Well, then join me on the Red Sofa and participate in the “It’s all about the horse” workshop series I am producing in collaboration with Blue Star Equiculture.

We are looking for practitioners who are interested in mindful, holistic approaches that take care of the body, mind and spirit of horses.

This spring & summer’s workshop series is a fundraiser for Blue Star Equiculture.

This is an opportunity to bring your knowledge to horse lovers across the world.

Yes, the world. Let me explain ...

You, the practitioner, gets to hang out with moi! on the Red Sofa. We will chat about you, your work, and other mindful things we can come up with. Our interview will be videotaped and streamed live on the web

Then you will facilitate a 2 hour workshop we’re videotaping that as well. I will support you as I moderate FAQ’s from our participants. We will live-stream the workshop via the web so Blue Star fans from all over the world have a chance to participate.

Now let’s talk business. You give your time to us and we will give you all this:

• We will promote and organize the event
• The event will take place at Blue Star Equiculture in their new workshop studio
• You have access to the Blue Star Equiculture horses for your workshop
• We will videotape the workshop and archive it for Blue Star herd members
• We will provide you with the footage so you can use it for your own promotion
• You will be listed on the BSE website as an affiliate (5,000+ new visitors each month)
• ... and you have the opportunity to network with the participants ... potential future clients.

This workshop series is truly a win-win deal.

So, please be in touch with me as soon as possible so we can schedule you as a facilitator in the "It’s all about the horse" workshop Series. Or, sign up right away through this link.

Can’t wait to connect with you on the Red Sofa.

At that point, all horses but Jesse moseyed into the pasture. Having grown fond of Jesse last time, Wendy was excited to work with him again. This time, however, he was not looking to connect … or so it seemed.

Wendy shared that she felt Jesse’s lower back was out of balance, but she felt that Jesse was “playing hard to get”. I explained that I don’t see Jesse as a horse that would play that type of game.  My sense was that his behavior had a purpose.

I proposed that Jesse was possibly teaching Wendy something. Then  I shared a sudden insight with her. “I know that you are not much interested in distant healing, but what if Jesse is saying he knows that you are a good healer with your hands, however, it’s time to learn something new.”? I continued, “I saw you standing a few feet away from him and he seemed very content. What if that is what he’s asking you to do?

“Ok”, Wendy said, “I’ll try that”. She placed herself about 10 feet away from Jesse and offered healing energy.

After a few moments, I heard Jesse say “You don’t yet appreciate what distant healing does for us.” I shared that with Wendy.

After a few moments Sammy, our goat, joined Wendy. Wendy asked “What is that about?” I suggested that Wendy invite Sammy to join her in the healing session. “Ask Sammy to bring her energy along with yours to support Jesse.” For a long while, both Wendy and Sammy stood still. Then Wendy offered, “I think the imbalance I sensed in Jesse’s hind end is about Jesse’s foundation and his question of belonging to this herd. I get a feeling from him that he is not sure if this is his home, and if these horses are his herd. Can I offer him anything about that?” “Sure” I said, “you can tell him this is his home and he will stay here with us until the end.  I told Wendy that while it is tempting for people to make this promise, they need to know they are able to deliver. Keeping our promises matters to horses.”

Wendy went back to offer Jesse the information along with the healing. Sammy continued to work along.

After Wendy concluded the session, she said “Wow, that was amazing. I can’t believe I got all this information, and Sammy, my gosh, she pushed herself into me the entire time. What an experience, I can’t even describe it.”

Sammy was slowly walking toward me, somewhat unstable. I kneeled down and gently stroked her face and neck. “What a great job you did, Sammy! I am so proud of you. You found a new job here on the farm.” Sammy eyes were now totally closed and her head sank lower. She was tired, sooo tired from doing so much energy work …  something she had never been invited to do before.

I told Wendy that while she and Sammy were offering to Jesse, I saw a picture of Sammy in my mind. She was running up the driveway between our barns toward the arena calling out “me too, me too” like a little kid that wants to be part of a fun activity. And as I had looked at her standing so quietly and focused with Wendy, I felt how Sammy was sooo excited to be asked to participate in a “grown up” activity.

As Wendy and I looked back on the experience, it became clear what Jesse was hoping to teach Wendy. Distant healing was not only effective, but also allowed her to receive information from him. In my experience, busy hands often cloud the ESP communication channels. By standing still, at a distance, all channels were wide open.

After that last bit of information was shared out loud, both Jesse and Sammy went out to join their herd.

This session was over.

