| I've been terrified of heights for as long as | | | | occasionally hearing the sound of the burner |
| I can remember and still I insist on white | | | | as it blasted hot air into the balloon above. |
| knuckle experiences. | | | | |
| | | | From experiencing this serenity my focus |
| On occasion I've thought it'd be a great idea | | | | turned to the burner and feeling the heat of |
| for my family and me to ride in glass | | | | the flames. |
| elevators, take rides on Ferris wheels (large | | | | |
| or small), check out revolving restaurants | | | | Happy with experiencing what I was, I began |
| atop towers - not only is this alone | | | | asking myself probing questions about my |
| terrifying, vertigo also gets thrown in for | | | | fear. With each answer I would then ask "and |
| good measure. Then there was my absolute | | | | what is important about that?" |
| fear of flying which thankfully has been | | | | |
| dealt with successfully. | | | | Remaining centred and controlling my |
| | | | breathing, I continued to answer each |
| Hot air ballooning is a different kettle of | | | | question fully to myself until there was |
| fish. Now I know hot air balloons fly (sort | | | | nothing left to ask. |
| of) however there are no in-flight rations, | | | | |
| flight attendants, movies, headsets, or | | | | From answering my own questions I discovered |
| pressurized cabins. There is just a big | | | | my fear was based on the fact that there was |
| balloon (also called an envelope - I paid | | | | no jet engine, steering wheel, seat belts, |
| attention during the pre-flight briefing), a | | | | escape chute and we were in a basket attached |
| basket, a gas burner and a group of excited | | | | to a really big balloon! |
| people. To me this was not flying, more like | | | | |
| drifting and floating randomly above the | | | | From those answers I then: |
| earth. | | | | |
| | | | * Determined that the likelihood of disaster |
| What possessed me to voluntarily take a hot | | | | was minimal to nil. |
| air balloon flight I'll never know. | | | | |
| | | | * Knew the present moment was the safest |
| A flight was booked and as luck would have | | | | place for me. |
| it, perfect weather conditions. We arrived | | | | |
| at the departure point on a cool, crisp | | | | * Future paced me. I imagined myself eating |
| morning before the sun rose. The other | | | | my champagne breakfast with the other |
| passengers had already arrived and were | | | | passengers after the balloon flight, and |
| eagerly awaiting the pre-flight briefing | | | | retelling my story. |
| before take-off. | | | | |
| | | | * Realised I was actually having an |
| That was the good bit. | | | | experience of a lifetime which I probably |
| | | | will never do again and decided to make the |
| Fear washed through me, it became difficult | | | | most of it. |
| to breathe, and my heart was pounding | | | | |
| rapidly. It took supreme effort to keep my | | | | Not only that, the captain seemed to know |
| panic in check and instead, not wishing to | | | | what he was doing (always encouraging), I |
| put a damper on anyone's enthusiasm, tried to | | | | knew the equipment was in great shape (I had |
| appear as nonchalant as possible. | | | | a good look), and there was someone following |
| | | | the balloon in a vehicle below. |
| As time for take-off approached my fear | | | | |
| intensified. Finally, as the ropes were | | | | Taking several deep breaths, I refocused on |
| released from the basket and the balloon | | | | my internal world and connected with peace |
| slowly made its way upward, my knees turned | | | | again, silently giving thanks to my years of |
| to jelly and the urge to rid myself of the | | | | meditation practise. |
| previous night's dinner became overwhelming. | | | | |
| | | | At last I was able to truly enjoy this |
| Totally trapped I silently screamed as we | | | | exhilarating experience! The peace and |
| rose higher and higher from the ground. | | | | tranquillity above the earth with the sun |
| | | | rising in the East, and the green rolling |
| What did I do next to overcome this panic? | | | | hills below was absolutely awesome - I was in |
| | | | heaven! |
| I changed my state. | | | | |
| | | | Being in the present moment, focusing on |
| I remembered to breathe, and with that was | | | | controlled breathing, as well as becoming |
| able to centre myself (knowledge of | | | | centred helped enormously in dealing with my |
| meditation helps!) to step fully into the | | | | anxiety. Not only that by asking the |
| present moment. It also helped to shift my | | | | question "and what is important about that?" |
| focus and become more curious, about the | | | | got to the heart of my fear. |
| purple hills I could see on the horizon. | | | | |
| | | | Try asking yourself that question sometime |
| My focus then shifted to experiencing how | | | | when a need crops up. You might be surprised |
| serene it was up in the sky, only | | | | as what you discover about yourself. |