Expressions - Part 5

2. CHAKRA BALANCING.

Many Eastern healing modalities work with the energy centers of the physical body.  A widely known view is the Chakra system, which was known in both Chinese and Indian philosophies. Chakras are the energy centers of the physical body. The primary seven are located on the mid-line of the body and align, in an ascending column, from the base of the spine to the top of the head. They can be visualized as a double spinning spiral that opens both to the front of the body and along the backbone. In perfect health, these energy centers give and receive energy and are balanced one to another as well as front to back.

Acupuncture, Healing Touch and Reiki are only three examples of healing modalities that have become more mainstream, even in our Western healing practices, as we begin to have more understanding of the holistic approach of body/mind spirit. As a Reiki Master myself, I realize that most practitioners have an understanding of the chakra system and incorporate chakra balancing as part of their healing routine.

Melisa had a large black and white Gypsy Vanner horse named Fancy that joined her healing herd. She had feet the size of dinner plates but I have watched her time after time, gently walk around a client and balance their chakra’s front and back, and never once stepped on a human foot. She was Melissa’s “go to” chakra balancer. She often gently backed up till she was touching the person with her enormous rump, to balance their root chakra.

Yes, they can balance ours even as we balance theirs. I have watched many horses do a quick body scan from toe to head before they go to work, walking around “their client”, standing for a few minutes with their forehead at a person’s abdomen, 3rd chakra = solar plexus, and then move to the persons back and present their heart chakra to the back of that person.

Expressions - Part 4

Another clear visual of what leaching looks like.

This woman has had very little experience with horses and found Lakota “quite large and pretty scary”. She wanted to be with the horse but her every movement was tentative. She is wearing a nervous grin. She got to the point where she was more comfortable with Lakota reaching out, stretching really, to touch her on the collarbone and shoulder.
The woman professed to carrying a lot of tension in her neck and shoulders. She was also very much “in her head” even as I attempted to bring her more into her body.

I asked the woman to walk around the pen and I attempted to get her more into her body. She was a very good story teller however, and more comfortable with her words than with her body.

Lakota was not impressed with her story.  She moved to the side and began to leach energy.
Almost immediately, the woman’s stride lengthened, her pelvis gained more fluidity, and her shoulders dropped to a more natural position.
My assistant and I made eye contact as we watched the woman’s physical demeanor change even as she walked/talked on. 
She had no idea of the changes taking place until we brought it to her attention.
She was finally silent, with wonder and awe.  She "felt" her body.

Expressions - Part 3

1. LEACHING.

Horses healing humans is something that makes sense to me.  But I watched with growing unease as my sweet horse stood in the round pen with a woman who was working through her problems. Lakota stood beside her, neck stretched out, her head hanging low.  It started as a yawn but it went on and on and on. She looked to me as if she were trying to throw up which I knew was impossible for a horse. Was she choking on arena dust?  Her eyes would close and she would pull her lips back to expose her teeth and gums.  Her torso heaved.  I was worried for her. I wanted it to be over. I looked at Melisa and she did not seem at all upset with what was happening. It was all I could do to sit there and trust the process. What the heck was going on?  As the session with the women came to an end Melisa asked her how she was feeling. With a happy grin on her face she replied, “I feel incredible, like I just lost a hundred pounds.”

“I am not surprised,” Melisa said. “This dear horse has been leaching negative energy off you for the past ten minutes.  You are definitely lighter!”

Hands shot in the air. All of us wanted to know what we had just experienced. Melisa explained to us that horses have the ability to leach, or remove, negative energy from the human body. The horse DOES NOT hold on to that energy in their body, however.  They allow it to pass through them. My previous training has shown me how energy can travel down our energy meridians into the earth. Mother Earth is not concerned whether we think energy is “positive” or “negative”. Energy is energy, and she can use it to do all of the marvelous things that she does. But the important thing for me was, Lakota did not hold onto any  “bad stuff”  that she released from the woman, who was now beaming, having thoroughly enjoyed her session with my miracle healing horse.

Well, by Sunday afternoon, Lakota had graduated from Equine Gestalt Coaching Method  while I had many more months to go . GEEZ !  My horse is a rock star of healing!!!!

Since August 2009, I have watched horses work on and heal humans. They are natural holistic healers. As “prey” animals, they have survived through the centuries by creating a unique form of communication, known as Equus. Learning to read and interpret the “energy” of each other, of their habitat, and the other creatures that coexist in their natural surroundings was vital to their survival.  What I am learning is they have the ability to “read” my energy even as I approach the corral.  By the time I open and walk through the gate, my horse knows what my energy level is and what baggage, if any, I carrying with me.

This is what leaching looks like.

Expressions - Part 2

INTRODUCTION.

I took pictures of my horse, Lakota, as she grazed in my back yard and I told her “I am going to take these to Melisa’s tonight.  Let me know what you think about this work.”

Several hours later I dropped my photos into the wicker basket with many other pictures. It was an Equi-Spiritual event at Melisa Pearce’s barn, home to Touched by a Horse. Later in the evening, Melisa ruffled through the pictures, looking and listening to the voices of the sentient beings captured with film. She held up Lakota’s picture and she said, “I don’t know who belongs to this horse but she just told me, “She is willing to do this work. She can do this work. She is ready to go to work.”

