Join me (Jini Patel Thompson) and the Singing Horse Herd as we take you on a guided journey to release anxiety, fear or loneliness from your body & mind. Followed by gentle music and being with the herd and dogs out in nature. You may also like to use this before bed to ease into sleep.     If you prefer, here is the podcast audio-only version of this meditation: I co-created this guided meditation with the herd at the request of my son, Hugo, who landed in the UK on April 23rd and went straight into lockdown quarantine at the soccer (football) school he's attending for the next two months. He was in a 12x8' room with only enough floor space for a yoga mat, in solitary confinement for 7 days! Meals were dropped off outside the door. He was only allowed to leave the room to shower or use the toilet. His isolation was worse than an incarcerated criminal, because at least they're allowed to go outside once a day and they leave their jail cell for meals. What governments are doing in the name of 'covid' makes me a tad crazy sometimes. How many children are dealing with split custody with their parents living apart? So they have to go into solitary jail cells just to see their parents? Madness! We negotiated hard and by Day 3 they allowed him outside (alone) for 20 minutes twice per day. On the flip side, I've been discussing with Hugo why he chose this experience... He could have quarantined with Dad for 10 days and then attended the school. But he was adamant that he just wanted to 'get going' with his destiny/passion (at that time, they told him school quarantine would only be 5 days). Why has he voluntarily chosen this difficult trial that could make even adults lose their mind? I don't know when he'll have the answers to that question, perhaps it won't be for a few months or even a year, but this meditation, along with this other one (also with the herd), Lazer Tapping sessions, and a Zoom session with the herd have all combined to help him stay sane, avoid deep trauma and mature in a positive way. Life hey? The challenges never cease. Hopefully this video can go out into the YouTube universe and help many more people struggling with pressure, stress and isolation. And if you have kids or teenagers, definitely share it with them. They are all struggling, even though they may appear to be fine.

LTYH Podcast

Meditation Journey with The Herd – for Anxiety, Loneliness or Fear

Guliz Unlu recently did a week of Private Sessions for people with the Singing Horse Herd... now join us for this live zoom call where we discuss the messages or themes that emerged from those private sessions. We also chat about the most recent videos with Ben and Aude - one of the people on the call had a powerful experience as a result of that! As well, I share some stories about things the horses have taught me. Join us however you wish; video or audio... If you prefer the audio only version, you can listen here or download it to your device: There was a wonderful comment on YouTube in response to this video, that I'd also like to share here: "Hi Jini and Guliz, there's a wonderful book called The Eagle and the Condor by Jonette Crowley where she shares the spiritual journies that unfolded for her. There is a prophecy about the path of the Eagle (the mind/masculine/science and technology) that is trying to find a balance with the path of the Condor (heart/feminine/intuition/spiritual connection/protecting land and culture). Jini and Guliz, just like you, Jonette is guided to certain locations and is given specific words to say or energetic/physical impulses that are like keys that unlock a new dimension. Areas of the land may hold trauma or new encodements that are now ready to be released. Being fully PRESENT and able to LISTEN (with your ears, heart, body, intuition which you teach) is key to receiving the intuitive impulses. I also find a correlation with your horses to aspects of this book. Montaro is a golden colour/strong male leader (the golden Eagle) whilst Kaliah is like the black Condor that represents personal power (and also a reference to Goddess Kali). The dualist aspects of what needs to be destroyed to make way for what is to come. Yet the prophecy also mentions that the union of the two would produce a new offspring = higher consciousness. Although Montaro and Kaliah were not a mated pair, Montaro and Audelina (Heart/feminine) produced Juno. Juno has a central blaze of white and White denotes balance. Everything is a sign. I remember you mentioning how playful/goofy Jax (white horse) is yet he also has the balance of being very quick to learn. The dappled grey horse looks like a cosmos of stars - so beautiful. They all are. Logically I dont know why I need to bring this next bit of info up but I trust it is important for one of you or your viewers to read. In some channelled info that came through Jonette, Ashtatara says: "All the guardians of the Earth and all the golden code keepers wait until you knock on the golden gates and say: “I have the key!” Simply by claiming “I have the key!”, even if you don’t know where it is, even if you don’t know how it works, the doors are opened. The twelve solar discs that were planted before the time of Lemuria, are awakening now. They are vibrating so intensely. It has never happened before. The twelve become one." I am intuiting that your herd, yourselves and those in spirit who guide you are weaving together something more important than any of us currently realize. When people in fear ask psychics "Where do I move to so that I can be safe?" they dont realize that what they really need is their own INNER FREQUENCY to be one of calmness/centredness/connection to Source energy and then, in each and every moment, the guidance about what to do NOW will come. One person holding this Centered state can energetically hold hundreds of loved ones safe in their field of awareness. Just listen and act on this. Thanks Jini and Guliz for the wisdom you share. I am incorporating what I learn from you both and your horses. Being Christmas time, may we all remember the many wonderful qualities that the Master Jesus embodied and taught." - Crystal Heart I find this comment absolutely fascinating. The super crazy thing is that it was posted to YouTube 8 hours before Juliet and I (not knowing about the comm...

