Awareness. What is it and Why is it important?
If you have been following me on social media for awhile you may have noticed that I use the term "Awareness" a lot. What is it exactly and why do I keep banging on about it? Why is it important and what does it have to do with horses?
What is Awareness?
Awareness is paying attention to our experience and emotions on purpose and without judgment. It is being fully present to what is happening internally – emotionally and physically – and externally through our senses – hearing, sight, smell, taste and contact. Being aware of what we are doing, what is happening around us and what choice points are available to us. It is the practice of being in your current experience and processing of information without assumption, interpretation or attachment.
Why do we want to increase our Awareness?
By increasing our Awareness, we increase our skills and capacity to notice, name and welcome our experience and feelings, whether we like them or not. We can then give ourselves choice about how we react and respond, instead of simply just reacting from conditioned patterns or habits. Awareness then supports us to make lasting changes and to make different choices, leading to new behaviours. We can catch ourselves out when we start to slip back into old habits.
Awareness helps us to self regulate by being able to identify our emotions and thoughts, rather than letting them become us, we can resource and support ourselves earlier in the process. Which helps us become more resilient and our nervous system more relaxed. It is actually very freeing. To know we have a choice in how we react. We can explore what arises with curiosity and openness. We become more connected to our bodies and can understand more about ourselves.
No Awareness = No choice. You can only react.
Where do the horses come in?
Horses live in Awareness and authentic contact. They are embodied. Healthy Happy Horses model this healthy way of functioning for us. They notice, they respond and then let go. They are connected to what is going on in their bodies and their environment. They show us how we can be present with ourselves and our environment.
As a prey animal, horses can move and react quickly. Their size combined with this unpredictability means that when we step into session with them our senses are already heightened. Giving us the perfect opportunity to tap into our Awareness.
Being in the presence of horses and observing them, we can really start to notice the sensations and emotions that we are experiencing. We can begin to welcome them, as the horses do, and give ourselves choice. Choice about how we react and respond. Not just being on auto pilot.
That is when real change occurs.
Want to begin to tap into your Awareness? Want to experience how the horses and I can support you in this process? Drop me a line here and lets connect.