I sat back in my chair with tears in my eyes. My question had been answered. WOW!!

This path has had many trail markers along the way.  I cannot remember not loving horses. I have been told for years that I could work with horses if I wanted to but I  had no idea what it looked like. Every reading I received for several years, from many different persons, said a version of the same thing. I remember distinctly, a woman telling me that there were five animals that agreed to assist the human population to become better citizens of the earth.  They were elephants, horses, dogs, dolphins and macaw parrots.  The more I thought about it I realized that they have a vested interest in us getting it right. If not, we are the only species that has the potential to destroy all that we hold dear.  Plus, at least one of these animals can be found on every continent, or in the vast waters surrounding our fragile land masses or flying freely above us.

And several years before that, as one of my teachers and I had just finished giving Lakota an etheric clearing session, she looked at me and said, “This is a healer horse”. I had no idea what she meant and really no idea of the journey that this magnificent being and I would undertake.  I was just beginning to see this beautiful creature in a whole new way.

A few months after Lakota first answered my question, I trailered my sweet horse to Melisa’s for a weekend.  Just two girls going to class together.  I was a student in Melisa’s Equine Gestalt Coaching Method eighteen month program. On the way over I told Lakota that I would not put any pressure on her. I loved her for just who she was and if she wanted to do this work she could, and if she didn’t, I would still be her best friend.  There was no way I could have predicted what would happen to us next.

EXPRESSSIONS OF HORSES AS HEALERS

 

 

 EXPRESSSIONS  OF  HORSES  AS  HEALERS
 

By Annette Price  /  September 17, 2012                                                          
http://www.onthewingsofahorse.com 

 

 

Prepared as a Course Project in Horse Psychology

Reach Out to Horses’ Holistic Horsemanship                                            

Comprehensive Training Course                                                                                 

with Anna Twinney 

at Zuma’s Rescue Ranch, Littleton, CO

How to be a Better Human 101 ... cont... again ....

In the past I have jokingly described my spiritual journey as “How to be a Better Human 101”, placing myself in the freshman class with wide-eyed enthusiasm and an unchecked willingness to experience it all. My goal with every semester is to discern the teachings and assimilate universal wisdom.

For the past two years I have decided to up the ante; sometimes advancing with baby steps, sometimes falling on my bum, but encouraged by the brilliant rays of understanding that sometimes break through the clouds.  My teachers are the horses and those two-legged beings that speak through them, to them and with them.  Completing Melisa Pearce’s program, EGCM, Equine Gestalt Coaching Method was a dream come true; it has been nothing short of amazing.  

My self-study curriculum remains challenging, as on-going lessons should, with several mid-course corrections required, and I ride the roller coaster of accomplishment, failure, self-doubt and joy with utter amazement.  This past week-end’s training with Anna Twinney (Reach Out to Horses) was HUGE.  Surrounded once again by humans and horses I stepped into the arena. 

"I want to open you up.” Anna’s words are still ringing in my ears.  I have a very uncomfortable vision of an old fashioned manual can opener lying beside a tin of sardines, split open via a ragged wound, sharp and possibly dangerous. Worth diving into if you happen to like sardines, but proceed with caution, it is to be handled with care.

This Monday morning I take stock.

Physically, I am beat up, things hurt when I move, a temporary un-comfort-able-ness.

Spiritually, I am standing at yet another precipice, wondering how to get across.

Mentally, I know that we have stood in front of different obstacles before and have eventually figured them out. I take comfort in the absolute knowledge that I have tremendous teachers, marvelous mentors and friendly faces to guide me, stand beside me, and encourage me.

The horses stand out in their pasture, absolutely aware while appearing to dream contentedly in their own little world. But as every thing in the universe is connected, we too are connected. They accept their day, knowing that this journey is my own, but still mindful of my progress.

It will be what it will be. I am not sure where we are going but excited for the journey to unfold.

TROUBLE?

 I woke up way too early this morning.  I plugged myself into a CD to try and get back to sleep but that really didn’t work very well.  I had a serious case of “monkey-mind” that refused to be stilled.  As I lay there I had the thought that I could pour a bath and soak in the healing water as I listened to my CD. And so I did.

In the bath I questioned the partially bruised big toe of my right foot.  It isn’t bad enough to lose the toenail, but I have no idea what happened to it … seems weird.  I broke that toe five or six years ago. I was winter riding with some friends and I stepped my dear horse off the path onto what appeared to be dirt, but was really an icy patch that the wind had blown dirt over. Lakota slipped and in what felt like slow-motion - fell to her side. My friends told me it actually looked very graceful.  But I did not get my leg out of the stirrup in time and she landed on my leg. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal until my toe started throbbing and then I knew we had done some damage.  It was interesting how that fall has come back to me so many times; stepped off the path, time slowed down, falling and falling, things not what they looked like, the right side of my body gets hurt again … ????

The bubble bath was a great way to start the day. Laying there barely aware of the window getting brighter with the coming dawn.  Soaking in the warmth, the water, the bubbles and listening to the gentle voice of one of my teachers on the CD, letting her drown out my mind. 

