What mare Oya taught me

Last weekend I spent 3 days on silent meditation training at the Buddhist center in Huy. Lama Zeupa explained the different meditation techniques and neurologist Dr. Steven Laureys provided scientific evidence that meditation has a very special impact on our brains and our human consciousness. But you don't have to be a monk to experience the positive effects of meditation. Everyone can do it. After the initial presentations there was silence and only meditation took place. From 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Although with breaks.

I thought the most special experience was the first 'Compassion Meditation'. The assignment was to focus on a loved one, to evoke and maintain the feeling of Compassion in your heart. That choice was quickly made, I chose my mare Oya. When I was young, I rode horses in a riding school. After two serious falls, fear took me by the throat, but just before corona (almost 30 years later) the meaning returned. A riding school was no longer an option and so I started looking for the horse that would cure me. Finally I found her: my sweet mare Oya. Before I climbed on her back, I did months of groundwork. Earning respect, building trust and making a connection… both for her and for myself. But the trauma ran deep and was much more than the memory of an awkward fall. 

I followed horse coaching for a year with my three horses. During those sessions, Oya represented my Inner Power, which (as I later realized) I feared so much. I have often had the tendency to shrink and swallow my truth for fear that others would not like what I had to say. In search of approval, I became dependent on the judgment of third parties. I had outsourced my Self-esteem and therefore also my 'Right to Existence' (fancy word!). Unconsciously I gave other people power over me and this was often abused. That's what Oya showed me...in my face.

In the beginning she made herself big and strong, tested my leadership and challenged me. Sometimes she would suddenly gallop away when I reached out or she would be impatient and frustrated. She would look me straight in the eye, wave her head and say without words what I didn't want to hear. I craved her friendship and felt rejected. I did everything I could to please her, but she didn't appreciate me. It was intense.

My lesson has now been learned and dear Oya has become a tame lamb. In the morning she waits for me at the garden door and as soon as I emerge from the kitchen window, she starts neighing. She comes to me as I approach the pasture, follows me without a halter or rope (and that doesn't require carrots). We go for a walk outside and I also ride her without a bit. I am confident and supported by my inner strength, literally and figuratively. Oya gave me my self-esteem back. Boy, I love her so much.

And now comes the best part: Oya is 6 months pregnant, or pregnant as they say for horses. Summer is growing in her belly (I already have a young stallion named Winter!). Summer is now the size of a lamb, measures +- 60cm and weighs 15 kilos. I feel her moving sometimes. Summer is the 'Right to Existence' that I give back to myself, ...and she grows in Oya's lap  🌞 .

But back to Yeunten Ling. After the presentation I asked Dr. Steven Laureys asked whether, in addition to CEOs of multinationals, astronauts, top athletes and Buddhist monks, he had ever conducted research on the human brain in the presence of horses. His answer left me partly in the cold: “But Ilse, the positive effect of working with horses has been known and studied for a long time.” Hmm,  too bad. Because what we experience every day in Rommersum is that horses have a Buddhist nature. They are always mindful. When they are safe and their stomachs are full, they meditate. They then become still in the Here and Now. By consciously being present in the vicinity of the horses, you automatically become part of the herd and tap into that higher horse consciousness. Horses are Buddhists of a superior order.

That is why we offer workshops on Leadership, Authenticity and Energy Management. In this way we give individuals and teams the opportunity to experience for themselves what I describe here. For those who want to go further, we also have the  Rommersum Retreats. Becoming one with the herd for a long time, it is very special!

🤎 🌞 🤎
Ilse
horselover@rommersum>

Photo 2020