FORWARD in Awareness, involving Horses


Awareness is an elusive quality that we all have in varying degrees...It is a goal to aspire, tho it is always with us from birth...Although it is hard to be aware of all that is going on, we pick parts of awareness that are important to us, depending on our open-ness...


A lot of us choose teachers, or a trainer, to guide us thru this process...Sometimes we need several teachers in our lives so we can get an over-all awareness...Replacing others rules, withinb our guidelines allows us to have more options on our journey...


Awareness involving horses  together with people, can cover spatial awareness, postural awareness, and emotional awareness...Different teachers use different techniques and styles to teach their version of awareness...In time , you come to feel your own style and technique...Your individuality finds its equilibrium as your voice finds its rythyms...


There are three ultimates regarding awareness that fit all of us at some time in our lives...you are, of course, welcome to add more, or even change the word ultimate,,,remeber there are no rules here, only guidelins...


The first ultimate is to have a goal...Keep your mind on your goal, pay attention to where the horse is at today, and plan on how to bridge the gap, and , of course, be willing to make adjustments...


The second ultimate is decision making...The responsibility lies with in us to be able to make a quick decision regarding the safety of the horse and person...If you are riding your horse, its imperative that the horses focus is with you...Reacting and yelling at the horse happens in frustration, tho it isn't a decision, its a reaction...Decision means taking leadership, taking the initiative in the moment...In this moment the horse is looking for a leader, not a boss... looking for guidance...If you are unable to show the horse leadership, then the horse will take over, because in nature, with herd animals, if theres a gap in leadership, then somebody has to lead, This is the survival impulse...Awareness helps you learn the skills needed to feel your way thru a decision to a successful outcome...


The third ultimate is being aware that our attitude influences the outcome...If we think the horse is stupid , then we'll look for stupid things the horse may do...If we think the horse is intelligent, we'll set up situationswhere they can be successful at using the mind they were born with, that gets the message to their feet.....

All living things are intelligent according to their nature, circumstances, and experiences...we can easily honor that and also allow them the dignity that is theirs...





(c) Sol Spitz

I read energy, of animals, and other living things, including
the emotional animals which we are ...

I also look at how much energy something takes, and how much
is being wasted, or in some psychological terms, is neurotic behavior...

The horses and dogs I re-train usually are looking for their place in the world,
a place where they are in tune with their inner rythyms...

The people I see are usually wasting it on some spiritual path,
or trying to fit in and still somehow feel disconnected...
while at the same time denying the present moment,
the moment where we have  to reconcile the human existance
 in the context of the battle for survival, and the will to live...

Usually when people come to me for advice i tell them to drop attitudes, and 
names  they feel they need to live up to,
and feel thru their sense the rythyms of the earth,
which includes the full spectrum of emotion and the contrasts of living...

also to give a fresh feel of time, and space its a better use
of energy to know that we are part of the world, and that selfish
 as people are, the world doesn't revolve around us, the world
doesn't exist for our pleasure and some ideal of what life should be,

the world was set in motion many years ago, when the bacteria were forming the forest floor, and the oceans depth, and the time the mountains were forming, life was set in motion, and we are part of the process..

.that being said, energy is put to best use when we realize our present situation, rather than escapist ideas that all we have to "do" is be positive and all good things come to us...

its easy to hide our common everyday struggle for existance by telling the world how great everything is, when it isn't, and the bigger escape of energy is when we feel we have to measure up to some one elses idea of positive, feel-good moments, and some other words and slogans to prop us up...there is way too much energy wasted by living up to some others ideals, when reality is far off base of wish-fufillment...

Look at your dogs, or cats , or horses, or significant people in our lives, ---   we waste so much energy trying to get them to fit our ideals that sometimes we forget their own nature, and by doing that we are not in tune with their rythyms as we could be, and it shows how off-rythym we are with our own selves...so my idea of it is, when the sun shows itself in the morning, it doesn't wait for you, or even care, tho you should care....and enjoy "be-ing" part of the process

when a force of nature happens, more than likely it was going to happen,
you just happened to be there,,,not everything is a sign from god or the universe,
sometimes, mostly , we just happen to be there, to witness the world...