For you, dear reader, do not know the problem that woke me up at 4:28 am with such fierceness.  Is there a fall in front of me? Will time slow down for me?  Will I have the ability to get my foot out of the stirrup in time to stave off hurtful consequences?  At least I will bring more awareness to this situation and I pray for the grace and beauty and wisdom to stand on the edge of the precipice and be guided through it without any one getting bruised or battered. That is my prayer for this day.

New Years Day – 2012

WOW!!

I have in front of me the cards that I pulled last night. I had settled into a peaceful place, touched the JOY in my life, and invited the “persona” of my new business, On the Wings of a Horse, to join me.  I sent my prayer out to the pasture and touched minds with Lakota and the long eared ones. When I felt the presence of all that is me and then that which is beyond, I asked for guidance, for assistance. I had Melisa Pearce’s Inspirational Card Deck in my hands. Shuffling them four times I thought of my vision, my dream and I opened myself up to the possibilities that i was yet to be aware of.

One card fell out, and I set it aside. It had chosen me but I had not finished my ritual. I cut the deck and there was MYSTICAL. I read it and the tears came.  “The vastness of your purpose and the energies of the universe are before you at this time.  …  Hold that everything is unfolding before you with divine inspiration, in divine time and with divine ease.”  Goddess, I love these cards!!!!  Thank you !!!

And then I read the card that chose me.  ATTENTIVENESS.  “There is a plan laid out before you.  … The path is choreographed and exact.  You are being asked to play full-out and to give your all. “ 

I have never pulled either of these cards before and their message to me was crystal clear.  I fell asleep last night with a smile on my face.  Ask and you shall receive.  So mote it be.

This morning I fed the horses with so much love in my heart that I barely touched the earth. I leaned into them gently and smelled them in deeply.  I am outrageously BLESSED and I give THANKS.

The Day After MAD-ness.

Since I wrote you of the MAD-ness of Friday, I feel compelled to write of yesterday, Saturday, the last day of 2011. I followed my heart all day:  writing, dusting my house, playing with plants – cleaning and pruning, made phone calls to friends and family, played my flute and drummed new life back into my re-born drum, and thusly back into me. I chose NOT to do any real estate work.  Walking from room to room, I paid homage to the totems purposefully arranged in the middle of the floor, an altar of sorts.

I almost went in and removed yesterday mornings blog. I logged in and sat poised to erase it, and in the end I did edit out a few sentences that I could no longer resonate with.  Shit happens. Sometimes I get pitched into the muck. It is not pretty. It is not comfortable. It is what happens next that is important.

I decided not to go out, but instead to stay in and enjoy the newly shiny surfaces of my home. After the sun went down I made a scrumptious tray of good, fun, and pretty foods and snuggled under my fuzzy blanket to watch movies rented from the library. I poured a glass of handmade Cherry Cordial, a Christmas gift that tasted as delicious as it sounds!  I heard the fireworks and looked up, surprised to note that I had witnessed the first moments of a new year.  I had to move my cat, Magic, who was stretched full out on my tummy, to check on the horses who are not all fond of fireworks and then I settled down for a quiet ritual. Friday I let loose volley after volley of four letter words ~ but now I reflected for a moment on two   “three- letter” words:  JOY versus MAD.   

Friday I allowed myself to plunge into despair and anger in a big way. I will not forget what that felt like. I will hold it to contrast all the good days against.  I know on many levels that the choice is always mine, whether to live in MAD (fear) or in JOY (Love).  I KNOW that. But some days are easy and some days just test the very mettle of all I am striving to be.  Thusly i can practice the JOY of Forgiveness.  The act of forgiving my SELF. That is what I will remember.  JOY shall win out.

New Year’s Eve Morn.

12-31-2011

I had a ferocious day yesterday.  I worked from 6:30 in the morning to 9:30 last night. I got out three appraisals and believe that I did a good job on all three.  But it was hard to work through the stress and tension that coursed through my body.  I fought it most of the day; it was a roller coaster ride. But i have been on this ride before and today I managed to keep my butt in the saddle again and again. 

At 6:30 in the morning I was filled with optimism.  I had a very tight plan, step by step; I was going to make all my deadlines. It was doable as long as I stayed on tract. At 9 AM I got a call from Chase Bank that my check had bounced and I was two months late on my mortgage.  I am not going into all the details now but my day crumpled. Piece by piece, minute by minute, an hour on the phone to five different people at Chase … it all fell apart.  I tried deep breathing, I apologized to the folks I was talking to when I started to lose my temper.   One issue led to another, and to another and one by one I made things right. But I was MAD!!!

I discovered that I had seriously screwed up my bank account two weeks ago by not transferring money from my savings to my checking account. I had the money in one account but didn’t transfer it.  That’s all.

Since I got my new computer this summer I have been having trouble logging into my online banking.  I almost remember that being the issue. I probably thought that I would try it the next day … and then I didn’t do it.

