OK, so I made the commitment to blog on Fridays. So here I sit with nothing really to say. That ever happen to you? Nothing to say? Are there really words to be spoken/written?
Nonverbal communication is going on all the time. Especially with horses. While visiting CatFish “my” guy last week in FL, there were few words exchanged between us. Well, at least he didn’t say much although I had lots to say to him after not having seen him in several months. Yet our communication was clear, palpable and deep. Deeper than any words I offered, or touches I gave.
I’m always curious if he really knows who I am when I stop by ever so briefly to hug or hang with him on my infrequent trips to FL. He’s been there longer than he was with me here in MA. I try not to think about that much. He is my first horse love, a patient, soulfilled being who loved to run when he was able. I was somewhat uninitiated about horse ownership and totally in love with the idea of a horse of my own. I very quickly (day 2) discovered that the fantasy of having a horse was nowhere near the reality. (A topic for another blog!)
Anyways, last week we stood head to head, his muzzle touching my chest for several minutes, breathing together. Time stopped. Words stopped. I felt the stillness of his beautiful being in each breath we took, in the warmth of his face, in the softness of his muzzle. No words were needed for this connection.
Horses can give of themselves so entirely. The connection is profound, deeply soul stirring.
Later as he was back to grazing, I stood with him again, a hand lightly resting on his back, just being with him. There was nothing to do. After several minutes I sensed the presence of another horse coming. Marco looked at me as if to beckon me to him. I left Fish and went to Marco who was wisely standing under a tree away from the merciless sun. I hung with him, scratching places that really needed it for another long while. Fish kept an eye on us the entire time, grazing a little circle around us. Finally when Marco was satisfied, he walked away and Fish came over. All without words.
It seemed as though Fish was “sharing” me with his herdmate. Who knows. I do know that this timeless time with him was precious and that I can reach him in my heartspace at any time. It’s his birthday this month (June). Sending Happy Birthday heart beats your way, Mr. Fish. Thank you for welcoming me into your heartspace and holding me so gently.
Hmmm. Looks like there were words afterall!
Have you ever taken a vacation then arrived home and realized that every day was so packed with activities that you needed a vacation from your vacation?
I’m in the enviable place of having no plans, living moment to moment, hanging with the people, horses and goats on this lovely ranch in Sedona. www.redmoonranchsedona.com I’m discovering that no plan creates an expectation in me of what’s going to happen next…? I’m living in the expectation of what’s next rather than in the moment of pure creatitvity. This is a subtle distinction. My time here is coming to an end and I want to make the most of it. There is a tension to do, move, explore… and I’m content being still, writing, journaling, soaking up the sun thru the windows of my little abode.
How to be with this? Relax….into the moment, into the tension, the urge to create motion, activity and see what action spontaneously arises. The action arises through me just as these words arise from a quiet place in my being onto the keyboard and into this blog.
Sitting with the question – what is calling me forth? If action- is it for the sake of action, doing? And if contemplation, breathing, enjoying the moment, hanging in the stillness can I experience the stillness in the action? Yes!
Action arises out of stillness, true creativity arises out of nothing. What was not here one moment is manifested in the next. Each breath is a moment to moment manifestation of life flowing thru this body.
I pay attention to the urges, inner pushes, and choose to be in balance with the harmony of the moment.
This calls for a trip to Starbucks! or not!
Life is an adventure even when the day to day stuff is all consuming. I forget that. What supports my seeing it is travelling! I love being in new places, meeting new people, seeing what Life is offering me in the expansion that travel provides.
I’m writing this from Sedona, Az where I’m staying at a little treasure of a ranch – Red Moon Ranch (www.redomoonranchsedona.com). I’m here to regroup, learn, relax and have fun! Couldn’t have landed in a better place!Skip Bertuzzi is the keeper of the place. He’s a wrangler from the heart – of horsemanship and human relationship.
An unexpected blessing is meeting Ginny, Skip’s sister, (www.visionbasedcoaching.com) who’s here on an adventure of her own. She recently left her job, sold her home, bought a gorgeous RV and is on the road- in the flow, traveling where her heart and soul lead her. Turns out we were both trained as coaches thru CTI, and share adventuresome spirits (she races motorcyles!) and walking our talk.
The Tao of travel – the way of travel is to be in the moment…hold plans loosely, be flexible and open to what is arising in the moment and relax…
A session with Hunter, a beautiful soul of a horse yesterday showed me how task and goal oriented I can be. Skip gave me a task to complete and if I had done it, I would not have experienced several sweet minutes of pure connection with Hunter who wanted to connect with me. We had done enough work together…connection and being with was what was arising. How often do I miss moments of connection with another or within because I’m focused on the task at hand, getting something done, my agenda for the moment! Profound lesson!
