Life Lessons From The Himalayas of Nepal

My first trip to Nepal was in 1986, in the midst of a personal crisis. I went to find my own nirvana, so I climbed to the top of a mountain and stood there waiting for the lights to go on and my life to change. There I stood, after 3 months of hard work, preparation and training and came to a realisation that was totally terrible. 

I had all the mind noise up here that I had down there. 

I was me and brought it with me. Nothing had changed and even worse was the realisation that I’d be taking myself home, the same as I arrived. No transformation happened at all. I was still thinking the same way, even though I really believed this path would transform me. It had changed some things, but not what I wanted. 

So, I went back home, licked my wounds and did some re-engineering. Then, I went back again. Since then, I’ve done nearly 50 trips up into those Himalayan Mountains: sitting in caves, laughing with monks, dancing with Sherpa people. Instead of searching, I came to celebrate something, in a very special and sacred place.

Everyone has their own Mecca. I mean, I’ve travelled extensively, to really special places and met some amazing people, but these Himalayan Mountains keep calling me back and frankly, there’s something very familiar about them.