Blog: Lisa's Links to Practical Alchemy

August is a hot month in Michigan.  For both horses and people.  During the recent Leadership and Execution through the Way of the Horse workshop with DTE Energy, the heat and the horses helped validate the amazing equine alchemy of communicating with humans and mirroring their authentic thoughts.

It was the afternoon of the second day of our two-day workshop when Kathy, an IT Director at DTE, stepped out of the 'designated' exercise with the horses and followed her own authenticity.  She was hot and tired...and the last one to go into the round pen for what we call 'Reflective' work.  The objective of this exercise is through creating a mind/body connection, align with your emotional intelligence and create an experience with the horse unique to you.

While many different things can happen; they almost always happen IN the round pen.  Not this time.  Kathy, eying the beautiful lake by the field of horses, with shade and grass, announced that she was not going in.  She was going to go over to the lake and rest and relax in the grass. This workshop, not unlike all of the equine guided coaching workshops, had revealed many things to Kathy about herself and her teammates, and she was exhausted. 

At the exact moment that Kathy gave us the news and started for the gate, Picaro, a 7 year old Pasofino gelding who was patiently waiting for her in the round pen, laid down flat on the ground and went to sleep! 

Now let me tell you, this is not an everyday occurrence!  And this horse was practically snoring!!  Horses rarely lay down without one of their herd, and if they do, it is not flat out!!  Picaro was picking up on Kathy's authentic feelings and aligning with them--as herd animals they are masters at this. 

She could have continued to 'play the game' and 'go with the flow'.  She knew how to do that, she is a professional.  However, the heart of Leadership and Execution through the Way of the Horse is creating a mind/body connection that listens to and honors what your body, as well as your mind, is telling you.  And Kathy's body was saying, "it is time to chill out!" It is from this place of authentic and whole connectivity that moves leadership to powerful motivation, execution and results! 

But in order get to this place of powerful, authentic leadership, we have to create our own mind/body connection. We must connect our intellect with our emotional intelligence.  We can learn this from the masters of connection, the horse.  They teach us the Four Levels of Leadership:

Leadership Level One:  Creating the Container for Success

• Learn how to really face who we are!
• Express your vision and intention with clarity, confidence, passion and authenticity.
• Learn the ability to establish and maintain appropriate boundaries.
• Create the space of possibility.

Leadership Level Two:  Communicating the Right Information to the Right people at the Right time

• Powerful Communication--verbally, non-verbally, listening and understanding.
• Knowing how to diagnose the problem and what is needed.
• Knowing when to get into action around which problems.

Leadership Level Three:  Developing Authentic Community

• Emotional and Energetic agility--the ability to recognize and manage emotional, physical, and mental awareness simultaneously.
• It is about relationship, asking without manipulating, listening and receiving from others….supporting, coaching, etc.

Leadership Level Four:  Right Action at the Right Time

• Getting into powerful action.
• Knowing when you should act.
• Knowing when to get out of your own way.
• Knowing when to delegate.

 
Making us....Leaders in our lives, and Leaders in business. 

For Kathy, her team, and the horses, this workshop was an opportunity to experience these levels, not just learn about them.  It is something they will take with them in their muscle memory; strengthening their emotional intelligence and leadership!

With ease and grace,
Lisa

For more information on Leadership and Execution through the Way of the Horse contact me!  We can have a chat about how this experience might benefit your personal and professional leadership!

Hear what DTE participants had to say!

Preparation Day!!

We are so excited to deliver Personal Leadership and Execution through the Way of the Horse for  DTE Energy  !  We are so excited that we want to bring you along.  So each day, or so, we will have a short video with highlights! 

So if you have wondered what combining Horses and Leadership in the corporate world looks like, stay tuned!!

Here is the first one...Enjoy!

With ease and grace,
Lisa

Cheryl had been to Bushwood once before.  Three years ago, almost to the day, she met a man at an Equine Alchemy workshop and now those two are living in blissful partnership.  Talk about ‘equine alchemy’!

 

During this time she has been able to let go of doing the work she carried out with no passion; no connection to herself.  She engaged in self-inquiry and developed a new state of consciousness.  Now she was back again, seeking more alchemy and to work with Coach Simon.

 

Her intention for being here was to gather information about how she could step into the next version of herself and how that would manifest into the work she will do for the rest of her life. 

 

Why did she come back to the alchemy of the horses?

 

Because in their presence, Cheryl was able to experience a part of herself that was difficult to ‘get’ to in her everyday life.  No matter how many study courses, self development intensives she did, she could never feel herself fully—not like she does with the horses.

 

Horses respond to our heart’s electromagnetic field—a part of us that interacts with and impacts our environment and relationships whether we acknowledge it or not.  Cheryl wanted a ‘reality check’ on her own level of consciousness.  By coming to the horses, she could be in that place of her own personal power and through the horses responses, ‘see’ and ‘feel’ if that place was real.

Through a beautiful session in the round pen with Coach Simon she found that it is.

 Afterward, in that highly conscious and powerful state, Cheryl and I sat down and began to explore how to develop her business. From the alchemy of the experience with Simon, she was able to embody the practical aspects of business building we discussed. This would enable her to create, understand and apply the information is a deeper, more powerful way.  Again, Cheryl was successful in coming to Bushwood  for the practical alchemy of the horses!

 Now you can share some of this equine alchemy!   

 This experience has been so powerful for so many people that Shelli Whitehouse and I created ‘Equine Guided Business Design’; a 3 day immersion with you, your business and the horses.

On August 5, Noon, Eastern in a F*REE teleconference you can join us in a discussion on:

A Peek at Equine Guided Business Design!!

Please join us!!  Below is a beautiful video of what you might experience!  Enjoy!

 
          
With ease and grace,
Lisa