THE WINDOW OF TRUE VIEWING©:
Observing the equine collective
By: Lynda Watson
What skills and relational dynamics can horses role model that, if learned and practiced in human culture, can: move a community from striving to thriving? improve the emotional wellness of the human collective? OR bring positive and peaceful change to our own lives?
Horses live in a community structure that is based on specific attributes that provide them safety and survival. That is their ‘goal’, their top priority. And that is a place where we can learn so much. They model a dynamic that includes the whole herd. It’s about being the best herd member they can be for themselves and the collective.
When we step back and observe the herd, through what I call the: Window of True Viewing, we can see and learn so many lessons for enhancing our community. Be that a team, a family, a neighbourhood and yes, if we think really big, a nation and even humanity. What can herd dynamics teach us about creating a better world?
First let’s look at the Window of True Viewing. Throughout this magazine there are stories and articles of folks learning and healing through their interactions with the horses. How does the horse view us? See us? One of the beautiful things about horses is, they see us in the present and only in the present, without judgment. NO labels, no stereotypes, no misconceptions, no past, only presence. They read and feel us in the here and now. They don’t see gender, age, ability, economic status - just us. The us in that moment. They are honest; completely and fully honest. They aren’t worried about how we might feel or react. They are just real about what they sense and experience. And they do all of this just by being themselves in their herd.
Suspend judgement
To be in this space of learning can we suspend judgement, worry, projection and stay completely present? Find a quiet spot to sit and observe from a distance. The closer to natural a herd you find, the more you will learn. If we are good to give it try, let’s take the time and courage to look through the Window of True Viewing, and perhaps find some amazing dynamics that we can see, as models for positive transformation in our human herds.
A note for the first time that you observe through the Window of True Viewing: when I first sat to observe I thought, ‘wow, this is like watching slow TV.’ All they do is graze, sleep, drink, sleep, graze, etc. There’s nothing much going on really. Boring! Wait a minute....that was my human mind racing, wanting action-wanting movement-believing something had to be happening. When I recognized what was going on within me...I decided to let it go, moved my viewing to a place of presence, non-judgement and moved from my head to a quiet place in my heart. I started to see and feel things differently.
Lesson 1: Slow Down
You don’t always have to be doing. Being is a fine and calming place to be. And that is just how the herd lives naturally. Why is it a good place for them to be? Because they are prey animals they are hyper vigilant to what dangers might be in the environment around them, although not always in a state of hyper arousal. They are actually in a state of calm. They are completely in tune with nature, conserving their energy for when it is needed and ready to move when intuition calls for it. When the time comes to move they move. They don’t have a meeting to discuss it. They move! Any moment spent lingering is a moment closer to mortal danger. And that takes the utmost trust in your community.
Lesson 2: Trust
We know the collective is made up of individual herd members and it is important for each to be the best herd member they can be. By being authentic and aware, by setting healthy boundaries and being compassionate (meaning acting in ways that assist the greater good of the herd), one becomes trustworthy. When a young colt starts ‘horsing’ around too much, one of the mares in the herd might push them out of the herd until they can settle and become present again. Remember, they need to all remain present to survive. Goofing around too much takes one out of presence and awareness of the environment around them.
A herd then is able to move on intuition, because they trust each other. When in flight from danger they move like a flock of birds that seem to move as one. They trust each other that they are doing what is best for the herd, moving to safety.
Imagine living in a human herd that is built on absolute trust. How does that look? Is every human herd member able to be present, authentic, aware and able to set healthy boundaries? If not, sit and watch the herd for a while. See how they do it.
Lesson 3: Emotional Resilience
Horses have the agility in so far as they can feel an emotion, to get a message from it and react accordingly (that might be feeling or sensing fear and moving away from it), and then when they are finished with that emotion, they LET IT GO! Well, therein is a huge lesson we can learn from the collective. They let it go! They don’t get stuck in it. They don’t hold on to it. They simply let it go and go back to grazing. Literally, go back to grazing.
