Cliff and I at the Self Realization Fellowship Hermitage and Meditation Gardens

It’s been a very challenging, intense, and volatile period for the collective. We’ve been experiencing the passing of many beautiful souls, both in human and animal bodies that are making their transition. Things are shifting in ways that have immense impact and hopefully create the impetus for immense change.

Like many of you, I have also experienced the passing of dear ones, and have been supporting others going through the same. As you may know, my sweet Russian Tortoise, Gaia, recently moved on into her cosmic self, and just Friday a very dear friend of mine moved into the peace and expanse of his soul.

It is he that I wish to honor and remember today, after just learning of his passing yesterday.

Some of you may know him as well, so if this is your first time learning of this, I hold you in love as you integrate the news.

The beautiful soul I speak of is Cliff Durfee.

You may remember my post about his wonderful book, Stories for the Inner Ear, which includes my thoughts on it, as well as a bio of Cliff for anyone interested in knowing more about the life he led and other books he’s authored.

As his bio shares, Cliff spent the last thirty years + “devoted to personal and spiritual growth, developing intuition, and supporting people in aliveness, love, and laughter.” And this truly is who he IS at heart – always giving, always open to deepening his experience, gratitude, and understanding of the mysteries of life.

He often told me of the stories from his past where he had opportunity to meet and engage with people like Shakti Gawain, before her books became popular (an author that was important along my journey), as well as Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, and others. He had such a wealth of knowledge and richness of experience to share. And in recent years had become devoted to educating people on chemtrails, and shared with me his passions of projects he was wanting to create to support others.

If you haven’t read “Stories for the Inner Ear”, I highly recommend it for the reasons you’ll find at the link. Plus, it will really give you a glimpse of the heart and soul of Cliff.

There’s so much I could say about Cliff, but really want mostly to remember the beauty of who he is and always will be, as his soul lives on in every way and in every one of the people he touched with his immense heart.

Cliff and I became good friends online via Facebook maybe 6 years ago, and we then continued a friendship outside of that forum, on Skype messaging and calls, as well as emails. The world wide web certainly has made it possible to enjoy wonderful connections and bridge the space between physical distance, even if it does create other issues to be mindful of.

We always shared a special and mutually admiring friendship, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that we finally had the chance to meet in person, even though we lived about an hour to an hour and a half apart. Divine timing is always at work.

This would be the only time we connected in the physical, but it was so perfect and reflective of who we each are in essence and the beauty of our friendship. I’m so grateful for it.

On that day, I went down to visit him in Encinitas and we spent a lovely day together, as he showed me his world and we shared many a hug, smile, and laughter.

I got to see the wonderful place he called home and the trees, flowers, and plants outside his place that he often told me about that were dear to him and that he could see out his window from where he worked and talked to me (including stories on how he saved many of them and some trees he stopped the tree cutters from cutting down).

I had the chance to meet the lovely little parakeet that adopted him (Sweety Bird) and shared some tea, as he showed me some of his life treasures, including an angel I’d sent him, which he said was so dear to him.

Cliff and I at Moonlight Beach

I also had the chance to visit some of his favorite spots including exploring the Self Realization Fellowship Hermitage and Meditation Gardens above the ocean, his favorite lunch spot – Lotus Cafe and Juice Bar – for a vegan lunch and shared dessert, and then a long walk and continued meaningful conversation on his favorite Moonlight Beach.

How grateful I was and am that I got to see all these reflections of him that he held so dear, as well as share stories and hear of the wonderful experiences he’d had in his life and the stories behind his lovely book.

And even though we physically met only once, our connection was one that extended well beyond, as a soul friendship running very deep and dear.

Cliff was to me such a pure soul that exuded love, gentleness, compassion, and innocence. While he was such a wise man, that was all embodied in an incredibly sweet child.

It is this place that he and I met so beautifully and the thing we both respected and admired in one another.

Cliff often wrote the sweetest messages and comments on my posts that truly touched me, and he daily extended his gratitude in deep ways for who I was. He told me I’d inspired him to be vegan, and often sent me vegan recipes he found, knowing how much I liked to make things. He always commented on my posts when I shared a vegan dish I’d made, saying how he wished to be my next door neighbor so we could share in the yummyness.

I wished we could have too. And yet now we are in a way. I’ll smile every time I make something in the kitchen, knowing he is right beside me enjoying the process and now able to be with me to enjoy them as he wanted.

He often made mention that that one day we shared as friends, meeting in a timeless sacred space, changed and infused him with a new outlook on life, by his being able to experience seeing life through my eyes that day.

And yet, it is I who felt most gratitude and honor FOR HIM, as it was the reflection of who he is that drew out the essence of who I am. I often told him in each of our exchanges, how dear he was, and how much I so appreciated him.

Never did either of us take for granted any conversation or connecting time, no matter how small or short it may seem.

He often called me his angel, and yet he is now mine living in the expansive freedom, joy, purity, and love that he is in my heart and in all of the hearts of those who hold him dear and the many he has, and will continue to touch with his soul, and through his beautiful work he gifts us.

Cliff is one of those very special souls that you are truly blessed in life to be graced with their presence. I did and always will adore him.

I did not have the chance to be with him in his last days, but I did have the opportunity to talk to him, which I’m so grateful for. My connection with him, kept me intuitively in tune, and when I felt something and hadn’t heard from him, it made me check in with him. That is how I found out about his sudden turn of events with his health, which was completely out of the blue.

We then were able to have a beautiful and positive conversation, which was to be the last, as he called me from the hospital, the day before being released to hospice at home. We shared some tears, and some laughs (he still had his lovely humor despite the prognosis), and he told me the peace he was in, and that he truly was okay with whatever was to be. He asked if I could send him some Reiki for the pain, which I continued to do each day, and we planned that when he was settled back home, I was going to go visit him, but this did not come to be.

Friday, something told me to check in with him. So I messaged him, but no answer. I felt something, yet it wasn’t until yesterday that I discovered it was the morning of that very day I checked in with him (8:15 am) that he passed.

However, that conversation that we last shared was perfect and lingers with me. We were both able to say from our hearts (several times) the most important thing, which is how we left the conversation upon hanging up, “I love you so much”.

And that is the message I hope to leave with each of you, and which he impressed upon me so much, as I was reflecting yesterday about him at the beach.

To live each moment fully. To embrace what is most important in life and of lasting value. And to always say, share, and be all the things that you are, would always wish to say to or wish to hear from others, even if you aren’t receiving it, and to not waste a single moment.

I honor and celebrate you Cliff in the expansive freedom and grace of who you are now and always. I’m so grateful to have been touched by the love you so generously share. We are all so gifted by your presence.

Reflecting the love and joy that you are and celebrating you in every breath of life.