I realize now that i was MAD already. I wake up every morning and look in the mirror and say, “Hi, my name is Annette Price and I am an Equine Gestalt Coach!!”  It is a GREAT way to start the day. But for the past three months I have been working long, long hours on real estate appraisals.  I am glad to be working. I can make money as an appraiser, have done it for years; but I have another vision now ……..

I have found so little time to be with my coaching business.  I cannot let the breath die away from “On the Wings of a Horse.”  She needs sustenance and I am afraid that I have not been feeding her. I need her to know how important she is to me.  Sometimes I lay in bed in the darkness of the very early morning and I visualize her, I see her wearing a t-shirt with our new logo on it. It looks good!

This morning is New Year’s Eve Morn.  The sun is shining even though the wind is blowing hard from the west. I tucked the hay I fed the horses into tubs and hoped that they would eat it before the wind could blow it to Kansas.  I have another appraisal that I CHOOSE to work on this morning but FIRST I sat in a quiet loving space and did REIKI on a friend in need, knowing that I was receiving even as I was giving. I wrapped myself up in soft fleecy sweats that feel like wearing a cloud. I ate five chocolate covered almonds that I had received for Christmas with my oatmeal this morning, just because I could.

I have spread totems around my house, in every room, so no matter where I go this day, I will be reminded of my commitment to my sweet new business, On the Wings of a Horse. With these I will nourish her. And she is feeding me as well. We are not alone. We are surrounded by our angels. We will not let the wind blow away that which sustains us. I CHOOSE to believe that this wind is clearing off the face of all that it sweeps over.  Great and wondrous treasures are waiting to be discovered.  I celebrate JOY.  Whew!!!!!    

War Horse, the Movie

I sat in a packed theatre on Christmas day and shared the experience with lots of people. I liked the movie but I did not LOVE the movie. There were some grand and thrilling moments, just gazing at the beauty of horses and watching them move across the giant screen. I understood the way this horse touched so many people lives as he endured the agony of war. I did not enjoy the war moments, and there were many ~ hence the title “War Horse”.  Watching the battle scenes took me back many years ago when my son was young, about seven or eight  years old. 

I do not remember the context of the discussion, but he told me that the war experience changed when enemies no longer looked each other in the eye as they killed each other. I was rocked back into my seat with the profound and deep wisdom of his words. I gazed into his little round cherub face and my world changed a little bit. I had a glimpse at the old soul that he truly already was.  I remember asking him if they were studying war in school and he said no, it was just something he had been thinking about. Although I do not remember his exact words, I have carried the weight of his pronouncement with me from that day on. I am sure it is true, I just had never thought about it before.

As a mother, I despise war.     As a human being trying to figure out a better way to exist on this beautiful planet, I detest war.     I loathe the argument that there is nothing like a good ole war to boost the world economy.     I do not have all the answers at the moment, but I believe, with every cell in my body, that there is another way. I wanted Steven Spielberg to show us not only the harsh reality of the war experience, but another way of being. To plant another seed in the psychic of human consciousness that will wake people up.  An awesome movie will do that.

I know through my experience with horses that they have an innate way of lifting us up. It just “happens” when you are around them.  We are the lucky ones who already know this.  And maybe that is what this movie will do; open people’s heart once again to the awesomeness of horse power.  And maybe that is enough at this time.  Joey, the war horse, brought sunshine into the lives of many different folks in a dark and troubling time.   I wonder what my son will take away from the movie. It will be interesting to hear his opinion.

ZEVON’S GIFT

Recently I was given an incredible and unexpected gift.  It was not a gift the giver was totally ready to give but the circumstance was not to be avoided.

It began with a phone call at 8:45 in the morning from a dear friend of mine, an accomplished horse woman who has spent her entire life in the company of horses.  There was an edge to her voice that hinted of urgency.  “Zevon is colicky and I can’t get a hold of my vet.  Can you call yours and see how fast he can get over here?”  “Of course,” I replied, already flipping through my day timer.  “Is Richard home this morning”, I continued, wondering if she was dealing with this by herself.  Not that she isn’t competent to deal with the situation; she’s told me dozens of colic stories and helped me out twice with my own horse.  “He’s here.  He’s out riding horses.  He’s not really helping me.”  There was that tone again.  Her housemate Richard knows as much about horses as Molly, but I thought she might need a girl friend.  I told her I would come up for a little while.

On an impulse I threw a tamale in the microwave and took it with me for the short drive to her house.  I prayed between bites as I hurried down the country roads.  I have never seen a full blown colic before and I was as curious as I was worried.

I have known Zevon for several years.  He is a handsome fellow, a tall dark bay gelding with a friendly face and a kind eye.  A few years ago he came to my house to babysit my little mare when I was between house mates and Lakota had lost her herd.  Horses are herd animals, most prefer not to be alone ~ they are too vulnerable.  As Zevon liked the ladies, he took his new assignment in stride.  He was a natural born leader and took control of every herd he was in.  He had been retired by the time I met him so I never saw him under saddle, but I knew that in their twenty-seven years together, he and Molly had covered many, many miles. 

