What challenge have you faced lately? A few years ago, I attended an Advanced Meditation Conference in Toronto with Bestselling Author Dr. Joe Dispenza of “You Are the Placebo.” As an international speaker, author, researcher, and educator, Dispenza is passionate about helping people reach their potential. Upon arrival, we are told that our group will be the first to take on a challenge. I say to myself, “What challenge? I don’t remember reading about any challenge. What does that have to do with meditating?” So, there we are, one-thousand participants from over 20 different countries being tested to face our fears.
Then our team leader says that we are going to repel down a 33-story building tomorrow. What did she say? Repel down a skyscraper? All the fear begins. I’m not doing that! Are they crazy? I’m not in the greatest physical shape. When I think of mountain climbers, they train for this!
At this point, I am quite upset. What a way to begin the conference! So that evening, I decide not to sign the release but to think about it overnight. After talking with my husband, who is also concerned, I look up the company on the Internet. Over the Edge has a good reputation for team-building and fundraising. My team leader had said that over 78,000 people have gone over the edge, without injuries.
The next morning, I signed the release–off to face my biggest fears.
As we wait for our turn on top of the Westin Hotel in Toronto, we encourage each other. I keep doing my mindful breathing, barely looking over the edge at the 33 stories below. Then it’s finally my turn for the challenge. My stomach churns. I say a prayer, and keep doing my breath work.
At first when I go over the edge in my harness, it’s quite scary. This is the hardest part. I go sideways, then had my knees dangling against the building. But soon I have enough rope to stretch out my legs. Soon I get into a rhythm, releasing more rope, jumping to the next level. At one point, I feel like Spiderman scaling down the building. In the end, I successfully go “over the edge” and make it down the building safely. I credit my mindfulness training and breathing with helping me surpass my edge.
The majority of attendees did repel down the Westin. Some did not, for a variety of reasons, but all learned from this experience. The company said we may have broken a world record for the most people to repel down a building in such a short time. I am so grateful to have overcome my fear, with the help of my Over the Edge crew member who was part trainer and part life coach.
This conference was an amazing experience. You never know what edge may come up in the future—but because of overcoming this challenge, I’ll be more confident that I’ll be successful with my next life challenge.
Vicki Atlas is an Author of Inner Power NOW, Best Mindset Coach and Certified Guided Imagery Specialist. Vicki is passionate about bringing more peace and wellbeing to parents and children. If you want to get past your fears, find out more about her coaching or training. Book a free “Chaos to Calm Consult”: vicki@innerpeacetime.com
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.