Rather than wasting so much time and effort,
wasting energy trying so hard to "being" in control ,
        most times things happen because the world has its own rythyms,
        and maybe by being congruent with those rythyms then we,
        as emotional animals  can understand, 
         our own spectrum of emotions and the contrasts of living,
         and the fluidity of time.and space...
         then energy takes on fresh expansion...
         and has a life of its own, in relation to the world around us




(c) Sol Spitz

                    POWER AND CONTROL



It seems people are interested in how to quantify their existance,
to give their selves meaning, given our nature,circumstances and experiences...

also for some semblance of existance we as people tend to believe the world revolves around us and that when we look for meanings we see how they relate with us, when we have to remeber that sometimes when a hawk flies over-head it isn't necessarily a sign or a meaning, and maybe , just maybe , the hawk has its own life to live , without our emotional or political agenda...maybe somethings don't need us to analyze to feel we are part of the nature...and the earth energy, while we are busy trying to save the planet, we have to remember the planet could well survive whatever people who live on its crust could ever do, its not the planet that needs saving, its our existance...

We do what we can given our natures, circumstances and experiences...while they are limited by what we know, there are many things we don't know...and we shouldn't allow other people who are also limited by what they know ever tell us what we shouldn't do  by their limitations...in other words, don't be limited in life by what other people limit their selves...everything we ever need to know is a seed we all carry from birth, its up to you what you grow within, and no amount of certificats or courses will tell you what you don't already know, even if its dormant...other peoples words and thoughts and inter-actions will waken feelings inside of us and its still up to the individual where to go and explore these thoughts and feelings...to nurture and grow what is the rythyms with-in...
no one else can do this for you,

It seems too often times, people tend to talk about masculine and feminine and its real popular to dismiss certain energies over others, tho energy
doesn't need your permission to exist, and just because someone doesn't want to acknowledge some thing, doesn't mean its still not there   ---

nature doesn't need to quantify energy, the wind doesn't care about your opinions...the wind is the wind, the ocean currents don't need your acknowledgement to exist,
where a blade of grass grows on a desolate hill is just as sacred to that blade of grass as some sacred oak that people enjoy a picnic...

A weed grows according to its nature, circumstances, and experiences..
.it doesn't care what you call it, or that you feel it doesn't belong in your version of nature in some manicured garden...and it doesn't care what its name is or what you feel...

it feels existance, just as we all do...the earth energy...that without the sun is non-existant,
everything else is based on our emotional needs and the politics we play with these emotions...

when we as individuals wrap ourselves with words that justify our fragile emotions, and others take on a role of leaders, remember its not necessarily a division of masculine and feminine, its how they inter-weave and are complementary...

also ,keep in mind, how do people who are in power positions handle
control, power ,and adversiry...how do they handle it within their selves, is what they say congruent with what they do...I've seen over and over opposition and conflict between what people say, what they do, and how others are influenced by the words they use....
some people that claim to know the way for some truth may know it for their selves,
tho who are they to tell you what your truth should be, should you even look for the truth, when moments are fluid and organic...always moving...looking for the "truth" is living in the past to some future, the truth is never the same, each moment leads to the next
you are in your own present moment...your presence is from birth, the rythyms that are congruent with earth energy are yours to feel, and to do...its your life, trust your self......

Just as the wind is a force of nature, so are we...
and we inter-weave with the life we involve ourselves,
and we can learn that power and control is within us,
and when we have power then we don't really need to control as much as we thought at some time, we can let go of the need for control, and that it doesn't really matter what others think, or even if they think like us,.or even if they like us

..we live our lives within ourselves, the rythyms that allow us to be congruent,
regardless of others, we are content within ourselves,
with out the need for others approval ...
or over-compensating for a sense of freedom   ...  
freedom is within the parameters of our individual existance

Its too easy for others to use words such as feminine , masculine,
and cause a division such as one is better than the other,
and those people are also the ones that have a hard time with in their selves
with in their own conflict regarding power and the need for control
due to their comfort level,

in a world where the wind has a life of its own,
and you also have a life of your own, learn to live with your own levels
of power, and control..others can't do it for you,
and women and men should notice where they are complementary,
 rather than dominating  because they are uncomfortable with
 letting go the need to be in charge...

