2 Climbing the Water Tower

When I first encountered Armen and heard about this idea, I was very excited to participate. That excitement built once we had our first meeting and realized what shared hearts we have! Surrender and experimentation has been a theme in my life for several years and I was eager to begin. I've been looking forward to today all week and felt a huge sense of delight when I saw Armen walk up to our location.

I appreciated how we just jumped right in with him putting on the blindfold and me reaching out to take his arm in mine. After the first awkward step I began to relax and realized how important it was to just tune in. My early experience with training animals helped me with non-verbal cues which I challenged myself to use.

After a moment of surprise, I was filled with delight at how playful and adventuresome Armen was in his blindfold. It was fun to watch him climb up on the statues and fun to sit behind him and share that experience. I realized through the experience that I felt very protective and responsible for his safety but that never came with a feeling of heaviness. He was so filled with awe and wonder, I felt deeply connected to him and enjoyed the feeling of union that this experience engendered. I realized that I never really got into a thinking place because I was very focused on every moment as it unfolded. It brought me joy to lead him to new things to experience sensually. I loved having him hug the tree and reaching around from the other side to touch his hands. I loved handing him the chestnut to feel and really enjoyed having him play with the leaves.

Walking up the water tower was especially fun because I knew how much he would love it. It's as though every moment brought more opportunities to bring him a gift. I wanted him to feel joy and awe and I felt it with him. There was no worry, just present moment awareness and loving, joyful play.

Sitting at the top of the water tower and reflecting on the experience was wonderful because the deep feeling of connection never stopped. I just kept feeling my way along with him. Fabulous!

When I was the one with the blindfold, I felt a strong sense of trust. I totally opened to the experience and just let myself go. It was fun to feel how much more open and fearless his energy was. Whereas I felt protective of him, I didn't feel him wanting to protect me. I felt him wanting to challenge me and guide me along. I trusted him more than I trusted my body to cooperate because I had a heavy backpack on and my knee gives me trouble. I knew as long as was mindful of my own equilibrium, I would be safe with his light, gentle touch.

The obstacle course he put me on, the stairs I climbed and the way he led me to go faster and faster was exciting! I felt myself filled with delight and joy and felt little sparks around my heart the entire time. I felt a sense that it was over but just wanted to dance and jump around after wards because I was so filled with delight.

I don't really know Armen at all and yet I do. The act of trusting another soul and just surrendering to the moment as it unfolds brought us to a place of connection that I honestly don't think will ever be broken. It's as though this whole experience just dissolved any walls between us and I feel affection and love for him like I do my children. Just pure openness. It's a beautiful feeling.

Seattle, WA
Kymberlee della Luce
Age 43