It's somewhat embarrassing to me, but sometimes when my work is featured in print, or occasionally on tv, or radio, people refer to me as "The Harmonica Guru."
Of course, calling someone "The _______ Guru" can simply mean that they are considered expert in their field.
For example, there used to be a fellow up here in Vermont that some people called "The Riding Mower Guru."
If you had a riding lawn mower, old or new, in good shape or not, he'd keep it going.
Since I've taught more than a million people to play harmonica, and written more than a dozen books on the subject, I suppose it's not surprising that some people, especially some of my students, use the HG term.
But, I also teach mindfulness and meditation. And I do it through the harmonica. Quite literally.
Which is why some other people use the HG phrase.
Though I'd never call or consider myself a guru, thank you very much, as the term is often understood, meaning a spiritual leader, with "disciples" or "followers."
That's just asking for trouble. And I've said at www.harmonicayoga.com, regarding Bhakti Yoga (the Yoga of Devotion) that I'm just not into devotional practices — either giving, or getting!
I have had many incredible teachers, especially my first mindfulness teachers, Jack Kornfield (founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center), and Stephen and Ondrea Levine.
Yet they are not my "gurus."
And my only "devotional efforts" are towards the path of mindfulness, or, as some call it, "The Dharma" (or "The Truth," or "Spiritual Awareness," or "Enlightenment," etc.).
So I'm simply a teacher: of mindfulness, of meditation (the process used to become mindful), of the harmonica, of The Dharma.
Of the Dharmonica™, even!
Back to the H.G. Term:
A big part of trying to be mindful is not to get too attached to what other people think of you.
Or what you think of yourself.
Or of thought in general.
So the act of "being someone special doing something special" is in many ways detrimental to being mindful.
On the other hand...
I believe that the most important work a person can do is to teach mindfulness while working on his or her own practice.
And I need to make a living doing what I think is important (teaching mindfulness, often through the harmonica).
And people like a simple, no-brainer word or term for describing or remembering someone.
The Harmonica Guru.
So like anything else, self-promotion vs. reducing emphasis on the self is a fine balancing act...
And just another thought...