When I pulled into the driveway, Richard, still riding, waved me over to the barn.  Zevon was lying down in his stall with Molly kneeling by his side.  She had finally connected with her vet who was now on her way.  Molly told me how every thing had appeared fine this morning but he had deteriorated quickly.  Zevon would lie still and then kick his legs and swing his head around to look at his stomach.  He would sometimes try to stand and end up sitting with his front legs straight in front of him like a trick pony, but this was not a show any of us wanted to watch. 

Richard joined our vigil and shortly after that the vet arrived; she was marvelous.  She told Molly that she was very concerned with the situation, especially as Zevon was not a young horse.  She left us with medications and a time line to follow.  At one point in the early afternoon it appeared that Zevon had turned the corner.  Richard, Molly and I commented over and over how much better he appeared to be feeling.  We walked with him, stroked his beautiful neck and Molly gave him sponge baths.  But our optimism was short lived and Zevon grew more restless as his pain intensified.

It was time for Molly to make the hardest decision an animal owner ever faces.  With tears in her eyes she looked at Richard.  Through the years I have heard them discuss this very moment.  She always told him, “I am going to have trouble making that call when it’s time.  I need you to be honest with me and tell me the truth.”  Even though the words strangled her, she squeaked out the question.  Richard studied the toe of his boot and nodded yes.  I drifted back and tried to get a grip on my trembling chin; I had no intention of making this harder for my dear friend.  The call was made, the vet was on her way back over and we each paid homage to this outstandingly gorgeous being. 

As I drove home later that day I thought what a precious gift Zevon and Molly had given me. I will never forget this day, which was to be his last, and the memory of their dignity will be with me forever. When it is our time, I pray that Lakota and I will have friends to hold us up, to ease us through the transition, to answer the question that can’t even be asked.  What a marvelous example they had presented me ~ filled with Love and Grief and Grace and Tears and Tenderness. 

Such a gift.

The EGCM 1st Annual Summit

What a marvelous week-end for a coming together of like-minded souls. The Equine Gestalt Coaching Method TM herd was 27 strong beautiful women + our beloved coach Bob.  The weather was fantastic, sunny and bright as the ideas that were shared; the air as clean and crisp as the topics discussed. As cliché as it sounds, I had to write those words, for they are my truth. It was great to be with the women that I have met already on this journey; to stay in touch with one another is important to me. And to meet the new women coming in, to learn the faces that go with the voices that I have been hearing on class calls.

Friday afternoon, we graduates set up our booths in the hallway of the barn and shared stories. It always feels good to be back in this barn, a place where so much growth and transformation has transpired.  Melisa called us all to order and we shared a social hour of cheese cake and coffee.

Saturday morning came pretty quickly, I must admit. I got dressed, fed the critters, drank a cup of coffee, took my shears and basket out to the yard and collected some herbs, and headed back the 35 minute journey to Little Bit North Ranch. I was excited to participate in whatever came my way this day.  The break out session with all of us who have Peggy as a coach was fascinating to me. I had gone prepared to do a greeting ritual, but learned that Ashara had something planned so I slipped easily into Plan “B” which ended up being a wonderful experience for me.  Melisa is always touting my herbal back ground in our class calls and yet I was having a difficult time weaving my passion for herbs with my passion for horses.  I gestalted a little talk about the three plants I had brought with me and then opened it up to the group as to how I could integrate the two.  And as we shared ideas, I did gain insight and it was so much fun. I want to thank costmary, motherwort and mugwort (Artemisia) for accompanying this day and playing their part so beautifully.

As I drove away towards home Sunday, I was thankful again to have found this program, for my determination to see it through, and I could feel the excitement of this adventure as it coursed through my weary body. The first summit was an inspiring success and I came away with new skill sets to play with and the determination to continue learning. I am at the beginning of a new adventure, with an urgent desire to learn new ways of walking beside a horse; to deepen my love and to honor these sentient beings.  When I stand in their presence I am lifted up ~ they give me inspiration and hope for the future. I am outrageously blessed.

Reciprocity – Just an Idea.

Last Friday night I stood with my class, the Mid Pack, at our graduation ceremony!! Whew!! Almost two years of studying, practicing, and working through our own “stuff” … and we are now certified in the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method !!  The range, depth and potential of this work is awesome.

But I would like to take a moment and acknowledge those who came before me.  Among many other things, the Mid Pack had the outstanding privilege of learning from the Genesis group how to accept new members into this marvelous herd. We learned from their generous example.  It may not have been easy for them to let us in, to transition into a larger herd, but I never once felt that.  Not once. They were outstandingly gracious and accepting of us.

I have been thinking about the rumblings I have heard from new students as we each face our fears and our doubts about this program.  How large is this program going to get? Will there be enough work for me?  I confess that I have had my own doubts, my own dark fears.

I am reminded of a lesson I leaned fifteen years ago in South America. I was studying with a Peruvian shaman and one day he told us a story of his idea of reciprocity. To him and his fellow shamans, if anyone came forward and said they wanted to learn the ancient sacred ways, that teacher had to take them on as a student.  Because it was their understanding that not until each and every human stepped into their highest potential, could any of us ascend to the higher realms.  No one could move forward until every got it!  This idea was new to me and the hugeness of that statement stayed with me ever since. Every time you reach out and help someone up, you are supporting a larger cause.  Plain and simple, we are all in this together.