The truth of the moment is always there, for your interpretation, your delusion, and who else can be drawn into some sphere of influence...the "truth" doesn't need to be searched,
or re-searched...the truth of the moment lives on a living vibrant planet, and doesn't need consent, or a name, or worship...or some group mythology,
people need these things to feel consent, animals don't ..
.they are born who they are, and just want to live, to be glad they were born who they are according to their nature...not some person image of it,,,,people have a hard time with their image, most people want to be puffed up in the illusion of some story, which in the long run, without the energy of the sun and the rythyms of the earth that were here long before existed without being named...energy doesn't need a name to have power...a typhon doesn't care what you call it, it moves with the weather and the terrain and the circumstances with which it exits, then it dissapates and re-forms somewhere else...

power and control by people has demolished and
 limited more lives than people minding their own selves,

power and control is corruptive in its nature,
people tend to think that if it weren't for outside circumstances
then the world would be wonderful and full of light,
when you see nature, see the contrasts and the full spectrum ,
                                we are all emotional animals,
power and control starts with you, what do you do when you are in power ?
                      how do you handle power and control ?

 

(c) Sol Spitz

 

                           BE  YOUR  OWN  WITNESS            (c) by Sol Spitz




                     There are maps sold and rumors of sacred groves,

                                    none of them are true...

                   Each of us has to make the pilgrimage

                   past the season of rumors, to the waters source,

                                    we have to re-claim

                                    what is true for ourselves...



                   The hum of the universe needs no witnesses,

                            Be content, you're the only one who

                       needs to know......the fire that feeds your soul......
 
            

        

Quote by John O'Donohue     ( celtic author who wrote Anam Cara,
                                                              Eternal Echoes , and Beauty)

from Anam Cara page 120

" To remain faithful to your life
  requires commitment and vision
  that must be constantly renewed"

Quotes By  Frank Herbert, author of Dune


"I must not fear, fear is the mind killer,
Fear is the little death that brings total
obliteration...I will face my fear..And
when it has gone past I will turn the
inner eye to see its path...where the fear
is gone  there will be nothing, Only I will remain..."


"The beginning of knowledge is the discovery
       of something we do not understand"



"Seek freedom and become captive of your desires,
          Seek disicipline and find your liberty"


" What do you despise? By this you are truly known"


" there is no secret to balance,
    you just have to feel the waves"

Behavior specialist     (c) by Sol Spitz


I'm a behavior specialist who specializes with horses, dogs ,and people...what I teach isn't a science, its an art...its more than a style, its more than a technique...and like any art it is what you percieve it to be...

My motto is "where the attitude is,                    (this is copyrighted, think of your own motto)
                       the feet will follow"   (c) by Sol Spitz

I've gravitated toward animals all my life,as soon as I could follow their motion..
---.motion and the thought that goes with the motion,
---and the emotion of the motion....---

I was very low key about what I did because I grew up in Kentucky,and while  everyone has their road map of their life, and for some reason, people in the neighborhood there, as everywhere, feel comfortable with those who are as fucked up as they are, they were bad drunks who wanted other people and  animals to be as miserable as they were...what I mean by that is that I first learned about drunken idiotic behavior of which families and animals are put in a position they have to defend their selves against people who want to drag others down to their level of poisonous living...I like certain drinks  but everyone knows theres a difference between drinking to catch a buzz, compared to a bad drunk...the neighborhood I grew up in was a trap for a lot of people, ...but not for me...

...so I gravitated toward animals, because they care mostly about surviving...tho they are in our world, they are a captive audience and there is no where for them to go, so they are truly victims of human stupidity...in kentucky starting at about 10 I said something to someone about the spirit of animals, and trees, and rocks, and when someone said "it can't be because its not in the bible", my 10 year old mouth said "well then, fuck the bible", in my southern accent...they ran screaming and from then on for I while I had to ignore them as they called me an anti-christ, and a whitch...which was kind of ironic, except they were serious...so I went subterranian with what was given from birth...

My parents thought I should go to college so they sent me to a place to do some aptitude tests, etc...after countless days and one test after another, they had me and my parents meet for the results...they sent me out of the room, and after some more time they brought me in...the test person set a bell chart and said my I.Q. was in the top two percent of the top two percent, so my test number is somewhere between 180 and 195, I was never told the exact number......the test person just stared at me, and he said I'd either make a great attorney or a great teacher...its funny cause the way he stared and I looked back...and he said to live up to my brilliance, and I said I will..

.I've always had a sense of destiny, all of us do, its how we listen to our rhythyms, and the soul that wants to exist, the soul that insists on being heard.....thats not arrogance, its self-awareness...so to those who don't know the difference --- wake up...when your nap is over...


