My fascination with the unseen world continues to lead me toward the researchers and specialists who attempt to define and make it more real to our modern scientific lens. Lately, I've been going down the lens of "plasma". Not as in the liquid in our blood, but as in the fourth state of matter, the space between. In physics, we learned the three states of matter; solid - liquid - gas. When we apply heat or energy to a solid, it turns to a liquid. When we apply heat or energy to a liquid, it turns to a gas. However, when we apply heat or energy to a gas.... it turns to plasma. The sun, stars, lightning, auroras, flames in a hot fire, neon signs and fluorescent lights are all plasma.
Plasma contains positively charged ions, negatively charged free electrons and electromagnetic fields. The coolest thing to me is that plasma appears to organize around the energy and magnatism it is being fed. Dana Kippel, who recently released a new book, "A New Force: Plasma, Consciousness, and the New Human Potential" has been exploring ideas around plasma in-depth and asking questions that may begin to answer more of how reality can form out of "thin" air - what I like to think of as magic.
As I read more of Dana's work, I recall the "Story of the Big White Horse" that is included in the Unbound Horse - Module #1 of our Equine Bodywork Certification program. It was an incredibly magical experience and I feel compelled to share it with you on this beautiful August Sunday morning.
PS - I look forward to talking more about Plasma and the Space Between with Anne Angelo Webb on her Youtube Channel, "The Animal Intuitive Show" this Wednesday.
I’m always looking for a shift in body and energy during a bodywork session. It doesn’t always happen during the session but sometimes I get reports a day or two later about how different a horse is. He’s different in his herd with other horses, he is different to ride and oftentimes, he seems to have more confidence and trust. Or maybe his body is different. A skinny horse has begun to eat and gain weight, or a heavy horse looks thinner and the saddle fits better. It is common to see a shift in the front end of a horse during bodywork because we relax the muscles that make up the shoulders and withers (thoracic sling) allowing the withers to spring upward where they should be. Horses are all of the sudden taller at the withers which usually happens during a session, or just after. Their backs relax and appear smoother and legs might fall underneath them in a more natural looking stance. For me, I am forever honored to be part of, and witness these transformations.
Once in a great while, a shift occurs that is so (there is no other word to describe it) MAGICAL. I’ve seen horses make such a shift in their energetic body that their own pasture mates don’t recognize them. It is almost like a veil of a different substance was draped around them. The sensitivity horses have to notice energy and energetic changes is incredible and I am always trying to tap deeper into what they know and perceive hoping to get even a glimpse.
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The Transformation of the Big White Horse
Many years ago, I was traveling in Southern California working on horses. I had been there for a week or more and was finishing my last day. I would fly back to Wyoming the following morning. I received a call from a woman while I was working at a jumping/boarding/training facility asking if I could come work on a rescue horse at a different facility about 10 miles away. The only time I had available was later that evening, so we agreed I would meet her then. She warned me that she wasn’t sure the horse would allow me to touch him as he seemed to be very traumatized.
When I arrived, I was greeted by a very kind and very horse-savvy woman. She was a groom for the magnificent traveling show, CAVALIA. (Cavalia is the equine version of a Cirque du Soleil show.) As we walked over to a beautiful gray horse munching on a pile of hay in a pleasant pen under a large tree, she conveyed to me his story.
From what they could learn, because he had a lip tattoo, he was a thoroughbred and he had raced for several years. When his racing career was over, he went on to become a jumper for a period of time, but suddenly he seemed to disappear and there was no record of him for some while. The next time he was recognized was when a rescue group found him in Mexico being used, and likely very abused, in the Charro Rodeos. The rescue group brought him back into southern California but unfortunately, they were not capable of decent care and this lovely gray horse was again in an abusive situation, and found completely starving; so much so that he wasn’t even able to stand on his own.
The second rescue group did not have a facility to recover horses, but instead utilized foster care that was capable of the rehabilitation needed. This is where the Cavalia woman (I will call her Sarah) came in. Once he was nourished enough to survive, she brought him to this lovely boarding facility. She continued his care and began to form a bond. He gained strength over time and Sarah thought he might be ready to ride. She wanted someone more experienced to help, so she took him to a trainer who was known to be very quiet and good with horses. The training went well, they rode out in a big pasture and this big fellow was riding again happily enough. One day, the trainer suggested that her assistant take him for a ride in the arena. It seemed that whatever memory this event brought up was not good and the horse had a complete meltdown. He bucked his rider off and tore around the arena. Once they were able to catch him, he wasn’t able to let anyone near him. Not even the initial trainer. They decided he should go back to the original boarding facility to recover from this renewed trauma.
This is where Sarah and the big white horse came into my life. He allowed me to touch him and actually seemed to enjoy his bodywork. Sarah and I chatted while I worked, and we let the gray horse nibble at his hay while I massaged. It all went very well and, in the end, I gave a list of suggestions that Sarah might continue with to help him out. One of the suggestions was to do some treat stretches and when Sarah asked me to show her how, we stepped out of the pen to retrieve some treats.
This was a most incredibly beautiful fall evening. The sun was sinking low in the sky and the most brilliant harvest moon was just coming up on the horizon. It was huge and orange and appeared to take up most of the skyline. Sarah and I were standing outside the pen leaning on the rail visiting about this lovely horse when we both noticed his appearance seemed to be morphing. He appeared to get taller and stronger. His head came up as his neck arched and turned, his back rose and he was changing right before our eyes into a most incredible, regal and elegant white horse. Sarah looked at me and said, “what is happening?” I had NO answer to give her except that is was really amazing. The transformation happening right before our eyes reminded me of the white mice in Cinderella turning into majestic stallions, ready to pull the royal carriage to the ball for the night. Once the morphing seemed to slow down, I suggested taking him for a little walk around the facility to let him process the change.
The moment this remarkable creature came out of his pen and began to walk down the wide path that meandered through the facility, every horse, in every pen commenced to whinnying, bucking, and most of them reared up on their hind legs striking at the massive full moon. There was a big barn toward the end of the path where two women were untacking their horses in the alleyway. Both of those horses rose up on their hind legs striking the air toward the Big White Horse who walked ceremoniously along, as if to say, “I know, right?”
Once he made his exquisite parade past the pens of horses, we put him back in his own pen where he was calm and content. Now, there were four of us women standing there in awe and still asking ourselves if this incredible thing we just witnessed really happened. The horses, after paying homage to the transformation they just beheld, went back to eating and enjoying the beautiful evening.
It’s been well over fifteen years since I was blessed to witness 'The Transformation of The Big White Horse' and just thinking of that night still puts me in a state of wonder and bliss. Memories like this remind me that we don’t always have to know what is happening or why. We just have to trust. For me, no matter what we call it, or what our beliefs are, there is a power that is greater than ourselves and if we step out of the way, it might show itself in a most extraordinary manner.
MAGIC HAPPENS!!
Picture by: Gabrielle in Denver
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