"Bad behaviour" is a very very important issue ..... how do we as humans deal with it? Chronic pain is an epidemic in the horse world. I work with horses and humans......and aware, kind, knowledgeable humans who have no clue their horse is in pain. This is often a difficult edge to approach..... Most humans absolutely L O V E their horses! Most humans go to great lengths and expense....spend considerable time and effort to try and ensure the well being of their horses. What happens when we have missed something, and something as important as pain......??? 

How easy is it to accept our horse has been uncomfortable or in acute pain chronically?? I am often the bearer of the news a horse is in chronic pain and those behavior or training issues they have been working so hard to resolve before they call me in, are simply pain. That anxiety is simply pain.
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Sometimes, people just want to get on with working it out, but one of the most common responses I see to this realization is deep shame. A shame that suggests something has been done wrong. As though, the lack of understanding of the horses true state was known all along and ignored. Sometimes people then shut down and can move no further with getting help for their horse. This nervous system response is called freeze......or learned helplessness. It is the same response we often see in horses who are in pain. The human can mirror the horse.

This is one of the points of change we need to achieve a holistic version of equine welfare. There has been little known about pain in horses to this point. Most of the issues do appear as behavior or look like training issues......and most trainers are not trained to identify pain....like most horse humans. I encourage everyone to start looking differently. To open to more awareness, understanding and information....even if it may mean seeing something uncomfortable. We have all been there....unfortunately. Being open to see accurately and honestly is the only way for this change to come around in the welfare of our equine friends.......

Heather

There are cycles in all layers of all of creation. This time of year, every year is a deep learning cycle on Earth. It lasts from approximately early September to midish November. It can be quite intense. It is important time to go within and see what you can evolve, as the process of each person counts and adds to a very important potentiality that will be put into "play" by the end of the year.  It matters!!

I am going through FB this morning and there is a continuing thread I am seeing in a very different light.....the animal / equine welfare issue. It is absolutely atrocious what happens within the standard practice of animal care, keeping and use, as well as the laws for protection and the use and guidelines of what we call livestock. In Canada at least, horses fall between the cracks being neither livestock nor pets for the most part. Although, the wild horses in Alberta are considered feral and therefore have the same rights as stray dogs.

Our laws and practices of care are defined by the level of consciousness in the collective. The level of consciousness in the collective is defined by the emotional sustainability of the collective. Emotional sustainability is defined by (most generally speaking at this time) the amount of fear (or freedom) each individual in the collective holds. The amount of fear (freedom) each person holds defines the amount of integrity and quality of ethical behaviour they can express. Active expression of fear, or active protection of the fears within each of us (meaning whether or not we actively believe in our fears and are hiding because of them(unconsciously)) is the key piece to enacting or perpetuating all harm, disconnection, poor behaviour, negative thought. It is what fuels the quality of the world we are living in now. It is what causes all of us distress when we look around.

I have been sitting with this for a few days now and the more time I sit with it the more I realise that yes, fear is the underpinning emotion, but learned helplessness (resulting from the fear) is the reason all of this continues. Few of us are actively causing harm to ourselves, others or animals. Learned helplessness is when a person or animal believes fight or flight (both appropriate responses to fear) is futile, so paralysis sets in. Consider this....how do you become paralysed, ineffective, passive in your life and in creating things that are important to you? How do you stop yourself from making true change or living your passion...or even knowing your true passion for that matter? Is your contribution overt or covert? To give this context I will add that one of the things I love about Trump, is that he is exposing much collective shadow by giving covert negativity, a format to expose itself. Without that it can not be healed.

The reason we live in the world we do is because, for the most part we exist within a linear spectrum.   Those who enact harm and those who allow it. They are different sides of the same coin.  This might seem upsetting to some.  But, have you ever watched a homeless person struggle to keep themselves warm and done nothing?   Or eaten meat without having looked a cow in the eye, or held a chicken in your arms so you are fully informed about what being a meat eater truly is?​

Why am I pointing out and going through such a detailed description of a very negative situation?.....well, we each need to be aware of the points at which we allow ourselves to get caught up, or stuck in this game. It really is just a game or like a puzzle,…collecting pieces, creating a bigger picture,….and then keep moving to discover more.... It is a game of discovery really. Discovering who we TRULY are rather than believing in any limitation we might think is true. Discovery of a benevolent universe, galaxy and planetary system. Discovery of a benevolent earth...and the love for her children. Discovery that Goodness is a foundational principle here, and playing the game to find it is what allows each of us to uncover it in this reality as well as give others an opportunity to find it and experience it. Beauty is the essence behind all creation...harmonious and loving. Truth is an essential right in all of creation. And LOVE is the fabric of our reality and the substance our being and all other beings are made of. Those are the things that are uncovered and integrated in this journey.