This trip thru life is the only one I’ll have. I want to be present to it, not to miss it! To travel in the moment…to be in the ever unfolding now. To be available to connect within and to the other.. .magical moments in this precious life.
More later..off to ride a horse in the high desert.
Horses call us forth
quiet depths resound in neighs
come graze life’s being field
Each of us has access to that still, small voice. It speaks to us in our bodies, minds, hearts, emotions. It speaks to us through nature, animals, other people. It shows itself in synchronicities, connections, aha moments.
The soul is the substance of who we are and is constantly revealing more and more of our essence to us (or what blocks us from the experience of our essence. Our task,really our opportunity, is to listen, for the whispers, the urgings, intuitions; to pay attention to what draws us closer to aliveness to the fire in the belly.
Meditation is one way to practice listening. Yoga, Tai Chi, walking meditation, body work are others. None of these will aid us in our journey if we don’t practice them, if we are not dedicated to the act of listening, deeply, to what is here, now. The soul only manifests in the now. For the soul there is no past or future. It’s all here, now!
I am thrilled tobe offering a workshop on June 5,6 with my friend and colleague, Nicki Pakkala, a Body Talk practioner and agent of healing. Participants will get to explore the voices of their souls through listening to the body, through personal inquiry, meditation and with horses. The horses are here, now. They show us aspects of ourselves that we don’t know are here in ways that are often subtle, yet powerful. Won’t you join us for this great event? Details can be found at:
http://diamondhorsecoaching.com/services.
The other day I got to do a trail ride with Rosie as my trusted mount. Rosie is a beautiful Appoloosa who loves the trails way more than riding in the arena. Her whole attitude shifts on the trail- she wants to move out, stretch her legs and run! In the arena she needs a bit more urging and tends to be less peppy and seems bored with going around in circles. (Can you blame her?)
Ground work and arena exercises are important to long term relationship building with one’s horse. Despite the sometimes boring circles this work is necessary for both horse and rider – for the rider-to learn how to ride, apply the proper aids and to be in a safe space to get to know the horse; for the horse to learn to trust and take direction from the rider. Building the relationship starts in the arena and in other ground work that is carried out consistently. It is this foundation that prepares the team for a great trail ride.
This is such a great metaphor for what it takes to be an entrepreneur, a successful professional, someone who can live productively and fully. Life has lots of arena work. Given this time of year, I would put taxes in that category! Add to that the daily and weekly activities required to run a house, maintain a business, be a good manager, be a great parent or spouse.
It can be very seductive to avoid the foundation setting, to just want to have fun, play and experience freedom. Yet, the very foundation is what makes the play, the freedom possible. Both need to be present and in balance for life to be fulfilling and rich.
What are the foundational activities you need to create the space for freedom? For me these activities include meditation, healthy eating habits and nutritious food, exercise, commitment to do the bookkeeping and admin work the businesses require, slowing down and being present, developing a relationship with my inner life that is the space where I experience freedom. These arena activities can seem dull or rote and restricting yet without them my relationship to life suffers. Just think of how it feels to FINALLY get the taxes done. It’s a great relief especially when getting a refund, and if not, it’s good to know the facts of the situation so they can be dealt with.
So, think about this: What are the foundation setting activities in your life that create the opportunity for you to experience freedom? How can you be with them knowing that they are setting a foundation for you to relate to life with a deeper sense of freedom and possibility?
I’d love to hear your thoughts! email me at mq@diamondhorsecoaching.com
 Have you ever been really confused by something to the point where you cannot see or think clearly? Your brain feels foggy, mushy, cluttered, confused? How do you relate to this state? Push it away, strive for understanding, run away?
Did you know that confusion is the highest state before break through? That’s right! Confusion can be an indicator that you’re on to something that is shaking up how you view the world. Not being able to see something clearly is the perfect opportunity to slow down, quiet your self and be with whatever is coming up.
Yet, we don’t allow ourselves the space to be confused. Our fast paced lives demand that we make instant decisions daily. Confusion, befogged-ness is something to avoid. It’s uncomfortable to not know, to be unclear, to be in the grey area.
What if you let yourself be with the confusion? What if you welcomed it as a message that maybe something new is coming into your consciousness? This new thought, perception, perspective, way of being is rearranging your mental furniture causing lack of clarity and befuddledness.
Confusion is not a sign of weakness, stupidity or ineffectiveness. It is a sign to slow down, get grounded, take a deep breath and see what’s here. What is waiting to come into view?
Resisting confusion is like standing in a foggy field and trying to blow away the fog. Ain’t gonna work! Instead, let yourself hold the confusion lightly. Poke around, be curious – see what is there, notice how comfortable or uncomfortable you are with not being able to see cleary…enjoy the fog!
