#36 Nahshon Cook on Harmony, Balance, the Power of Breath and Vulnerability

My guest for this week’s podcast is Nahshon Cook. We spoke last year in a very memorable conversation. Over the last twelve months, much has changed. He is now an author. His book is titled Being With Horses, and it was my most gifted book over the last year. He has also begun teaching intensives at his barn for horses and their people. As word of his gifts has spread, he is riding the wave of being more well known, which gives him an opportunity to personally grow in ways serve his horses and clients at an even higher level.  

Nahshon’s book is a series of essays and poems and this conversation has that same feeling to it. I intentionally gave him a lot of space to riff on many topics, which created a necklace full of pearls of wisdom. I will listen and relisten to this conversation, because I learn something new every time.  

Topics:

• Nahshon’s Book: Being with Horses: Meditation 
• The breath helps us find the courage to own our own suffering 
• Breath can be a bridge to helping us heal and be free of our trauma 
• Trauma is the residue of the hurt that happened to you that you hold on to 
• The only thing beyond freedom is equality 
• There is nothing as powerful as a changed mind 
• Mistakes: We can’t get to where we are going unless we learn how to get there 
• We are all doing the best that we can do, but sometimes the best we can do at a moment may not be good enough for where we need to be, and we have to walk away.  
• It’s not what we ask others to do, it’s what they THINK we are going to ask them to do. 
• Awareness can be a powerful tool 
• How easy it is to be disconnected from the natural world from the modern world  
• Creating space in ourselves is important for connection.  
• Disconnecting from breath is creating survival mode 
• You can only give to someone else what you give to yourself 
• Greatest hurts come from own expectations 
• Relaxation can’t be forced. Telling someone to relax doesn’t make them relaxed. Them finding a place of relaxation is the real answer. 
• What are the steps to relaxing? 
• You can’t relax until you surrender and surrendering is vulnerability 
• Having the courage to change course 
• Fighting right and wrong, someone has to lose and if we don’t fight that war, no one has to lose. 
• We are running out of time 
• The radical ideas of giving a horse a voice 
• How do we get this timeless construct in a construct of time? Presence

Additional Links
Being with Horses: By Nahshon Cook