LTYH Podcast: Non-Verbal Observation & Acknowledgment

For those of you who don't know who Jax Moonlight is, here's a recent picture (taken by Kesia): Join me (Jini), Kesia, Güliz and Juliet on this call as we discuss what's been happening with the lads up North - particularly Jax - along with discussions about riding, magic, and multiple can't-make-this-sh*t-up moments. Let me know what your favorite part is... :)

LTYH Podcast: Jax Has An Announcement

Join Kesia Nagata and I for an evening of storytelling. When Juno pops open the fence and hops out onto the driveway - yet no one else follows him - the horses are sending a clear message to Kesia. One that involves llamas, a raging river through a canyon, and an encounter with a mama black bear and her two cubs... Here are some photos to illustrate our discussion: Juno's fence popping After Jax and Firefly left - the two groups resting Amalia (Firefly's mum) stands guard while Montaro R.E.M. sleeps Jax and Firefly in their new digs Kesia walking the 6 km route with Juno Kesia's husband, Tim Butement, walks with Montaro The two bear cubs up in the tree - WAY up there! Juno and Kesia face the pylon challenge Finally - all 4 are together in their new 80 acre lush pasture Jax the magical, mythical steed - what adventures lie ahead of you? p.s. I am also thrilled to announce that our new LTYH Supplement Shoppe is up and running! These are all the natural supplements I use with the Singing Horse herd - all tried-and-tested - to produce vibrant, whole-body health. Click the JINI SAYS tab on each product to find out exactly how I use each supplement with the herd, or why I chose it for the Shoppe :)

LTYH Podcast: Montaro & the Momma Bear

In this podcast episode, I am being interviewed by Megan Brincks from Chrome Magazine. You may have seen this wonderful article she wrote - I posted it on Instagram and Facebook when it came out: Article on Meditation in Chrome magazine When Megan first requested to interview me for the magazine, I suggested we record it as I knew she was going to ask me some good questions! I also knew it was going to be interesting because Chrome is the official magazine of the American Paint Horse Association. As you will hear during our interview, Chrome readers all ride their horses - and compete in shows, events, etc. You may wonder what on earth the average Chrome reader would have in common with LTYH? I have to admit, when Kesia and I first started this blog back in 2013 I don't think we ever could have predicted something like meditating with your horses would go mainstream! And I was curious as to how much I could actually speak to, or assist, this audience. How could I meet them where they were at and give them solid tools to move forward? Or reasons to enter this very different space with their horse? The article was a 4-page spread in Chrome magazine Well, obviously the larger horse world is very ready to consider this aspect of relationship with equines because Chrome magazine gave Megan's article a 4-page spread - which is some serious real estate in a printed magazine with a circulation of 55,000 members! I hope you enjoy our conversation and perhaps take away something new to try with your own horse(s).

