The next morning somehow I felt a bit stronger so after a quick stop at the Berkley REI store to get walking poles we headed to Sonoma County to Barbara’s ranch in Sebastopol. Betty and Barbara grew up together and have been friends since they were three years old.
We didn’t know what I would be able to do physically, but that we were going to give it a try. There wasn’t time to think much about that since we had to focus on following Barbara’s directions to find her Ranch. We had been there before and knew it was easy to miss turns.
Upon arriving, Barbara showed us what she was growing in her garden and then we met several of her horses in the barn area and she pointed out a couple horses in the adjoining fenced pasture. We got reacquainted with her jet black cat, Jaguar, and met Barbara’s new precocious Pug puppy. Later we all had fun trying to come up with the perfect name for the new puppy. I suggested Feliz, as in and the name of someone I used to work with. Barbara settled on Felice.
During the weekend, I followed Barbara as she fed, groomed and tended to any issues the horses had. I observed the close connection Barbara had with each horse and how they responded to her healing powers. She explained that some of the horses had serious chronic problems and that veterinarians had told the owners that it was hopeless so they should just put the horses down. Through the years, Barbara has adopted and worked with many horses she has found in this situation.
Barbara is very skilled in horse body work and certain naturopathic practices and works closely with animal chiropractors and veterinarians willing to assist with “hopeless” horse health conditions. Barbara has healed many horses.
Our weekend was to relax and have fun, but I also wanted to get Barbara’s ideas on how I should approach my ALS diagnosis. Barbara told me that I should meet her friend Mari who personally had gone through life threatening health conditions.
The next day, Mari brought her message table to Barbara’s ranch, but we ended up just talking for two hours. With courage and openness, I told Mari that I didn’t know how I was going to deal with my ALS diagnosis and asked for her advice. We discussed how this kind of challenge takes you to a new level of consciousness and gives you a different way of looking at life.
BARBARA AND MARI
Mari told me that she used both western medicine and eastern healing methods to successfully overcome her difficult health conditions. She said that I had two choices: to either approach ALS as a battle or a journey. Then she described her personal serious illness journeys. After briefly reflecting, I said that my approach would also be a journey. That just felt right, and any way, there currently wasn’t any ALS medicine or treatment. As we spoke, I found myself beginning to mentally move forward with greater clarity and contentment and less confusion and pain.
I told Mari that my mind was active and that I was intense in approaching problems and life in general. As she talked about the importance of slowing down and going with the flow my mind became still and my attention shifted to my gut where I visualized a burning flame. At the end of our conversation it felt as if I had discovered my eternal flame and that my spirit was in my gut instead of my mind. That experience will always remain amazing and powerful to me.
When I told Barbara how much I had learned from watching her connect with the horses and from my conversation with Mari, she suggested that I read renowned cellular scientist Bruce Lipton’s book The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles in which he explains how your thoughts affect all the cells of your body and the scientific framework of the mind body spirit connection.
BARBARA
During our weekend with Barbara, I learned about dealing with both human and horse “hopeless” health challenges. The weekend convinced me to treat my motor neuron disease as a journey rather than a battle. I came away with hope, the eternal flame in my core burning brightly and with much to explore and think about.
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