The Pitfalls of Being a Popular Psychic: Mentor Yes, Guru No.

When you’ve been in the psychic business as long as I have (she said, wheezing in her rocking chair…), you will more than likely be looked upon as Someone Who Knows Their Stuff.

You’ll have clients that come to you year after year. You’ll be the go-to referral (“Oh, you’re looking for a new psychic? Well, let me tell you about MINE, you’ll love them…).

And you will have people who want to learn from you, follow your every word, and are convinced that YOU are the doorway to everything they want to know.

That is when you need to know the difference between a Mentor and a Guru.

Here’s my definition, at least when it comes to intuitives:

The Mentor pushes you a bit further than you think you can go, pushes you out of the nest just before you think you can fly, and applauds wildly in the audience when you get an award for being better at what they do than they are.

Perfect example? Meryl Streep thanking her Yale drama professor as she wins an Oscar, who beams at her as he watches her acceptance speech.

Now, THAT’s a mentor in the best sense of the word.

When I mentor someone, I ask them what they want to do. What are their interests? Where do they want to go? A mentor doesn’t say, “I’m the only way to do it.” Nor does the mentor want the student to follow them blindly. Instead, we want to push them to find some of their own answers.

And when someone comes to me and asks me to mentor them, I don’t always say yes right away. I do a little investigating:

Are they serious, or just want “in” ’cause it’s cool?

Do they understand that this, if they are serious, is a life-changing path?

Will they be unafraid to ask questions, and do some research on their own?

And will they take responsibility for their own learning?

If I hear a “yes” on all four of these, we’ll probably do well.

And I always encourage them to learn from other people. Different methodologies, different talents, and different squints on the world will touch base with everything they have to work with, even if a particular talent they’ve got isn’t in my wheelhouse.

So that’s a mentor. What about the other types?

Dark mentors or false gurus… ah, it’s All About Them.

The Guru keeps assuring their devotees “You’re getting there,” as they upsell them with more sessions, more classes, more work, and more time with… the Guru. And, at a price.

If someone stands their ground with the Guru, they will be told they are falling away from the path — that the Guru is so disappointed in them, they aren’t worthy to do the work the Guru has chosen for them to do, and on and on and on.

This is a Shadow Teacher. This is someone showing the student what they might turn into if they forget they are in Service, as requested by the Universe.

Everybody will run into them eventually. The key is, can the student recognize them, and get out from under their spell before it’s too late?

Mentors know it’s not about us, it’s not about being better or holier or more enlightened than anyone else. We don’t judge others’ fitness for this profession; we allow the Universe to take care of that.

You want to be the Mentor, not the Guru.

And lastly? Recognize that fans are different critters from regulars.

The regular folks are the ones who come to us periodically, trusting in our wisdom and what we get from Spirit, and who are grateful that we can assist them in making the best decisions to move their lives forward. And then they take what we discover together to make their own lives better.

They may come to us every few months, or every year, or every three years. But they make their appointments when they are ready to expand and explore their next steps. And we know they’ve USED what they’ve learned before they show up again at our office.

We professional psychics, we love these folks. They remind us in all the good ways why we do the work we do.

But the fans are the ones who hang on every word, buy everything we mention, and always come to us for everything in their lives, praising us as the only intuitive or healer they would ever go to. They wouldn’t dream of making a move without an appointment with us first.

Remember how we’ve talked about Ego? Well, the “fans” are the ones that serve up a full-course meal to Ego, with a triple chocolate dessert. The idea that WE are what is important, rather than the message we give or the information we share, takes us out of the realm of Service. It’s important to resist the pull of the Fan.

Now, fans get treated like regulars, when I read them. I’m honest, I’m as clear as I can be, and I do my best work. Just as I would for any client.

But I pass on the fulsome praise, and merely shake my head and smile, saying “Just doing my job.”

Mentor yes — guru no. It’s one of the master commandments of being a true professional psychic.