Presence

‘Presence is more important than technique.’ – Hugh Milne

It is an art to stay in the present moment with our conscious mind focussed and free. However, before general day-to-day distractions amplified immensely, being present was an organic way of engaging with life. I am refering to our ability to tune into our connection with ourselves as an expression of nature, when we do this, we remind the mind of the body’s ancient intelligence system through the act of surrendering to any experience.

Being shown by the herd

During a Craniosacral session I gave Toby a few days ago I was reminded of this! As we began I dropped into a state of presence then watched my mind go haywire as it loves to do. I stayed with the thoughts, observing, slowly detaching, feeling compassion for the noise whilst choosing silence. Standing with one hand on Toby’s Sacrum and one on the point of his hip I breathed deeply, dropping further into my belly, my root, my diaphragm.

The presence of the Herd as a collective swept suddenly through my system, my hands shifted from freezing to boiling hot and my body began to buzz. My perspective of our environment turned from slightly dull into a heightened sense-full experience, as this happened the whole herd responded as one. They paused their grazing to stand in a healing grid. First Latina, then Laila, then Florenzo and Olympia at the same time, I felt the instigation of a deeper collective healing which was also very personal for Toby.

It’s interesting to me how they do this, move as a wave without needing to make it obvious. Simply existing within the greater motion of energy and embodying that in each moment. What I have learned over the years is that working with the body; feeling, and hearing what the body needs comes through the deepening of presence. Choosing silence and to compassionately release the pressure of our day-to-day distractions.

When it comes to the animals in our lives, choice – is – everything. If you live with an animal, you will know that every moment of the day there is a chance to choose how to give to that animal. How to create a safe space, a nurturing home, how to respond rather than react to certain frustrations or triggers. Our presence, our choice to find our centre of love within the grittier, more charged times is what makes all the difference to us and that animal’s experience of life in the human-animal collective.

Realising we are enough

As a healer you can study all the modalities you want to, consume knowledge for decades at a time, read obsessively, attend workshops, and even put all this into practice yet ultimately knowledge without presence is just a tool. However, knowledge with presence and your essence imbued into it is medicine. Then, within all that, the question arises: Do we need so much? Do we need to be full of technique, full of answers, full of script, or can we let our presence with what we already know be enough? Then maybe, if needed, expand our knowledge from that place.

When we get present our awareness pulses through our body which amplifies our field which in turn magnetises more healing energy to be utilised outward in the moment for others. In these moments of conscious presence, we feel the world through our body rather than experiencing it just through the mind.

My choice to drop into presence with Toby initiated a collective presence within the herd, which allowed Toby to drop into a state of softness and receptivity… which in turn deepened the experience for him. Horses and nature offer us a continuous web of opportunity to dive into this state. It is also up to us; it is part of our ‘horse-human’ responsibility to show up for presence as much as possible in all areas of our lives so that we can hone this skill and have a powerful reference point to access when we are with our horses.