The day before Wendy’s second session, I had interviewed Zander, an 11 year old chestnut colored Morgan. Zander and his owner Mary had been my clients for about two years. Mary had hired me to help her connect more deeply with Zander. They had a great relationship, but, Mary knew intuitively that she had not yet seized the opportunity to bond in more profound ways.

As I mentored Mary to become more present during her interactions with Zander, Zander started to provide Mary with his own point of view on how she could become a better partner. Occasionally, Mary would hear Zander commenting on their interactions. She either heard a voice, or saw pictures of the messages Zander wanted to convey.

Eventually Zander expressed his wish to teach us some lessons about horses. He mentioned he could provide us with a lot of information. Neither Mary nor I knew exactly how to go about gathering the information. Without a plan, Mary started to scribble down every bit of knowledge she’d receive from Zander and emailed it to me. We both filed the information away for future use yet to be determined.

Things changed when I created my new interview web show “Mindful Connections on the Red Sofa”. In it, I interview thought leaders, experts and professionals about mindful approaches with horses.
I suggested to Mary that we should interview Zander, so we could get information “straight from the horse’s mouth”.

In our first interview, Zander expressed the necessity for the human to become aware of their state of being before entering the field of the horse. In the second interview, Zander provided insight on how we can align with a horse by becoming aware of ourselves and our energy profile. According to Zander the first step was to get connected at a distance, observing the horse in stillness, so we could match the horse’s energetic vibration. Being that present and aligned with our horses was, according to Zander, the greatest gift we could provide.

I was excited to share some of the insights I had gained from Zander with Wendy during her second session.

Upon her arrival, we walked through the pasture and into the arena where I grabbed a couple of chairs for us to sit on. Wendy had lots to share - her experience with a horse in her care, a book that she had come to appreciate, and tons of questions about what to do next.

As Wendy and I were chatting away, Shana came over to visit. She stuck her soft-furred chest into my face and asked to be scratched. Being usually a good multi-tasker, I scratched her while communicating with Wendy. About 30 seconds into the interaction, Shana abruptly turned and walked away. I was surprised, and so was Wendy. She asked “what was that about?” I was not sure myself, so I said “Let me find out”. I walked over to where Shana had stopped and was nibbling on some hay. I asked her, “What was that about?” and waited. After a few moments, I heard “You did not apply what you’ve just learned”. I said “You are right, thank you” and walked back to Wendy.

I sat down and told Wendy that before we continued our conversation, we had to do something else. “Let’s be quiet for a moment and tune in to the horses. Let’s align ourselves with them.”

As I quietly gazed from one horse to the next, aware of my breath, I noticed Shana watching. I sensed she was looking to see how committed I was to this new practice. Within one minute, Wendy and I were surrounded by Cutter, Kerrie and Kaylaa. A moment later, Shana joined the circle. I suggested to Wendy we let the horses explore us for a moment, before we would reach out and touch them. As we waited, I told Wendy about the information Zander had provided me the day before … and that I had disregarded it today while chit-chatting away.  Armed with this insight, Wendy got up and offered some healing to Cutter.

The last time Wendy offered her healing, Cutter was haltered and tied in the barn. This time, he was at liberty with us in the arena. Being at liberty allowed Cutter to move and express his needs as Wendy applied her skills.

After Wendy had placed her hands on Cutter for a while, Cutter suddenly turned around to face Wendy. When she tried to touch his face, he shied away. I reminded her to allow for the horse to engage with her on his terms. Often humans do what I call ‘monologue-ing’ with the horses. Doing things to the horse, like touch the face, pet the neck, ask the questions and give the answers.

Instead, I suggest that we occasionally let the horse initiate the connection. We can learn a tremendous amount about the horse, its personality and its way of thinking when we stop the doing and spend time being.

Wendy took the clue and stood still for a moment while Cutter got to smell her and send her some energy that she gladly received once she realized what he was doing. She was actually stunned by the wave that was coming her way, and said “man, this horse is all heart.” She was right, Cutter’s heart chakra radiates. From then on, Cutter and Wendy interchangeably gave and received.

Cutter sealed the session at the end with a sweet horse kiss, thanking Wendy.

More to come ... Part 3

Wendy shared that she was interested in learning more body wellness techniques in the future, but felt it was important to first learn more about the subject of her desired profession … the horse.

In our first session, as happens so often, the plan I had was tossed to the side when the horses took over. Wendy was immediately drawn to put her hands on several horses and eventually provided healing to Jesse, Cutter and Kaylaa.

The interactions with each horse provided information, insight and inspiration for Wendy. We talked about the advantages of working with a horse at liberty ... how it allows the horse to express itself and its needs. We talked about the necessity for Wendy to convey her intention.

