Today we started out with a little discussion about a new member of the herd who is a youngster. She has only been there a week.
She has a mark from having a hlater on for a long period. Also she doesn’t take anything from the hand.
At 8 minutes we discussed where we are now. David is still struggling with getting present / being grounded. Esther has not worried about not touching the youngster. There is also some acceptance now of not being able to touch Anah and Astuce.
A confirmation at 10 minutes of where we look when going present. Always at a spot on the ground, next to the animal, above the animal, on a tree, but not on the animal itself.
A quick explanation of two new exercises for the humans at twelve and a half minutes. Firstly asking Esther to go and talk to Astuce about trust as if Astuce is a good friend. Don’t ask Astuce for anything. Don’t ask Astuce questions.
At 16 minutes we talk through the Creative Reaction again with David and Anah. We talked a lot about distraction. There is also an expectation from the donkeys for being given something. The donkeys know how to distract David.
At 24 minutes we have Astuce asking for scratches from Esther. David practicing present moment with Odette at 25 minutes.
Once Astuce accepts scratches the other donkeys decide they want some of that too. Now we practice being specific about what it is we are doing. It is not about food, it is not about scratches, it is about sharing a connection which will give us the base for communication with awareness. Now at 26 minutes we are surrounded by donkeys feeling into the place of no thoughts or feelings from humans, no expectations, and no offers. They are exploring.
At 28 minutes one of the donkeys decided she wanted all the peace to herself and pushed everybody else away . Her thinking levels go up quickly. But then she also releases quickly. There is a feeling that this donkey needs to know she is the centre of attention. We are going to need to work with her a little before she becomes more aggressive about demanding attention and pushing the others away. At 31minutes 35 we talk a bit about rewarding the peace rather than reacting to the pushy behaviour. So, you allow her behaviour, but you always are looking for the peace and saying thank you for that. Look for the lick and chew as an acceptance and then a yawning release.
There is a moment when Anah decides that she has had enough today and moves herself and the herd off, giving a little back leg flick as she goes. She is very specific about her management of herself and her herd. She always shows us when she has had enough of humans trying things out, and she shows us that she is aware that it is us, the humans that need to work with ourselves and she will tolerate it for a while. To her the presence within the herd is much more peaceful than when humans are there, but she is willing to allow us to work on ourselves. She always says No when she has had enough, and that is fantastic.
A little discussion at 38 minutes about just being aware of safety and your own personal boundaries within a herd of donkey personalities.