interview w Ashera w intro

Ashera was afraid of horses, then she embarked on a self led journey to get to know my horse, Spisey.  She recounts this story and all she learned in the two year quest.

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This is the Horse Human Connection, a captivating podcast where we extend into the world of equine assisted learning, horse training. and gentleness in working with these magnificent creatures. Captivating stories from the leading professionals and ordinary people alike unravel novel ideas in being with horses. The Horse Human Connection is an idea, a place, and a voice. The idea is to support the quiet revolution and recognize the intelligence and true nature of the horse. The place is a destination farm near the Umpqua Forest and River that slows down visitors and patrons enough to experience the shift. The Voice is this podcast. Welcome to today's episode. Hello everyone. And welcome to the Horse Human Connection podcast. I am Ishi and today I'm interviewing Ashira Safanti about an experience she had with a horse. I think you'll find it very interesting and possibly unusual. I also think it's indicative of what I call the quiet revolution, which is sure to affect horsemanship all over very soon. It's that area where we slow down and connect and use relationship as a basis of training and or interaction with horses. The story doesn't involve training, but what happened in her story, I believe, will translate into most horse human relationships as we move through what I call the quiet revolution. Welcome, Ashira. Hi Ishi, nice to see you again. Yes, you too, you too. Well, I'm going to jump right into these questions if that's all right with you. Yeah, yeah, I'm glad to be here and love to share. Okay, great. What kind of experiences did you have with horses when you were young? Well, actually, I didn't have a whole lot of experiences with horses because I was asthmatic. And so we would go my sister had a horse she would go weekly or a couple times a week to go ride and I, First couple times went just to check out the horses and had such a bad reaction. I couldn't breathe and, and so, I wasn't really allowed to go close to the horses. I could see them from afar and they mesmerized me these huge creatures, the power, but I also felt intimidated because there was something in my body that couldn't be around them. Can you recall your reactions or impressions when you first met the horse named Sipsi? And can you describe describe the outside environment? And what was going on inside you at that time? Yeah, so, oh, it was just an amazing experience because There was one other time before I went to see Sipsi, maybe 10 years before that, that I went to see a horse and I got really allergic, but not as bad, but I was really determined that, you know, my health was better, that I was going to be able to do that. I had my nettles and my different things so that I wouldn't get my, My body would be fine and I hadn't had asthma for years. So I was feeling quite confident, but I was also tentative, and I was a little bit, you know, just It was just the unknown. I wasn't expecting anything. But when I went and saw her I went up to the stables and I was with another friend and yourself and there was a few horses and immediately I saw Sipsi and she saw me and I felt like she was Not intimidating to me. And it was like this energy of come forward, come and hang out with me. So I went there and at first I didn't touch her because I didn't want to get too close. You know, her big, huge mouth and this huge horse. And so I just. Just was with her and observed and looked at her and she looked at me and we had this connection in our eyes and it was, it was really just very heartwarming and very sweet. And I just, we just had this moment of connection and I felt really seen. And then I just slowly you know as you kind of said you know you can touch her I just you know touched her, her, you know, and. And just testing the waters. And I was a little tentative again, cause She, even though she was behind, you know, in the stable and behind, I was still tentative, but then I immediately just felt her allowing me in and it was, it was really beautiful. Yeah. And we continued like that, you know when we came out of the stable, you said here, you can hold her. Her rope and take her down. So, you know, it was intimidating over my head, you know, but I said, okay, this is going to be okay. It's going to be fine. And I just let her know energetically. And I said, you know, and I also spoke, I said, this is my first time. So let's work together. And so I just didn't have any. Preconceptions of what it should be. I was just really open. And as we walked down, there was this interplay of me feeling, okay, I have to, I have to lead her. I have to be strong, but at the same time, I want to make a connection with her. So it was really, really this sweet connection as we moved down into the meadow together. And walked and I was just sort of getting to know her and her me and it was so incredible. You approached the whole thing with a lot of mindfulness. Yeah, well, you know, I hadn't been around horses. They were these huge creatures and I didn't want to impose myself. I was there just to connect and And be and receive healing and also be in presence with her and, and kind of not get over my head, so to speak. So I just let this natural organic process unfold where we were in the meadow and we walked together. And then, you know, she wanted to go off and did the grass fine. And then later she would come back to me, she would walk to me. And so it's like this friendship. And this being seen and seeing her, I can't even explain it. It started to open me and I started to soften and though I was still a bit intimidated, she seemed to get the message, you know, you know, compared to the other horses, Sipsi really was like, okay, we're, you know, we had a natural connection. It was remarkable. Yeah. Yeah. Approaching it with no agenda like that