The Naming

The Naming

Not just anyone can name you. Often times our first name is given by our parents. It seems only right that our mother and father who have brought us into the world should have the first right to place their seal and connect their authority through the use of name. Often the second people to rename us are the peers within our group. There is often a hint of teasing and jostling for position connected to these renamings within our American youth culture. In many native cultures renaming is connected to a coming of age ceremony, through which one learns or acknowledges their personal role within the society. It is usually connected to their personal giftings by the Great Spirit or the recognized deity within that culture. In the Bible there are stories of renaming that are usually connected to a change of situation, personality or character. When women marry often there is a change in name associated with the change in position in life.

My renaming was attempted by many. There were the kids who tried to tack their labels on me. Some stuck with pricks sharp enough to motivate change. This led to a struggle that wounded the fragile sense of image that I clung to, until the day the Lord began my renaming. I say, began because my renaming was a process that continues on today. First He un-named me. He tore away at all the labels and mis-conceptions that the enemy of our souls had tried, through various means, to adhere to my soul, destroying who God had created me to be. As He stripped back the layers of lies, He began to expose the truth, who I was in Him.
There were a few mentors that the Lord has brought into my life, to speak truth into my soul. This truth speaking drove back the lies and began to break through the hard exterior I had wrapped around my soul, protecting it from the barbs. Strange, how the self-protective methods we use, often keep us from what we need or really desire. One such mentor was Curtis Wright. One day up in Yosemite, among the grandeur of the tower pines, sequoias and maples, Curtis called me by name. Funny, how you can recognize your name, though you had never been called out by it before. From that day on, I have aspired to live up to that name. It is how this blog got its name, Dances with Horses.

Yet, ultimately my most important name is simple. It is found in a possessive pronoun. It would be unidentifiable admist the others who could claim it. Yet, when He calls me by this name all else fads away. Nothing else matters when I truly allow the truth of who I am to settle in to the crevices of my heart. Who am I? Simply, "His."

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Thoughts about Riding Instruction

  Riders are whole beings comprised of body, mind, emotions and spiritual faculties.  As human beings we cannot learn any skill to the true level of art while only learning in one of the above areas.  We must learn in the awareness of who we are. Because our faculties are interconnected what happens in the mind affects directly what happens in the physical realm.  When we are spiritually stagnant there are negative repercussions in all of the other realms.  If we are physically unhealthy and unwhole we bring that to our riding.  It affects the mental ability to think clearly, the emotional ability to stay neutral and self-controlled.  
   We were made to be complete, to be whole in our connection to our Creator.  When we are living severed from the Source of our life, we cannot live out the fulness of our purpose.  We were made to glorify God, living in abandoned adoration of the Maker and Sustainer of the universe.  Anything less than this will leave us with emptiness.  We aspire to fill the void with many things, yet are always endlessly searching.  Until we find Him, who is our Wholeness, we will drift without an anchor.
  The process of learning to ride is a process of self exploration, self revelation and an aspiration toward authentic, transparent living.  To be able to be one with our horses we must first aspire toward entering into an abiding relationship of love with our Maker.  The Maker is the Source of knowledge for loving unity between man and horse.
   We must come face to face with our weakness, our inconsistencies and our need.  It is from a position of humility that we can learn to be servants.  When we come to our horses with love and humility we can learn from our Creator and them.  From this position of humility we can become servant leaders to our horses.  
   Fear and ego are two of the enemies of unity and harmony.  Fear and pride destroy love.  Fear manifests itself in many forms.  We can be afraid physically when working with such a large and powerful creature.  Fear may cause us to seek to control and micromanage in order to feel secure.  We must learn to trust our horses.  Only in a relationship of mutual love, trust and respect can a dance of beauty become the inspiration of poetry, music and art.  We can be afraid of social stigma.  Often the temptation arises to sacrifice the integrity of the art, for fear of being misunderstood by onlookers.  What is in the horse's best interest should motivate the decisions within the training process.  What is in the best interest of the student should motivate the decisions within the lesson program.  

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