It is common to see a horse throw its ears back to set a boundary and then be eating right beside that same horse seconds later. In that moment they felt the need to set that boundary, but they don’t stay in that emotion. We humans like to sit in our emotions. We tend to fester in them, and then our bodies feel the ramifications of that. Emotions sit in our body and when we don’t let them go, we become imbalanced. Watch a herd of horses and you will see emotional agility displayed again and again. They will always come back to presence, where they can be aware of their environment. Feeling and communicating our true emotions takes unconditional authenticity.
Lesson 4: Authenticity
Authenticity can be seen in 3 different ways.
One: A horse is a horse. They don’t try to be anything else.
They don’t try to be like another horse. We are humans, yes, but how often do we own who we truly are? How often do we try and be someone else? There is something in the saying: ‘A horse is a horse, of course.’
Two: Authenticity is also found in how horses communicate. They call it as they see it. They are not worried about what the other horse feels. They state how they feel and that is that. They communicate from their heart. They are not malicious. They communicate for their survival and safety.
Three: Authenticity in community. Horses live in an authentic community that holds all of the aspects mentioned thus far in this article; non-judgement, healthy boundaries, emotional agility, presence, compassion, and on I could go.
How could we bring all of those aspects into our relationships in family, teams, at work, in our communities, to make them more peaceful and positive places?
As we watch the equine collective through the Window of True Viewing we begin to slow down and move into our heart where we find a beautiful place of calm. A place where we see things we might not have seen had we remained in the human mind. In the end it is not just about the self / the ‘I’. It’s also about how we work together and how we create environments where others feel safe and inspired to speak and live their truth. I summarize that self and community are simultaneous, and that horses are the best and kindest role models to teach us how to live in communities that are not just striving, but thriving, together.
I invite you to take the time and sit in observation with a herd somewhere. Whether it is to learn ways to make your community more positive and peaceful, or just to find some peace within. Some of my most beautiful moments with the horses have been when I have chosen to simply go and sit with the herd, become truly present and let go of my human mind and move into my human heart. I connected with the heart of the herd. When I did so, on occasion the herd has come to me, surrounded me and continued being a herd with a human member. I knew they would only do that if they felt safe. And it felt good and right. I was one with the herd. One with the equine collective.
When we step back and observe the herd, through what I call the: Window of True Viewing, we can see and learn so many lessons for enhancing our community. Be that a team, a family, a neighbourhood and yes, if we think really big, a nation and even humanity. What can herd dynamics teach us about creating a better world?
First let’s look at the Window of True Viewing. Throughout this magazine there are stories and articles of folks learning and healing through their interactions with the horses. How does the horse view us? See us? One of the beautiful things about horses is, they see us in the present and only in the present, without judgment. NO labels, no stereotypes, no misconceptions, no past, only presence. They read and feel us in the here and now. They don’t see gender, age, ability, economic status - just us. The us in that moment. They are honest; completely and fully honest. They aren’t worried about how we might feel or react. They are just real about what they sense and experience. And they do all of this just by being themselves in their herd.
Suspend judgement
To be in this space of learning can we suspend judgement, worry, projection and stay completely present? Find a quiet spot to sit and observe from a distance. The closer to natural a herd you find, the more you will learn. If we are good to give it try, let’s take the time and courage to look through the Window of True Viewing, and perhaps find some amazing dynamics that we can see, as models for positive transformation in our human herds.
A note for the first time that you observe through the Window of True Viewing: when I first sat to observe I thought, ‘wow, this is like watching slow TV.’ All they do is graze, sleep, drink, sleep, graze, etc. There’s nothing much going on really. Boring! Wait a minute....that was my human mind racing, wanting action-wanting movement-believing something had to be happening. When I recognized what was going on within me...I decided to let it go, moved my viewing to a place of presence, non-judgement and moved from my head to a quiet place in my heart. I started to see and feel things differently.