really left things open. As your relationship with her developed over different visits, how did it change? And was it always so spontaneous? Yeah, well, as time went on, you know, on the visits, you know, I would come up and, you know, one of the things that I did was that I didn't charge and maybe because I didn't have experience with the horses, I sort of approached in this slow way and, you know, just said I'm here. Okay. I'm not gonna overpower you. And yet, you know, if we're walking, you need to listen to me so you don't kick me, you know. So there was this sense of an openness. And also I started to get a little bit more confident. So it's like, okay, we're going over here together. And I didn't want to force her, but I still had to empower myself to say we're coming. But I still did approach it with quite an openness and an exploration of how, you know, what she wanted to teach me and what I had for her. And communication opened telepathically, really, between us. And there is a tenderness and in the exploration, like getting to know her, okay, we're going to go into this. Now we're going to go into the meadow or let's just walk around or just standing there observing her and letting her come up and then letting her go. And. I felt very vulnerable with it but it was very beautiful to open that vulnerability. So can you describe a little bit about the telepathic communication? Was it auditory, was it visual, was it kinesthetic? What, what was that like for you? I think it was all levels, really. But It was multiple levels. Even in my dreams, Sipsi would come at times. So there was definitely this telepathic and in her presence, I would, I would hear her, but it wasn't necessarily words. It was an energy. It's okay to come forward or, or I need this. And for me, I would also communicate telepathically sometimes in words out loud, but sometimes it was just a glance. You know, or feeling energetically, like what, what is it you need? I'm here. You're here. Okay. What is it you need? Let's help each other. It was like this relationship that we were there. She wasn't just helping me. I was helping her in some way. And she was speaking to me about what had happened to her. And it wasn't all just this linear story, but I could feel her heart. And so it was a communication that was definitely intuitive, energetic, visual, not so much auditory in terms of, you know, out loud, you know, we didn't talk, I didn't talk to her out loud about things so much. We didn't sense words as much as pictures and feelings. Yeah, exactly. And it was, it's very deep, actually. It can be very profound when we slow down and really are allowed into their world. Yeah. Yeah. What was your biggest takeaway from your time with her? Oh, there was so much. So as we got to know each other and you know, I, I learned from myself. To, to trust myself a little deeper because I would, and trust, I was trusting her that she wasn't going to kick me or be erratic and, you know, I'd heard about horses that can do that. And so for me, it was opening my own sense of trust to her and to myself that I could trust our relationship and that. Was a big takeaway as well as assert myself without overpowering her and likewise that she could say no, I don't want to, you know, you know, I'm taking her by the rope, we're going to go here, we're going to go for a walk and, and, you know, we're done. It's time to be done. You know, to listen to really listen to someone's needs to listen to my own needs to be open and collaborate. So that was a huge takeaway and not to be the dominant. One, because it wasn't really about me having to ride a horse. It was more developing relationships. So I didn't need to be dominant and she didn't need to be dominant. So there was this sense of how can we work together? So that was a big takeaway and my vulnerability, you know, because there's a way being around horses and especially intuitive horses and your horses, is she that, because. They're used to being in that heart connection. For me, it allowed me to be more vulnerable and let my, my guard and my heart down in those places that may have needed healing, that I could soften and even sometimes there was tears and that vulnerability and that I could just be how I was. And, and be seen, and I think she felt that too. And that was the specialness of the connection when I started to learn. There is a very deep sense of belonging when you spend time with them in this way. I I've had that also. You mentioned that you were setting out to ride her. Did it ever cross your mind to ride her? And can you tell what happened with that? Well, I was kind of intimidated. It never had been my goal. I thought that would be way out of my reach, even getting on a horse. Just, you know, I was still, you know, I hadn't had any lessons, hadn't any exposure. And, you know, we weren't doing lessons in that way. But you know, we had walked or we had been in the, in the round pen, and There was a number of times where I was sitting there, you know, one time in particular I was sitting on a chair and that was a big instruction on trust because she was there and you said just sit, I just sat on the chair and she came close, you know, she would put her hand, head on my neck or in a moment she could have knocked me over. So in that moment. That was the next step for me because it allowed me to trust and be vulnerable and know that she was not going to hurt me, even though it was really close. And so what happened after that is another time, you know, you just said, well, you know, let's go in. Maybe you want to get on her back, you know, and I felt as our relationship developed, she kind of said, like, do you want to get closer? And you had mentioned that and I was sort of intimidated, but I thought, well, I don't know. Okay, we'll see, you know, if it's too much, I'll stop. It wasn't like I had to have that. But that day, what happened was we were in the round pen and you're like, get up. And first I was like, well, I can't even stretch my