Lizards, Wizards, Horses and Humans - From Corporate Burnout to a Life Inspired

It all started at Barnes and Noble. I had a cup ofnever experienced horses this closely. We had no
coffee and ended up with a book thatidea of what to expect, but the outcome started
unbeknownst to me, would change the directionan extraordinary shift that has helped to reclaim
of my life forever. It was titled: "The Tao ofthe person I was meant to be.
Equus, A Woman's Journey to Healing andIt was like a rush of clarity and serenity was
Transformation Through the Way of the Horse".unleashed, along with the onset of my own
Of course, there are no coincidences...self-awareness. I was seeing myself mirrored
Joseph Campbell said, "It is by going down into thethrough the eye of the horse. While it took a few
abyss that we recover the treasures of life.moments to stop resisting the possibility of what
Where you stumble, there lies your treasure."was actually happening, I realized that this was
My 'treasure' seemed to be found in achievingthe equine-influenced shift in consciousness that I
corporate goals, fulfilling clients needs and caringhad just been reading about.
for my family. Keeping up with the things thatHorses do not project their opinions of us as
inspired me was an exciting adventure, reachinggood or bad, they simply mirror, with discerning
for the incredible feeling of doing more, doingawareness, each person's individuality. They sense
better than I had done before and continuouslyour heart rate and blood pressure as opposed to
moving forward... but something insidious hadwhat we may portray, for instance acting like we
slowly been changing.are in control or that we have no fear.
Over time, I had begun to lose my energy, andAs opposed to dogs, cats and other predators,
my inspiration had long left the stage! I ignoredhorses are highly intuitive and responsive because
the warning signs that my body had given me...of their prey animal instinct. They sense our
until one day I realized, that I just wasn't happynon-verbal energy, the messages that we are
anymore. So what had shifted and why didn't Icontinuously, and involuntarily emitting. Because of
notice long before this, that I was loosing the joythis ability, horses shift their behavior the split
in my life?second we energetically shift ours, thereby
Inner Lizards - Bouts of Doubtteaching us precisely what we need to learn in the
Many of us put up with a lot of things before wemoment... that is, if we are ready to learn.
are willing to make a change. It's the everThe Vibration Between Two Beings
increasing discomfort that makes us reach for theThis unforeseen equine teacher, like many spiritual
new doors to life-breathing inspiration. So howteachers, appeared in my life with perfect timing.
much discomfort is enough before we are ready?He patiently taught me how to shift my physical
The Inner Lizard, referring to one of the mostenergy forward and back as we played with the
primitive layers of our brain, sends out warningsexperience of mutual respect and all of it's
to keep us out of danger and is thought to linksubtleties. His patience and persistence was
back to the neural structure that evolved in earlyamazing, and if I had not experienced it for
vertebrates. Listening to the Inner Lizard leavesmyself, it would have been hard to believe.
us believing we don't have an option, there is notAs the retreat began to go deeper, it all started
enough to go around, we can't get what weto make sense. The fragments of my conditioned
need, and that we may lose something we want.patterns that had been keeping me from seeing
These fragments of conditioned patterns causemy life clearly, were playing out right in front of
us to fixate on what is wrong. We've allmy eyes though the actions of this horse. He
experienced bouts of doubt in what is commonlyhelped me to see, without judgment, what I
called the self saboteur. We tend to turn onneeded to do differently to change the unhealthy
mental tape loops from the past, laced withdynamics in my life. How did he know? How was
'things we should have done','could have done,' andhe so gracefully reflecting the experience that I
'aren't doing good enough'...had been living?
The problem is that the Inner Lizard blocks usThe Effects of Being Out of Balance
from feeling our way to a better life experience.Because I had learned to value my intellect and
It inhibits the path to the life we dream about andwas never taught how to listen to my emotions
we can end up with a feeling of being stuckor inner wisdom, I did not pay attention to the
where we are.red flags signaling that my life was out of balance.
Inner WizardsI also realized that without learning the subtlety of
Having found your inner guide, you have foundsimultaneous awareness in connection to others,
yourself...relationships could become a painful experience. It
I had overridden my 'Inner Wizard' and had putwas an epiphany when I began to understand all
personal self-care and self-awareness on the backthat the horse had shown me and how it related
burner for when I had more time - but no matterto my life at home and at work. This was the
how I may have muffled the sound, it wasprimary key as to why many of our experiences
always there... boundlessly there... waiting for mein life and business end up falling short of what we
to listen.most desire.
Through extensive research, we are learning thatHaving spent most of my adult life working with
there is infinite wisdom in every cell of the humanFortune 500 companies, I felt a great sense of
body; however, most of us have no idea how tosadness for what we, as a culture had been
access this 'Inner Wizard' in our everyday lives.missing. The lack of personal awareness was
We are just beginning to learn how to tune into incausing ripple effects of dysfunction among
to this silent, personal awareness that providesindividuals, families and organizations. In many
the best answers for our health, well-being andcases, people resorted to acquiescence, or
the ultimate satisfaction of our Soul. Getting toconversely, dominance to compensate for
the place where we can hear who-we-really-are,personal imbalance.
unencumbered and clear, seems to be a commonA New Beginning
challenge.What I learned was not about the horses, it was
I knew I needed to change but I was not sureabout me and the way I had been living my life.
what was wrong or how to fix it. Who wasThis equine dance of biofeedback was
qualified to help me on this most intimate ofextraordinary. It was exquisite personal guidance
journeys to the me I wanted to be? That wasat the most intimate level - something I never
when I found the book that serendipitously ledcould have learned from a book or a lecture.
me to my first personal retreat, but I had no ideaFrom that point forward, my new direction was
of what I was about to experience...born.
Horses and HumansUp to that point, my life had been the sum of all
My first encounter was with a magnificent horsethat I had learned and this had offered the crucial
who was skilled in the art of allowing his ownmissing piece that I needed to move forward.
authentic nature to be fully focused and in theBecause I was willing to let go of the things that
moment... all 1200 pounds of him! I wasneeded to change, I was opened to a new
mesmerized by his presence. It was as iflife-breath of inspiration, one that helped me to
everything else had fallen away... just me and afulfill my greatest dream so far... Epona Ridge.
horse, untethered. It was exhilarating, and I felt soMy journey started when a book landed in my lap.
alive!Now this is in yours, and you have opened to this
Many of the people attending this retreat hadpage...