Awareness In Riding employs the benefits of Critical Thinking, Dialectic Thinking and Life Coaching principles to evaluate situations quickly, develop a plan of action and put it into effect immediately for success in every area of horsemanship. AIR also offers the benefits of learning how to do just this to other equestrians through The Core Workshop™.
Critical Thinking
It is the strong basis upon which The Core Workshop™ is built upon, but just what is this key element and how does it play into the success of equestrians across the board? Critical Thinking is often linked to intellectually based jobs and activities, particularly in the sciences, but is limited only by the mind utilizing it.
No matter your level of interest in riding, the ability of your mind to observe, assess and discern is second to none. Whether you want to safely hack down the trail, or pursue Olympic sized dreams, Critical Thinking has a role to play in your success.
We often use Critical Thinking in our day-to-day habits and tasks when we are on a deadline or have something to do in quick order, but in the melee of ordinary and usual we tend to set aside Critical Thinking and function on a plane that has more to do with automatic responses than the efficiency of our mind. Ever notice how a complicated project can get finished beautifully on time with a short deadline, but the work you've been plugging away at with an open deadline never seems to move much closer to being finished? Critical Thinking is often used on the fly with short deadlines and fast projects, moving your mind to think in an ordered, logical and efficient manner. Why not apply the same skill to every interaction with the horse to move beyond complications, frustration, bad habits, dangerous responses and so-so performance?
Dialectic Thinking
It is a term not as often referenced as Critical Thinking, but it runs in the same veins. Dialectic Thinking finds itself connected throughout history to people such as Socrates, Plato and Karl Marx. There are a number of variations in Dialectic Thinking proposed and utilized by different people and cultures, including Hindu dialectic, Jain dialectic, Socratic dialectic, Buddhist dialectic, Hegelian dialectic, and Marxist dialectic.
The basic idea behind Dialectic Thinking is not in arguing, studying or creating opposition between two extremes, but rather to find one in the other and vice versa. For example, the whole cannot exist without the parts, and the parts create a whole.
Horsemanship is often divided into categories, disciplines, methods, techniques, skills and so on. When we keep them divided it can make the process of riding and training more complicated and complex. To see one movement as being separate from the other, when they are both intimitely connected, can serve to suffer the quality or success of both. Dialectic Thinking is a process that in conjunction with Critical Thinking can help riders develop themselves and their horse in a way that is simple and effective.
Life Coaching Principles
Using many methods to help clients determine and achieve personal goals, a Life Coach may apply mentoring, values assessment, behavior modification, behavior modeling, goal-setting, and other techniques. It has at times been confused with a form of couseling or therapy, however Life Coaching is in no way connected to these forms of professional assistance.
At the core of Life Coaching are questions which go deep, connect with the client, and help them to make major and necessary shifts in their thoughts and beliefs in order to reach for their passions. Is there something that has been holding you back in riding but not quite certain how to set it aside or even how to identify it so you can move past it?
In The Art of Horsemanship
How does Critical Thinking, Dialectic Thinking and Life Coaching impact us as equestrians? Often we attract or create horses who show us our mirror - they give a glimpse into our own fears, expectations, thoughts, frustrations, obsessions and beliefs. Usually these mirrors separate us from achieving the things we want, and in response we resist looking into them, search for a way around, over or through them in order to get to our dreams. The problem is that until and unless we recognize these mirrors and deal with the source we will only continue running into blocks.
Critical Thinking helps us to recognize that there is an issue, as well as evaluate whether we have done all that we can to remedy it outside of ourselves. Commonly this is to the extent that we go, we run through the list of physical, mental and emotional problems that could be the cause of the horse's problem. When that doesn't succeed we then move to different training methods, or perhaps we have give up and just trade one horse in for another. We often are given a string of horses who experience the same issues, or similar issues. If we pay enough attention we will see this quickly, otherwise it will persist until we do see it.
Dialectic Thinking serves us to connect what is going on with the horse or the blocks in our path with ourselves. The ability to see something separate from ourselves as being connected with ourselves works to present a new level of awareness. Awareness is a vital step to solving the issue at hand, and without it we will continue to chase our tail, and can even inspire us to give up on our love - the horse - altogether.
Life Coaching then steps in to fully identify what is underneath the block, and that level of consciousness is a means of immediate relief. Often it is simply our unconscious mind which prevents us from moving forward, holds us back from knowing just what we are feeling, thinking, expecting, experiencing and wanting.
In Practice
Awareness In Riding has developed a workshop which combines these three elements into a beautiful package to help riders move into their full potential and achieve their dreams with the horse. The Core Workshop™ serves to help riders recognize how to ask questions (Critical Thinking), how to connect the answers (Dialectic Thinking), and to implement a plan of action (Life Coaching)!
About Erica K. Frei
Having the profound ability to elicit answers that not only solve the problem but also inspire further learning and exploration is a skill that Erica practices constantly. When we are able to ask questions of others, we also learn how to ask ourselves vital questions, thereby maximizing our ability to learn and grow!
Erica passionately pursues every direction of her life and finds in return it gives her untold stores of energy to continue the pursuit of her greatest happiness. She rides, trains, instructs, lectures and collaborates with riders of all disciplines and talents. Erica is also an avid writer not only of horses, but also poetry and fiction. A Massage Therapist, she has also become certified as a Neuromuscular Therapist recently.
Erica loves working with each and every one of her students, clients and horses. Noted for her warm personality, she has a way about speaking and communicating that makes learning simple and exciting!
Learn More About Erica K. Frei
