Stephanie and Ransom
Do you ever feel so overwhelmed that you freeze on the spot? Your heart starts to race and although you can move physically, you feel trapped?
This can happen in a number of situations. The most common is when you’re learning something new. Another common scenario is when you’re overloaded with information – when there are so many choices and conflicting views, coming from every direction.
In our information abundant world, this is unavoidable unless you completely unplug from it. Once a week I make it a point to unplug. I go on a digital diet. For a geek like me, that small task can be difficult. However, I’ve found that it’s necessary to help me recharge and become more disciplined about being present.
Constant Distractions Become Emotional Blocks
When you’re constantly distracted by things such as TV, your cell phone, text messaging, social media, and the Internet, your energy becomes scattered and disconnected from what’s in your immediate world. This trains your body and mind to not be in the present moment.
To be present is to feel deeply and it allows you to become more in-tune with your surroundings, your horse, your pets, and the people most dear to you. In other words, you become deeply connected and you allow yourself to feel.
For some, feeling (no matter what the feeling) is scary. Distraction gives you an “out” from having to feel. Most people remain distracted in their life, so to effectively process feelings is almost impossible.
If this is you, you’re immediately disconnected from not only your loved ones but from your equine partner. The humans in your life are probably just as distracted as you, but your equine companion isn’t – she’s in the moment here and now, no matter what the situation.
Use Feel to Connect With Your Equine Partner
I’m always aware of how I feel when I’m around my horse and I take it seriously because they’re such hypersensitive individuals. Most people don’t understand this about horses. They know they’re big and strong but what they don’t know is that they’re feeling of you the minute you’re in their sight. They tune into you and your energy. Some believe it happens before you’re in their sight – the minute they smell your presence or when you think about them.
Through feel, a person can get the horse to think about and do many little things that are very important to the horse and to the safety of the person. These little things can be felt by the person and the horse too, of course, but they aren’t visible to everyone’s eyes. That’s because these observations take a lot of time and not many people want to spend their time this way.” ~ Bill Dorrance, From the book True Horsemanship Through Feel
We’re all living, energetic beings and when we’re connected to the beauty of that energy it’s an amazing feeling, but you can’t feel it unless you become aware of it first.
Here’s How
Here’s a simple strategy I use to help me process my feelings. It can be the feeling of overwhelm, having an “off” day, anger, fear, it doesn’t matter – fill in the blank.
Allow yourself to FEEL it and don’t over-analyze why you feel the way you feel. Give yourself permission to feel, so your body, mind and spirit can process it. This doesn’t mean to act on your feelings, such as anger. Just FEEL without judgment.
When you become good at this, your horse responds to it. She knows you have honest intentions to become a better human being. It allows you to become more connected. You can clear the clutter in your head, become less scattered, more in the moment, and you’ll be able to make decisions about your equine companion’s care in a much different light.
You’ll also become less likely to act out of fear when making those decisions.
I like to call this “developing access to your intuitive power.” Believe it or not, we all have it. It’s just a matter of how you choose to interpret what “it” is. You also have to get out of “its” way.
Develop Insight that Guides You
When people come to Soulful Equine they stumble upon articles about caring for their horse naturally. My goal is to help your horse thrive! That all sounds great but underneath that message is this question:
What kind of person do you have to become so you can help your horse thrive?”
Part of the journey is learning strategies to become more connected with not only your equine companion but the whole world around you. Although you can connect with others through the Internet, that’s not what I’m talking about. Rather, it’s a type of connection you develop. It guides you in the decisions you make each and every day. It provides you with a gift of just knowing.
Call it intuition, that voice inside, or a gut instinct – it doesn’t matter.
What I do know is that we all have it but we have to develop it. You had it as a child but lost it as an adult. It’s now a matter of tapping into it and becoming friends with it again. So, be aware of it, trust it and act on it, but don’t be afraid of it.
Your Assignment
Here’s a simple exercise to help you. Become aware of your feelings each day. Notice how your feelings are affecting your equine partner and the loved ones around you.
Remember this valuable tip: as much as you try, you can’t hide your feelings from your horse. It’s easier to fool the human but you can’t fool a horse.
Awareness is the first step to causing change in your life. Are you up to the task?
Keep it soulful,
Stephanie Krahl