Since there is no "done" and since none of us are witnessing the world we truly want as we look around, how can you move to the next level within yourself and add to the work you have already done with all of this? How can you be even MORE of what and who you truly are? It is our interconnectedness that is the dynamic that allows our own personal work, commitment and courage to ripple out and benefit all. Can you commit to being even more courageous and fearless, to contribute and support yourself and others to bring about the benevolent world we all want to live in?  A society that loves and cares for all of us.  Where we understand the interconnectedness and that we can not cause harm, or act out of ignorance without also harming ourselves.  In this world it will be impossible for us to treat animals as we currently do.  It becomes impossible for us to act (or not act) in a way that causes/allows harm and suffering to others…..any others.  No matter who or what they are.  We will be awake and aware. 

​Deepest Peace.....Heather

Something I have really been working with lately is both courage/bravery and fearlessness.  It is easy to consider them the same thing, but they are not.  Fear is such a deep program within our species, sometimes we begin to believe it is normal and even a necessary part of our lives.  But in the form most of us experience it, it is not.  


Fear is normal when you are being chased by a lion, or about to slide off a cliff.  It is normal if a horse rears or strikes.  But, what happens when we experience fear in an inappropriate way.  What happens when we choose to stop ourselves from doing things that are important to us, or even things we are passionate about, out of fear?  What sort of fear is appropriate when we are talking about living our passion or doing something fun, but seems scary?


I recently saw a poster that said “Would it kill you to try something new?”  Just about all of us can laugh about that and say, “of course not”.  But, that is exactly the response that many of us have to trying something new, or being different than usual.  Being outside the norm and taking on real and deep change.  Sometimes even small change.  


When I look at these two states of being my own personal definitions look like this………   


Courage or bravery is the strength and focus to move through something that is fearful.  It is about an inner state to stand solid within yourself no matter what comes.  It is about TRUSTING yourself and the Universe.  


Fearlessness is the commitment to the absence of fear.  It is the commitment that even if fear is there, you will do it anyway.  It is the action of the state of being, that is bravery.  It is the KNOWING that no matter what, you will be ok.  True fearlessness is also deeply wise and connected in with higher information.  It is the opposite of recklessness. 

Lots of Love

​H

I was asked this week why it might be relevant for us to know about the “life purpose” of a horse.  Horses, like us have a life purpose.   I am sure we have all had an experience of doing something because we love it and doing something we don’t want to do, but are forced, for some reason to do.  When we are living our purpose, we feel great.  

Remember and recall in your mind, how effortless it feels to do something you love.  Usually, even if it is a lot of work, it feels like fun.  Remember what that feels like…..

Now, remember and recall in your mind having to do something that was a tedious and onerous task that you hated.  Remember what that feels like……

Now imagine that you could spend your time either doing that thing you loved, or that thing you hated.  How would you feel after a week, a month, a year, or many years of both?  Can you imagine being happier and happier doing the thing you loved….and, more and more depressed after doing the thing you experienced as onerous?

Horses are no different than humans.  We both have preferences, likes, dislikes and passions.  WE both have things that will literally make us stronger when we do then and weaker when we don’t.  Our purpose makes us stronger.  WE feel so much better when we spend time doing  what we love, and so much worse doing what we don’t love.  Our lives are formed around the emotion we experience as it relates to how we feel about ourselves and what we do.  Our reality is literally created by the things we do and the emotion we feel about it.  

In my observation the primary thing that causes illness (physical and emotional) and accidents in horses, is keeping them in ways that are misaligned with species specific emotional and physiological needs.  The second major cause is forcing a horse to do something that is not his preference.his passion….his purpose.   Imagine if you hated your job year after year.   That very well may make you sick.   The same is the case for horses.  

