“We all begin as a bundle of bones lost somewhere in a desert, a dismantled skeleton that lies under the sand. It is our work to recover the parts.”
- Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Finding Your Wild Self
I believe that within all of us lies a deep soul-yearning to really live. Many of us can feel that we’ve lost touch with a part of ourselves. We can’t quite put our finger on what’s been taken away, but our sense of true wholeness is gone.
This estrangement from our true, whole selves is the real source of our internal suffering. It’s why we seek outward success and other things that we believe will complete us.
The mythic storyteller, Dr. Martin Shaw, speaks of our Wild Twin. The story goes that on the night you were born, you had a twin that was thrown into exile. Although you’ve learned the ways of society, you can never really fully live without your other half– and thus the search begins.
For me, the openings through which I looked for my Wild Twin started as far back as I can remember. I caught glimpses of her in stories, in animals, in music, in the arts, and in nature. I didn’t know who or what I was seeking, but I recognized a piece of myself in the pursuit.
As Don Jose Ruiz puts it: “we are the only animal on this planet to reject ourselves.”
The rest of nature exists wholly in tune with both yin and yang, both feminine and masculine, both mundane and magical. Therefore, the rest of nature is not searching, it is living.
Your Wild Self is within you. They are powerful beyond your belief.
They run barefoot through the field with the wild horses. They cast spells in the night and speak with the moon. They have an inner-knowing, an ancient wisdom. They are your intuition.
Courting your Wild Self back home is a journey. I call this a process of Intuitive Alchemy. It is a magical transformation. It is your opening to truly live. It is whispering to you now.
“I’m not sure we ever really, properly, catch up with our wild twin… The pursuit is the thing, the glimpse is the thing, the jolt of their quixotic nature may be barometer enough for one lifetime. But never to search? Well, that’s missing out on life altogether.”
- Martin Shaw
Horses Were My Gateway
Many on a path to self-awareness discover meditation in some form. There is scientific evidence proving a range of meditation benefits from physical health to emotional wellbeing. This simple act can lead to transformative experiences and higher consciousness levels.
Horses were my gateway.
If you’ve ever been near a horse, you’ve probably felt their potent energy. They may be intoxicating to you, they may intimidate you, or likely, both.
There’s good reason for this.
Horses are graceful, sensitive, and alluring — while also powerful, strong, and confident.
The horse is a spiritual master. Like all of wild nature, horses live in the balance. They dance between worlds effortlessly— highly attuned to both energy and body.
In order to be near horses in freedom, one must dance beside them in the present moment. It’s a meditation practice. It was this meditation practice that changed my life.
Cultivating an authentic relationship to horses requires the lost art of intuition. When we make contact with the soul of the horse, we make contact with our Wild Self.
From this place, anything is possible.
You’re still magical.
You’re full of passion and buried dreams. Society has just numbed you - trained you to forget who you really are - encouraged you to reject your true, wild self.
It’s time to reclaim them.