LTYH Podcast: Ways to Meditate with your Horse & Why you Should

Following on from last week's blog post, Horses, Big Changes & Chess, we had so many questions come in on all social media channels, I decided to do a podcast together with Güliz and Kesia to explain all the details behind WHY I made this decision, how we chose which horses would go, and why send them to Kesia's farm? You can watch the video of the podcast, set to pictures of the herd and their new adventure, below. Three hours into the editing of this video I was seriously asking myself WHY I ever attempted to put pics/video footage together with a Podcast!!? But by the time I finished, I realized that having the stories/concepts illustrated with pictures and videos helped ME to process this big shift - to piece together all the elements that led up to this momentous action. Those of you who've been Horse Listeners for a long time will recognize the threads and stories referenced in the footage - hopefully it will pull it all together for you too in a deeper way: You can also download/listen to the audio via the below player, or on iTunes. Are there any big shifts/changes going on in your life right now? Who else has entered the Great Spiral of Grouse?

LTYH Podcast: The 3 Lads Head North!

You asked for it, so we've created it! Here is the very first episode of the Listen To Your Horse Podcast with me (Jini Patel Thompson), Kesia Nagata, and Güliz Ünlü. Since many have already heard my story from my interview on Come Along For The Ride, I wanted to focus on Kesia and Güliz's stories for this first episode. Kesia talks about how she focused on the idea of love and connection with horses, but hated the traditional western aspects of whipping, riding, jamming spurs into a horse's side, and (from personal experience) seeing someone ripping a horse's mouth on a bit until it bled. For her, it felt like a horror show. As time and experiences accrued, she moved into energy work, healing, and alternative ways to spend time with horses. Her favourite horse-time activity? Just being - seeing what happens, exploring the depth of relationship, daring it to go deeper or wider. Also being surprised, being together, being with all that they are - and learning more about who they are and why they have chosen to be here with us. Kesia and I fell into the Listen to Your Horse universe when we boarded our two horses together on the same property, five years ago. We were always that loving, outside eye to each other as we experimented and learned with each other. Güliz's journey with horses began, as she says, outside of her control - things have just happened. She feels, and things come to her. She started vaulting at 5, which taught her balance and body connection. She always felt the odd one out in training and competitions, as she would receive trophies but never wanted to claim them. She looked around and realized there was no actual connection involved in the traditional methods of riding and training horses. The final straw was her training a beautiful 4 year old mare as a jumper for an older woman, and upon bringing another trainer (her coach) in to assist - she got fired on the spot. While this broke her heart, as she and the horse had a beautiful connection, it brought her to energy healing, massage therapy, and bodywork. Güliz and I then met after she studied animal communication and certified in BodyTalk therapy. She left a comment on my blog post where I outlined the "As above, so below" method Montaro had taught me. I then hired her to work with my cat Stitch and our friendship grew from there. Both Kesia and Güliz's histories naturally led into a discussion of riding horses. We discuss where we all came from, how we viewed horses when we were younger, and the aspects we're each navigating now. Whether you've given up riding horses, or you still think it's a good thing, or you're in uncharted territory feeling your way along... no doubt you'll resonate with some of perspectives and stories in this podcast. You can listen to the first episode below, or access the Podcast Page here.