Some horses, although they have great and strong bodies never want to be athletes for example.  Imagine being forced into athletics if you don’t want to do that.  Imagine the daily routine.  Just because a horse had the conformation and temperament to do that, does not mean he wants to.  Is it fair to decide unilaterally what a horse will do with his life, or is it fair to work to develop the ability to communicate clearly, so that you can provide the best opportunities for your horse?  And, isn’t this true equine welfare..??

This very interesting article presents the research linking emotions to our we create our experience and even the substance of our reality....

http://i-uv.com/new-research-shocks-scientists-human-emotion-physically-shapes-reality/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IUv+%28I+UV%29

In this image, Merlin (the grey) is grazing with a horse that was new at the barn.  The new horse was a very scattered horse and had issues with behaviour.  He was the kind of horse who I do not trust to behave in a safe way.  Not because he was poorly handled, or abused.  But, because his energy was in such a state of non-coherence, he behaved in an erratic way.  

The picture above was how they spent the first 10 or so days together.  Their hips almost glued together.  It was not Merlin.  The other horse followed him everywhere he went, like a shadow.  Eventually the space between them got wider and wider until they were acting independently.  By that time the other horse was a different horse.  Not only had his energy field shifted, but he was holding his own balanced zero point and his behaviour had drastically changed.  He was like a different horse.  

Merlin's great skill and passion is as a healer.  What he does is clearly described by the Institute of Heart Math with their work on Heart Rate Variability.  Merlin has a huge heart, and he holds very powerful, Very Low Frequency (VLF).   In my work, I describe it as a Zero Point.  Our hearts all have a zero point.  When the zero point in our heart and the zero point in our brain come into coherence, we have heart mind coherence.  This state is  very powerful for entering altered states of awareness, but it is most beneficial in that it has the power to shift us out of a stress state, or a state of non-coherence.  

Coherance is just what it sounds like.  When we are in a coherent state our cells, bodies, systems and energy fields are harmonious. That harmonious state supports a state of wellbeing.   When we are in a non-coherent state those things are out of sync, and we are in a stress state.  Non-coherent (stress) state is the biggest cause of illness, both physical and emotional in all species.   Merlin, draws horses and humans to him that want this kind of support.  The electro magnetic field created by his heart provides a new reference point for others to entrain to.  

If you are interested in understanding heart rate variability and coherence in more detail you can visit the Hearth Math website. https://www.heartmath.org

Last time I wrote about some current base lines related to fear programs…some working as they were designed into our physiology and some not.  


I am continuously intrigued by videos, photos and stories going around on social media these days about animals and how interesting behaviours and alliances are emerging.  Yesterday it was a guy playing a piano for two rescue elephants.  One of the elephants was swaying his hind end to the fast music….the other swayed and from time to time pounded the keyboard with his trunk.  A few weeks ago it was the elk in a zoo saving a marmot from drowning in his water trough.  A few years ago it was Jessica the hippo who slept under a pink comforter at night and had free rein of the house of her human companions.  


This takes me back to the idea of…..Life Beyond the Fear Program.  What happens when as a human we live devoid of fear?  How can we evolve to the next level?…….to become an expression of human that is almost unimaginable since life without fear is not a part of our recent past?   What happens when humanity no longer has any need to focus on the concept of survival but only becoming better….kinder….wiser…..more just?  Do you think that when there is that shift of focus the necessities of life still get taken care of….just in a different way and through a different mechanism? 


The Zoo where the elk resides said this about why such an animal would pull a marmot out of a trough and then nudge it with his hoof to check on his condition and possibly help it revive…..…“the basic needs are being met so you start seeing a little bit more elaborate behaviour..... they are engaging their brains in a different way that would have been basically for survival.  But now it is a little more complicated and advanced.”


I think about that quote……and then I think about what was in part 1 of this blog.  Humanity has basically been in survival mode with the fear program loop.  What are the possibilities if we choose, en masse to step out of the program?  Who can we become as individuals and a collective if we all just decide to redirect all our focus and energy into our own evolution without worrying "what if………."  What would humans, our horses and all other animals be like if “survival” was not their primary focus when they interface with their world?  If these stories are any indication of what is possible I can’t wait to see how this all plays out down the road!  This evolution has only just begun.


With Peace and Love,

Until next time H

If you have found your way to my website and blog you are likely at least familiar with the idea of our planet going through an evolutionary leap at this place in time.  One of the things that is changing is the elimination of the fear program that has provided a baseline for our evolutionary experience for a very long time.  That may not be news to some of you.  It is a concept that has been rattling around the New Age movement for a long time.  The interesting thing though is the implication to animal behaviour programs on Planet Earth.  Think about it...how does fear effect our lives?  What does it even mean that the fear program is being deleted?


