Recently I caught up with the man who changed my life.
Cliff is one of my favourite people.
He’s charismatic, successful, and laughs louder than most.
But he didn’t always use to be that way, so he tells me.
A few years ago, I worked for Cliff at his osteopathic clinic in Sydney. I was there working as a practice manager because I didn’t know what to do with my life after quitting architecture.
Cliff knew the lost, unfulfilled, moody Andrea.
On a good day I was great, but on an average day I was snappy and short with people. Emotions came over me like a cloud, and I reacted to them instantly. My fears and indecision were holding me stuck in a life I knew I didn’t want.
One day Cliff bought me a book about mindfulness. He could see I was controlled by my overactive mind. At the time I didn’t pay much attention, because the title – “The Power of Now” triggered all my skeptic alarms.
Cliff used to meditate in between seeing patients. I always thought it odd, because he didn’t seem like the hippy type at all. This was long before meditation became trendy. He explained that all he did was sit in chair and watch his thoughts come and go.
I could see that Cliff seemed to be living a bloody good life- more than most people I knew-
and I wondered if there was anything in it. But I wasn’t ready to change, and it seemed a bit airy fairy for me, so I ignored it.
It took me another year and a big relationship breakup before I realised I needed to change the way I was going about things. Succeeding wasn’t working, being perfect wasn’t working, even travel wasn’t working to fill the lack of satisfaction that followed me everywhere.
So I read the book. It wasn’t an immediate fix, but in time, it changed everything.
I think it’s safe to say that Cliff and everyone I knew before I learnt this stuff have been surprised at how radically I’ve changed.
Today I’m no longer controlled by my emotions.
I’m not insecure, nor irritable, nor lost, nor unfulfilled. I have control of my mind, and I use it efficiently to create my bloody good life.
I’m forever grateful to Cliff for introducing me to mindfulness, and to Eckhart Tolle for writing about it in a way my skeptical mind could tolerate.
And now I’m on a mission to introduce the practical concept of mindfulness to anyone who’s ready for a change.
If some of what I write about resonates with you,
start researching mindfulness.
If you want to explore how you can fast track the process that took me three years- book a free chat with me
And Sydneysiders- Sydney Osteopathic Medicine is where you’ll find the best osteopath/ undercover life coach you’ll ever meet! I recommend seeing Cliff (or Peter, also a legend) even if only for the laughs and awesome chats about life!