe some of their unconscious energies that they haven't kind of worked through, Maybe some of their patterns or lack of integrity bleed into their teachings that could have been polished out from a teacher training and they affect their students. So I think there's a positive side and a negative side to that. And obviously, We never truly master meditation, But maybe we start to master our relationship with our own meditation practice. So we learn how to sit consistently, How to really deepen into stillness and silence, How to have a relationship with our emotions, Our energy, Our thoughts, That's healthy rather than combative. How to come out of that endless kind of self narration, Like the sports broadcaster in our heads that's labeling everything and just calling every moment that can drive us mad. So we learn how to meditate deeply, We learn how to have structure and discipline in our practice. And we learn how to really find our authentic selves and awaken our consciousness from meditating. That is baseline foundational, Absolutely necessary if we're going to be a teacher. And after getting to teach thousands of students over the years and seeing their progress, I realized there's an arc of becoming a better meditator, Right? Growing personally, Spiritually. And then there's the arc, If you want to take this arc of becoming a teacher. And those are two different arcs. They're connected, But when we start on the path of being a teacher, It could feel awkward all over again. It's like, Okay, I've been meditating for a while, But how do I actually express this in the world and meet people where they are? Not being an advice giver, But a guide, Really be a light of awareness for others so they can learn to find their own answers and walk their own path. And that has its own arc and it takes time. And so in teacher training, We learn the strategies and the structure to be able to harness our energy and share it in a really direct, Clear and healthy way that impacts people, But that doesn't tell them what they should do or how they should do it. So that's the way I see teacher training. I hope that was useful and helpful. So do you need a certification? That question is up to you. I hope that you go out there and share your light with the world and really start to make a difference and impact with your awareness. Thanks for being here with me for this series. Love you. And I will see you next time.

Reviews

Thank you for sharing your insights on becoming a meditation teacher. These talks are helpful.

I’m a advance trained labyrinth facilitator. Different but similar. I found this very affirming. Thank you for offering this explanation as well as your many helpful meditations.

Very true and well explained.
For example, the new student who went to an evening class with a “teacher” who gave the first exercise to imagine mindfully eating a small piece of chocolate.
This lingered in her mind so on the way home, she bought enough chocolate to binge with and felt a lot worse after indulging than when she had hopefully gone along to the class.

Wonderful. As always. Thank you.