The last two weeks I have been immersed in learning. It is part of a program that I committed to at the beginning of this year and as usual, when you align with the Uni-verse, things start to happen!
So much has transpired and so many new friendships have been made with these wonderful and courageous women from all over the country and beyond.
One of the key things I realized, as I felt myself stretched and challenged, was how much fun it is to create your own career based in the things that bring you the most joy.
I shared some of the precious moments that have happened here over the years and as I recalled each one, my heart overflowed with such a sense of purpose and connection.
Many women came up to say that they wished they felt about their work the way I clearly feel about mine… empowered, impassioned, and deeply appreciative. They said they could hear it in my voice and see it in my eyes.
It wasn’t always that way. I used to be good at my corporate work, but somewhere along the way I had lost my ability to tolerate the chaos of the office and the disconnection to my life. I felt completely drained by what I was doing, and surprisingly, I let it go on that way for years.
How long do you put up with things that feel unbalanced in order to keep from rocking the boat while you hold out for it to get better?
Jill, a single business woman from New York, attended a retreat here last year. She was overstressed, irritated, and in need of inner balance when she arrived. When it was her turn to work with the horses and to try to get clarity around her life focus, she acknowledged that she expected a confrontation, even with the horse!
The interesting thing is that the horses mirror our own energy which enables us to gain the clarity from seeing and/or feeling the truth emerge and guide us. Before she ever stepped in to the arena, Cierba was ready and waiting for her.
Jill walked in and stood fifteen feet from Cierba, that was as close as Cierba would allow her to be. How do you find the place of connection with a wall of hostile energy?
They both stood there not moving, Cierba’s ears were fully back as she stood motion-less. When a horses ears are fully back it is a clear sign of significant irritation that at any moment could shift to aggression. They were both focused intently on each other, but energetically impenetrable. Stories were spinning in Jill’s mind.
“This is what I work with,” she said “, and this is what I have become.” One of the things she realized was that she had settled for a life in a world of daily confrontation, and that the confusion and irritation was so consuming that she couldn’t find her balance. Her career, which she used to enjoy, had become a battle for her. The key for her in this experience was that she hadn’t seen the effect of her own energy that she was bringing forward in the dance until her powerful sessions with Cierba.
Several months later I ran into Jill at a lecture in town. She looked so radiant and was walking with a smile on her face. I couldn’t help but notice the sharp contrast to the woman that walked into Epona Ridge that first day.
Jill shared that during the retreat she became aware of where her energy was going and how she was contributing to her own discomfort. She said something had significantly shifted within her and had permeated her whole life. While she shared that she still worked in the difficult environment, she had found that it was somehow more tolerable.
She also said that in the past month another company had called her ‘out of the blue’ and offered her an incredible position, one that would put her in charge of a whole new project that truly inspired her. “And one last thing”, she added “I have found a new man in my life!”
It is so wonderful to see how our lives can unfold when we learn how to align with our heart and step in to the life we came here to live!
