In August of 2018, I summited Kilimanjaro on a trip organized by my friend, Kris. On summit night, I facilitated an emergency energy healing on him.
I channeled the energies of Kili through me to Kris, ensuring that we both arrived to the summit. This is my journey.
Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, and also holds universal power of the Fire Element. It is an exceptionally powerful, stunning, dormant volcano that I was lucky enough to summit in August of 2018.
Prior to leaving, I spoke with Jonette, my close friend, channel, psychic, and spiritual guru. In feeling into our trip, she spoke of my friend, Kris, who had coordinated the 11-group expedition.
"You two are going to help each other, immensely," she shared.
I thought little of it. He and I have been friends for years, and have always help each other.
I arrived to the town of Moshi earlier than the rest of my trip mates. My luggage, painstakingly packed with my favorite technical gear for my most technical trip to date, did not arrive with me. Nor did it arrive the next day, or the day after.
I would be wearing and sleeping in borrowed goods.
Magically, in a last-minute luggage reorganization, I had hastily thrown my hiking boots, warmest coat, change of underwear, and a warm base layer into my carry on. At the time, it felt like poor packing and I regretted lugging an extra carry-on with me through the airports. Ironically, that decision meant that I had all the essentials in one carry-on sized duffel.
The rest would be hacked together.
In an SOS, I texted Kris. At the time, he was living in Kenya and was the only person I knew not already in transit to Tanzania. I asked him to bring whatever he could that was not already packed. He arrived with extra socks, shorts, shirts, and more.
I heard Jonette's words echo in my ear, and laughed to myself. It was abundantly clear how Kris would be helping me during this journey.
My sister joined the trip, too. She had, in a strange way, packed twice as much of every layer than she needed knowing that she would not be needing all of it. Between Kris and Dani, my day-to-day was covered. The universe provides. I rented a jacket, gloves, and a sleeping bag from a local place in town.
Our group of 11 set off to climb Kilimanjaro.
We chose the Lemosho trail: 5 days up, 1.5 days down. We hiked through five distinct climate zones, starting in the rainforest/Forest Zone and ending on glaciers in the Arctic Zone. It. was. spectacular. We climbed with Abakombe, who I would highly recommend to a budget summiter with an eye for safety.
I had done more energetic preparation than physical, and was a bit concerned prior to departing.
I had spent the summer in a prestigious incubator program called Project Entrepreneur, hosted by Rent the Runway and UBS Bank. I was one of five women awarded a grant, out of over 700 applicants, to work in their offices and receive coaching on how to scale a successful business.
My month leading up to the hike included living at sea level, getting very little sleep, preparing for Entrada's biggest program launches to date, and hoping like hell that my casual city walks were adequate for summiting a 19,341 ft (5,895 m) dormant volcano.
I simply trusted that a trip organized by a soul-friend, accompanied by my sister, best friend, and others, could only result in a positive experience.
I have never felt better than the seven days on the mountain. I meditated twice daily, often waking before the crew or taking our rest moments to connect with the energies of the mountain. I connected with inner earth beings, rocks, the wind, and the overall lifeforce energy that Kilimanjaro provides.
One day, I was called to do a Himalayan Heart Activation on Kilimanjaro, and was honored when she showed me her face. I felt that I had not only seen, but connected deeply with, the heart of the mountain.
The clouds magically parted as we reached this particular location, and immediately returned when I finished the ceremony.
I was doing all of this in somewhat secret, still in the proverbial spiritual closet and not fully understanding what I was seeing, feeling, and dreaming. I knew and trusted enough to do it, but was still finding the correct language to describe it.
I was our group's unofficial healer. I'd often give back-rubs in the food tent, perform reiki on those who needed help acclimating to the lack of oxygen, and was the unofficial "mood elevator" at times when people were feeling down.
When the rest of the group wasn't able to 'put up with' my positive energy (balance is important!) I chatted with the guides, learning basic Swahili and understanding the customs of their local villages.
--
As mentioned, I was hiking in borrowed gear. I felt like I was always cold. My rented parka turned out to be wind proof but no longer water proof. I know that I "run cold". As we gained elevation and the temperatures became colder, I switched tent-mates simply to sleep next to the warmest-blooded male in our group! Whenever the sun was not out, I was cold, and missing my technical warm weather gear.