To understand this more clearly we need to take a few steps back and understand the role of fear in our original design.  The most obvious and clear layer of the purposefulness of fear is our immediate reaction/response to a clear and present danger.  Horses are a great example of this...when they are in danger their prey response kicks in and they run, brains turned off, all resources redirected to produce flight energy and they go until they have run a further distance than their "natural" predator can chase in a flat out run.  The horse then reevaluates its safety and if it does discern itself to be safe then it will redirect its attention (and as a result its nervous and endocrine systems) and move on to another task...usually grazing.  Grazing is a task that makes a prey animal naturally vulnerable so when it goes into that position it is pretty sure things are okay.  That is the basics of how fear is designed into Earth animal (including Human) physiology.  Of course the details are different but the concept of.......perceive true danger - react - recover and reset .......is basically the same.  This attribute is designed to keep us alive and uninjured.  


But this system has become a whole lot more than this.  Fear is now a chronic condition.  Our planet has entered into a fear response en masse and never emerged out the other end to begin grazing again.  Few of us even realise it or know what it is about.  


What does all of this mean to us in a more practical sense?  Our bodies, our cells, our nervous and endocrine systems are stuck in a fear response.  This is the stage with a horse that their bodies redirect energy and thought to emergency functions and they are running for their lives.  We have stepped into a loop of flight (or at least flight response) rather than to stop and reevaluate our safety.  The result in humans is their emotions become numb and emotional exhaustion soon follows.  Our emotions are linked to our endocrine system (think hormones) and that is the beginning of what can be a break down in our physical health.  For sure it is a set up for a breakdown in physical and emotional health.  But I don't want to focus on the specifics of physiology at this time.  


As a species we have stopped listening to and FEELING ourselves so we are no longer functioning from a place where we can easily and clearly discern between perceived and actual danger.  It is a different part of the brain that perceives danger and responds to it.....and we are stuck in perpetual response........ we have misplaced the system that allows us to make this shift back and forth.....the react, and reset / recovery shift.


Think about this system and how it works.  How it may be working within your physical and energetic bodies and what the results may be.  Do you have a chronic fear response?  Do you even FEEL enough to know if you do have a chronic fear response?  Do you fear things that have no reference point in your life?  Do you fear things that you have never had a negative experience with and therefore don't have a direct and personal experiential fear response created out of your own guidance system?  Do you feel fear (or is your body in a physiological fear response without the experience of the emotion) but are in no current and present danger?  Do you think that fear keeps you safe or instilling fear in children will keep them safe?  Do you rationalise when you feel fear but someone else has suggested you are safe?  All of these are symptoms of a beautifully designed human guidance system in need of a reset.  

• Here is my suggestion for right now.  Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.  Do this as many times as it takes until you feel calm and at peace.  That may be 1 minute or 20 minutes.  
• Focus on your belly while doing this breath exercise.  See how soft you can make it.  Say over and over in your head if you need to ….."soft belly, soft belly" and take your breath right down to your pelvic floor to release any tension that sits there.  
• Say….. “I ask and intend to release all fear in my physical cells now…..releasing deeply and transmuting that fear into a new and beneficial energy and replacing it with the energy of LOVE.”  Then say… “I ask and intend to release now all thought forms and thought clusters that hold the frequency of fear or are related to fear, and transmute them into the energy of LOVE”.  

I am going to leave it there for now.  You can use this short meditation anytime you would like to reset to your own, original energy as a baseline.  Check back for part 2 where I will speak of how to get out of this perpetual response and potentialities for the future.  


Until next time thank you for sharing....Heather

This beautiful, blue eyed girl is part of a herd I know and has had chronically runny eyes for years for eight years since she was rescued.  Recently she has been coming to me and asking for healing.   She will often walk up and just place herself in front of me and stay there until she is complete.  She will nuzzle under my arm and if I bring my arm around will rest her head there.   Releasing the full weight of her head for me to hold.

Two weeks ago her eyes were clear and dry and have been every day since.  A sight I have never seen in the months I have known her.  What a beautiful example of her innate desire to heal and manifesting that opportunity for herself.  Also, how patience and timing are important for the healer.

HR