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Copyright 2020 by Kirsten Beverley-Waters
Aiiro Wellness
Portland, ME
www.aiirowellness.com
Printed in the United States of America
BookBaby Publishing
7905 N Crescent Blvd
Pennsauken, NJ 08110
ISBN: 978-1-0983181-9-2
First Edition, 2020
I DEDICATE THIS BOOK to every person that ever saw struggle as a weakness. May your struggles be set free to share their lessons and stories, and awaken the guru within you.
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing a book is harder than i thought, and more rewarding than I could have ever imagined.
None of this would have been possible without the support and love of my dear wife Korrie. She constantly reminds me of the power of one human being believing in you. Through her belief and encouragement, I found my voice and the courage to use it to help others. Words will never fully express the ways in which my life has been forever changed by your partnership.
Im eternally grateful to my mother, Teri Beverley. I first learned what it meant to overcome struggle through her example. She taught me discipline, tough love, manners, respect, and so much more, all of which has helped me succeed in life. No words could possibly express the extent of my love and gratitude for all of her sacrifice. Thank you for never giving up on me and my journey.
To my sisters, Constance and Kendra, opposites in their ways of living life but united in their power to be examples of perseverance and hard work: I am so proud to call both of you my sisters.
To my yoga teachers Tiffany Cruikshank, Kathryn Budig, Almut Schotte, Alice Louise, Valerie Knopik, and Tracy Rhinehart: The practices you shared on the mat transcended the asana and transformed the way I see practice as a way of teaching and living.
To my pastor Michael, who shook the tree of knowledge in my heart and helped me sort through the many questions of faith: Your guidance will always be a light on my path.
To the many friends and teachers who have poured into my life and helped me navigate the ways of this world: There are too many of you to mention by name, but each of you holds a special place in my heart.
Lastly, thank you to my father, who will never read these words, but whose brief life on earth still lives through me.
INVITATION
One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will
strike you as the most beautiful.
SIGMUND FREUD
Dear struggle guru,
Its long overdue that we meet the guru
The tattoos of struggle painted across your body make me certain you are the one that I have been seeking. If it makes you a bit uneasy to know that I see your struggle from a distance, you are not alone: Struggles feel like gaping wounds and scars that have mutilated our bodies, and the idea that they could be seen as pieces of art that uniquely share a personal journey seems possible only in the literary. Let me reassure you: You may not see the wisdom in your achievements and falters in struggle, but I do.
Here, in these pages, we will explore together, unravelling the teachings of your struggles that are locked within you. Together, we will sort through the mess that makes each of us our greatest student and teacher. The years of struggling that have felt like a dark cloud on your purpose and potential will be lifted.
Its time to see the years of struggle as the most beautiful practices of knowingyour deepest self.
This is your moment, guru. Yes, YOU are the guru. Perhaps you thought that this book would be the musings of my self-appointed guruness, but no; it is very much the lessons all of us share in struggle. Struggle Guru strips back the labels and layers that separate us.
Here you will crack struggle wide open and see that every person struggles in life, regardless of where they come from. It isnt about social class, education, sexual orientation, gender, or religion. The truth is, we all struggle.
Struggle unites us. There are commonalities, and the many curious ways in which struggle unites us and nurtures our growth form the cornerstone of this book.
PRESENT AND HONEST
The only prerequisite this book has is your presence. Struggle, on the other hand, requires a little more than the book: It requires your presence and your honesty. If you try to fool struggle, it hits back with more.
Too often, we dont focus on the struggle. Living our day-to-day lives makes it so easy to be distracted, and to try and brush off struggle. Today is not that day. Today, release your trepidation over focusing on your struggles and what you might see. Let go of the fallacy that the turbulent waters are a direct reflection of your true self. Recognize that anything can become distorted if reflected through changing, unruly tides. These watery struggles are not meant to reflect who you are, but to engage you in the navigational journey towards your deeper understanding.
Flip through the pages of this book; wander through these chapters with an explorers mindset. You dont need to go any deeper than you want (although that also means you cannot blame anyone if your growth becomes limited). From the questions that arise as you read, seek the answers within: You are, after all, the only guru who can truly know your struggle.
Fear not; it wont all be deep, thought-provoking work. Some lessons rally you through laughter. Others may make you cry. Still others entice you with their promise. With each and every chapter, there is a good chance a spark will light within youand fire may begin to blaze.
If you are ready to explore the Struggle Guru within you, lets dive in together.
Chapter 1
MEET YOUR GURU
I remember my first visit with my guru. He had shown me that
he could read my mind. So I looked at the grass and thought,
My God, hes going to know all the things I dont want people to
know. I was really embarrassed. Then I looked up
and he was looking directly at me with unconditional love.
RAM DASS
Unconditional love is conceptually challenging for us to extend to ourselves. We judge and measure our choices against standards that we have been conditioned to believe are the right ones. I have sought many gurus in hopes that their wisdom may unlock some understanding of myself that I turned a blind eye to, or couldnt connect with, out of my shame or feeling of unworthiness.
American spiritual teacher Ram Dass speaks to a particularly eye-opening understanding of guru that has changed the way in which I understand its meaning. In the epigraph that starts this chapter, notice that he recalls meeting a guru who could read his thoughts, and he experiences shame and fear in this vulnerability. Dass is worried about what others will know, and how that will shape their view of him.
After sitting with this passage for some time, I realized that Dass could very much be speaking to his true self, or his divine inner guruor that which some might call his consciousness. But lets explore what
![Vikrmn [Vikrmn] - Guru with Guitar](/uploads/posts/book/114813/thumbs/vikrmn-vikrmn-guru-with-guitar.jpg)