LTYH Podcast: Horse Journeys and an Exploration of Riding

If you've ever wondered where I get some of the crazy ideas I write about here on Listen To Your Horse... Or perhaps you've watched my non-training videos and wondered what made me approach things that way...? Then this podcast with Tracy Malone of Come Along For The Ride may just shed some light on those wonderings. Tracy takes me back to where it all began and the unique circumstances that set me up for such a different perspective on horses. Of course, it didn't feel different to me, it was just my normal. It wasn't until I came back to horses in my 40's that I realized how lucky I was to have been taught by horses for a decade, not humans. [display_podcast] *you can listen online here, or download this podcast to your device. “Boy oh boy, she is next level of consciousness, in my own personal opinion… I know that when someone is talking, and I start to fidget and feel really uncomfortable, that my buttons are getting pushed to a place I've been resisting to go. This happened during this interview, Jini pushed my buttons by the end of this podcast - and I mean that in the best way possible. The depth she's gone to with her own horses made me so uncomfortable, simply because I'm not ready to go there. Yet. There's so much surrender that's needed, so I'll be taking it one step at a time and giving myself a lot of kindness along the way. But it's an amazing place to think that I can achieve that one day.” - Tracy Malone

Podcast: Tracy Malone Interviews Jini Patel Thompson

Join me for a stimulating discussion with animal communicator and life coach, Alecia Evans, about the essential lessons she's learned from working with dogs, horses and wolves. Things like: What's wrong with treat training or clicker training, based on Chinese Medicine principles The importance of matriarchal leadership in a herd or pack What is the Fierce Female and it's value in teaching? How the Wild evokes our primal, instinctual knowing. How to be in integrity with your anger: If you respond in anger, you end up attacking the Being; not the behaviour that crossed your boundary. Alecia and I discuss how these lessons from wild beings; beings still engaged with the primal, illuminate a path forward to greater wholeness for humans. Alecia says: "As we're seeing the rise of the feminine on the planet, it is essential that women now understand this inner energetic language of what Fierce actually is, how important it is, and that it connects us to our gut instincts. And how it is simply used to set a clear boundary - it's not anger, it's just the clarity that that behaviour is done, that it will not happen again. It can be shocking, because it is stunning, it is very intense. But if you don't throw anger at the being and fracture the being (you're bad, you're wrong)... because you are so precise with it, it really doesn't leave a lot of fragments. Anger is a self-feeding loop. Fierce is a very precise energy that the animals use to say: 'bad behaviour is not tolerated, here's the rules of the jungle, everybody abides by them'." Here's the video of our (almost 2 hour!) discussion, along with a powerful healing breath technique that Alecia developed through her Wu Ming Qi Gong practice. If you want to jump straight to the breathing technique, start at 1:18 minutes: If you prefer, you can listen to the audio instead, or download it to your iPhone or mp3 player (great to listen to as you drive!): [display_podcast] If you have any further questions (or comments) for Alecia or me, just leave them below. Thanks for joining us in the white wolf circle!  

