CHAPTER 20

Namaste Nirvana

When Cliff first decided to explore meditation, he did what any curious soul in the digital age would do—he sent a message to a small group of friends and colleagues, hoping to glean some wisdom from their experiences. The responses were supportive, but one reply stood out like a beacon in the night. It came from Pure, a pen pal Cliff had never actually met in person but who had become a guiding light during some of his darkest moments. Pure seemed to understand Cliff in a way few others did, and she introduced him to the practice of breathing meditation, which became a crucial tool in his journey towards recovery.

Pure didn’t just stop at offering advice; she suggested a book that had helped her find solace: The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse. Cliff, ever the cautious and reflective type, didn’t just breeze through the pages. Instead, he took it one page at a time, pausing to reflect deeply on each nugget of wisdom before moving on. The book was simple, yet profound, and it resonated with him in a way that few things had. Cliff found himself jotting down his thoughts and reflections, savoring the quiet moments of clarity that the book inspired.

But Cliff wasn’t one to stop at a single source of inspiration. His quest for peace and quiet led him to another book, 10% Happier by Dan Harris. The story of Dan—a successful TV news anchor who had a panic attack on live TV—spoke to Cliff on a personal level. Dan’s journey from the high-stress world of news to the calm waters of meditation was relatable in ways Cliff hadn’t anticipated. The book didn’t promise miracles; it didn’t claim that meditation would solve all his problems. But if it could make him even 10% happier, well, that was a start. Cliff appreciated the down-to-earth approach. You didn’t have to shave your head and live in a monastery to benefit from meditation; you just had to start small and build from there.

The more Cliff read, the more he was convinced. Meditation wasn’t just a fad; it was backed by solid science. Studies showed that regular practice could reduce stress, enhance emotional well-being, improve attention and memory, and even boost physical health by lowering blood pressure and improving sleep quality. Cliff was sold. He decided to give meditation a real shot, starting with just five minutes a day.

At first, those five minutes felt like an eternity. Sitting still, trying to focus on his breath, Cliff couldn’t help but feel his mind wandering. Thoughts would pop up uninvited, like a group of rowdy kids crashing a quiet library. But then he remembered something from Dan’s book: the goal wasn’t to silence the mind completely but to observe those thoughts without judgment. It was about acknowledging their presence and then gently guiding his focus back to his breath. It was like potty training—messy & not easy, but totally worth the effort.

Cliff found that the best place to practice was by the seaside, down by the rocks at the corniche, right after his run. There, with the sound of the waves and the sight of the birds flying overhead, he would sit for about 10 minutes, letting the natural rhythm of the sea anchor his thoughts. He tried different techniques: imagining himself behind a waterfall, where thoughts fell like water, or picturing each thought as a bubble, letting it fly away. Slowly, he began to realize that these thoughts didn’t define him—they were just passing clouds in the vast sky of his mind. As his therapist would tell him “you just learned to exist beside your thoughts, as opposed to within them”.

But Cliff didn’t stop at meditation. He added yoga to his routine, specifically Yin Yoga, which emphasized slow, deliberate movements and long-held poses. It was the perfect complement to his meditation practice. Each morning, Cliff would stretch out his muscles, focusing on his breath, allowing the soothing music to guide him into a state of calm. It wasn’t just exercise; it was a way to start the day with a sense of peace and intention.

Feeling the need for a deeper reset, Cliff took a three-day vacation to Mystictown, a place known for its tranquil beauty and ethereal ambiance. The picturesque landscape, serene atmosphere, and cultural richness of the town created the perfect backdrop for Cliff to immerse himself in deep reflection, practicing yoga, meditating, and taking mindful walks. He even took time to listen to the street musicians, their melodies blending harmoniously with the distant mountain peaks.

One evening, Cliff joined a group of stargazers led by an experienced guide, far from any light pollution of civilization. As he laid back and gazed up at the night sky, the stars twinkling like a thousand tiny diamonds, he felt a profound sense of connection to the universe. The vastness of the universe seemed to put everything into perspective. He couldn’t help but imagine that somewhere, on a distant planet orbiting one of those stars, someone else might be gazing up at their own night sky, feeling just as small and insignificant—and yet, profoundly connected to the cosmos.

It was in these quiet moments, away from the demands of daily life, that Cliff found what he had been searching for all along—a sense of inner peace and contentment that no amount of success or achievement could provide.

But it wasn’t just the breathtaking views of Mystictown that lingered in Cliff’s mind. It was the profound sense of calm he found within himself. Sitting by the mountains, with nothing but the sound of the wind and the rustle of leaves, Cliff opened his journal and began to write. As his thoughts flowed onto the pages, he started to untangle the complex web of emotions and stories he had been carrying. Certain thoughts kept resurfacing, gently prodding him, as if they were urging him to dig deeper, to explore them further.

This journal was more than just a collection of his thoughts—it was the start of a journey into his own psyche, a path that would reveal layers of his identity he never knew existed. Little did he know, this was just the beginning of a profound journey, one that would continue to evolve in ways he could never have anticipated...