leg that far. How do I do it? And what if she takes off? But I just, I trusted. And what happened is. Just to get on her back. I got on her back and I could hear her speak. It's okay. I got you I'm not going anywhere and I let her know let's you know, let's go slow And so, you know, you showed me a couple things that we just started off slow and it was such an amazing And exhilarating experience because I felt really grounded on her and held and supported. And also we were moving together. And there was this communication of moving together. And yet I still had to hold the reins and, and be like, you know, I'm I'm here, you know, on so it was an incredible, exciting and kind of a culmination experience of wow. And so we went around the area a bit and just did a little walk. And I had my heart was so full with love, but also excitement and connection and really, really profound. I can't even bring it to words. And yeah, You know, when it was time to stop, I came off and it was sort of this initiation into being more in my power, more collaborative and really in my heart and connected to her in a way. So it was, it was amazing. And I hadn't expected it. I hadn't planned it. And yeah. What a, what a sweet time that was. Yeah. Does the story end? The story of you, you meeting Sipsi and that kind of culminating with you getting on her back after, after knowing her for, it was a couple of years, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah. We didn't see each other. You know, you lived a little ways away. So, you know, maybe once a month or so, maybe in the summer quite a few times and then it would drop off. But yeah. So I don't think the story even ends because. You know, it opened me so much to connecting with horses. And every time I see a horse now, I'm just excited and I, I can feel their hearts and their energy and. It doesn't end because the takeaways of being with her with being more in trust, being more connected, boring, being more empowered and saying, Hey, you know, this is what we're doing. Let's work together on this. Goes on and also my inspiration to be around horses. And actually, I haven't told you this is she, but it came in the other day that I, I would like to, like, you know, I'd love to be connected to Sipsy again, and I'd love to get on her back again and, and maybe perhaps even go for a ride you know, there there's, it's not a goal, but. It would be, again, a deeper initiation into really feeling the power of the horse in me and doing something I've never done. And, but more than that, I think it doesn't end because it opened and it continues to open this. It's vulnerability and the power in vulnerability and the power in listening. And so just thinking about her and thinking about horses, it's sort of slowing down, listening, watching, observing, you know, even the positioning, how am I relating? So in terms of communication. What's happening and awareness. It's really open that up. I don't think the story ends as long as I live. And I think there's going to be more connections with horses. And, and also from that time, I remember in Peru, I, I ran into these horses and there was the one horse and it came up and because I had that experience with Hipsy Sipsy, I just had this immediate love and connection and. Communication. It's sort of like, the doors open and say, okay, who are you? You know? And just thinking that I feel like the, the horse sees and you, and you see the horse and there's a, a, you know, like a connection that we have. So yeah, it continues. Incredible, incredible. Thank you so much for telling the story today. Your. Your experience with her has been profound. Lots of people that come and visit with the horses have similar things. And yet I think that, you really led yourself through all of the experiences where often I act more as a guide or a facilitator. And I think some of that is because of your background and what you do. Here's a little opportunity to tell listeners what it is that you do and where they could reach you if they're interested. Sure. Yeah. And I just want to say, you know, I think Sipsi was the one who led me through. We did it together. You know, it wasn't me, but so I'm so grateful to her and just warms my heart. And so I love working with the horses and love to continue. And as far as what I do, I am a coach. I'm a intuitive coach. Now which I wasn't intuitive coach then, but I was a coach and using more of my intuition in a deeper way. I do energy medicine and shamanic healing. I do workshops, trainings, retreats. worldwide and in Peru. And yeah, so it's been amazing. And that's what I do. And people can find me on my website at luminosity, healing arts. com and Yeah, the Horse Human Connection is just amazing to me, and it crosses over every barrier, so. That's awesome. Thank you. Thank you again, Ashera. I will just state the website where you can reach me is www. thehorsehumanconnection. com, and we offer events and classes and a destination weekend retreats as well, so check that out when you have a chance. Thank you so much. Anything else wrapping up, Ishira? Any other thoughts? Yeah, I think whether or not people have worked with horses before, you know, riding or whether they haven't, I think it's such a powerful way of not just healing, learning about healing and communicating and being in our bodies, but it's, An incredible and valuable way of being and having horses and in our lives. I mean, I just want to be more around horses after that experience and the natural world. So I'm eternally grateful to Sipsi and really thank you so much, Ishi, for opening up that space and the work that you do with horses to allow them to be more of that intuitive experience. Thank you. Being that they are, it's allowing them to be that, and so I encourage anyone who wants to, feels called to connect with horses, so I'm excited to see Sipsi again, it's been a long time, and we'll see what comes next. All right, that sounds great. Thank you again, Ashera. I'm going to sign off now.