Tag: goals

Sunday Sermon….

Posted on by Stefanie in Blog

“Horses don’t need you. Horses already know how to do everything that they need to do. With the exception of the first day, they can already, walk, trot, canter, gallop, stop, stand still, gait, go forward, back up, move their hindquarters, move their forequarters, side pass, sliding stop, piaffe, passage, round their backs, vertically flex, laterally flex, spin, etc. They were born with lightness in their bodies. So if they can do all of these things without you, what is it exactly that you are trying to ‘train’ them to do? You are both two beings trying to learn together how to communicate. You don’t know more than the horse and you never ever will. So stop trying to train and teach and begin learning together.” ~ Unknown

“For lack of a better word, I’ve taken to calling this the horse’s spirit. The older I get, the more I have come to believe that this aspect of the horse is the most important and the most overlooked.” ~Tom Dorrance

“The soul is the same in all living creatures,although the body of each is different.” ~ Hippocrates

“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.”
~ Henry David Thoreau

“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.”
~ Lao Tzu

“Pulling out the chair
Beneath your mind
And watching you fall upon God–” ~ Hafiz


“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” ~ N.D. Walsch

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
~Dr. Seuss

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” ~ Lao Tzu

“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. ” ~ Michael Jordan

“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. ” ~ Lao Tzu

“Ask your question, Stefanie. Feel the answer.

Ask, feel. Ask, feel. Ask, feel. ” ~ Notes from the Universe

Yeah,so? What’s wrong with the floor?
~ Vita Dane-Hickey

Just a bunch of photos from today, and a sprinkling of quotes that I store as I stumble upon their pearls of wisdom in a file I simply call..”Good things to Remember.”

Well, ok. The one above, that I may title…”Danes Hold Furniture Hostage”. That was taken last Saturday, when Vita, Kim and Jordan FINALLY came to visit and boy! Has she grown! 8 monthes and 85 lbs….Thanks for blessing Kimmy and Jord’s life, Vita! 🙂

I Give Up.

Posted on by Stefanie in Blog

Part of my goals for this year for myself include allowing myself to release judgment.
Judgment to me means ” what I perceive to be ‘right’ according to my opinion”. My awareness of judgment includes that of myself, what I believe others think of me and my actions, what I see in others and their actions, daily events including weather, random occurrences, un-planned changes ( well, ANY changes, really)right on up to how my life is unfolding….

I know, I know. At first this seems like a BIG thing to decide to chew off, and Let Go of, but actually, therein lies the secret. I am beginning to explore the concept of Letting Go ( ack! Surrender, Faith….et al) . I am rolling it around in my being and have done somewhat since the Old Clearmind Days…( Personal Growth exploration I did a few eons, er, years back clearmind.com if you are curious about yourself and your tickings and are either brave or stupid….:) but for some reason it is really starting to become in earnest.

For example…..having chosen to follow my dreams and pursue what I love doing as a career, and essentially had only myself to rely upon, I have found myself to become rather ATTACHED to the out come of events in my life. I have worried and fussed and stayed up late far to many nights, anguished about decisions on how to go about developing my work and living in abject fear that no one would care, apprectiate or “get” what I am passionate about. ( Note….do you see alot of jugement in those thoughts???????????) .And then one day I just got so overwhelmed with Everything, I up and decided that if everything Failed, I would just happily go back back to some grocery store job, and ride my own horses to my hearts content and never worrry about it all again and I went OH! OH! But that’s giving up!………………………………And then………….
It hit me.

