Lessons from the Past

    I told you earlier on about my Cultural heritage and where and how I grew up. To this day, I consider myself a Traditionalist in that Culture, and I still hold to the Spiritual practices, as best I can in these modern times. I want to state that there is much more to being an American Indian than Dancing at Pow-wows and making Dream-catchers. That is only a very small piece of it, and I wish some of our younger set would learn that-- learn to Identify with the Earth--as a Child of  the Earth-Mother, "Elohino"; having a Relationship with All-Things, rather than just a few.
    I brought this up--being Related to All-Things--for a reason. Being Related--or 'Connected', if you prefer, as each leads to the other-- there can be no biases between us--whether those biases exist between People and their Horses, or between the Cultures and Colors of Men. That being True-- at least from my point of view--- there can be no 'secrets', either. Yea-- I know this is an Idealistic view-point, as, there certainly ARE Secrets between Peoples. But, I also know that until we learn to Share with each other, in the True Meaning of Sharing, that we can never come to the Wholeness of any Knowledge--and Truth can only be in part---such that none of us will never really 'know' anything ! ( for sure---!!!)
     What makes my point important as concerns Horses, is that YOU are absolutely and irrevocably Connected, and therefor, Related to your Horse(s)-- and it is along the 'lines' of that Relationship that Communications between the two of you allows itself to be established, and to continue.  It is the act of SHARING, above anything else, that establishes this link.
     So, what IS 'Sharing' with a Horse ? Ahhh-- it is everything you do with him--
and 'not-do' with him. Yes, Sharing with your Horse is quite often a 'not-doing'. Too often, we tend to view or Horse as a 'recreational tool'--something we jump on to have fun--yea--but with extras that some are not aware of. As Winston Churchill put it, so frankly, " There is something about the outside of a Horse that does something for the inside of a man"-- and that 'something' is the subject and the object of these pages. That, mysterious, 'something' is your Horse Communicating with you --subtly-- subliminally--in nuances of transmitted Feeling, Thought,  Emotion-- invisibly--but absolutely. Think about it-- isn't this actually the Real Root of our attraction to these magnificent Creatures ?
     The truth is that Horses, being highly complex Social Beings, communicate with each other at all times. The Alpha in a Herd always knows what is going on with her charges --whether they are in actual sight--or not - and in turn, her charges also are aware of everything going on. Much 'intra-herd', out-of-sight, Communications takes place on a Level which we have yet to discover the nature of, for it is done neither by vocal nor physical (body english) means.  I know this to be True, as I see examples of it every day, on this hilly farm where I live, full-time, with Horses. They also constantly try to communicate with you - and openly.
     You can recieve and understand what your Horses are trying to say to you, and even Teach you about them.  To enable yourself to do this, you may well have to de-program some of the pre-conceived notions we have about Horses; re-thinking their True Nature to fit what is absolutely observable in their behavoir toward each other and toward you.  Open-minded Observation of Horses in Herds is your best available tool for this. In leu of this, just hanging out with your own, single, Horse can teach you much.  Now, my concept of Observation may well differ from that of most people and the common definition of the term. Observation, for most people is something you do by 'looking'. There is a great deal more to it than that !!
For me, and for our purposes here, Observation is a Whole-body operation, involving both sight and Feeling with a lot of attention to the not-so-obvious Nuances of a Horse's Movement and what it makes you Feel. Horses project both Emotional Feelings and Thought. Thought is expressed in pictures, for the most part, and otherwise as Feeling having an emotional content, or all at the same time.
     In close order--as close as a 12' circle round your Horse--you are within your Horse's 'critical' Range-- his Energy Field-- if you prefer-- or, Comfort Zone--as most Trainers call it---you can even call it Personal Space !! ( For a Human Being, this Range is about 3 feet---now tell me Horses are not evolved !!) In this area, you are actually Touching the Horse, and he can Feel it. You will find that the intensity of what you receive during your Observations within the 12' Zone will increase proportional to your distance from the animal. Your attitude, at this distance, needs to be peaceful and open. When you can accomplish that attitude, the results will amaze you.   Physical Contact with your Horse, after you have whetted your Awareness, becomes even more pleasureable and Rewarding-- whether Grooming or Riding your Horse-- as you will be able to carry on a rich dialog while doing these other things.
     Ok, where do we go from here ? To the Next Page, of course !

    [ Up ] [ The Highest Power ] [ Lessons From The Past-Page 2 ] [ From The Mists of Time ] [ The Power of Choice ]

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