A Healthy Hoof Grows from a Healthy Horse
Healthy in Body, Mind, Spirit and Environment. Part 3 of 4
The path of the Spiritual is the direction of the East.
The term “spiritual” in reference to the direction of the East means a way of life based on the “spirit” influence. The earliest teachings I could find related to the Spirit as being like the Eagle, who represents the “spirit core” within us all. J.T. Garrett, Medicine of the Cherokee
I am very fortunate to live in a beautiful area in the Schoharie Valley. Eagles are residents here along the peaceful turns and rapids of the Schoharie Creek, and we often see them in the trees and flying overhead on our land. We have a nesting pair that we can see from our place that have been here for several years. In January they have their courtship dance in the sky, which is amazing to see. By mid to late February she is ready to lay her eggs. As I walk the boundary of our land, he is often perched near the nest, protecting his soul mate and their future offspring. One morning he was perched in a locust tree very close to where I was putting out hay and a Goss Hawk flew too close to the nest. He immediately left the tree warning the hawk with a few loud chirps to leave the area as he flew towards him. He perched himself just above the nest and stayed there for a long time.
As soon as the weather permits, I take my kayak to a place called Vlaie Pond about 10 minutes away. The Vlaie is a large shallow body of water fed by underground water as well as run off from the hills. The north end feeds into the Little Schoharie and the south is the beginnings of the the Catskill Creek that empties into the Hudson River. It’s a great place to get in touch with nature paddling through the open sections of lily pads. There are beavers, muskrats, heron, dragon flies of all kinds and lots of water birds as well as fish, turtles and frogs. Eagles are a part of that experience every time I go there. There is something very spiritual deep down when they fly overhead or watch me as I paddle near their favorite fishing spot. It is hard not to be in awe in their space.
This is probably the most difficult direction to write about. Everyone has their own interpretation of what “spirit” or “spiritual” means. Indian Medicine, as I have been taught, refers to an active and alive flow of energy that connects us all. Meditation, prayer or just being mindful and respectful from within are identified as being spiritual. Similar to the mind, as I described it as being something that is felt, though I would describe the spirit as flowing both ways, in and through the core of the universe to and through all that live. Reciprocity.
How do we see the spiritual in horses? I think everyone has their own interpretation and experiences of what that means as well. I have had numerous different encounters in my life among them. Both wild and domesticated. One of the very profound experiences was among the wild herd in Nevada, just as we were nearing our time to depart. Moving at a gallop as one, they passed us close by with an energy I cannot describe with words. Hooves beating as drums on the earth. Several of us had tears. Our “spirit core” was touched as individuals as well as a group. For a moment in time, Mother Earth, nature, the herd and us humans were connected in that spirit core.
I remember being profoundly sad as a teenager when a friend had died in a car accident. My Dad dropped me off at the place where my horse, Sybil was boarded on 200 acres. I searched for the horses in the woods as they were not in the fields, but I couldn’t find them or her. I sat down on a rock with my head bowed on my folded arms on top my knees with tears. Time seemed to stop, then I felt a gentle nudge at my back. It was Sybil. We were connected by our spirit core.
As you read my experiences, I’m sure you can find your own similar experience in your minds archive that will help you identify with the Spiritual direction of the East. If not, it will come when you are open to it, and the time is right.
How do we see this in the horse? All horses have something to share with us. They have a story, perhaps many stories, and are always waiting for a listening Spirit. Our opportunity to hear with our spirit is within the direction of the East.