My mom was one of the last people out of europe,in 1939, she was in 8th grade, and got sent to an intern camp for refugees on cyprus where she lived till she was sent on a boat that was wrecked off the coast of palestine  in 1947...if you rent the movie "exodus" my mom was on the boat that got blown up...my dad went overland from austria in 1933, and in 1939 jioned the british army till 1945...in the movie exodus he was part of the group that blew up british headquarters...I was born in israel, when I was four my parents emigrated to Louisville, Kentucky, my dad was tired of war , he was also one of the least prejudiced people I ever knew...Louisville was where my dad got a masters in physics in two years, plus he worked trying to support a family...I loved both of my parents, but they weren't good partners to each other, because they had to deal with survival at such a degree it was hard for them to develop...so I started listening to myself , rather than others...

When I was five I had to learn english...Having to learn a new language, I would observe, and observe some more...i would watch how people, and animals moved, and what motivated them...I learned that what people say and what people do is very often two different things...I'm also an intuitive, tho I don't need to know details, I read energy, and feel...tho some women I've been close with, feel I'm seeing too much...thats why I offer people open relations, I don't care what people do as long as there is integrity, and some people feel they have to tell lies, because they had to lie to their parents,and thru high school , or keep their feelings to their selves...I'm well versed in humanity, and theres more energy spent on lies than actually just being honest...go figure...

I was an indigo child, now I'm an indigo adult, tho what some of the material presented  about them is to justify the authors map of the world...is geared toward the authors point of view...which leads me to the subject of "experts"...people only know what they know, and they have a vested interest in holding on to the knowledge, and its hard for them to let in things that they don't know because it doesn't fit their image or road map ...the point is, everyone is as individual as their dna, their fingerprint, their selves, their spirit, their experiences, and circumstances...in the long run we are all connected thru the star dust and the planet, and whatever...but on earth the ego isn't always bad, and sometimes we need moments of judgement to lead us in our lives, such as figuring out what to wear, what to eat, who to sleep with, there are a lot of decisions to be made......a lot of religious and spiritual people want you to give up certain things, such as ego and money but thats mostly because they want "it"...if you don't believe me follow the money, or the sex trail...I don't trust religious, or spitirual people because they only know what they know, they don't know me or you, but they want to feed off of us, they're parasites dressed in spritual garments......besides, you don't need anyone between you and your spirit...they'll only interfere...

I went to college for three years and my majors were political science and psychology, and I planned on being a constitutional attorney...and I learned to play guitar and piano and also studied orchestration......the more I studied the worse my grades got and the more I missed animals,  IQ  is a funny number that doesn't always share in what people tell us we should be..., so I decided to be a teacher and an advocate for living things, I wanted to work with animals in the same place where music takes us, the sub-concious......so I moved to tucson, arizona to become as complete a horseman as possible, beyond style or images...I never wanted to pretend I was a cowboy, or jumper, or a dominator of animals...I enjoy the possibilities of partnerships, which is also how I engage with people, not power over, but power with...into the journey of exploring the waters source and the penumbra of light with the dark...and the shadows play...


 I'd watch so-called horse experts and trainers saying what to do and some of the stuff really belongs insome other century, in the dust pans of history, along with every religion...the past really is dragging us back because it doesn't know how to move on..some of them were really good and humane, actually a lot of them are...its learning how we want to proceed and finding teachers that are willing to give some direction...


I never was a good trainer, I had a problem with the word, and when people asked what style I teach, I always say I teach beyond style and imagse....so finally around the same time I met some one this past year who was an important catalyst, I had to really think of my images...the part of thinking thats funny is that Im not an analyst, I'm not a scientist, I don't look at things and make assumptions and theories, and then try to fit the facts around it...I scan emotions, and feel, I think and feel in atmospheres, I don't think linear-ly, tho I've had to train myself, because I need to communicate however other people can understand....

So I'm a behavior specialist...a behaviorist is usually some one who went to vet schools, and assign medication...I've never read a paper by them that had anything original, or eye-opening...most of the horse behavior stuff they talk about has been around for years...so thats why I'm opening up to the world...I charge according to what people drive, and if they have a high life style then they can afford what I do...if someone is really interested in learning, or need info, or their animal needs help, I don't charge...what I have is a gift from birth, its thru me but doesn't belong to me...

