Dear All,

Welcome to our eighth "stroll" together. Among other things, I mention the upcoming radio interview you can tune into live on March 27th.  So, enjoy the latest and greatest and I hope to see you soon!

March Newsletter Contents:

The Next Logical Step

Story Time..."Magnifying Glass"

Playground Activities and Calendar:  Annual Letter,  Radio Interview, Harmony with Horses Workshops, Canada

Vacation Rental Specials

I am not sure which came first, the horses accepting me into their midst or my dream to forever be a cowgirl with horses all around. I am pretty sure the horses beat me to it, since I was the ripe old age of six when I made this determination and that means I had already hung out with them for six wondrous years. That is the thing about horses, though, they seem to live their lives into being based on opportunities that proffer themselves, and have patiently shown me how to do that from day one.

Consequently, I have noticed in my fifty years of "being" that I am pretty much hardwired to continuously come up with new ideas and desires for improvements on my daily life. Sometimes my ideas are immediately followed by thoughts and feelings that describe the idea as scary, unfamiliar, undoable, or beyond my reach when all I need to do is hang out with the idea for a while. Whether my idea is large, self-defining, and concrete, like my cowgirl dream, or momentary and now-based, like enjoying my garden or tasting something delicious, I have come to realize if I just stay with an idea or desire long enough the next logical step will reveal itself. This approach often takes me places I would never have known existed, miraculously providing me an experience of living that is exactly the dream I dreamed at my core.

The trick is to do nothing more than allow the idea to initially be just that, an idea. Ideas can range from practical improvements to no-holds-barred dreams. They can be detailed or vague. It does not matter because they are only thoughts, and the sweet fact is no action is necessary, no money is required, and expertise is a non-issue when it comes to ideas. It is from that stand point that inspired action can be taken. Any idea must come all the way back to my toes, so to speak, for there to be inspired action on the subject. If I let the action come to me, it feels exciting, aligned, balanced, and centered. It calls to me and my dream becomes my reality. 

For instance, as part of the "cowgirl" dream, I imagine someday it will be fun to travel with my young horse, Indie, riding on trails that lead out from a base camp. I will do this with Dave and his horse and we will also bring the Harley. The Harley will have a stall of its own in the trailer. Depending on where we stay, we will ride on the trails some of the time and explore the surrounding country roads on the Harley some of the time. While we are gone, our farm here in Sebastopol will be ticking along, tours and gardens cared for by someone's loving hands and supported by the beautiful vacation rentals on the property. This is a nice dream, and there are elements of the dream that seem far from doable right now.

So, I wait and anticipate. I wait for the opportunities to reveal themselves. I have come to expect the pieces to fall together, even if I am not actively thinking of the dream. There was a time when none of the components of the trailering dream existed in my life. There was no Dave, no Indie, no truck or trailer, no Harley, no property or vacation rentals. In fact, the dream originally had a different horse partner, no specific human partner, and a Harley hadn't even been considered, nor was there been any property or vacation rentals. Each addition or change just seemed like the next logical step.

For a long time the trailering dream has been one of my "large vistas", a phrase I use enthusiastically when coaching Harmony with Horses . My dream was general and vague at first. Over time it has evolved into greater and greater clarity as I allow new ideas to gel. It plays a huge role in the unfolding of my day to day life because within this large vista of mine there are many "small vistas" which describe thoughts or ideas that may actually lead me to inspired actions that support the larger dream. For example, a recently completed studio cottage here at Full House Farm is a smaller vista. My Garden Tea Room is another. The acceptance of two goats into our menagerie is yet another, as was the acquisition of a horse trailer. However, they are not the smallest. Initially they are just ideas that I simply enjoy because in the thinking of them I feel pleasure. When I allow myself this luxury, I find even smaller ideas pop into my head and eventually the idea is small enough for me to see evidence of opportunities that constitute immediate, timely and effective action. Inspired action feels like "wild horses couldn't stop me!" 

If a dream is important enough to me, it will not go away, no matter the rise and fall of expectation. From the largest of dreams (the ones that actually define me) to the smallest (the ones I may take for granted, like the scent of a rose or a morsel of sweet chocolate melting in my mouth) I will continue to create new ideas that describe the specifics in greater and greater detail until I can feel the reality of it inside, at which point it begins to become evident on the outside. I must simply have the patience to honor and enjoy those ideas without taking any action unless I feel so inspired it seems my limbs move of their own accord. It is then I find myself standing in the middle of what was a dream and is now a reality. It is then that I discover I am a happy cowgirl who nibbles on chocolate from time to time and whose honey brings her roses on a regular basis. 

Story Time..."Magnifying Glass"

Throughout several decades of coaching , I have had the pleasure of being the recipient of constant metaphorical images that help explain ideas I get. Very few of the images stay around and become a permanent fixture. They specifically relate to those with whom I am sharing space at the time and my own personal evolution.

