And it just occurred to me that the poem I wrote for my Consenting Adult
Series after returning from Silver Horse Healing Ranch might interest some
of you...
Horses
are in the same
way
so many other
things are
and we can only
sometimes be
if ever never
questioning
their own
presence they live
fully bearing
reality
and they can
break your heart
away from its
learned divisions
among colors and
classes
between species
and species
like the great
whales
who also bring
their giant
eyes and giant
powers
so close kindly
allowing
us to fall or not
into their
invitation
our finely
constructed
selves vanishing
slowly into
these at last
fathomable
truths reminding
even
the most
fragmented
how to allow
themselves
to be scattered
this time
resting into the
indivisible
Jan Crawford NYC
On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 12:25 PM, Janice Crawford <jcrawford4000@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Dear Dean:
Thank you for this. It so transported me back to my constellation with
horses a few months ago at Sara Fancy's Silver Horse Healing Ranch in
Southern California. And not only did two dogs enter the constellation, but
also two wild peacocks started singing nearby. As one human participant
commented, "I feel like I'm in a Disney Movie."
As this stunningly loving experience marinates in my soul, many
truths continue to be "discerned." But the lesson most moving to me in
this moment is the memory that the second I - even subtly - fell into
habitual absorption with only my own needs, desires and speculations, I
of course lost a sense of contact with the full being of the horses.
And, like all of us more or less sentient beings, they immediately lost
interest. When I became present with them, they joined me immediately.
Though at first this clear reflection of that fact was a bit of a blow
to my illusion of innocence in many situations, my gratitude to Diva,
Jackie, Silver, Sara and Tracy and Linna, the human representatives in my
constellation, is gigantic.
All the best,
Jan Crawford NYC
On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 8:54 AM, Harrison Snow teambuilder@xxxxxxx
[ConstellationTalk] <ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thanks Dean for sharing your insightful and touching experience
about working with horses. Amazing
Best
Harrison
Sent from Windows Mail
*From:* Kerim Nutku Kerim@xxxxxx [ConstellationTalk]
<ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Wednesday, August 27, 2014 12:45 AM
*To:* ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Great writeup and contribution to all. Thanks for sharing in person and
online.
Kerim
Sent from my iPhone
On 27 Aug 2014, at 1:56 pm, "Dean Mason dean.mason@xxxxxxxxx
[ConstellationTalk]" <ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Dear friends and colleagues,
Last week I experienced a constellation with horses, in a very large
paddock, and am keen to share the process and its lessons with colleagues
interested in the benefits to be gained from using animals as
representatives.
A huge ’thank you' to Saan Ecker and Joanne (Jo) Byrnes of
<http://www.peakgrovesolutions.com.au>Peakgrove
<http://www.peakgrovesolutions.com.au> Equine Assisted Experiences
<http://www.peakgrovesolutions.com.au>, for hosting my visit to their
property near Canberra, in a very beautiful part of NSW, Australia. And an
especially big THANK YOU to Jo for facilitating this constellation so
generously and skilfully.
The issue was personal, regarding a long-term estrangement. What I wish
to share here is how I, as a client, gained such helpful insights through
the horses’ representations and the process as a whole.
SETTING: me (the client) and Jo (the facilitator) standing in a large
paddock (approx .5 of a square kilometre, with several gates open to other
paddocks where the horses could go if they wanted) with nine horses (6
Arabs, 3 small, like Shetlands) scattered around, chewing grass, dozing in
the sun.
PROCESS: After agreeing on the issue, Jo asked me to invite three horses
to be representatives for three people.
LESSON 1, about the ‘knowing field': ‘Do I have to go up close to ask
each horse?’ I asked. Jo answered, with a laugh: 'oh no, the horses’ energy
fields are very large, you can just do it from here’. This was a real
opening for me, to trust not just in the process, but in the enormity of
the energy field shared by us and these beautiful animals.
PROCESS c’td: After selecting and receiving permission from three horses
(they showed no noticeable dissent, so we took that as acceptance), Jo then
invited me to select a space, anywhere on the farm, that I might like to
take the three horses to in the constellation. Jo emphasised that it needed
to be a space that had meaning for me. The place I chose was in a corner of
the paddock with a large tree that had branches forming a canopy, like a
safe harbour but one without fences so if they went there they could also
leave as they please. It turned out another horse was there too, but I was
trying to ignore him.
LESSON 2, more about the 'knowing field': even if the ‘field' is real, I
thought, how can I possibly get these three huge animals into a space
without any ropes, fencing or other aids? And so I chose to trust, taking
my trust in the field to a new level, and then ’the work' really started.
(Later, Jo also shared with me her own apprehension at this point. Clients
usually, and perhaps more sensibly, select smaller fenced yards in an
adjacent paddock where the horses are accustomed to working.)