The horse might have some more mundane suggestions like “scratch my butt”, while Wendy is trying to provide a different kind of attention.  However, when she clearly expressed the direction she was taking, the horse would understand and become engaged in the healing work.

After Wendy finished her work with each horse, I suggested she step back and let the horse stay in the “Zen State”, allowing it to complete the healing process on its own terms. Horses often process for a long while. Their eyes are usually half shut, their nostrils soft, and occasionally they move their lips in an attempt to chew. Once the horse comes out of the Zen State, we can observe a big lick and chew, often a yawn, and occasionally a head shake.

I explained to Wendy that it is really important not to interrupt that process. Often people neglect this part and take the horse right back to the paddock or stall without letting the healing work soak in. It would be similar if we were receiving a massage and at the end, the massage therapist loudly clapped her hands and said, “TIME TO GET UP”. It would interrupt the process and most likely defeat the purpose of the treatment.

Wendy went home with several new perspectives, and signed up for a second session the following week.

... Stay tuned ...

My friend Linda’s horse MoJo was boarded at that barn, but has since moved to a new place.

Inspired by the move to the new barn, Linda started a blog journaling about her experiences with MoJo. I think you will like her musings about MoJo’s transition into this new, more liberated, life.

Read Linda’s blog "Getting MoJo Back" here.

Cutter’s 1st and 3rd chakras were closed. As she did with Kerrie and Shana, McKenzie asked if oils would be helpful to open the chakra, the answer was “no”. She asked if Reiki would be helpful “no”, she asked if her own energy work would be helpful “no”. Well, obviously there was something else available and we needed to figure out what it was.

On a hunch I asked McKenzie if she did hands-on healing. She replied “no”, yet her mom reminded her that she did some hands-on healing the night before on her mom’s back.

“Oh yes, I forgot” she said and immediately put her little hands on Cutter’s back. She rested them along Cutter’s spine quietly for a while and then said “Oh wow, the energy is rushing back and forth a lot.”

You can possibly imagine my face … amazing! McKenzie was feeling the spinal fluid flow through Cutter’s spine.

She then moved her hands closer over his rump and said, to my surprise, “Wow, back here is feels like … like a traffic jam.”
“I guess you need to get the energy flowing all the way back there” I replied, and that is exactly what McKenzie did. When she was done she checked the chakras and all were beautifully balanced.

As we were finishing up, Kerrie found her way back to us. McKenzie said she wanted to check Kerrie again.  “The one by the tail is closed again” McKenzie said, and quickly put her hands on Kerrie and provided more hands-on healing.

Again, after the treatment she checked with her pendulum and beamed at me “All open now.”

To say the least, I was blown away. Later, I asked McKenzie if she needed the pendulum or if she could feel the chakra energy before the pendulum responded. She declared that she could feel it before.

THAT I was not surprised about.

I told her mom later, seeing McKenzie do her work reminded me that the pendulum is crutch for those of us who have lost what McKenzie still has …

As I am developing and designing my new website, I realize more and more things I want to change and add, and redo.

And ... as with any renovation … things always take longer than expected.

So, instead of waiting for everything to be finally done, I decided to come back and post some more in my "old house".

Look out for the next blog that introduces you to a young healer.

New Look!
Many Events!
New Web Show!

I can’t wait to show you the many ways we will be able to connect in the future.

XO,

When John opened the side door of our upper barn he was face-to-face with a coyote.

John immediately made some noise, and the mangy looking beast squeezed himself back through the narrow opening of the main barn door. The night before, John, being mindful, had left the big slider open just wide enough for our cats to go in and out. Who knew that the coyotes were starved down to a slither and able to squeeze through a six inch opening?

John followed the coyote outside and saw him casually trotting down the driveway toward the main road. Turned out, several of our neighbors had seen the lone wanderer the day before. With snow several feet deep the local wildlife is desperate to find food.

When I inspected the barn later in the day, I realized how desperate the coyote had been. He tried to scratch his way into the chest of drawers in hopes to find some food, preferably mice. I could not believe how much strength the skinny guy had. He pushed the second drawer so far back that it took out the backing off the furniture.

The scariest thing was ... the coyote was only a few feet away from Isaac and Sammy. And … their stall door has a window through which he could easily have jumped … We are so blessed that nothing bad happened.

Next steps:

• As long there is still so much snow and ice I am keeping my eyes and ears wiiiide open, ready to intervene if necessary.
• Keep barn doors shut and encourage cats to stay in the house at night (and they do!)
• Install a stall guard on goat/sheep stall.