"Mitch" (not his real name) had come to the retreat searching for more joy and happiness in his life.  He was trapped in a miserable job that he absolutely hated. He wanted desperately to leave, but was paralyzed with fear over how his friends and family would react, and what the future would hold for him.  He moved through the first few sessions with his walls still up, and the practitioners reported that they were having a hard time making any progress.  This is very common during a SpiritQuest spiritual retreat.  It often takes a few days, but eventually a tiny crack opens, then the wall quickly crumbles the major breakthroughs begin to occur. That's what was about to happen to Mitch.

The morning of the fourth day Mitch had an emotional clearing session that resulted in a full blown panic attack. The practitioner was able to talk him through it, but didn't make much progress otherwise because so much time was spent on that.  Still, the wall was beginning to crack, and Mitch seemed ready to make major progress. That afternoon I took him out for a walk that changed his life forever.

As we began I reminded him to breathe intentionally, and mentally to focus his breath on any area of his body that felt constricted during the hike.  The first 15 minutes of our walk was easy and beautiful.  Mitch seemed to relax in the peaceful, natural surroundings.  We discussed his panic attack earlier, and he explained that the idea of telling his parents that he was planning to quit his job simply terrified him.  Overcoming fear was clearly his issue at the moment.  I picked up the pace slightly.  If he was facing fear, I wanting to keep his mind moving forward.  We were nearing the destination I had in mind. 

The trail turned abruptly and followed a ledge for the next 30-40 yards.  As I expected, Mitch slammed on the brakes and immediately tightened up.  To the left of the trail was a shear drop of more than 200 feet.  The trail was at least 6 feet wide and flat as a sidewalk, but Mitch was having a major problem with the drop off.  I asked him what he felt in his body and he replied, "The thought of walking across that turns my stomach into a knot."

"Perfect," I said enthusiastically, "that's exactly why we're here!"  For the next 30 minutes Mitch used a combination of breathing and EFT to release his fear of walking across the ledge.  He even froze once in the middle while crossing, but I was able to convince him to keep using the tools he had been taught over the previous days.  I had him visualize his chi energy grounding him to the Earth, and keep moving forward.  When he made it to the other side we celebrated his triumph together before continuing on.  Mitch was amazed that he had been able to make it across, since he had had a profound fear of heights since childhood.

A few minutes more and we came to a small cave in the black volcanic rock that was our final destination.  We were now in a sacred site that has been used by the local natives for thousands of years.  The mysterious glyphs nearby stand in testament to the powerful ceremonies that once took place here, and the cave itself has the feel of an ancient archaeological site.  The view from inside the cave is more beautiful than one can imagine.  We asked the guardian spirits for permission to enter and made a small offering of tobacco leaves.

Once in the cave I began to beat the drum softly, and explained to Mitch that we are using the drum as a heart beat to invite all of his ancestors to join him in prayer.  Eventually I encouraged him to chant some positive affirmations with me and proclaim his new status as a spiritual warrior, ready to conquer his fears.  Pretty soon I noticed that his body had relaxed and he was really getting into the chant.  Mitch was ready for round two.  On the way back we had to cross the ledge again.  We stopped briefly and I led him through a short meditation, visualizing his chi grounding him to the Earth.  That was all he needed.  This time he crossed the ledge quickly and easily.

On the other side Mitch was elated.  Never in his life would he have imagined that he could overcome his fear of heights enough to cross something like that.  For Mitch that ledge became a metaphor for what is possible when you become the master of your own mind and keep moving forward despite your fear.  He realized that he had been living his life trying to make other people happy. He had always been afraid to simply stand up and say what he wanted.  The ledge had forced to take a leap of faith in order to reach a very beautiful and sacred place, a place he very much wanted to experience.

That was over a year ago.  As part of our follow-up program for retreat clients we've exchanged several emails with Mitch in the year that has passed.  He reports that he loves his new job and has a much healthier relationship with his parents now that he has learned to speak his truth.  No longer a social wallflower, Mitch  also has a new love in his life!  Are you ready to face your fear and become a spiritual warrior?  Isn't it time you really started experiencing life without limits?