Then there is the sentiment that my dear friend Patricia offered up one day. She said, “If everyone on the earth was a healer, we would still have tons of work to do!” I don’t even know what she meant, but I know on a cellular level that the words are true.

And so I keep reminding myself of these two little stories. I totally believe that for each one of us to reach our highest potential we need to champion the successes of one another.  By supporting each other with grace and authenticity, we will each find our place.  There are thousands of horses waiting for us to step up to the plate and there are millions of folks who need us when they are ready.

If I had any words of wisdom for those coming into the program it would be this. If you need to compete, as is in my nature, compete with yourself.  Set your goals, keep an open mind, ask questions until you “get it”  and know that you are in a loving herd whose survival depends on your strength of character. We are in this together and it is so outrageously rewarding!!  There is room for all of us. I welcome you to a marvelous adventure.  It will be what you make it to be.

And I know for me this is just the beginning.  I look forward to many more years of studying, practicing, and working through my own “stuff” as I move forward as a practitioner of the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method !! 

Namaste.

The Beginning

I remember standing in front of my kitchen window staring out on the cold January morning. I could see my reflection in the window;  looking out ~ yet looking in.  It was a bright beginning to a new year. My mind was racing with thoughts of the Melisa Pearce’s Touched By A Horse Certification Program.TM   What if this program was the answer to the riddle that had presented itself over and over to me for the past five years. Reading after reading after reading, I had been told that I could work with horses if I wanted to. Wanted To? It is what i wanted to do most in the world! But I could not see what it looked like. I could not visualize it and the women giving me the reading could not answer that for me. They all said, “I don’t know what it means. This is just the information I am receiving.”  

One of my ego’s strongest arguments was the cost. It was pricey and I was having trouble paying my mortgage. That was the most evident problem on this physical plane.  I am not a horse trainer even though my dear sweet horse, Lakota, and I have spent hours and hours in various clinics studying Natural Horsemanship and how to be better partners to one another.  On the other hand, I did truly want to work with people. The last 15 years of running my own appraisal shop has become more and more unsatisfying, financially, mentally, and spiritually. I am ready for a change. But my “Doubting Thomas’ voice is loud in my inner debate. “What if we sign up and spend all this money and then we can’t make a living at it? What if we find out we’re not good enough? What if this is not the answer? What if? What if? What if?”

But a part of me knew. This is an answer. Here is a teacher right in my own back yard. “What if she moved up here from Arizona to be my teacher? What about that…huh?” I asked my Doubting Thomas self. “What if this IS the answer and I’m too scared to go for it?”

The part of me that “knows” smiled at the reflection in the frosty window and whispered, “It will be what you make it to be.  It is up to you, dear one.”  I walked to the phone and left a message with Melisa’s office. That was January 1, 2010.

Today, June 10, 2011, I will graduate with four of my fellow classmates. I would be lying if I said the journey has not been extremely challenging at times. But with help I have walked through my fears; I have acknowledged and moved beyond the nagging doubts ~ and there have been many along the way.  But in every cell of my body I KNOW that this was the answer. I am proud of myself for staying in the program, looking the “what-ifs” square in the face and finding the funds, finding the courage, and finding the stamina to move forward.  With Lakota’s help, and with the horses I sense will be joining us ~ we will make it glorious!!

Once again ~ we are at the beginning!

 

Horse as Healer: Chakras & Empowerment

Chakra balancing.

I have seen Melisa’s horses do this over and over.  They start at the human’s toes and with their nose they go up one side of the body and down the other, slowly, methodically. Sometimes they walk around the human and scan the back side as well. Sometimes they will stand in front of the client and sway back and forth with their nose at the heart chakra. Well they don’t really sway their whole body, they just gently swing their head back and forth usually standing fairly close to the human.

One very large black and white Gypsy Vanner horse, will slowly back up to a person and press her root chakra onto the client. She will move around the person and press her butt on them from different angles. It looks kind of funny but she is trying to ground the person into the “now-ness” of the moment. She is very gentle and walks very slowly with her large magnificent feet.

 When they are finished the horse will back away or move away from the human and they often look over at Melisa as if to say, “I know it only took two minutes, but we’re done here. This one is cleared and balanced to the best of my ability.”

 It could be scary to the human if they didn’t trust both the facilitator and the horse, but that has not been my experience. The human always love it in the end as they walk out of the round pen glowing.

Empowerment.

Once there was timid woman with a very, very sad story that she told very well. I am beginning to realize how boring stories really are when they are polished and embellished due to years and years practicing of the telling. (And I look at myself and how many tedious stories I have bored people with. Write them, get them out of me, and move on for goodness sakes!) Anyway the woman was going on and Melisa said “Okay I get the idea. Lets try an exercise. Are you willing to do that?”

The woman agreed and we brought in a large dark bay gelding, a very handsome creature to be sure. Melisa also sent someone for the mounting block and brought a couple of extra students.  We all knew that the woman had a little bit of horse experience and were not surprised when she agreed to ride this horse bareback. She looked like a tiny fairy up on the horses back and she immediately broke out in this huge grin. We led the horse around the circle with a side walker on either side to make sure that she was safe and had the woman speak of joy.

