Yesterday I listened to a presentation by Nicole Costerus about how to connect with the soul of my business. Nicole supports women to grow their gifts as intuitive, soul-based leaders. She led us in a visualization to connect with our free and alive selves as well as with either the soul of our business or our personal mission.
This focus on conscious connection reminded me that I have been doing a similar process in the writing of my upcoming book, Called by the Horse: Women, Horses and Consciousness.
The genesis of Called by the Horse is found in my almost two decades of curiosity about the magnetic draw that so many women have to horses and what it could mean. I spent almost five years exploring this topic when I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation in depth psychology for Pacifica Graduate Institute. I completed Horse Girl: An Archetypal Study of Women, Horses and Trauma in 2009. I planned to publish a book about women and horses at that time, but life, work, and my first book intervened. I then conceived the idea of writing the book with a co-author who could provide stories of women and the healing horses in their lives. After several years of work, we decided not to continue writing a joint book.
Frustrations Over the Long Haul
I went back to the drawing board. I re-engineered the book by adding interviews with women. I had to update much of my original research. As exciting as the interviews were, it has been a long and somewhat frustrating writing process. I thought that the book would be completed years ago. I think my friends were afraid to ask about when it would be published. Many times throughout the intervening years I prayed about whether to continue or not. I must admit I sometimes hoped that the answer would be a clear “no.” Instead, I kept getting the message to keep going. I hired a writing coach to keep me accountable. I also turned to the book itself for guidance.
The Soul of the Work: A Technique
When I got stuck or found myself procrastinating and being harsh with myself, I found a helpful technique. I got a composition book and collaged the cover. I lit a candle. I set a timer for two minutes to meditate, and then asked the “Soul of the Work” for advice, including how to proceed. I asked the book what wanted to be written. Sometimes the next steps came in the meditation before I even put pen to paper. The advice was always encouraging and loving as well as being practical.
Following Intuition
This intuitive process of writing the book and following the guidance I received led me on many amazing journeys. I visited the White Horse Temple in Hanoi, saw the Camargue horses of southern France, visited Lippizan horses near Tucson and said prayers in Northern Ireland where the horse goddess Macha was honored. I met amazing, generous people along the way and their deep stories became the heart of the book rather than being a misstep.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Called by the Horse would push me out of my comfort zone and focus in on my intuition, because hanging around with horses will do that. As it turns out, as we recover from the pandemic, the timing of the book could not be better. I am so happy to share what I’ve learned about how to heal trauma and manage transition with the help of horses.
As I work now on the editing process, I am turning once more to the Soul of the Work. If you have a creative project that is taking longer than expected, tune into the Soul of the Work and find whatever support you need to keep going!
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