Every Olympics, I’m amazed at athletes who come back from horrible injuries to compete with confidence. The other night I watched British ice dancers skate while the commentator described how the woman had recovered from shattering her knee in eight places (cringe!), and oh, now they were doing the daring lift that had caused the injury! And yet their performance was so strong and powerful.
Where does courage and confidence like that come from? I think we all have it, but sometimes it’s hidden and the universe has to help us find it—usually in an attention-grabbing way.
About a year ago I went to a horseback riding school with some colleagues to spend the day giving Reiki to the horses. I wanted to try animal communication there too—even though I was early on in my training and super unsure of myself. My first client was a big, strong horse named Ullie. I stood right outside the half door of his stall, eyes shut with my hands out to send the energy. He immediately started licking my hand and then—just like that—chomped down on my pinkie. HARD. I truly thought it was the end of my finger. I tried to remain calm, relaxed my hand, and thankfully, he finally let me slide my pinkie out from between his teeth.
Clutching my finger, I figured I’d try out my communication skills and ask him what that chomp was all about. Right away I heard “I bit you to wake you up! You need to be more confident and assertive!” It was a real “own it, you’re a rock star” message. I was kind of dumbfounded by that. I knew he was talking about my animal communication skills, but I felt so far from having any confidence at that point.
I then asked him where he wanted me to direct the Reiki. This time I felt a sensation in my right leg, so I focused the energy on Ullie’s back right leg. To my astonishment, he then turned his body so that his back right leg was directly in front of my hands. I thanked him for the confirmation on the message received.
Then a teenage girl dressed in riding gear came up to the stall. She told me she usually rides him, but he hurt his back leg and he needed to rest. Amazed by this second confirmation, I heard Ullie ask me, “Why do you need to rely on confirmations? Why can't you just be confident in your skills?"
Now here’s where it gets trippy—after that day of Reiki, I went to a party where there was a tarot card reader. As soon as I sat down with the reader, she said there was a woman’s spirit right next to me, and her energy was super confident, assertive, and take-charge. I knew right away it was my grandmother Hazel, and I loved that she showed up.
That night I talked to my father and he said, “You know, your grandmother had a horse she loved to ride before I was born. She would have loved that you gave Reiki to horses today.” And then it clicked. My grandmother and Ullie were in cahoots to give me a message of confidence and power. Later I found a picture of her and her horse Dan—and was blown away by the resemblance between Dan and Ullie!
So maybe it takes a bite on a finger or a shattered knee to wake us up to what we’ve had inside all along. I bet that ice dancer never realized how incredibly strong she was before her injury. I wish it didn’t take extremes for us to get the message, but that seems to be how we learn here on earth.
P.S. - I also learned:
1) DON’T put your fingers out in front of a horse’s mouth.
2) DO take in wisdom straight from that horse’s mouth.
It’s all about the magic. 🙌