My greatest teacher was Tom Dorrance, who wrote a book called True Unity...he never charged me, he just wanted me to take it further, and to promote individuality, because ultimately we have the freedom and the responsibility to make decisions, according to ourselves, not other people...tho we do learn from others, sometimes what to do, sometimes what not to do... so learn from as many people as you need to till you become into your own, and then learn more, there is a joy to learning..a curiosity that only you know about,

I've spent the last fifteen years formulating what to teach for the 21st century, and now I've arrived...

                           I teach patterns of behavior
                             as a series of events
                                involving balance...

I also teach people  thru the horse, horses can take us to the same place as music...

and I will teach energy work, tho I'll never have a certification program, because either you know it or you don't...besides, where do you think certificates came from, ask your teacher if they have a certificate, ask their teacher, and their teacher, eventually you'll see somewhere there was only knowledge...and each of us can find it according to our circumstances, experiences, and nature...plus, of course, curiosity, desire, and effort...

I also work with dogs, there are some trainers that think dogs and horses are too different, but they're limiting in their selves, and then they pass their limitations on to others, because we all learn by habits...and what leads up to the habit...when you understand the nature involved, not what we "think" should be their nature then its easier to read patterns of behavior, without pre-concieved notions...

IN  THE SPIRIT  OF
PATTERNS  OF  BEHAVIOR          (c) by Sol Spitz


My specialty is patterns of behavior...I read energy...and vibrations...
I don't need to know details, I read feel...

what I know was given at birth, and goes far beyond

any certification courses could ever provide...


Some of my photographs, www.sols.zaadz.com  and www.SolSpitz.com were done over
period of time, some took me a week to set up...first i see an action and think that it would make a great image...then I look at the weather and time of day. then it works like this:

If the horse does something once, they'll probably do it again...
If done twice it becomes a pattern...
If done three times you've got a behavior (habit) set ...

What happens with most "trainers" is that they tend to go after the habit, which sets up a confrontation, because now the horse has to defend their selves...

What I do is go into the pattern and re-direct the energy...

sometimes thru motion (animals learn by do-ing)
and the emotion of the motion,

and sometimes I use  energy thru my hands and thru presence...


I use the word horses here, tho you
can put in whoever, the energy is a vibration, a tone...for me...

for you it is what ever rhythym moves your body,
everybody has this brilliance from birth, in their own  individual way...
thats why "teachers" can only wake us up in limited ways, the
rest is up to us, as individuals...live up to your brilliance...
its scary, its the adventure into the unknown,but you are loved...
------   your spirit loves you...and my spirit loves your spirit...------

Teaching the Horse To Learn, part 1.........(c) by Sol Spitz



If the horse can make a decision to eat when hungry,

and go drink when thirsty, they can probably make some other decisions...

Horses have to make decisions all the time, regarding balance,

what makes sense, what to pay attention to, what their herd is doing...

the survival impulse...the horses main motivation is survival...

treats and food only work as long as the horse is hungry, and when they are

in survival mode, the stomach muscles tighten and nature tells

the horse to run,  recognizing what triggers the survival impulse

is important to recognize the hore as they learn, because each horse is different...

and each situation and circumstance changes...by learning to compare we

can make thoughtful decisions and choices regarding our horses and their relations

with us...sometimes when people say "don't let the horse get away with something"

then that is a good opportunity to ask ourselves "what is the horse trying to get away from"...

Theres a big difference...learn to ask the horse, people will try to act like they know

more than they do, and they'll just say some stupid cliche that fits their style, or

they'll say thats how its done...we're in the 21st century, your connection with the horse

is worth more than out-dated uniforms...


Most horses I have to rehabilitate have stopped learning around 3 - 6 months of age...

this is usually the first time a young horse has a halter on, so most horses
 
fight like a fish out of water, sometimes it is part of learning, tho most of the time it

should be unacceptable, why, because there are better ways...done gradually, as

a process..also this is usually the time a horse first meets the trimming tools for its feet

and its easy to shove a young horse against a wall or restrain them...from the
 
horses point of view anything that takes their balance away is life threatening...

to compound this , the mare is usually screaming her head off...this situation is

also unacceptable, there are better ways to accomplish this, by teaching the
 
horse to shift their weight...

Of Horses There Are Facts,
     AND There Are Opinions             (c) by Sol Spitz

Of horses  there are facts and there are opinions,

Poeple have opinions, horses have the facts...

If you want an opinion ask a person,

If you want the facts, learn to ask the horse...


If you want to know the difference...ask Sol Spitz