Melisa coached her with stem sentences like, “I feel joy when …”

And ended up by asking where in her body was she feeling this joy. “It is like my entire core is filled with golden light; my whole rib cage is expanding with joy.” She bent over the horse and wrapped her hands around his neck, still grinning and indeed, it was if a light were radiating from her. We walked in silence for a while and Melisa instructed her to feel all the joy, to let it soak into her body, and to know that she could come back to this memory in an instant, any time she wanted to. This was her touchstone for joy.

The woman walked out of the round pen and she truly did look different to all of us; softer, more relaxed and happier than we had ever known her.

And still, that is just the beginning……

Healing Horses - Energy Clearing

Being in Melisa’s program this past fourteen months has been amazing. The things that I have seen horses do with human clients has been inspiring.  I want to expound on each of these further but I want to take a few moments and float back through the year and pick up some strong points.

Leaching. I took my horse to the October 2010 CORE,  our week-end intensive training sessions and she proved herself to be a true healer.

With one of the clients who had years of pent up anxiety and trauma, Lakota stood beside her and with her nose, slowly scanned the woman’s body, up and down from her toes to the top of her head.  Then Lakota stood there and opened her mouth and did these long deep yawns. In my own body I almost felt like gagging ~ it was almost painful to watch but then she is my best friend and I was feeling very protective of her. Melisa and the woman kept dialoging, she telling her story and Lakota kept yawing. She stopped one time, appeared to be listening to the story and then started yawning again over and over. Her head was down, her teeth exposed and she leaned into each yawn.

When the woman was done talking and Lakota was done yawing, Melisa asked the client how she was feeling now. “Well, I’m not really sure what just happened but I feel pounds lighter and much happier.”

“I am not surprised” Melisa said.

Melisa thanked Lakota and we put her back in her stall and debriefed the session. Melisa told us that the horse was pulling the toxic energy out of the woman’s body and releasing it with her deep yawning. She literally leached the negativity out of the woman. Of course we wanted to know what effect it had on the horse and she explained that the horse acts as a clearing vessel and it goes right through them and is released to the universe to be transmuted by the creator energy that surrounds the healing horse.

Horses do NOT hang onto useless energy,  they release it immediately,

they do not ruminate about what happened yesterday,

and they certainly do not worry about what is going to happen tomorrow.

They are totally in the present moment ~ always!  

WOW.

TESTIMONIAL from May 1, 2011's Wild Food Workshop

Dear Annette,

What a wonderful day being with you and the circle of horse women!

Thank you so much for sharing Lakota with me. I will never forget her breathing and gentleness. I do believe she licked my hands to help heal them!!  She knew I needed some help there. I am so glad she let me hug her and pet her.

The sharing circle at the beginning was powerful. You are such a sensitive, loving, enthusiastic teacher. I always love field trips so visiting the variety of plants and picking and tasting them was pure fun. Now I just need to find some wild plants that haven’t been sprayed.

Thank you for offering this special class. Any time I can learn more about wild plants and animals, I feel blessed. May you find sweet success, you deserve it.

AT, Boulder, Colorado

Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Egg Hunt at Kristi’s Lame Dog Ranch. April 23, 2011

I missed the hunt last year and have been looking forward to this year’s event. Imagine my surprise when I woke up Saturday morning and it was snowing. Well in Colorado we like to joke about how fast our weather can turn and I knew that we had a strong chance of sunny skies later in the day. We drive the few miles to my neighbor’s house, unload and saddle up. I can tell immediately that no one is in a big rush, we do indeed have “all the time we need.” So Lakota and I join the group in the large arena and warm up by walking and trotting around and visiting with those folks that I know and meeting some that I do not. The weather is cool but no longer snowing and the sun looks like it might show its face any time now.

Almost an hour after the advertised start time, we are called over to hear the official rules.

1) Horsemanship is paramount and anyone who lacks it will be quickly disqualified.

    You must treat everyone cordially and keep you and your horse safe at all times.

2) You can only bring in one egg at a time. When you find an egg, you must ride back in, dismount, and wait in line to walk your egg into the round pen and drop it in your basket.

3) Only one horse in the round pen at a time.

4) Kristi tells where to hunt as well what areas are off limits.

The rules are simple.  Kristi told us that there are colored plastic eggs with prizes inside, there are also three painted rocks that will win you a special prize, but mostly there are three hundred  4-inch sections of painted PVC pipe that have been scattered around a bunch of pastures totaling about sixty acres !!  Whoooeee!!

Everyone puts their Easter basket in the 60 foot round pen, and for those who forgot there are brown bags you can put your name on. Mine is the plastic orange pumpkin I use for Halloween candy and it is easy to find. We mount up and Kristi does a quick count down and off we go. 

It seems as if a lot of folks are heading towards the many pastures to the south, so we head north. I don’t have to go very far down the lane before I see an orange plastic egg nestled into a large stack of hay. Score! I don’t even have to get off if she will side-pass up to the hay bales and let me pluck it off. She does and back we ride to the round pen. I am the one grinning. There is a big crowd there, many found eggs right off the bat.  I dismount and wait in line. Everyone is having fun and I can tell I am not the only one in touch with my inner child. Did I mention that most of the riders are well over thirty? There are only a handful of young riders, all female ~ they are the ones that are wearing only t-shirts against the cool April morning. 

