Truth it is the foundation of relationship.
Being prey animals, horses are highly attuned to their environment. They are constantly on guard and have highly developed senses.
Their life depends on it. When the horse interacts with the human, the world’s number one predator, they have one question foremost on their mind – do you speak the truth?
- Can I trust you are safe to be with?
- Can I trust you will look after me?
- Can I trust you will be a consistently, good leader?
- Can I trust you will not compromise my health and safety?
Truth is like a bubble under the water, waiting for the right shift to occur so it can surface. Truth needs the right question to be fully expressed.
You might ask what does that mean?
Many people hide the truth; the truth of a relationship; the truth of how they feel; the truth about their age; the truth about what they do for a job. There are many reasons why people “feel” they cannot express the “truth”. To not express truth is to be trapped in a limiting belief.
On some level we know when someone is not speaking their “truth” we will get indicators in our physiology, or emotions/feelings. Many people will discard those indicators with their rational mind and in doing so can find themselves in compromising situations.
The horse however, is the shift that moves that bubble, it is seeking truth and it will ask many questions until it finds it. Horses can tell if a person is incongruent. They sense the difference between the physical and emotional and if there is a misalignment, they become dubious, suspicious and untrusting.
If you have ever experienced a situation where you have been compromised through someone else’s dishonesty then you will know firsthand what it feels like to be betrayed. Betrayal for the horse can often mean death. If they don’t trust their gut, they could be next on the predators menu.
Betrayal is known to one of the hardest emotions to shift and heal from. It requires forgiveness. Forgiveness is a process, and it is not “I forgive you for doing that to me”.
Forgiveness is being grateful for your experience, acknowledging your growth as a consequence of that experience and having no emotion over the event. That is very hard for many people to digest as they want to feel that forgiving someone puts them in the power position. By needing to have power over someone, is an indicator that you are still feeling inferior or unresolved in some way.
To get to the point where you are in neutrality about the event of betrayal, often means that you have suffered first, you have been angry, resentful and revengeful, you may have grieved for some loss. You may of become sad, anxious and/or depressed and then defiant.
Emotions and feelings are often thought of as being one and the same, although they are related, there is a difference between emotions and feelings, and they both serve you in their own unique way.
The difference is important because the way you behave in this world is the end result of your feelings and emotions. Feelings express your true identity, while emotions reveal how you have been taught to respond to events in your life.
Learning the difference between feelings and emotions is crucial in understanding ourselves and initiating personal long-term change. Experts in many fields of behaviour agree that our deep feelings come from an unchanging belief about life that holds our identity together, while our emotions are purely physically based, subject to change and are basically reactions to life events. (http://johnvoris.com/featured-articles/difference-between-emotions-and-feelings/)
Emotions are also action indicators, we have them so that we respond and do something with them. Acknowledging our emotions, being “TRUE” to ourselves is what our soul is ultimately seeking.
And like the trapped bubble under the water (indicative of an emotion) it is seeking an opportunity for you to shift in a way that releases that trapped emotion. It requires that you ask the right questions so it can surface and be released.
Personally, I have experienced many forms of betrayal, sexual abuse, rape, violence, infidelity, financial theft to name a few. Many of these things happened as a child, but I also experienced many betrayals in my 20 year marriage resulting in losing everything, through violence, manipulation and control.
I have mastered forgiveness for many of these betrayals and for some it is a daily practice of mindfulness so as to not fall prey to the power that anger and resentfulness can have. It is easy to fall into the feelings of self pity and self righteousness, it can become addictive too.
We forget that people who have betrayed us have robbed us of something special already. To give more thought and energy to them by thinking about how we will avenge them keeps them in the power over us. They then continue to steal our time, our thoughts and our lives. When we have exhausted all avenues of our emotions, it is then time for “true forgiveness”.
Horse’s are exceptional healers and have assisted many people in releasing blocked emotions. They seem to know where to “push” to create the shift that allows “Truth” to surface.
They intuitively know which question is required by the body and without judgement they perform their magic. People can interact with them without feeling observed, labelled, judged or scrutinized. It is highly personal and often deeply moving. Most of all it is extremely rewarding.
As an equine facilitated learning professional, I have assisted many people in resurfacing blocked emotions, healing and empowering them through the wisdom of horses.
If you would like to work one on one with Jo and her horses please contact Jo on: 0419 333 659.
Please contact:
Jo Sheval for more details
0478 7111 80
45 Connors Lane, Seville VIC 3139, Australia