Lesson 1: Slow Down
You don’t always have to be doing. Being is a fine and calming place to be. And that is just how the herd lives naturally. Why is it a good place for them to be? Because they are prey animals they are hyper vigilant to what dangers might be in the environment around them, although not always in a state of hyper arousal. They are actually in a state of calm. They are completely in tune with nature, conserving their energy for when it is needed and ready to move when intuition calls for it. When the time comes to move they move. They don’t have a meeting to discuss it. They move! Any moment spent lingering is a moment closer to mortal danger. And that takes the utmost trust in your community.
Lesson 2: Trust
We know the collective is made up of individual herd members and it is important for each to be the best herd member they can be. By being authentic and aware, by setting healthy boundaries and being compassionate (meaning acting in ways that assist the greater good of the herd), one becomes trustworthy. When a young colt starts ‘horsing’ around too much, one of the mares in the herd might push them out of the herd until they can settle and become present again. Remember, they need to all remain present to survive. Goofing around too much takes one out of presence and awareness of the environment around them.
A herd then is able to move on intuition, because they trust each other. When in flight from danger they move like a flock of birds that seem to move as one. They trust each other that they are doing what is best for the herd, moving to safety.
Imagine living in a human herd that is built on absolute trust. How does that look? Is every human herd member able to be present, authentic, aware and able to set healthy boundaries? If not, sit and watch the herd for a while. See how they do it.
Lesson 3: Emotional Resilience
Horses have the agility in so far as they can feel an emotion, to get a message from it and react accordingly (that might be feeling or sensing fear and moving away from it), and then when they are finished with that emotion, they LET IT GO! Well, therein is a huge lesson we can learn from the collective. They let it go! They don’t get stuck in it. They don’t hold on to it. They simply let it go and go back to grazing. Literally, go back to grazing.
It is common to see a horse throw its ears back to set a boundary and then be eating right beside that same horse seconds later. In that moment they felt the need to set that boundary, but they don’t stay in that emotion. We humans like to sit in our emotions. We tend to fester in them, and then our bodies feel the ramifications of that. Emotions sit in our body and when we don’t let them go, we become imbalanced. Watch a herd of horses and you will see emotional agility displayed again and again. They will always come back to presence, where they can be aware of their environment. Feeling and communicating our true emotions takes unconditional authenticity.
Lesson 4: Authenticity
Authenticity can be seen in 3 different ways.
One: A horse is a horse. They don’t try to be anything else.
They don’t try to be like another horse. We are humans, yes, but how often do we own who we truly are? How often do we try and be someone else? There is something in the saying: ‘A horse is a horse, of course.’
Two: Authenticity is also found in how horses communicate. They call it as they see it. They are not worried about what the other horse feels. They state how they feel and that is that. They communicate from their heart. They are not malicious. They communicate for their survival and safety.
Three: Authenticity in community. Horses live in an authentic community that holds all of the aspects mentioned thus far in this article; non-judgement, healthy boundaries, emotional agility, presence, compassion, and on I could go.
How could we bring all of those aspects into our relationships in family, teams, at work, in our communities, to make them more peaceful and positive places?
As we watch the equine collective through the Window of True Viewing we begin to slow down and move into our heart where we find a beautiful place of calm. A place where we see things we might not have seen had we remained in the human mind. In the end it is not just about the self / the ‘I’. It’s also about how we work together and how we create environments where others feel safe and inspired to speak and live their truth. I summarize that self and community are simultaneous, and that horses are the best and kindest role models to teach us how to live in communities that are not just striving, but thriving, together.
I invite you to take the time and sit in observation with a herd somewhere. Whether it is to learn ways to make your community more positive and peaceful, or just to find some peace within. Some of my most beautiful moments with the horses have been when I have chosen to simply go and sit with the herd, become truly present and let go of my human mind and move into my human heart. I connected with the heart of the herd. When I did so, on occasion the herd has come to me, surrounded me and continued being a herd with a human member. I knew they would only do that if they felt safe. And it felt good and right. I was one with the herd. One with the equine collective.
All a horse need be is itself (unencumbered, untethered and unbridled) to teach us endless wisdom about ourselves,
our relationship to those around us and the world as a whole.
We live our best lives when we are completely and truly free (unencumbered, untethered and unbridled).
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