Continued Part 1 (Read Here)

I remember the exact moment when I decided it was best to leave the Ashram. As I looked into the future, I saw myself living the rest of my life at the Ashram, just like the monks that I studied with. My body was filled with a deep sense of unease, and I knew that this wasn’t the path I wanted to take.

After years of emotional abuse, bullying, and coercion by the Guru, I was no longer the fiery, quick-witted woman that I once knew myself to be. She was now a shell of what she used to be. My nervous system was shot from living in a perpetual state of fear at the Guru’s fluctuating moods, and the callousness with which he could cut you down at any time.

I had to decide. Was I going live like this the rest of my days? Would I dare break free to live my life on my terms? I…