“LESSONS FROM MEERAH” HAS BEEN PUBLISHED

I’m so excited! Lessons from Meerah: How a rescued Arabian mare helped me evolve as a horsewoman is published😊 And even though I channeled some wisdom from my Spirit Guide, Yellow Dog, at the end of this entry, he had little to do with helping me to write this book.  However, he was always near, as I healed my pre-conditioned fearful worrisome self to live in a state of joy and oneness while around my new generation of horses.

I still missed my old horse that had died.  I wished she could have lived forever and wouldn’t have grown old.  But time does tick forward, horses approach their thirties and, eventually pass into spirit.  I considered getting out of horses completely, but I knew I would miss sharing time with my horse-riding friends.  And so, I pressed forward, trying to mold my green, five-year-old Arabian mare into a suitable replacement.

Emotionally, I have lived in a dual world for years when I worked with my horses. Part of me was the “professional psychic and energy healer,” working out of my heart chakra, sensing the “oneness of all” and sharing inspirational messages with clients. And then there was my equestrian-self, conditioned to illicit the proper response out of my horse, demanding perfection out of my mount, and quick to administer negative reinforcement if my horse did not respond as I had intended her too.

How did I fall into this trap, this duality of being loving and accepting of how I fit into the “Universe” while, at the same time, demanding that another living being bend to my will? I suppose one could say it was cultural conditioning. Or, perhaps, was this simply a form of behavioral habit? Like the fictious mobster who kills a person during a weekday and prays in church on a Sunday. My “mobster job” was to achieve a BLUE ribbon while my spiritual self could lapse into a heart-centered meditation to “clear” any guilt afterwards.

Funny, but I never realized how ridiculous this all sounds until I’ve written it down…
Being critical of self, or rather critiquing myself into the “Show Ring” standard of perfection I wanted to exemplify set me on a path of redundancy. For one can never achieve true “perfection.”  Instead of tweaking my horse’s head, or slowing down her stride, or looking to “cheat” when the judge wasn’t watching, I should have simply looked for the joy in my ride.

Many forms of “Natural Horsemanship” don’t use negative reinforcement, but rather gives the horse a choice. My Arabian mare, Meerah, taught me to listen to the emotions of my horse, to read what the horse was contemplating, and only then would I take part in the dance called horseback riding. And in this book, I share all my triumphs, and many tragedies, as I reprogramed my mind to ask the horse, watch the body language, and gauge the upcoming response instead of simply DEMANDING a response that I wanted.

The result was a feeling of joy when I would ride, and not that sense of “hope I survive.”  For one can’t force an animal to prance and be happy if they are not. A good ride is a state of shared joy between the rider and the horse… a dance of sorts. Because it is the joy of the pair that is truly being judged. But there is more…

For what is the purpose of the ride if not for happiness. What is the purpose of living if not for wholeness? Be part of your intention and allow the intention to unfold.

Yes, a recipe, or a plan, might form a timeline of action. But be flexible and allow that timeline to morph. For you, or you and your horse, are not alone while riding in a show. No, you are but two players within a cast of four, or six, or eight, or more.  And every player in that scenario has a part to play and a goal to achieve. Some may want to achieve a higher standard than another. One person might be fearful of falling. While another person harbors doubt over their ability to execute a movement. And all these players form the symphony of your riding class in the horse show.

Don’t you see that control is futile? Yes, “luck” as you call it can prevail. But wouldn’t living in the joy of the moment harbor the most lucrative of results?

And so Yellow Dog has shared his wisdom about the book.

The purpose of this blog entry is not to recant the plot of my story, but rather to explain WHY I wrote Lessons from Meerah. We are all spiritual beings living in a three-dimensional reality. And I challenge you, my reader, to re-evaluate your path, your ENTIRE path, towards enlightenment. And so, I’ll share with you the misinterpretation that I had towards mine through this book.

• Happy trails,
• Suzy & Meerah (& Yellow Dog too)