Authenticity in
E-motion.
By Bobbi Sidsworth
Based
on the work of Linda Kohanov and Karla McLaren
Everyone these days are talking about
emotional intelligence and emotional energy. What is it and what does it do and
how can we use it to relate to our horses and people in a positive way.
Our current information about emotions is
sadly lacking, we have people who can split atoms and fly to the moon but when
it comes to emotional conversation, it seems that there are mainly two trains
of thought - either they are good or bad.
We work on our energetic boundaries, our auras and our chakras but when
it come to one of the most important tools available to us we stuff, ignore, or
express our emotions in inappropriate ways.
Horses on the other
hand use emotions simply as information, neither good nor bad just information.
It is vitally important for them to know when other members of the herd are
afraid, angry, or if they are feeling playful and content. Because horses are preyed upon in nature
they have maintained a highly developed ability to respond to subtle changes in
stance, muscle tension, breathing so when something is unsettling for one of
the horses there tends to be an arousal level of the entire herd.
According to Karla McLaren, “Emotions are
not created exclusively in the brain; they are not simply a part or our
imagination. Recent work by Candace Pert, Ph.D. and other researchers in the
field of psychoneuroimmunology,( a specialized field of research
that studies the interactions between behavior,
the brain,
and the immune system systems of the body) shows that
molecules carrying emotional information (called neuropeptides) are not only
generated by the brain, but by sites throughout the body, most dramatically in
the heart and the gut. When people have gut feelings they are not speaking
metaphorically.” Our culture has taught us to ignore and disconnect from this
very important source information, our horses, however, are highly attuned to
it.
There are many instances of prey animals that will graze
peacefully while a lion who has just finished a big meal will walk through
their field. The same lion with the intention of eating will scatter that same
herd in very short order.
The best trained and docile horses can and
will become agitated when their person arrives with a mask of confidence and
well being to hide their anxiety. The body language of someone who is putting
on a happy face is incongruent with the rise in blood pressure, muscle tension,
and the emotional energy being transmitted involuntarily by the person who is
actually afraid, frustrated or angry. Once we are able to correctly identify
the emotion the horse will react in any number of ways to let us know that we
are, at the very least, being congruent in their eyes and hearts. We do not
have to get rid of the emotion particularly (unless you want to at that time)
we only have to be what the horse is seeing and feeling. Generally, the horse
will calm down, and show signs of relaxation, or release of some sort.
Knowing this information it seems clear
that we must be able to identify and acknowledge our emotional states before we
begin to do anything with our horses. If we come to our horses with the
intention of healing them with a massage or even energy work of some kind, it
is critical that we find out how we are feeling and what is being projected
into the work that we are doing with the horse. If your horse feels that the
smile on your face is not the same as the feeling he/she is getting from you
then it is unlikely that any of your session will be a true healing or lasting
thing.