Sunday, November 7, 2010

What are You Focused On?: The Unexpected Gift of an Accident


For months now, the horses have been trying to get me to focus.

It started with a shamanic journey vision where I felt the pure power of focused intent when I sat astride a gorgeous white horse. Galloping together, I sensed the powers of manifestation that become available when our thoughts & feelings combine and stay focused on a heart-felt vision.

I was inspired by the uplifting vision, yet still, I ignored it. There were parts of myself that simply weren't ready to stand fully in my power...so I continued on, with a blurry vision, distracting myself in ingenious ways.

Till the other week, when I hopped on our 2 year-old Jaren, with the intent of simply having Greg walk us to the arena. For the first time ever, I asked him to walk us alongside of Frolic. The four of us made our way down the little slope to the arena, not terribly focused.

In a flash, Jaren tripped and fell all the way down in front. Bareback and unprepared, I slid up onto the middle of his neck. For a moment, his head was so close to the ground that I could have just stepped off his neck, no worse for the wear.

But I didn't react quickly enough.

Trying to decide the best course of action, I didn't act at all. That is, until Greg's screaming broke the fog, "Get off! Get off! Get off!!!"

So I bailed, at just the moment when Jaren flung his neck up trying to get on his feet. I flew a few feet to the side, landing on my hip, sliding to a stop in the gravel.
The physical effect? Massive road rash accompanied by the worst bruise I've ever had. OUCH!

Stunned, I walked off the pain and nausea in small circles as the 2 horses stood staring at me with concern in their eyes.

Not my best moment. For a few days, as I cringed with pain every time I moved, I was tempted to chalk it up to being an accident, Jaren being 2 years old and all.

But given that Frolic herself had tripped and fallen to her knees with me a few months previously (luckily I didn't come off then), I knew better than to tune out.

Instead, through meditative journeying, I tuned in to the soul level to discover the meaning of this "accident."

What I discovered was my next lesson on the effect of Focus.

Yup, the trip had indeed happened due to a lapse in focus- on all of our parts.

Distracted, it was easy for Jaren, whose uncoordinated youth combined with a bumpy slope to create disaster. And we, the humans, had not supported him by creating the environment to help him focus.

My guides thought that this incident could be a "sharp reminder" of the physical effects of a lack of focus. Sharp for sure!, I laughed. It was skin penetrating!

With the pain and discolored bruise, my guides hoped to help awaken me from my self-enforced fog of unfocused-ness.

Sometimes, some of us need more than a gentle prod, when we've ignored the earlier, more subtle suggestions.

But still, given that this was the second time a horse went down with me, I wondered if there was something deeper, so I pressed for more.

What I saw was a past life I shared with Jaren. It was a long time ago, a Mongolian lifetime and we were riding at the end of a caravan traveling up a snowy mountain, in the dark. In this vision, Jaren showed me that he was so tired. We both were.

And, in a sleepy moment of unfocused attention, Jaren's foot slipped off the path- with disastrous effects. We both fell over the side of the mountain, falling, end over end, to our freezing deaths.

Then Jaren brought my attention to our hips- a place we both have chronic pain. He showed me that the rotating fall down the mountain created misalignment and pain in that lifetime. That pain pattern- which was currently manifested in his right hind and was also the same hip I bruised, was still somehow related to a lack of focus in this life.

I got the sense that the fall in this lifetime, in addition to highlighting the need for increased focus, was also meant to bring forward a past life pattern, one with current life symptoms, which needed healing- for us both.
What an unexpected gift!
So, I stood with Jaren and tuned into the healing space. I allowed what wanted to happen to unfold, a mix of tending to his body with energy and tuning into mine, with healing hand positions and stretching. I was asked to hold the intention of "unraveling" on many occasions. Then I sat upon him and walked, allowing the shifts in our systems to be anchored together.


As we walked in circles, I became aware of a figure 8 pattern of energy that wanted to connect our hearts. It was drawn, coming up from his heart, diagonal through mine, up over my head, crossing diagonally down through mine and into his again- repeatedly. I allowed this connection to settle in deeply, breathing in the bliss.

This is an energetic connection you can use with your horse too- anytime you want to become united, heart to heart.
Afterward, Jaren appeared more sound in the hind end on the lunge then he has for quite some time. And the pain in my body felt eased, creating a more natural straightness.

Of course, I was left in awe of the amazing opportunities that underlie what seemed to be an "accident." A grand reminder to us all that there are so many gifts waiting to be claimed when we take a moment to go deeper into whatever life presents, even when it's painful!


Readers: What unexpected gift or lesson did you find within an "accident"? How have horses helped you discover the power of focus? Please share!


Ready to put the Power of Focus to work in your life? Stay tuned for a brand new offering: Manifesting Your Heart's Desires, brought to you by a Wizard Horse! Coming soon!