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 […]
mindfulness
11 posts
Mindful musings from lockdown is exactly what it says it is. I have been exploring my own mindfulness - both through practice and facilitation - during the Covid-19 lockdown. Some of those reflections have found their way into full blogs, whilst others have become shorter contemplations shared through social media. […]
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 […]
So what if I asked you to share a few kind words about someone else? How hard could that be? What if I asked you to speak uninterrupted for one minute? A little challenging, but definitely possible. More importantly, what if I asked you to say something pleasant about someone […]
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 […]
The last few days have really made me think about this idea of “good people making bad decisions.” When we are directly impacted by those decisions, we become quite vocal, and often quick to demonise. How often do we see others doing things that we judge to be irrational, unreasonable […]
Maslow started with the basics – first the physiological, simply keeping ourselves alive, then safety. It is a foundation. Without safety our functioning is compromised. Performance stilted by the low-level stress reactions of insecurity. Our cognition often fogged. Our creativity dulled. Sadly our brains are very good at perceiving failings […]
The actor Christopher Reeve famously said: pain is inevitable, suffering is a choice. Amazingly, it was when Superman hung up his cape that he become a real super hero. His tolerance of condition after a life-changing riding accident was an inspiration. There is a metaphor in Mindfulness based on the […]
How is it that we are so connected yet so alone? Somewhere on route to the 21st century we ceased to be genuinely connected. Friends are but a click away, yet there is no relationship. From our earliest education through to the height of our careers it always seems to […]
So how do horses make us human? There is a question. I was recently asked to do a talk on empathy. More specifically about empathy in the relationship between horses and humans. And that was where the question arose for me. Empathy is generally described as the ability to put […]