Recently, I found the following to be helpful. Life is like a magnifying glass (I am sure it is also like a box of chocolates, but let's go with this MG image for now.) We all know what happens if you hold a magnifying glass between the sun and the earth. However, what we neglect to notice is that it is our certainty that allows us to be patient and let the combustion occur. In other words, at first we do not actually see anything happening, but because we know if we just hold the glass still the focus will generate enough energy to actually light the earth on fire.

Our focus is this way, too. If we can hold off from taking score of the physical evidence of what is happening in our lives, and can just stay still while we focus we will allow enormous energy beyond our comprehension to be generated. Most of us get impatient or begin to feel doubt. This is something we do not do with a magnifying glass, usually. Horses are great teachers of this "law" of creation. They demonstrate the effects of intense focus on a daily basis, although much of the time it goes unnoticed. Is it really a fluke that you ended up with the horse you have? Ever wonder what made you take a right turn and go get a treat when you were actually on your way to do something else? How about the idea to go groom, or scratch certain spots on your horse's body, or take them out for a bite of grass, when you really had so much else to do. Consider the possibility that there is more than one creator at play here. And horses are way better at the focus game than we are, usually.

The other thing about the MG that I can pass on is that the combustion is based on the strength of the sun, too. If there are clouds it takes longer. This might be compared with the degree of desire behind any given focus we are considering. Sometimes we have a very strong desire that has crystal clear details and sometimes our desire is weak and we do not care all that much or we lack clarity. So, if you want to light a fire, get clarity. If you want to see clarity demonstrated in a most amazing way with dogs and sheep, check out this Youtube !!  Interestingly enough, clarity is born of conflict or agitation, so no worries about problems in your life. They are there to help you.

Playground Activities

Annual Letter 2008:   At the end of each year I write a more personal letter to everyone that sums it up.  This one is called "We are Becoming".

March 27, 2009:  We are about to enter the most active part of the year for Full House Farm. To kick it off, I will have the pleasure of being interviewed by Liz Mitten Ryan on the Natural Horse Network Blogtalk Radio on March 27th at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Standard time. Liz Mitten Ryan (what a great name, huh?) is an incredible artist and author of several books including "One With The Herd". At her web site, Liz writes, "There is great excitement and celebration in horse consciousness everywhere. Horses are reaching out to their humans, inviting their participation in a whole new level of connection. People are becoming more aware of the importance of accessing higher mind, the one consciousness in all life. The future of the earth depends on the healthy functioning of our larger body, the All."  Liz offers Life Changing Workshops on her ranch in British Columbia, Canada.  Check it out!  And if you do decide to head her way, let her know where you heard about her.

Recently, with the support of the Natural Horse Network , Liz created an interview series wherein horsey people, such as myself, can share their views on the radio. You can listen to Liz as she interviews me live or go to the archives after the fact if you cannot be there at the time of the interview. I will focus upon the deeper conversation available between the horse and human and discuss ways to access this.  I am interested in swinging the attention of listeners to what makes our experiences with horses so delicious and the awakening to our "inner tuning fork" that can occur. This awakening leads to greater awareness of how we are always being called towards well-being, a very different way of living than one where we feel we must be healed.

April 4, 2009: My first Harmony with Horses Workshop is happening on April 4. These workshops continue through November every year, taking place from 9-12 on the first Saturday of each month. You can sign up online , email me, or call to reserve your spot in the workshop.

July 17, 2009: Last year in November I went to Priddus, Alberta in Canada to coach a weekend clinic called Inspiring Clarity. It was hugely successful, largely due to Maria Vanderham's incredible devotion and focus. That woman knows how to light a fire! Anyway, if all goes well I will be returning to Alberta in July and the clinic will be held at Maria's ranch. This is one beautiful place, folks, and there is a possibility that included in this weekend adventure will be the opportunity to observe wild horses. 

If you think you might like me to come to your area for a clinic, please contact me and we will dream it into reality!

Spring Vacation Rental Special!

We have a wonderful new Studio Cottage that can sleep 1-2 guests. We started it last May and it was finally complete and ready to rent by December. This is one very special space, with a complete kitchen, darling bathroom, a big deck and a hot tub for two under the oaks, both with sunset views. So, if you have been wanting to apprentice with me, visit for the weekend, or just have somewhere to stay while you explore Sonoma County , check it out! By the way, it is ever so fun and delicious to explore this area via Farm Trails.  Farm Trails is an organization that supports farms and farm related businesses in Sonoma County.  Their Map & Guide lists all the members, what they grow or sell, and how you can visit.  In fact, this month Full House Farm is profiled in their newsletter, The Pollinator .  In celebration of all this, we are offering a low, discounted price on the studio to everyone and on the 3-bedroom/2 bath Retreat Home we have a special "Last Minute" discount. If you book 30-15 days prior to your stay you can receive 25% off the base rate. If you book 14-0 days prior, the discount increases to 50% off the base rate! That is hundreds off! OK cowgirls and cowboys, come and get it!

Know anyone who could use this?