Messages from White Wolf Wisdom – The Fierce Feminine

You may have noticed we talk a lot about meditation and mindfulness on this blog. One of our readers tagged me on Facebook and asked if I could explain more about my own meditation technique. So here we go... But first, what is the difference between mindfulness and meditation? Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present - with all of your senses tuned into the present moment. So your mind is NOT wandering somewhere else; you are not thinking of your fight with your friend, or your latest problem, or how excited you are about your next trip, or what kind of bracelet you're going to make at your jewelry workshop, or imagining yourself in Bali... and so on. Nope. You are not thinking or feeling or emoting about anything other than right HERE, right NOW. So if you're at your barn, you're smelling the hay and manure, you're feeling the rough wood hay feeder, you're watching the movement of your horse's muzzle as she chomps hay, you're hearing the sound of your horse chewing, you're feeling the warmth of the sun on your shoulder. ALL your senses (sight, smell, touch, hearing, perhaps taste) are fully present and engaged in THIS moment. And only this moment. If you feel drawn to Mindfulness, then any book by Jon Kabat-Zinn is great - my favorites are Full Catastrophe Living and Wherever You Go, There You Are. But isn't meditation also about being fully present in the moment? And turning off the monkey-mind or chatter-brain? As Kathryn Remati says: "Both practices are life skills that give you the tools to access inner peace, which is already inside of you. Both rely on the ability to be focused entirely on the present moment. (We can’t experience peace when we regret the past or worry about the future.) Both practices offer a way to increase happiness and decrease suffering." So yes, mindfulness IS actually one way of meditating - because it is reining in the monkey-mind and keeping it focused on ONE moment. But it is also a separate kind of practice because mindfulness keeps you fully present, whereas meditation allows you to leave (or transcend) earth-time and drop into a different kind of space altogether. Meditation Meditation can lead you out of your chattering brain and into the space in-between thoughts, using a variety of techniques. For example, Transcendental Meditation (Hindu origin) involves focusing on ONE mantra, or chant. Om namah shivaya is a popular mantra. So you would just say that one phrase, Om namah shivaya, over and over again, while sitting quietly, eyes closed, and breathing into your belly. Eventually - and for some people this can take weeks or months - you will drop into the space between those words, where nothing exists but the pregnant silence of the universe. This is when you leave the time-space continuum of earth, and when you come back from the silence, you realize that 1 hour has passed, but it felt like only 5 minutes. With Zen Meditation you focus on your breath while your body is sitting in a certain posture. Your thoughts are allowed to come and go, but if you find yourself actually thinking about one of your thoughts, then you need to pull your attention back to your breath. So instead of your focus being on a mantra, it is on your breath - breathe through your noise and keep your mouth closed. When you're breathing correctly, you will establish a long, deep, natural rhythm and hear a sound upon your exhale that is similar to pranayama breathing in yoga. Again, when your focus on your breath becomes complete, you will drop into the stillness and time will cease to exist. Although this stillness-bliss experience can also take a fairly long time to happen, the benefits to your brain functioning and stress levels are immediate. Here's a super-short video by journalist Dan Harris that shows you how simple meditation can be: Is there an easier way? Having done years of both mantra and breath meditation (for up to 7 hours/day for months at a time...

Meditation vs. Mindfulness with Horses

If you are an Equine-Assisted therapist, teacher or educator, or thinking of working in this field, then you are NOT going to want to miss this enlightening teleseminar with the very experienced head of the Healing With Horse Collective (2500 equine-assisted therapists worldwide). Likewise, if you've been an equine therapy client, or workshop participant - this call will likely open your eyes and perhaps address some concerns. I talk with Diedre West about top concerns - from both inside and outside this industry - regarding horse welfare; psychological as well as physical issues. Diedre shares many 'insider' stories from her decades-long work in numerous settings, with clients ranging from war veterans to international corporate CEOs. You can click the PLAY button to listen to it here, or right-click on the Download link to save it to your computer or device. Enjoy! [display_podcast]   We had a lot of comments on the call from people concerned about the welfare of the horse, so in addition to what we discussed on the call, Diedre offers this advice: "Often, the beginning of a deeper relationship with horse is when you ask what the worry, or concern, or problem is about, what the wall is that one is putting up, rather than assuming the horse needs your protection. Protecting others is a coping strategy, it is not a solution. Further, it is only when we do NOT ask for more information and assume it’s only about the horse, that horses will sometimes take the problem on themselves and manifest illness in a misguided attempt to help, or simply because they cannot help but take it in (as dependents such as human children cannot help but be affected by the unheeded energies of their caretakers)." Here are some of the points discussed and questions answered during the call: The use of round pens; both open and closed gate Species-appropriate horsekeeping (forage/grazing, herds, pastures not paddocks) - can we not ask MORE from those who are acknowledging horses as sentient beings? The psychological toll Equine-Assisted therapy has on horses and how to prevent burnout and help support horse facilitators. If the horse is a sentient being and active in a therapist role, then shouldn't the horse be able to choose at all times whether to work, or not? What place do ropes, halters, closed pens and client expectations have in a supposedly consensual therapy setting? What are the standards or code of ethics around the treatment of therapy horses and who is enforcing them? How can we monetize the services of a living being without dominance, or can we? I think Diedre and I managed to cover most of the current dialogue about concerns for the welfare of therapy horses during this call. But if you have other points to raise, or stories to share - please post them below!

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LTYH Podcast

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