What got you to the successes in your life thus far may serve as blinders for you to get where you want and need to go next. The horses, emotional prodigies that they are, do not buy our ‘false self’ but rather call forth our authentic power which is a mix of natural strengths as well as the discounted parts of our selves.
In order to get Coach Beatrice to keep interest, to move, to complete a task, Jennifer had to dig into the least exercised muscles of her personality. Coach Beatrice gave flawless feedback moving between uncharacteristic agitation and staring longingly at the sky and her friends in the fields far off. How this began to translate for Jennifer is that she became increasingly apologetic for her existence, growing smaller personally and minimizing the importance of her mission in favor of the comfort of another.
I could see how this moment was her ‘personal prison’ and held the potential for her healing as well as her continued suffering.
Most horses are infinitely forgiving. They seem to understand our humanity and our own ‘self-forgetting’. They will often wait patiently until we can recover and refocus on the task at hand. With horses, as with life, we always have a fresh moment to begin again. What they seek is our clear direction which requires us to trust our- selves as we move into action, even if the next step is not clear to us. They simply will not follow our lead if we are not ready to stand in our own knowing. When we are authentic to our purpose and intent, we inevitably look up to find a willing partner ready to serve.
When we are approached, we set the boundary. When we are
approaching, they set the boundary. By this time, there was still little movement so I said, “Please
end the activity in your own way and when you are ready.” At this moment, I noticed Jennifer dropped her fixation about how it was supposed to be done, took a nice deep breath, dropped into her real self and a sense of natural resolve, summoning herself and Coach Beatrice with clarity and ease. To Coach Beatrice’s delight, she final- ly received true guidance and a clear task to accomplish! Together, they were flawless in their execution. Jennifer beamed. This was a well-earned culmination to our work in the office and in the ring.
With the help of Coach Beatrice, Jennifer more clearly under- stood the subtle energies that had been controlling her life choices. Her patterns had lasted a lifetime. The insight came in a moment. In that emotional confrontation, Jennifer became more aware and was freer to act according to what the moment called for and not just employ a tired old strategy. In the process, she took with her an inner set of tools she can use to pursue her dreams.
Lynnea Brinkerhoff MSOD is an executive coach, educator, senior staff member at the Graduate Institute, and is trained in a variety of inte- grative health and healing methodologies. Her work focuses on building personal and organizational resilience in the midst of turbulent times. Michael Pergola MA, MBA JD is President of the Graduate Institute, an accredited graduate school and center for holistic education in health, education, ecology, consciousness and other emerging fields of study. The primary focus of the institute’s work is to offer heartfelt, high quality and practical education related to individual purpose, healthy relation- ships, and the human nature connection. For more information, visit
www.learn.edu, 203-874-4252, Email:
Admissions@learn.edu See ad on page 22.
16 Natural Nutmeg - April 2015
DOOR OPENER MAGAZINE’S SOUL LIGHT EXPO
Sunday, May 31, 2015 Visit
dooropenermagazine.com for more info
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aqua Turf Club, Southington
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