Ariana Strozzi
Horse Sense for the Leader Within is a must read for everyone! With innovative vision and grounded experience, Ariana Strozzi bridges two seemingly different worlds, creating a powerful new platform for human development, growth and learning. She eloquently reveals how horses mirror our inner world and provide dramatic, transformative shifts in the way we perceive ourselves.
Strozzi takes the reader on a journey into the natural world where a wealth of knowledge already exists about what it means to be a leader of one’s life. She defines a path to leadership that begins with understanding ourselves from a biological perspective. Leadership as followership comes to life as she encourages the reader to step outside of the human’s narrow view of leadership.
“Are you leading your life or is it leading you?” becomes the topic of exploration. By becoming aware of our animal nature and our innate drive for survival, we develop the capacity to respond with choice versus react to the pressures of life. The journey continues with insights into the powerful elements of intuitive and emotional intelligence and the significance of nonverbal communication.
Ariana demonstrates how horses reflect our patterns of behavior, thought, perceptions and performance in a thousand pounds of visual imagery. They show us the gap between how we actually present ourselves to others distinct from how we think we are being. They ask, “Who is leading?” and expect us to know what we care about and believe in ourselves. In so doing, they help us understand that leadership begins with the self we are.
Horses teach us how to find self-acceptance in a world of judgment. As we learn to think more like a horse, we develop our intuitive imagination and can create new possibilities for our lives. Rather than focusing on what is wrong with us, we shift our attention towards what we are naturally good at. On this path of becoming, we focus on staying connected to what has meaning and purpose. The horse’s generosity of spirit and patient acceptance of the human comes to life in the many stories presented throughout the book.
Strozzi addresses the significant increase in equine guided education programs and establishes the core principles that support the ‘horse as healer’ process; trust, authenticity, confidence, intention, intuition and curiosity. Horses model these essential qualities and expect us to lead our lives with the same dignity, grace and power that they naturally embody.
Strozzi’s fascination and passion for re-connecting to the natural world is contagious and inviting. She weaves in quotes from a variety of other thinkers as she compels the reader to open their senses and explore new ways of thinking about their own path towards a sense of meaning and purpose.
Ariana Strozzi, Master Somatic Coach, has been bringing the magic of horse communication to people from all walks of life since 1990. With innovative vision Ariana blends her knowledge in equine psychology, biology, animal behavior, and leadership savvy in an experiential format that trains emotional intelligence, nonverbal communication, authenticity and intuition.
An internationally respected pioneer and teacher, she offers equine-guided learning programs including Leadership and Horses™, Horse Sense for the Leader Within™, Intuitive Horsemanship™ and Equine Guided Education™. She holds a degree in Zoology and has trained horses since 1970, winning championship awards in dressage, eventing, reining and working cowhorse.
Introduction
A naked man on a naked horse is a fine spectacle;
I had no idea how well the two animals suited
each other.
— Charles Darwin
It was a beautiful spring morning on the rolling hills of coastal California when I first recognized the parallels between the principles of horsemanship and human leadership. Though I initially rejected the idea, thinking that it was just my imagination, something caught my attention. When I looked again, I became fascinated with this new insight.
Was it possible that two very different discourses could be integrated into a revolutionary new way of developing the ‘self’? I started experimenting with this notion, watching it evolve day by day as I practiced and observed, experimented and risked letting go of what I knew for something I didn’t know. And so began a journey into how horses could help us let go of old fears and encourage us to lead ourselves into the future of our design.
I had arrived at a game worth playing; a discourse rich in meaning and purpose. Leadership as followership comes to life as we learn to step outside of our human confines and reconnect to the natural world.
This book is about the profound applications of horses as healers and teachers. Horses model the essential qualities of trust, authenticity, honesty, intuition, listening and a willingness of spirit. Horses have no agenda with us; they simply reflect our strength of character, our heart, our internal incongruence and our self-limiting perceptions. By example, they ask us to lead our lives with the same dignity, grace, and power that they naturally embody.
Horses help us close the gap between how we actually present ourselves to others distinct from how we think we are being. The minute our bodies get close to them, they size us up, asking, “Who is leading?” They expect us to embody what we care about and stay centered on the life we want to live. In so doing, they help us understand that leadership begins with the self we are.
The question, “Are you leading your life or is it leading you?” becomes the topic of exploration. By becoming aware of our animal nature and our innate drive for survival, we develop the capacity to respond with choice versus react to the pressures of life.
The following pages reveal that the underlying principles of horsemanship parallel the concepts associated with human development, growth and learning. Horses teach us how to find self-acceptance in a world of judgment. As we learn to think more like a horse, we develop our intuitive imagination and can create new possibilities for our lives. Rather than focusing on what is wrong with us, we shift our attention towards what we are naturally good at. On this path of becoming we focus on staying connected to what has meaning and purpose.
As we develop a sensate awareness of ourselves and our surroundings, we find new ways to refine our authentic presence. We allow ourselves the privilege to think from a less linear perspective. We begin to trust that the nonverbal communicators of intuition, energy, intention and curiosity are resources to finding harmony within ourselves.
This book is divided into three sections. The first section, Connecting to the Natural World, is an introduction of sorts. It begins with an exploration of our fascination with animals and is followed by some notes on my personal journey of defining this work. The last chapter in this section defines nine principles of Intuitive Leadership that are universal to understanding humans and animals from a biological perspective.
The second section, Are You Leading Your Life or Is It Leading You? focuses on the first three principles of Intuitive Leadership. We begin this conversation with the notion that leadership is a fluid, changing process that defies absolute definition. Leadership as followership and self-responsibility become the topic of exploration.
The quest for self-responsibility requires evaluating our automatic assessments about leadership and exploring more flexible interpretations that allow us to find choice. In this process we reflect on how we respond to life before thought. We remember that we are born with a natural fear for survival, an innate desire to be social and to feel like we belong.
The third section, The Nonverbal Language of Animals and Humans, focuses on the other six qualities of Intuitive Leadership; the nonverbal, energetic qualities with which we communicate and coordinate. Research shows that eighty-five percent of our communication is nonverbal. My hope is that by bringing our awareness to the nine principles discussed in this book we can collectively become more authentic, more honest and more accepting of ourselves and those around us.
I have chosen to use the gender term ‘she’ in discussing the principles of this book. My decision to do this was based on keeping things simple and trying something new. By no means do I mean to offend men or any other person. Many of my clients are men. Since many other publications historically have been written in the male gender, I felt it was a reasonable time and place to use the female gender in this book.
The case studies presented include real situations. I have changed the names of some of the individuals and some locations for confidentiality purposes. The horses’ names are their true names. I am grateful for their profound contribution to this book.
