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Clayton was born at home next to the Christmas tree in a small town called Truthville in upstate New York in 1975, an event that perhaps foreshadowed a life full of unexpected adventures and deep reflections. His early years were tumultuous, marked by chaotic and unsettled environments, parental divorces involving custody battles, courthouses, and child psychologists' offices, with much time spent in the back seat of the family station wagon as they moved constantly. In 1989, they finally settled in East Rogers Park, a vibrant neighborhood in Chicago, where he has stayed ever since.
After high school, disillusioned and not ready for college, he embarked on a nine-month motorcycle journey across the United States. This period was as much about discovering the world as it was about finding himself. Eventually, he attended Columbia College Chicago, graduating with a degree in marketing and advertising. However, after only three months in a marketing job, he realized that working in an office felt too restrictive for the turbulence he felt inside. He left the office and began working for himself as a contractor and handyman.
On March 11, 2007, his life took a dramatic turn. A ski accident severed two of his quadriceps, leaving him unable to walk for nearly six months and confronting a profound depression as he lost everything he owned, including his identity. This forced him to reassess everything he thought he knew about life. In the depths of his despair, while driving away from the Golden Gate Bridge and having not jumped, a voice in his head whispered, "There has got to be another way." This moment of clarity marked the beginning of a long and painful journey of self-discovery and healing.
Despite the many challenges along the way, this path ultimately, serendipitously led him to a 2 and 1/2-month silent meditation retreat in the mountains of Vermont. Here, he experienced cosmic consciousness and pure awareness, a transformative encounter that completely redefined his relationship with life. This condition of higher awareness, akin to spiritual enlightenment, lasted for several years. His profound journey reshaped his life, illuminating the mechanisms behind his childhood trauma and instilling a base of knowledge that opened up a whole new approach and meaning to life.
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