BE the change that we wish to see in our horse – is both a spiritual foundation and a practical technique for supporting our horse through powerful change. There’s a written version of the audio below.
If you’re having a problem with the media player, then use the link below. You can also right mouse click, “save target as” or “save link as” or somesuch – give it a name you’ll recognize and you can download to your computer for use on your phone or other device.
Alternate audio for Advanced Lesson Number 1
If you want to more information about your unique talent in the different ways of feeling with your horse, then this link will give you a four part series on the subject.
WRITTEN VERSION OF THE AUDIO
BE the change that you wish to see in your horse has become both a foundation philosophy of our work here and a practical technique that produces excellent results. Here’s a cute non horse story about this about how these words came to mean a great deal to me.
I bought a very pretty poster with the words from Ghandi “You must be the change that you wish to see in the world” and put it above our bed.
When my friend Vivian Healey came to do the blessings and feng shui on our new home at Rokeby, she noticed the beautiful poster and asked me “Whose side of the bed is that on?”.
“Merv’s of course” I said. “I work really hard on myself and he doesn’t do anywhere near enough.” I am literally sitting here with belly laughter about that now as I write this.
“Hmmm” said Vivian dryly. “I think you’d better change that to your side of the bed.”
So, every time I lay down to sleep, I have this beautiful poster “You must be the change that you wish to see in the world” above my head, reminding me that we cannot change other people and in fact when we try, it causes us all kinds of problems. What we CAN do however, is change ourselves – and all else literally and miraculously changes around us.
I have seen the practical results of this over and over again, with people as well as horses. However, today the topic is how this works so fabulously well to speed up practical change with a horse.
So HOW can changing ourselves get a result with our horse?
When we want our horse to have more confidence, then we have to address every cause of fear or anxiety in ourselves.
It means that when we want our horse to release resistance, we have to notice and then release the resistance in ourselves.
I talked on my blog a few weeks back – You want self carriage? Then embody self carriage in yourself – clean up the nooks and crannies of poor posture that are in the way of your own self carriage and get it for yourself first.
You want collection from your horse? Then find the ability for your own body to collect and wowwww… feel the change in your horse.
You want your horse to pay more attention to you – then you must pay more attention.
You may have noticed that this “BE the change that you want to see in your horse” has many levels – a spiritual level where you are taking ultimate responsibility for your part in the relationship, knowing that you cannot change them or their behavior, but you CAN help them by truly looking into and changing yourself.
Then there’s a more practical level to this – where you can feel into your own body, do whatever needs doing in yourself to fix what’s going on in your own body and see the practical result in your horse – where no matter what the problem is that you are having with your horse – you can FEEL into yourself, FEEL into your own body for the source of the problem.
Oh yeah I hear you, the REAL source of the problem may well be in your horse – he or she may have a tension or a weakness somewhere – but in your connection to your horse – in the way that you feel your connection to your horse, you will be able to feel that problem in your own body – in whatever way is your unique sense of feel.
Feel will give you the keys to the kingdom of horses.
So… here’s your mission should you choose to accept it – next time you are either riding your horse or if you don’t ride, working with them to achieve a task – then FEEL into your own body for the moment in which your horse is not able or is not willing to do what you ask – notice EVERYTHING about how you feel the brace, the resistance, the horse’s inability to give what you want for whatever reason – even if you think it’s just a “No!” – notice how it is that you are feeling that in your own body.
That’s the goal of this lesson. Simply Noticing how you feel the very moment when your horse is unable or unwilling to give you what you want – you are not fixing it or even wanting to help your horse to fix it at this time. Just practice pinpointing the moment – sink into that moment with your horse with soft ahhh eyes and create the opportunity to understand what’s going on behind it.
For example, if physical feel is one of the things you experience easily, if you feel inside your body then you will be able to physically feel your horse’s tension in your own body and with that feeling can come understanding.
If energetic feel is your thing, then as you feel into your body, you will notice the energy blockage somewhere and as you notice that as you pause on that, you are creating an opportunity for understanding.
If emotional feel is your thing, then as you feel into your own body, you will notice the emotions around whatever this problem is with your horse and as you notice that, as you pause on that, you are opening yourself up to understand what is going on.
If mental feel is your thing, then as you quieten your mind and allow the thoughts and ideas to flow, then you will know when your horses reaches this moment, pause there, notice everything about oyu are feeling your horse in this mooment and create the opportunity for understanding to flow.
If heart feel is your thing, then use that feel, to notice the very split second moment that your horse cannot or will not give you what you are asking for and pause there, creating the opportunity for understanding to flow.
Good Posture is a major key to success – You will be more likely to feel the very edge of that brace or resistance or feeling of no I can’t or No I won’t or No I don’t want to – if you are in effortlessly powerful posture.