In German there is a word “Umwelt” which defines the environment around us, however it has been more specifically engaged by ethologists such as Frans de Waal to mean – and as it is defined in the Microsoft online dictionary – “the world as it is experienced by a particular […]
Emotional intelligence
24 posts
Emotions as motion - really? A few years ago when running an event at Athena Herd Foundation somebody asked me “how horses react to human emotion?” My flippant response in the moment was, “well they move". But that was exactly the point. On reflection this has got me thinking. So, […]
The Clever Hans phenomenon At the beginning of the 20th Century the world has consumed by the capabilities of a horse called Clever Hans. Clever Hans and his owner Wilhelm von Osten created a great stir in the popular entertainment of time. According to von Osten, Hans was a very […]
The world can be overwhelming. Period! Each of us has a can only take so much pressure or stimulation. We each have a mental “glass-ceiling”. This limit was recognised over 100 years ago by US psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodgson. Their model followed a classic bell curve. In […]
“Ask yourself if you are happy and you cease to be so.” So said the nineteenth century philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill. Give it a go! As soon as we go to look for it, it proves illusive. Even if we were in some moment of real joy. How […]
When we learn to watch our mind, we see just how much distraction it offers us. It is like we are forever open to stumbling from the path as when we walk on unsafe ground. Loud noises, assertive others, physical sensation, bright shiny objects; the list is without end. Each […]
So what is choosing EI all about? I have often written about how Mindfulness lies at the heart of my work, well at the heart of the heart is Emotional Intelligence (EI). There is a great quote from Victor Frankl which outlines the intrinsic benefit within EI, “in between the […]
I was listening recently to a podcast by scholar Joseph Goldstein. He talks about the discourses of Buddha as being invitations not instructions, as a conversation not a philosophical exposition (“Insight Hour, episode 53). In more common parlance, “here is an idea, go and try it out”. This subtle distinction […]
I wanted to talk about The Path of The Mindful Horse, what is this? Well it brings together my learning and personal practice over the last 10 years. I have talked about this path before, but with a little more breathing space I realise that this path is also my […]
I guess we are all seeking the authentic. But would we know it if we found it? Those of us who deliver Equine Assisted or Facilitated work often talk about the horse seeing us as our authentic selves. Not the titles or positions, not our qualifications or religions, not our […]