sentences are 'Me do, Mommy. Me do, Daddy.' And they're perfectly happy with how they're colouring or dancing or feeding themselves. Then along comes this bigger, taller, older creature saying, 'Here's how you can do it better.' It doesn't take much to step on a child's spirit, and everything that a child senses up until the age of eight, he or she accepts without question as fact. I believe this culture of correction is how we move from beings who have the potential for pure joy into fearful and pain-ridden creatures. The first message a human gets is: 'If you want to have worth in this world, you have do things and do them well,' and this is being said to a small child who at that point isn't capable of doing much at all. The child absorbs the message that he's not good enough in and of himself. In a culture that values what you do over who you are, a small child will conclude that he's not worth much. From there the idea of doing, rather than being, is reinforced through school and sports – both competitive environments where the emphasis is on measuring people against each other, not on learning, creating, playing or enjoying the actual experience. The result is that by the time most people reach adulthood, their insides and outsides don't match. While their exteriors may exude confidence and control, inside they don't believe they're okay. After 30 years in this business, I could reduce most people's problems down to two words, and those words are self-doubt and fear. We may be born confident and joyful, able to live fully in each moment, but the culture begins to work on us almost immediately, and by the time we reach adulthood most of us have become our own worst critic. The equine experience I offer at Miraval has two parts. After the guests groom the horse, they are taken to a different ring where they use their intention and a few basic hand signals to direct the horse through a series of walks, trots, turns and stops. For most people, this is a liberating experience as they begin to see the flip side of their more frustrating experience with the hoof-cleaning – that is, if you send the horse a clear intention, it will gladly comply and working with it will feel effortless. Directing the horse in the ring is often an experience of pure joy because participants can now speak the energetic language of the horse more fluently. Success comes when people allow themselves to be authentic. When your intention is weighed down with what I call 'junk', your message to the horse is muddled. It may come out along the lines of: 'Please do what I want you to so I won't look stupid, and I'd rather die than look stupid, and th ???????????$???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????9?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????5?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????%???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????$?????????????????????????????????????!?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????=?? ????$???????????$??????????????]?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????e??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????]????????() ()???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????()=eMMg?$???+???$)% %5 ((0