PROCESS c’td: From a distance, Jo asked me what I saw when I looked at
the space. I described the canopy, some ‘mess’ of fallen branches, but
still not the horse that had been standing there throughout. Jo invited me
to go closer and to look in more detail, kindly not confronting me with the
glaringly obvious horse I was still trying to ignore. Once up close, the
horse and I were agitated by each other, and we looked at each other quite
strongly. Jo then asked me who the horse might represent. It was quickly
apparent – someone closely connected to the three people I had chosen to
focus on.
LESSON 3, the beauty of blindness: in this space stood a horse who I had
not attributed any meaning to. I thought he was a distraction and part of
my challenge would be to get him out of the way. How wrong I was, real
meaning soon emerged from his position as a representative and my position
in relation to her (the female person this male horse was representing).
PROCESS c’td: By this point, representative 1 had gone over the hill and
out of sight, while representatives 2 and 3 were about 30 metres away and
doing their own thing. I was wanting to say a few things, but Jo gently
guided me to focus on what could be said by way of indisputable truths,
things that the representative would not dispute, and I came up with three.
At the start the representative was breathing heavily but when I spoke the
first truth she fully relaxed, almost dozing off. When I spoke the second
truth she became energised and (literally!) nodded her head several times.
At this point representative 2 let out a big whinnying out-breath. After
the third truth was spoken, we heard a flurry of activity over the hill and
representative 1 came into view, sounding like he was kicked into action by
another horse. As these things happened, I was deeply moved by the exchange
with the representative under the tree and was not at all surprised by
hearing these movements. (Also during this process the family dog came and
sat by my side with a menacing tone toward the representative under the
tree. I knew who he represented but was too busy with speaking my
indisputable truths to pay him much attention, and he eventually left, but
his presence – and departure - was very accurate to the truth of the
situation.)
LESSON 4: when energy moves, it moves!
PROCESS c’td: I now began to turn my mind to see how it might be possible
to move the three other representatives into this space with the fourth
representative. As I stood back, I saw representative 1, about 50 metres
away, casually walking directly toward the space. He paused to look at me,
I paused to see what he would do, and he kept walking – directly in to the
middle of the space I had chosen, not far from representative 4. Ok, I
thought, 1 in, 2 to go… I approached representatives 2 and 3, and they were
very strongly not interested in my words or my attention. Each walked
briskly (but not frightened) a long distance away to another paddock. Fair
enough, I thought, so I went back to the tree. As I sat on the ground,
representative 1 was startled by my movement, but did not move away, he
just stayed close in between me and representative 4.
PROCESS end: I signalled to Jo that this was enough for me, it had taken
about 45 minutes and I was astonished in a peaceful and very moving way. As
we stood, just checking if there were any final things to be said, the
horse that had been the representative under the tree walked to about 3
metres in front of me (away from the tree) rolled on to its back, wriggled
around on the ground, then got up and stood to the side. Jo informed this
is one of the most trusting signs a horse can give – to show their
underbelly in such close range. To close, I had not only identified the key
indisputable truths to hold on to, found an image for the place where I
wanted to be with these three people, but I also received this truly
beautiful salute of trust and acknowledgement from the very representative
who I had been so reluctant to acknowledge. From where I stood I shouted a
big 'thank you' to each horse followed by their real names to release them
from their representations…and they kept grazing or sunning themselves as
they were before.
LESSON 5, about intent: the non-verbal language of the horses, together
with their remarkably gentle and kind natures, taught me something special
about intent. Judith Hemming, at the Sydney Intensive last year, gave us a
precious lesson when she said that holding an intent to 'discern the truth'
is going to serve our clients much more than any intent to ‘heal', to
‘solve', to ‘fix', or to ‘do’ anything ‘for’ our clients. This experience
with the horses added another layer to this lesson for me. That is, the
quality of our intent is as important as its focus. Listening to the whole
environment, the enormity of the field and all of its components, making
observations and holding this intent to discern the truth no matter the
outcome, are some of the ingredients of this quality. It was a major
feature of Jo’s facilitation skill, and it was also something I gradually
became more awake to as the constellation unfolded. This may not be very
different to what we experience in conventional constellations much of the
time, but to experience it in the context of ‘inter-species connectedness’
was thoroughly enriching and one I highly recommend to anyone who wishes to
further deepen their own experience of constellation work.
For any specific questions (skeptical enquiry also welcome!), please
email Jo or myself directly: joannebyrnes@xxxxxxxxx or
dean.mason@xxxxxxxxx
Also, for past CT posts on related topics, refer these discussion threads:
23 January 2013, Julio Principe, 'SCW with Horses?'
24 September 2012, Dean Mason, 'Monty Roberts Join-up Clinic'
17 April 2010, Anni, 'using animal fields in constellations'
Kind regards,
Dean
*Dean Mason*office: +61(0)3 9398 6262
cell: +61(0)402 846 696
Skype: deanwmason
