The Power of Weather Metaphor for Emotional and Situational Healing

When Trade Winds Ceased to Flow in My Life

A couple weeks ago, I felt totally stuck within a crucial life circumstance.

This was akin to the old expression of being between a rock and hard place, and frankly I saw no way out.

How many of you have ever felt this way within a life situation or circumstance?

The emotions I felt during this stuck cycle included:

• Profound confusion
• Being in a dark tunnel with no view ahead of my two feet. 
• Grief and frustration due to my lack of clarity vs. feeling compelled to make forward progress.

The Atmospheric Image which Freed Me:

During an intensive prayer session with my wife, an image came to me. It was an image of an ancient sailing ship rendered motionless in the Horse Latitudes. Sails deflated and waters completely still. Air heavy and oppressive, with cloudless skies promising no hope of deliverance.

How did this Atmospheric Image free me?

The Horse Latitudes are a zone about 30 degrees both north and south of the equator. Here, sailing ships frequently entered a calm so pernicious they needed to throw horses off board to save weight and conserve precious food and water supplies during their intended journey from Europe to the Western Hemisphere. This is how the Horse Latitudes got their name.

The Horse Latitudinal calm is a normal meteorological occurrence at that latitude. There is a similar zone about 5 degrees from the equator on both sides.

My Breakthrough through Weather Metaphor

This insight regarding my current life path referred me to a true-life experience of old day sailors stuck in this zone for days – even weeks, My heart filled with immediate relief, validation and understanding that my feelings are OK and in fact have a real life correspondent.

Prior feelings of pressure released from my chest, and this resulted in unprecedented peace regarding the circumstance.

I continued to meditate on this image with my newfound acceptance. Soon, I felt the very first stirrings of wind breaking through oppressive stillness. The wind was like a whisper, subtly shifting directions back and forth.  Ahh, the first breath of movement – finally!

Though this circumstance and attendant unknowns remain, movement has begun in my life.

I feel more peace and have begun enjoying other activities unrelated to this issue.

This is bringing me enhanced joy and fulfillment as I continue to explore and await guidance on possible solutions.

These options will correspond to the return of trade wind breezes taking me on my way towards a practical yet fulfilling solution.

Conclusion:

When feeling stuck in a situation or circumstance, close your eyes, breathe and allow your subconscious mind to bring you an image.

You may ask yourself “what kind of weather or atmosphere does this situation feel like?”

Once an image come which captures the feeling atmospheres of the situation, you may feel validated.  Because your subconscious mind has revealed a natural event which corresponds to your internal feelings.

If this is real and OK outside, it’s also real and OK inside my heart.

Blessings,

Stephen