When was the last time you noticed yourself making a choice about something? What comes to mind? Are you searching for your last big or “important” decision like “I had to choose whether to accept a job offer that wasn’t ideal” or “what to name our new baby” or something more basic like “what photo to use for my profile” or “what to wear out to dinner last night”?  What about your choice to read this article? Did that come to mind? Your choice to get up out of bed this morning? Your choice to smile at your neighbor as they walked by? To take a drink of water just now?

We are constantly making choices, some of them stand out and take time and effort to […]

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Thomas* was having a really hard time getting our “golden boy”, through the obstacle course set up for him.  He was working on being able to overcome some identified challenges and meet his goal of “confidence” in his new management position.

After some time struggling at a particular obstacle (labeled uncertainty) in the course, Thomas looked to us with exasperation. He exclaimed that the horse was being “stubborn” and that he just didn’t want to move. We noticed that rather than looking where he wanted to go, Thomas was pulling on and sternly looking at his horse, totally focused on what the horse was doing, or rather, NOT doing. We asked Thomas to check in with where his focus was. […]

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Time is a topic that evokes emotion for many of us! Usually, in the form of asking “where did the time go?” or the stress of feeling the need to always make the best use of time. So often we are in a hurry, trying to pack as much as possible into the day that we can end up feeling like we are running behind. How often is this feeling of lack of time self imposed? Are we setting unrealistic expectations for the time we have? Or perhaps it’s something we rarely think about, yet still feel pushed or pulled by the passing of time. The human relationship with time can be complex, indeed.

Making peace with the passage of time can be extremely helpful in […]

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It’s a part of modern human nature that our minds tend to move quickly, sometimes faster than we can even keep up with. Have you ever noticed yourself rushing through a task just to get to the end of it, instead of being present in the experience? It’s easy to get swept up in thoughts and actions without noticing those around us or what our own heart, mind and/ or gut might be trying to tell us.

Effective, relational connection with horses and donkeys requires that we approach slowly and mindfully rather than automatically grabbing and petting them or jumping onto their backs. For the majority of equines, if we don’t respect the time it takes to connect, we run the risk of being bit or bucked […]

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The Holiday season is here!In this delightful, celebratory time, it can sometimes be easy to forget the loving spirit of the season.  In the flurry, many of us may feel moments of dread or distress over all of the gift giving, socializing, eating, drinking and “being merry”.   How can we stay connected to the  joy, love, togetherness and giving energy that this season has to offer?  We can start by receiving it.  In this time of “giving” we often forget that the act of receiving is just as important.  In fact, graciously and lovingly receiving is a gift, for both giver and receiver.

“If everyone were busy giving, then who’d be available to receive all that good stuff?  By receiving with a tender self-compassion, we’re allowing ourselves to be touched by life’s gifts.” 

John Amodeo, PhD, MFT

We know it feels good to give, yet sometimes […]

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