Lakota and I jog into the round pen, drop our first egg into our basket and jog out so the next person can go in. I guide her over to the fence and climb it to get back into the saddle. It is much easier on her back and my knees to mount in this manner, besides most of the eggs are going to be on the ground, there is going to be enough getting on and off to cost me several Tylenol’s I am sure.

Now here is where it gets really interesting. Lakota and I do not get to ride alone very often out in large wide open pastures. She isn’t too sure of herself and I suddenly realize what a great experience this is for us as a team building exercise. When she is unsure about something I am there to help her understand what I would like for us to accomplish. We dialog ~ it is a communication  ~ more than usual because she is out of her comfort zone. She would much rather hang out with all the other horses just looking pretty. It is just me and her and the dialogs are many. I ask her if she is looking for Easter eggs and she says no. She stops walking, her muscles are tense. She doesn’t understand why we are doing this and asks me over and over if we have to keep going. I remind her that I spend hours and hours working to keep her in good food and comfortable pastures, that we have only been riding for fifteen minutes and I, for one, am still having fun.

Then for awhile she gets excited and I assume that she thinks that if she picks up the speed we will get done faster and that will be the end of this silly exercise. No, that won’t work you see because I cannot spot the little eggs at 25 miles an hour. So the dialog continues. We ride alone, just the two of us; she heads toward some really boggy ground. I am not sure what the attraction is but we explore it for a while. She sees the mini donkeys on the neighboring farm and we go meet them. Does she think that they are her herd mates even after she looks them over? Do all donkeys smell alike?

I don’t have a care in the world about winning the prize for the most eggs found, in fact we actually quit long before the men and the teenagers, but I am profoundly happy to have this chance to ride with my horse in this hunt for silly colored plastic tubes.

The sun came out in short little teases, and then the cool wind stole away any warmth we had accumulated. It took less than two hours for even the most determined riders to call it quits. We gathered around a picnic table laden with pot luck items and counted up the points and handed out prizes. For our two colored Easter eggs, Lakota and I won a carton of farm fresh eggs ~ the fun green and brown ones, a gift certificate to the local feed store and accumulated 170 points.  A swell day was had by all and the food looks delicious. Life is good.

Winding Path to a Small Ass - Part 5 of 6

Forever Herd

I was reading a book on donkeys the other day which confirmed that we did exactly the right thing the day we brought our two mini’s home. It said that opening up the trailer and giving the donkeys the entire space was good. Chalk another one up for instinct. Live and learn.

When we opened up the trailer at my farm we were not sure what to expect. Would they come barreling out? Would they be lying down? Were they scared or happy? So we opened the doors slowly and peeked in. Nothing could have been gentler. I slowly moved into the trailer fighting my desire to rush in and throw my arms around their adorable little bodies. Damaris and I each held a lead rope and walked with them to the edge of the trailer. We four stood and looked out at the farm; Damaris and I with our feet firmly on the earth. I tried to see it for the first time as if from their eyes, and I saw a few things that might concern me. The main thing that caught my eye was the orange plastic fencing draped around the harrow ~ that looked kind of spooky. Then the young grey donkey delicately jumped out the trailer followed quickly by her elder.  We were off … at a slow meander.

With absolutely no fanfare we walked slowly towards the gate to the north pasture and their new home. We paused occasionally to sniff the air and their little ears resembled antennae searching non-stop for signals. Lakota, my sweet horse, stood in the paddock with her head over the fence observing the slow moving parade. I had been telling her for a week about her new friends and she was ready to meet them. Her demeanor was calm; she was curious not anxious. I had wondered how she would react as she had been terrified the first time we met miniature horses. (In her defense, we were riding in a long parade and our horse group had been staged a few spaces in front of a miniature horse club and directly behind a troop of beautifully dressed Mexican dancers. The women specialized in twirling their long skirts to make perfect circles in the air ~ a marvelous visual for the crowd but very upsetting to Lakota ~ but that is another story.)

On this fine Saturday, Lakota was happy to greet her new fiends. She was expecting them and I knew that she knew that these two little creatures were different.

They were her “forever herd”.

Lakota stood still so as not to scare them. Her eyes were large as she explored them from her side of the fence. As an energy worker I can tell you there was a lot of energy and information flowing between horse and donkey. Damaris and I gently guided the mini’s through the gate and commented on how glad we were that this new adventure was going so easily. Both of the little donkeys wore tiny raspberry colored halters with matching lead ropes. They walked side by side for the most part and Damaris and I flanked to the outside.

We led the girls around the perimeter of the north pasture to show them the boundary of their new territory.  It is well over one acre and enclosed with woven wire fence perfect for their diminutive size. This area is considerable larger than the sturdy pole paddocks where they had spent most of their lives.
I was forming pictures in my head of the two of them romping in the open field, rolling in the dirt baths, and hanging with Lakota.

It was a comforting picture of safety, and community, and my expanding dream of  “heaven on earth.”

… to be continued.