On the Lemosho route, the ascent to the summit begins around midnight. Our group took a 3-ish hour "nap" prior to being awakened to go. I was mentally prepared and eager to get moving. Our summit night was the same as the August Full Moon, and I was delighted to hike along moonlit paths.
We set off into the night, and quickly lost one team member and a guide. They ultimately made it to the summit, though at a much slower pace than the rest of our group. From 11, we were now 10.
Fairly quickly into the night hike, we paused. We paused three times overall. The first time, I brushed my teeth. The second, I learned that Kris had thrown up not once, but twice, and was very unwell.
At this moment, Jonette's pre-trip words came echoing back, "You will help each other, immensely." I knew then what my role would be.
Between our second and third stops, Kris was moved to the front of the line to walk closer to the guides. This put him directly in front of me.
"Hey, can I try an energy thing on you next time we stop?" I asked casually.
Kris has always followed along with and been supportive of my unexplainable fascination with energies, and was among the first people I told about my experience in Dubrovnik. He agreed.
I presume he was willing to take whatever he could possibly get, and that his agreement had very little to do with me. I took the permission, anyway.
As we were stopping, I put my hand on Kris' shoulder. The shoulder and his entire upper torso immediately began to tremble. I removed my hand, and the trembling stopped.
"Strange," I thought.
Simultaneously, I realized, "Whoa, there's power here."
--
As we stopped, Kris immediately slumped down, supported by a rock. He was trembling all over.
Something overcame me, and I calmly knew exactly what I needed to do.
My sister acted as my Assistant. First, we gave him hot tea, and filled the cup with electrolyte and protein powder. I switched jackets with him - giving him my warmest puffy jacket, acquired specifically for this night of the trip, and taking his pitiful lining in its place. I felt energy through my hands, and was holding onto him throughout this endeavor. I felt I was keeping him steady and present.
Once he had his tea, and had taken an extra medication for acclimatizing, I began the healing.
I asked him to maintain eye contact. His eyes were clear. I arranged our hands in a specific position, creating a loop of energy through my heart center to his. We held this position, and I maintained the space, until he broke eye contact. That signaled to me that he had received what he needed, and I closed the space.
He drank more water and stood. Other people in the group were adamant: He should descend. Kris was the trip organizer and the glue that held us all together. The recommendations to descend were whole-heartedly in his best interest.
Kris, Dani, and I were the only three who believed that he could continue. The guides were conflicted. He showed no immediate signs of concern.
Kris shouted, all at once and to no one in particular, "I want to get to that fucking roof!" The assertion sounded more like a howl. In debriefing the scenario later, someone in the group said, "I feel like in that moment, the soul of Kris fiercely came roaring out."
That settled things. He would try again. If the nausea returned, or if he began to decline, he would descend. We set off again, one foot in front of the other. Kris led the pack, and I followed closely behind. Dani was behind me, diligently sharing water and providing tangible support needed to reach the peak.
Kris later shared, "I could feel a lot of energy coming from behind me. It felt amazing to know that the support was there."
It's always nice to get confirmation.
I think of this moment as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry travels back in time and recreates a Patronus that he had believed to be made by his father. Though him the whole time, only the prior knowledge gave him the courage and conviction to make the Patronus on his own, knowing that it would be powerful enough to drive the dementors away.
In this same way, I heard Jonette's words clearly in my head, "You are going to help each other, immensely". I hadn't yet helped him in any meaningful way. This was the moment that Jonette had tapped into.
The rest of that night I held the easiest, warmest, calmest, sensations that I have ever felt. I felt the energy of the mountain running through me and into Kris. I knew, intrinsically knew, that we would all make it to the top. I sang The Circle Game on repeat as we plodded along, searching for a calming yet inspiring song to march to. Again, I was in a thin base layer and had not adequately trained for this moment. The energy of Kili helped me immensely, while also ensuring that Kris would reach the top.
....felt decidedly anti-climatic to me, as I did not feel that I had "worked hard" or "earned it". This is reflected in my lackadaisical photograph on top of the mountain, a decision I have since come to regret. I didn't feel triumphant, as I felt very little internal challenge on the walk up.
This was among the most magical moments of my life.
I am Kili, Kili is me.