Get some support during these times.  Having someone to be with you in the fog, support you in the discomfort of it and journey with you in the curiosity can provide reassurance and grounding when you cannot see what’s in front of you.
After a while, you may be amazed at what comes into focus. Clarity comes not from resisting confusion but from welcoming it and allowing it to move through you. Eventually, the fog will lift to reveal a new landscape, new insights. You’ll know in your heart what path to take, decision to make. This clarity of the heart will lead you step by step into the fullness of living. It is waiting for you to listen.
So, the next time you feel confused – pause, take a few deep breaths, explore what’s there, journal about it, welcome it as if were a gentle fog settling in over the landscape of your mind. Accompany your self in this place knowing the fog will lift to bring clarity and freshness into your life.
 lambies looking On my recent trip to the Equine Guided Education Conference at Sky Horse Ranch in California I met a group of little darling beings. These are lambs that lost their moms or whose moms were unable to nurse them and so they were taken in and bottle fed by the loving humans of Sky Horse Ranch.
Just look at their little faces. There were 6 of them (2 sets of twins and a single). On the 2nd day of my visit 2 more were rescued from the fields and brought in. One, sadly, passed on to lamb heaven. The 2nd was coming along slowly when I left.
What I continue to be moved by in these beings is their deeply sweet innocence, force for life and capacity to bring adults to a wonderfully compassionate place instantaneously.
What is it in us that responds to the sweetness of a newborn lamb, baby animal, infant? What is that tender place in our hearts that can melt at the site of embodied innocence?
I’ve pondered this question during my trip and since my return. I’ve realized it is innocence greeting itself. The sheer delight of the innocence of life itself- unblemished, unthwarted by rules, reason, demands, agendas…that lives still deep in our hearts. This is the innate innocence of our beings seeing itself reflected in the eyes of a newborn lamb who has survived the bummer of losing its mom. The innocence of a baby’s smile that kindles a mother’s love. The innocence of a joyful pup’s greeting, a cat’s purring on a lap.
That innocence lies within each of us. The purity of our beings is, at the deepest place, unblemished, waiting for us to discover it. In fact it beckons us to know it by giving us lambs, dogs, infants, a sweet encounter with another being.
What if you could see the world through eyes of this delightful innocence? How would that change your perception of and relationship to the stranger on the bus, the cashier at the supermarket, the guy who cuts you off in traffic, the aggravating coworker? What would be different?
How would your relationship to yourself be different if you came to embody the purity of your own delightful innocence? What would be different in how you live your life?
As you return to your day from reading this post, take a moment to stare into the eyes of these little lambs- or into the eyes of your beloved spouse, child, pet….and see if, just for a moment, you feel it. The preciousness of your innocence, reflected in the eyes of the other. And if you wish, let me know what you discover.
Big hearted being
Beckons me with boundless soul
Stay. Let’s be as one.
 “Who is this?” he asks, gazing curiously as I hold out Miss Piggy’s tail. “Who are you, oh beautiful being?” I ask silently as I meet his eye.
Knowing an other just as knowing one’s self may mean shedding preconceived ideas and opinions we’ve formed. We certainly have history that shows us patterns and traits that remain seemingly consistent.
Curiosity from a place of not knowing creates the opportunity to have fresh perceptions unhindered by what one already knows. This is not necessarily as easy as one may think.
In the moment between perception and understanding we automatically assign meaning. It doesn’t matter what is happening, our minds automatically make meaning out of it. We see a person on the side of the road and know it is a person…we have learned that this is what a person looks like. We sit in a chair, and unconsciously label what we are sitting in as a chair. Our brains just work this way. This automatic reflex often prevents us from experiencing ordinary experiences with a freshness and viality.
Curiosity enables us to clear the assumptions we automatically make to look freshly upon the situation or person. We may investigate a bit, look a little closer or step back and get a different perspective. We then discover new facets in what we take to be ordinary. The tree bark suddenly becomes a highway for the ants running up and down it. The woman across the table begins to seem softer, older, gentler, not “just Mom”. The encounter between Miss Piggy and CatFish (my horse) an exercise in curiosity itself becomes a delightful interspecies meeting and the beginning of a long friendship.
Being curious brings an openness to life and nurtures acceptance, understanding and delight. So, be curious about who you are and about who the others are in your life. Stay curious like a child’s wide open innocent exploration into the newness of life. Celebrate what you find. It is all good.
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Quote of the Week: "The leader's path begins with staying open and curious to the imagination and having the courage to walk into the unknown territory that is our choice to forge."
-Ariana Strozzi |
