Midnight continues to improve. He’s doing so well that he’s now allowed to stay outside all day in the part of his paddock that we’ve fenced off for him. The other morning, when the door to his run was opened, he came out bucking—good boy, Midders!

Midnight has a huge, valiant heart. That optimistic little horse never gives up! He loves his life, he loves his people, and he enjoys every day that dawns. If ever there was a horse who could overcome a broken leg, Midnight is that horse.

I’m also certain that the prayers, positive thoughts, and healing energy that his huge circle of online friends sent him were instrumental in his remarkable recovery. There’s a specific and important way that I asked them for their help. It’s a concept that’s tough to put into words, but here’s my best shot:

Midnight’s owners and I, along with Dr. H. and a few others, knew the details of Midnight’s accident and his condition. Statistically speaking, a horse with a broken leg doesn’t have much chance of recovery. That’s “common knowledge…” but we were willing to give him a chance to beat the odds.

We all knew exactly what was going on with the little guy. But publicly, when asking for help, I always posted things in a positive way. I would say, “Midnight needs all of his friends to send positive, healing energy and prayers. And as you do that, here’s the image I’d like for you to focus on.” Then I would add pre-accident photos of him and say, “Visualize his whole, perfect, beautiful legs.”

There’s also the video (here) of him racing in for his dinner a couple of years back, demonstrating his wonderful energy and optimistic nature. Again, I’d ask people to focus on his beautiful, perfect self, and to notice his vitality. I never publicly mentioned the very real dangers of his condition, or the sores that developed halfway through the process.

Some folks have suggested that by doing it this way, I was denying reality or engaging in some kind of magical thinking. Not so. All of us dealing with him every day—and in fact, anyone who knows very much about horses—were keenly aware of the dangers of his condition and the statistically probable outcome. But that’s not where I wanted energy to focus.

Was it magical thinking? Was I just saying to myself, “If I want it badly enough and wish hard enough, then surely it will happen just this way!” No. Denying the existing situation, or refusing to see and acknowledge the range of possible outcomes would be delusional.

So how does this differ?

It’s not a question of denying any possible outcome. Rather, I simply wanted to focus on the possibility of healing and on the outcome that we wanted to have happen. I did NOT say, “Oh, he’s doing great and there’s nothing wrong with his leg.”

More and more people are beginning to understand that we create our own reality, and that where we put our energy and our thoughts is vitally important in the way our lives unfold. Personally, I’ve come to this understanding over the past couple of decades and have seen the truth of it in my own life. It’s a huge and difficult topic, and throughout recorded history, greater minds than mine have written extensively about this fact of existence. One recent book that explains it pretty clearly is Greg Braden’s The Divine Matrix. That’s a good starting point, IMO.

Just before Midnight’s accident, I saw a post by John Edward (whom I’ve followed for years) in which he said, basically, “Don’t post anything negative on facebook.” His reason? You don’t want to attract the negative energy that such a post generates.

For instance, if you happen to have a headache one morning and you post “Oh, I have such a headache,” you and all your friends who see that post will focus on the discomfort—and all their loving and caring energy goes toward the fact that your head hurts.

Instead, he suggested, post something like, “I’m looking forward to feeling really great today!” You’re not denying the headache; you’re just choosing to focus YOUR energy on the outcome you would like: feeling better. Those same loving friends who see that post will smile and visualize you feeling wonderful. The energy of their affection goes into that, not into the pain.

That made so much sense to me that when Midders needed healing prayers, I decided to post specifically what I wanted people to focus on: the possibility of his healing, and the reality of his essential wholeness and vitality. So that’s what I posted, every day.

There’s a VERY fine line between positive focus (focusing on the outcome that you desire) and denial (refusing to acknowledge possible outcomes you do NOT want). It’s tough to keep the balance in our own minds, but it is possible. In the case of what we share publicly, it’s easier to control where the energy goes.

Some of my friends who are themselves healers understood. One in particular shared that video on her own page, without comment, so that all of her friends could watch it and say to themselves, “Look at that beautiful horse! Look at his energy—look at how well he runs!” More positive reinforcement of the energy—even from folks who don’t know Midnight at all.

A friend of mine (one of the “inner circle” who knew the physical situation) asked, “Why post something from the past, knowing that he won’t ever be that youngster again? He’s 28!” The practical answer was that I didn’t have anything more recent that would show the energy I wanted to convey.

But the deeper answer is that I wanted to allow the greatest possible recovery for him. I didn’t want to add limits or restrictions. In my mind, I focused on wholeness and health, and always added “…whatever that may look like for him.”

I think the key word is “allowing”. You allow for the fact that there are many possibilities, including the possibility of wholeness, whatever that looks like for Midnight at the moment. I was consciously NOT deluding myself—not using the kind of magical thinking that says, “If I wish hard enough for it, it will happen.” I wasn’t trying to “control the form.” Rather, I am putting an intention out—I intend for him to be whole and healthy and strong…whatever that may look like for him.

And so far, it’s working out just fine! Good boy, Midnight!