As I stood there preparing horse feed, my mind raced with tasks ahead. YIKES! I had put way too much water in the feed!! Again!!! We have all done it, too much water in the feed, overflowing water trough, driven to a destination and don't remember the drive, etc. It snapped me back into the present moment and got me thinking, why did I snap out of it when it was too late? Why didn't I pay attention in the first place? I had to come up with a way to be with the feed, to stay present!
Interestingly enough, during my hypnotherapy studies they talk about this. This is actually a light level of trance. Our subconscious takes the wheel for the task and our mind goes into monkey mind. This let me to thinking of ways to stay present.
Here are my favorites:
1. Counting. This one is powerful for me. While I am mixing horse feed, I count how many times I stir. While filling the water troughs, I pick something to count like blades of grass, and every 100 I reset, check the water and begin again. Driving I count telephone poles to 25 and then reset. When you have tasks that don't need brain power, keep the monkey in check.
2. Focus on something about what you are doing. While mixing the horse feed, I put a marker in for how much water and I watch it to that line. For the water trough, I scrub the outside of the trough, or I do exercises that requires me to bend and I look at the levels of water or I see what it looks like if I move the hose around.
This carries over to our riding too but that is easier. I have a conversation with my horse just like if I was with a friend on a hike. It keeps me present and sends the monkey for a hike of his own.
If you’d like to quiet your monkey mind and stay present, let’s chat! Get on my calendar.
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