Give up. Give up…. For those of you familiar with my fascination with words hidden meanings are probably rolling your eyes, but…When we say I Give up, I believe we mean without maybe knowing, that we are surrendering ourselves to….a Higher Power. We Give UP. Wow! That realization hit me bango! right between the eyes and I got it! I really, really got “it”! THAT is what Faith is. That is what Trust is. That is what Surrender is. (Please note, that while I am not a particularly religious person, I am on a quest of my higher spirituality)(( hahahaha! Am I judging myself? Or worried about You Judging????)) And a stunningly beautiful peace descended on me and I went ‘ wow! What ever happens will be ok. It just will. It always HAS worked out, so what am I worrying and fussing about, and REALLY! haven’t you noticed that things usually work out better then you could have hoped for anyway??????????? Or planned for? Or wished for? Why oh why do we think we have such a big say in what happens in our lives, that we are so powerful that we can Control everything and everyone and shape ourselves into any number of twisted shapes to try to conform, when really….our deal is just to be ourselves, do what we love, show love and be happy. Stop all that confounded control stuff…that word could happily be dismissed from life I think…..and this leads me back to my point. ….

Judgment and release from it. Ah. So how many times have we passed judgment on something/someone only to find in the end it was different then what we thought. We got more information, learn more bout it, things changed, and everything is different and….we judge again. But if we start to maybe just allow things to be as they will, they get to be as they are….! And we stop trying to be the Lords and controllers of all we see, because darn it all if I haven’t noticed that those thing we think are “Bad”? Well, now aren’t they always….ALWAYS the biggest blessings down the road? And things we try so darn hard to control seems to pop apart elsewhere? How dare I be so arrogant as to assume that I can see other peoples stories? What other people see and feel? How dare I try to pigeon-hole a horse into what every other horse has done in that situation…maybe this ones different and needs it presented just a little different and to respect everyone’s uniqueness? It seems to me that if I do judge, I put up blockages in the path of the Universe that is really conspiring for me to my my biggest benefit, and I think I know What is really juuuust around the corner?

What I aim at allowing to come through me with letting go of judgment is a greater ease and softness, a flowing with life, horses, people and myself instead of the friction of going against the flow…………..I am aiming at is trust, faith and joy. And don’t we just need to be with our animals to see and feel what no judgment and pure being-ness could be………

PS photos that I didn’t take, are courtesy of Inet Sladecek…and although she isn’t here to ask, I am certain that she withholds all judgment and knows I love her pics….:)!

With Gratitude and Vision, a New Year Begins…

Posted on by Stefanie in Blog

Happy New Year, and Welcome to 2011!


I wonder at what all the different things you may or may not do on this significant date, and thought to share some of what I like to do…..feel free to comment on any neat things you’d like to share about your ‘rituals’ for the start of a new chapter, I would love to here them!

New Years Eve is usually very private for me, and I sit and write all the multitude of things that I am so Grateful for over the Passing Year….Amazing people that have graced my life, all the horses that have shared their time, souls and knowledge with me, my family, the dogs, this beautiful land we get to call home, the sage, the pines and the rocks, my truck and trailer, all the beautiful tack, the sage, my health, my crazy cat , Taos, ( Yes! I have a cat!) for her snuggles, those great guys who keep the roads plowed, and starry nights with hot chocolate….and dreams.

Then I write out Goals for this fresh New Year….and these are very special and I highly recommend this little practice, because, just like training logs, it helps track where we have been, where we wish to go and just how often we DO achieve our goals, and to give you a little hint?

Dream Big! The Universe and everything in it is UNLIMITED! And in case you hadn’t yet noticed, it LOVES to show off, grant wishes and generally express in a Grand Way all it can be. Think of it this way. You know how great it feels (!) to give the just right, most hoped for, long wished for PERFECT gift to the one you love? yeah. It’s kinda like that! Now think if you had NO idea what to give your most loved one because they never asked, or they just said what they didn’t like or they kept saying, no, no I don’t want anything, not little ole me! Well how much fun s that to give too?????? Get my point? To me, the Universe ( God, Source) IS love and therefore expressing Love is it’s Pure Nature….so give her a hand! 🙂

I would also like to share with you one of my most cherished poems. It is actually a Navajo Blessing Prayer, and it says all that really needs to be said, and is a large part of my personal goals for this year……….Enjoy and be Blessed beyond your wildest dreams…




Walking in Beauty

In beauty I walk

With beauty before me I walk

With beauty behind me I walk

With beauty above me I walk

With beauty around me I walk

It has become beauty again

Today I will walk out, today everything negative will leave me

I will be as I was before, I will have a cool breeze over my body.

