Ropes Day - NLP Practitioner Course

No paid circus performer here, this was my friend Jason jumping off of a 35' high (?) telephone pole onto a trapeze bar. Just about the entire group made it on this jump. More than a little bit scary.

This was at Stony Ranch here in Texas, so we had to have all the requisite beasts and signage, of course. Just to be official.

When a group shows up to a ropes course, there is lots of trust building and training that has to go on, they don't just set you out willy nilly. Here we are learning to lean back and just let it happen.

We started out walking the low wires. It isn't scary but it is quite a bit harder than it looks. You use the guide ropes to help, but that doesn't do much when you're farther out from the connection point.

Paul, below.

Yours truly below, balancing as I head out toward my goal. This is an NLP training, so we are actually visualizing another more abstract personal goal, and this activity helps us to install that into our neurology. Sounds hokey of course, but that's because it is hokey. NLP is like that. Works great, but it's definitely hokey at times.

The sunglasses seemed like a good thing at the time.

Michelle gets on out there walking the beam, and looking good too!

The rule is three on a side at all times. Nobody gets to fall and hurt themselves. Our hands have to be out and ready at all times.

Jason and Cindy perform the walk on the split cables. These cables start out a couple feet apart but you have to use your partner to balance, especially when the cables get about 8 or 10 feet apart.

As you can imagine, there is a little bit of strength and strategy involved when you get out this far. You pretty much have to keep straight or you buckle, but they don't tell you that, you have to figure it out yourself, that's part of the program.

When you're in love, any excuse is a good excuse for a big smooch. We did it! Yeah! Aw shucks.

Tony Neal at left, cheering them on.

Kimberly and Stephanie walk the split wires together.

OK we're getting ready to do the high work in this shot below, and these guys take all this safety stuff VERY seriously. This is just part of the safety equipment, and it gets checked three times before they let you out.

Dick is checking Levi's equipment below, Russel and Jennifer at right with their daughter.

You also have to learn all the proper connection techniques, and the commands too ! Here Cindy is learning to connect one properly while the other is still on. Her partner would be below running the commands and checks, and she doesn't get to go to the next step without her safety partner's direct approval.

Lura, also a Stony Ranch proprietor, guides.

OK so Alex is up 35 feet in the air, and Bill is holding the line below, as his safety partner. Alex is Bill's dad and Bill is 14, so it's a good thing they get along well eh?

Levi might not have needed the safety equipment, heck it's only 35 feet ! Nobody gets any slack, we all follow the same rules.

Kimberly was my safety partner, and she did great. I really enjoyed getting out of my own perspective and supporting someone who wasn't a lover of heights and adrenaline like myself. In turn, I got a lot of help and encouragement as well.

Cindy did great on the high wires too. Crazy testosterone filled guys don't always have the good sense to be scared, but this really is an important time for saner folks, this chance to overcome fears and do something like this.

Jason proving to Cindy just how fearless he really is. That is a very tall pole he just jumped off of.

There was more to the course that I didn't show, like this shot from the Stony Ranch web site with another group.

Yes, our entire group made it over this same wall.