Gut Level Part 6
December 15, 2025
Gut Level Part 6
They called it the “pamper pole” because you might need a diaper while climbing it. At a men’s spiritual retreat, I attended in the late 1990s, a 40-foot telephone pole was a test of courage and trust in oneself and in others. We were secured with ropes and harnesses, yet fear still had its grip. The goal was to climb to the small platform at the top and leap toward a trapeze bar hanging several feet away.
I wanted no part of it. I stood back, hoping to be overlooked as the other men climbed, balanced, and leaped, catching the bar. Some grabbed the bar, while others missed it. My mind filled with worst-case scenarios: what if I slipped, froze, or failed? Yet beneath all that noise was a quiet, steady knowing. It was a gut-level feeling that I could do it, and that I was safe.
When it was finally my turn, I climbed, trembling, to the top. The ground looked impossibly far below. My mind screamed, “Don’t do it!” But my gut whispered, “You are safe. Leap.” And so, I did—into open space, arms stretched toward the bar.
I missed it by a long shot. Then I felt the ropes hoist me up like the cords of an unfurling parachute.
But as I hung there, suspended by the ropes held by my companions, the fear dissolved. There was no humiliation as I expected. I had trusted my gut. Others may have thought I failed; however, my private victory was not in catching the bar, but in being conscious of the courage within me to leap.
Honestly, I would not want to do this exercise again. And if truth be known, I would not have done it then if my ego had not needed me to be seen as part of the group. This is a time when my ego unwittingly pushed me into embracing my soul.
Spiritual practice: Remember a time you trusted a gut-level feeling. Where in your body did you feel it? Can you recall that same sensation now? Notice how it feels to rely on your body’s quiet intelligence.
Self-inquiry: When have your body’s messages been stronger than your mind’s fears? What did you choose—and what did you learn?
Prayer:
Dear God, Help me deepen my trust in the wisdom of my body. Teach me to listen, to feel, and to follow the sacred guidance rising from the ground of my being. Amen.
