Hans came to me years ago because he was afraid of heights. 'Ed, I so want to go to Peru to walk the Inca trail, but if I even think about it?!?'
He had a gigantic fear of heights. A stool was okay, but higher? No way. Let alone such a height on that Inca trail in Peru.
I asked him, "When you think about that now, what do you see?
'Everything is black man. I can't see anything at all and that scares me'
Well, do you think it's crazy. That would scare me, too. And that's immediately the problem, too. Not that height, not that depth, but what you make of it in your head. That's what makes it a problem.
Those people in Peru who walk that path daily. Small children, older people, everyone there. No one is afraid of heights. Why? They are doing something different than Hans was doing in his mind.
It's that simple.
Anyway, simple doesn't mean easy. You then have to know how to change it. That's what I taught Hans.
In two sessions, I actually learned to see it again. So instead of being black, I taught him to look. Just looking at what's there.
When you see what's there, you relax. If you start focusing on something then you tense up and if it's completely black then you panic.
So we went from black (panic), to focus (tension), to see (relaxation).
He joined me 2 times and this is what he wrote:
‘About a month ago, I visited you twice to address my fear of heights. I was planning to hike the Inca Trail in Peru.
I’m back now, and I conquered the heights without experiencing a single bout of fear of heights. It’s truly a small miracle.”
You don't have to keep running with anything. Much can simply be solved in a few sessions.
