Gurus, those ubiquitous gurus, with their "Best Seller" books on how to take charge of your life and set the world on fire and get rich and be a #success -- everyone is a teacher, a guide, mentor, leader, guru, as their book sales will prove. Ugh! In the early 1980s I first took the bait with Wayne Dwyer's book, as per the recommendation of a college chum who seemed to have his act together. I lost count of the books I've read since then, all exhorting us to be great, and be humble, and.... you really nail it all, in this post. THANK YOU for this.

And now at the risk of playing the critic myself: no hyphen is needed after an -ly word. I may be the last editor on the planet who notices or cares, but "spiritually hungry" needs no hyphen. Big-House book publishers pay no attention. It's a lost cause, like lay vs lie, or "between you and I,' or "He gave Tom and I the book." Sets my teeth on edge. Let it go, Carol, let it go... I know, I know,

Critics, vs Encouragers.... we need "critical thinking" skills, but judgment and condemnation, no. Can a critic offer encouraging words... well, there's another blog post in the making.

Thank you for your reflections on false teachers - every line is quotable!