I will have a light body, I will be happy forever, nothing will hinder me.

I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me.

I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me.

I walk with beauty around me. My words will be beautiful.

In beauty all day long may I walk.

Through the returning seasons, may I walk.

On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.

With dew about my feet, may I walk.

With beauty before me may I walk.

With beauty behind me may I walk.

With beauty below me may I walk.

With beauty above me may I walk.

With beauty all around me may I walk.

In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.

In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.

My words will be beautiful.

( The photos are of Sage in the Sage, Becca and I at the Martin Black Clinic in September, my drive home at Christmas (( Sage took the photos whilst I drove):) and Indy in the two-rein.)

Camp Update…Part One.

Posted on by Stefanie in Uncategorized

Well, not being one to rush things to much, to allow them to unfold as they best see fit, I hereby present the Official Summer Camp Update…..ta-da! 🙂

Part of me thinks I should do a blog on each camp separate since there are SO many cool photos and experiences to share, but then I decided that if you really want the whole picture that you will just have to come and do a camp yourself, if you weren’t there this year, this is all you get…..hahahahaha!

This opening shot is of Indys sexy ears as we overlook Lundbom Lake on the Pre-ride ride that Jeanne, her daughter Cathy and I did…..what a view!


The Connecting at the Dot Camp…….. June.

Four brave, devoted souls and their Equine partners explored greater depths of Connection through exercises in developing finer awareness and presence. These photos are from the Waiting Game….a fascinating meditation and reveals so much about ourselves…. I am honored and infinity thankful to be able to watch everyone , seeing into a deeper world, another piece of the mystery of this ethereal link we share with horses. It is a very personal and moving experience Vicki D. and Julio ( Cita’s Father by the way, happily enjoying his new Gelding-dom)Mark and Sirius , and Laurel with Fancy …..Jeanne and Gumby joined us a day later….

Encouraged to Journal feelings, thoughts, and set a clear written intention and mantra for the weekend and the future, everyone began to soften and relax before my eyes. We played in the Obstacle Field; Complete with the ever popular Water Jump. Even Arab’s can be allowed to find the joy in water…:) as Vicki found out. We rode down by the river, and played with lots of Human simulation games that really allowed us to feel “feel”…. and ended with a Fabulous dinner in a very eclectic restaurant in Spence’s Bridge…(YES! Spence’s Bridge!) I loved this Camp for the fantastic desire in everyone to find a way to look deeper, ask ourselves how we can allow room in our life and schedule for connection to grow; how by simply being ‘with’ our horses somehow, magically, allows them to be with us.

Grace and Sue’s Custom Camp….August

Two of my all time favorite Ladies and there very good mares, Velvet and Sue’s new mare Misty, returned for another intimate camp. I LOVE this special time I get to have with these to friends, exploring the edges of their knowledge and passion for their horsemanship. With just the two ladies, we really get to delve into what the next piece is for them and how best to have it unfold and become a part of their being. Slow paced, free formed and every bit a vacation, this week is not without its growing moments. ( that’s polite talk for emotional turmoil and what the heck am I doing here? moments) but that is what we love about our life with horses right? RIGHT????:) Although we had too cool a week of weather to allow us to swim like we did last year, none the less, I think the ladies and I had a GREAT time together and am so looking forward to having them back next summer….Thanks Grace and Sue…!

and so…now I am pooped and will have to finish this report another day,,,which happily, since I am the author, boss, chief pooper scooper, head feeder and hay pitcher,maid (well, kinda)and Editor in Chief….I can do that sort of craziness….!