What Bungee Jumping Taught Me About Fear

It All Started With a Nagging Voice Inside My Head That Kept Saying “Take a Bungee Jump…”

“I’m an old man and I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.”
– Mark Twain

In 1991, I heard a voice inside my head that said, “Take a bungee jump.”

I’d been studying transformational principles for 20 years at that point, but bungee jumping seemed completely nonsensical to me so I ignored it.

Then, one Saturday morning in September, I was in my bedroom getting ready for the day, and I heard the voice again.

“Take a bungee jump,” the voice said.

This time, I spoke back and said,

“You want me to take a bungee jump? Make it easy for me.”

As I made my way to the family room where my children were watching Saturday morning cartoons, I heard a commercial come on.

“Last weekend in Portland, Oregon! Bungee Jump of America!”

I stopped in my tracks. Wow! I thought. Of all the synchronicities. Well, I guess it doesn’t get any easier than that.

So I called my good friend, told her I was going bungee jumping and invited her to come along. She wouldn’t bungee jump, she said, but she’d keep me company.

When the day finally came, we drove across town, parked and got out of the car. There stood a huge, 140-foot crane. I looked up and saw a tiny platform that looked like a mini diving board.

As I watched people jump off, I could feel the fear growing inside my belly.

I had expected to be bungee jumping over a body of water such as a lake or a river, but when I looked around, I was in shock. I would be jumping over a parking lot!

It was about this time when I started to feel myself panic.

But I had committed to my decision and I knew the voice wouldn’t stop, so I went inside where I proceeded to watch a tutorial video. I learned that a “bungee master” would be accompanying me up to the platform in order to guide and assist with anything I needed.

After I signed a waiver, we walked outside into the parking lot.

In those days, the bungee cord was tied around the ankles…

The bungee master, a 19-year-old kid wearing a t-shirt that read Bungee Master across the front, wrapped a towel around my ankles, hooked the bungee cord on top of the towel, and led me into a small, caged elevator. He got in beside me and we were lifted 140 feet into the air.

Then, the cage door opened.

As I stepped out, I was surprised at how much higher we seemed to be. The crane hadn’t looked nearly as tall from the bottom. All of a sudden, I noticed how windy it was, and as the platform swayed back and forth, the thought crossed my mind, “What if I slip off?”

I was terrified. I could feel every cell in my body telling me, “This isn’t safe! You could kill yourself. Don’t jump off this thing.”

The bungee master said to me,

“Here’s what we’re gonna do: I’m gonna open this cage door. You’re going to get on that platform and go right to the edge. I’ll say ‘three, two, one, bungee,’ and you’ll jump. If you don’t jump, you’ll get one more chance. I’ll say ‘three, two, one, bungee’ a second time, and if you don’t jump, then you’ll get back into the cage and I’ll take you down to the parking lot. And by the way, we don’t give refunds. You’ll have your opportunity. Take it or leave it.”

Then, the bungee master opened the elevator door…

With the cord around my ankles, I hopped to the edge of the platform and looked down.

“All right,” said the bungee master. “Here you go. Three… two… one… bungee!”

I couldn’t move. Nothing in my body would work.

As I stood there, frozen to the platform, I heard him say, “Okay, take a deep breath. You get one more chance.”

I took a deep breath and looked out across the valley. I spotted a well-known church in the distance. I knew this church – the name of it was New Hope and I could see the big cross on top of the roof.

For me, the cross had always been a symbol of the intersection between the Infinite side of our nature and the human side of our nature. That place was in our hearts where we could connect with a power that was greater than ourselves.

As I stared at that cross, I heard the bungee master count down again.

“Three… two… one… bungee!”

Looking out at New Hope Church, I said aloud, “Into your arms,” and I jumped.

As I fell, I watched the ground come closer and closer. Before I touched the ground, the bungee cord popped me back up, and I bounced and bounced until I was simply hanging upside down. The bungee cord was lowered safely to the ground, and before I knew it, I was unhooked.

I had gone bungee jumping!

As I was driving away from the bungee jumping platform, I thought to myself,

“Well, that was thrilling, but what was that all about? Why was there a voice inside my head telling me to go bungee jumping???”

The answers to these questions would remain mysteries for some time, but over the next few months, a number of events would occur in my life that would call upon the lessons that I had gained during my experience.

Whenever you’re afraid, remember that there’s a power that’s greater than you

Fear, doubt, and worry can hold you back from achieving the things in life that you’re truly capable of, but the antidote to these fears and doubts is to know and understand that there’s a power that’s greater than you.

In fact, that power is breathing you at this very moment.

You see, your fears come from your own mind, not the outside world, and the truth is that the mind uses fear as a survival mechanism. Its primary job is to protect you!

Understand that, like an over-worried mother, your fear-based mind is only doing its job.

The next time you feel fear rising up inside of you, listen to what it’s telling you, and simply say, “Thank you for sharing!” Then, take a deep breath and redirect your mind back to the present moment and what you want to accomplish.

By realizing and accepting that you can actually do anything you put your mind to, your fears will slowly begin to subside and hold less control over your life.

In Part Two, I’ll share 3 techniques you can use to prepare to do anything that scares you, so that you can live a life you absolutely love! Because the truth is that real growth can only happen on the other side of your fear.

So, what’s something you’ve done that you were afraid of but did it anyway?

Go ahead and share with us in the comments section below ??????

A Meditation for Fear

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• Begin to quiet the voice of your inner critic – There’s something wonderful and sacred happening with you right now… it’s this thing called life! Knowing this will inspire you to live more fully and freely in the expression of who you truly are.
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