Wizard of Oz Update

ESPíRITU  

THE HORSE GUY 

Coaching with Horses 

Story #14

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THE WIZARD OF OZ WAS NEVER FILMED

On a horse farm

There is no yellow brick road that survives contact with horses in a round pen. It isn’t that horses don’t like the color yellow or can’t fit into Dorothy’s red shoes. It’s just that they prefer to not be in the presence of the ‘old story’ that humans carry who walk on those yellow bricks. We are all familiar with this story — the ‘old story’ is the ‘less than story’. It’s the ‘something is wrong with me story’ we learned in school or church or around the kitchen table growing up. If we survived these circumstances then we certainly got acquainted with the old story working in organizations. Whether we believe we need a new heart or a brain or the courage to take our next steps, horses have a unique perspective when encountering us in this fragmented state — they show us and remind us of our original wholeness and beauty.

We often encounter this ‘old’ aspect of ourselves when we feel that the external circumstances we face are greater than our internal capacity to manage them. Fear, stress, self doubt are byproducts of this seldom-examined assessment. On the surface, the entrance way to the ‘old story’ can take many forms: skills and strengths you want to offer but don’t know how. An ability to trust in your intuition and way of knowing that can’t withstand others’ question: How do you know? The fear of letting go so that a new and larger version of yourself can emerge. Coming to the outer limits of what a strategy of control and force can bring, and not knowing what, if anything, comes next. A pervasive sense of not being (smart, good, loving, worthy, skilled, knowledgeable, etc.) enough. Our horses, in their strong and loving presence, interact with us as if there is no truth to the old story. It doesn’t deserve its own italics. They allow us to see and feel who we could be without the old story. They invite us to go out beyond ourselves.

When we despise ourselves they love and nuzzle up to us. When we have a serious grip on our lives they want to play and goof around. When we feel isolated and alone they encourage us to touch, stroke and remind them of their majesty and beauty. They sense the lower and dense energy of our fear and doubt and meet it with lighter energy of acceptance and peace. When we have closed our heart from fear of future pain, they press their nose against our chest as if to say, ‘Open up in there!’. Regardless of the emotional state our clients enter with they leave feeling more encouraged, confident and clear. Horses meet us as whole human beings who, at times, have simply gotten entangled in an old story. They remind us that another life of abundant grace and ease lies just behind the old story. Where it has been all along. There’s no need to click your red shoes like Dorothy. You’re already there. Come join us!

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ESPíRITU 

ESPíRITU programs — check us out at www.espírituhorse.com

? Lisa Holden, 414-405-6892, [email protected]

 Dan Holden, 860-983-8203, [email protected]