The inner voice of joy is rooted deeply in the Source of all things. Whether it is named Universal Oneness, God or unconditional love. This voice is the gift we all have. It might need to be mined and liberated from the depths of our consciousness, as it cannot come through the thick clouds of fear, but it is there in everyone. This voice expresses itself so easily and instantly, without any heavy labouring in figuring out. It shines with such purity and ease, and banishes doubt and sadness.

There are two inner voices in my experience. The other one of the monkey mind, quite often chattering away, or making little comments that do their best to erode our sense of self belief and self worth. That voice is like an overactive computer, guided only by the fears and delusions of our human belief in separation. One of the most persistent mistakes we make is to listen to the mind voice and encourage it to shape our perception of the world. 

The Role of Humanity

So many of the wonderful kindred spirits who have been sharing in the Let’s Talk Herd Podcast have found their inner voice of joy. Sometimes it has been assisted by the horses, and other times it is interpreted through the horses. For horses are a powerful embodiment of this joy. They seem not to need to make a choice, or hear the voice, it sings inside them. They are living cathedrals. 

It seems that we, as humans, so often need to experience the darkness before we accept this light. The contrast boosts us and helps us to grow. Maybe we need to experience the different voices because it is our vocation as humans to make the choice.

The Crossroads

Over and over again we reaffirm that love is unconditional, fear is an illusion and we are all one heart. It is true that throughout history we come to the crossroads again and again, in so many ways, and we have the free will to choose our direction.

The other animals support us, and hold space for truth, and we are offered this gift of choice.

This choice is not at some defined stage of awakening either. It is an opportunity for all of us, in every moment we are awake. To feel love or feel fear, to act out of love or act out of fear. 

Individual Wisdoms 

One thing I have come to realise in our discussions about horses and ourselves, is that we attract the horses into our lives who can mirror our weaknesses and facilitate our dreams. Horses, like ourselves and all beings, are unique. They are autonomous, and they arrive in their lives to experience different situations. So the challenges we encounter in finding the truth between us and our horses are the particular challenges that we have undertaken in this life. So our relationships are perfectly tailored for us both. As well as this, the guidance we recieve in hearing our inner voice of joy is also received by the horses, because they also follow their joy. In other words we are aligned in a beautiful dance of creation. 

This is why it is shortsighted to imagine that everyone should be discovering the same wisdom. That because my horses do not wish to work with equipment since this is the way we will discover our deepest connection, that this applies to anyone else. Or that my way of teaching is the best way. This principle does become a little less clear when there seem to be fundamental biomechanical truths. There is so much more intricacy than we often see however. It is as if in any one truth there is a whole universe of truths to explore. And those who try to reduce that boundless subtlety down are losing the miraculous nature of life as they go.

Infinite Patterns

For example you could say that if you ride any horse in a certain bio-mechanically correct way, that is all that there is to accomplish.

With this approach there are entire worlds of dialogue, energetic perception, situation and emotion and even metaphysical possibilities that are left out and unseen entirely. 

Examples of the Diversity

Imagine a child who discovers her spiritual freedom in galloping wildly with her joyous pony. She will find the biomechanic truths unfolding naturally through the unconditional love flowing between them. This kind of joy for her and her pony might not be possible in an indoor school, trailing round after the other ponies. And yet imagine the joy a disabled child can feel from riding in an indoor, despite the questionable lifestyle of the ponies, and those ponies have opened their heart to that joy.

Similarly there are professional show jumpers who cultivate a beautiful relationship with their partners, and even though they are making demands that many might feel are out of alignment with their own inner voice. Those horses also have autonomy.

They are sacred beings who have aligned themselves in their lives to experience the joy and challenges of this particular lifestyle. So ultimately, as the spirit world sees things, there is no right or wrong, just as apples and pears are not on a scale of value. 

Your Voice of Joy

It seems clear that we have all chosen our own unique experience of life. We all have an inner voice of joy and our job is to unearth it and let it sing. Just as all the notes makes the symphony, our note is essential. No note is more valuable than another.

I believe that we can learn so much from the songs of others. The notes of others can train us, inspire us and support us. They can’t be us though, and becoming is our function. A never-ending, eternal and magnificent path of becoming that is founded on our own individual and invaluable truths. And the most beautiful part of that is that they are our truths because we discovered them and they apply only to us.