Trouble making decisions? Ever procrastinate on something important because you didn’t know where to begin? Stressed about all the “should do’s” in your life, but not sure how to prioritize them? Having a hard time communicating with someone who always seems to get the better of you? Finding your path can be difficult if you’re not practiced at consulting your inner leader.

“Inner Leader” might mean many things to many people. For purposes of this article, I’m referring to that voice inside you that mixes intuition and mission. It’s that piece of us that knows exactly what to do or say, if only we would quiet the mental chatter enough to listen and hear what it has to say.

Here are three steps to begin to acquaint yourself with your Inner Leader (your IL). Use this as a daily practice for a couple weeks to start.

1. Start to recognize your IL: Quiet your mental chatter for a few moments by taking several deep breathes and closing your eyes. Try to simply listen to your breathing. Put all of your focus on taking in oxygen. When you feel relaxed, ask yourself a question. Then just keep breathing with your eyes closed. Make the question simple and low risk to start with, but something you’re trying to figure out. Once you have an answer, open your eyes and consider the answer.
2. Trust your IL. It might be hard to trust the answer you get, but give it a whirl.
3. Record the outcome.

Continue this process over a couple weeks. See how this works for you. You might even find yourself making decisions quicker even without the deep breathing.

If your IL is particularly buried, or you have a high level of stress contributing to the challenge, you may decide to work with a coach on this, read some good books on the subject, or attend classes to help you access that leader within.

A few suggestions to uncover that leader within:

• Write your personal mission statement (life coaches are skilled at helping you to do this, or you can find good books or material online). The process of writing your mission statement will help you to have confidence in your IL.
• Attend classes, workshops, etc. that pop up and look interesting. Listen to your intuition here – if your interest is piqued when you saw the workshop information, it could be your IL nudging you.
• Learn meditation. Just a few brief moments each day spent quieting and refocusing the brain begins to expose your IL. Try guided meditations or affirmations available on CD.

A SPECIAL EVENT TO HELP YOU ACCESS YOUR INNER LEADER! (Mankato, MN)

HOPE Interfaith Center  is holding an empowering day with horses for adults at Fusion Farm.

June 23, 2012
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Access your core energy and bring out your inner leader through the ultimate horse experience. This leadership workshop combines a unique blend of Core Energy Leadership Learning and Equine Guided Education (EGE) to access and renew your inner leader. Participants work safely on the ground through a number of experiences with horses, facilitated by an experienced Core Energy Leadership and EGE Coach, to uncover personal strengths and opportunities. Horses have a unique ability to help us be better humans. This workshop is specifically designed for women who are invested in continual improvement as leaders and humans.
Cost: $85 (A portion of proceeds to support HOPE Interfaith Center)
507-386-1242

REGISTER ONLINE:  http://eepurl.com/kVGPz

What is it about clutter that makes us crazy? And why do we feel powerless to stop it from taking over our homes, workspaces and ultimately our minds? There’s all kinds of clutter to face, and ultimately, clutter = stress. The very idea that we call it clutter means that at least a portion of whatever it is we don’t desire. The stress is the result of our inability to be able to decide what it is that we don’t desire or need.

As I looked at my email box clutter this morning, I decided that the main thing that was holding me back from cleaning up that clutter was FEAR. (or maybe just Feeling Especially Apathetic and Reluctant) At some point I gave up on managing this part of my life. I wrote some rule that tells me I will never have it under control, and I’ve come to believe it. I have conquered so many things in life, but email clutter eludes me completely.

What is the clutter in your life? Is it physical house or work clutter? Afraid to walk to the bathroom at night for fear of tripping? (been there)… Is it mental clutter? Is your head so full of stuff that you can’t focus on your next step – do you forget what you were going to do when you get to the next room? How many projects do you have started today? These are all signs of some kind of attachment to something that amounts to clutter and confusion.

Take an honest assessment of your attitude towards the stuff in your life. Which of these statements best fit you:

1. “Stuff controls me. It seriously impacts my ability to enjoy my life. I feel powerless to overcome it. Often I just give up trying to get organized because I can’t decide what to give up.”
2. “The stuff in my home, workspace, and/or mind is driving me crazy. Sometimes I just get mad and want to throw it all out. But I always regret getting rid of something. As soon as I get rid of it, I need it again. This makes me nuts!”
3. “I have a system to stay organized. If I can just follow the system and keep it all organized, I feel in control.”
4. “Stuff is not important to me. I regularly give things, thoughts and wishes away to others. I feel clear.”
5. “I have no attachment to any thing or thought that doesn’t serve me or those around me. I have no desire to accumulate things or thoughts that hold me back.”

Now decide which one feels better. Which one will facilitate the life you ultimately want? What I find is almost always under my fear about releasing things or thoughts is some attachment to them. Maybe it’s a memory, or the original cost of the item; maybe it was a gift, or someone else might value it. Maybe it’s some nagging thoughts that you can’t shake because you need to remember something that you keep forgetting, or you would rather forget something that you keep remembering…

Whatever is under the attachment, if it is hindering the life that you want to live… it is clutter. You do not have to feel powerless. There are so many ways to start to change these attitudes and patterns: work with a life coach, work with a personal organizer, break up the tasks into manageable amounts and tackle it yourself or with a partner. Most importantly, if you can change your thinking, you can begin to eliminate this barrier in your life.

For more information on eliminating life’s clutter:

• Join me and other smart people who want to gain control of their physical and emotional stuff. FREE Teleclass: Details here.
• Take an Energetic Leadership Index Assessment to get under your attitudes and attachments. This will increase your self-awareness and enhance your effectiveness and happiness in this and all other areas of your life. Call 507-278-3553 to set up your assessment today. Mention this email and get a free coaching session to debrief you on your assessment results.

What makes you feel creative?

Working with so many people who’s daily experiences brings them to an almost perpetual state of stress, I am increasingly interested in getting under why we are so caught up as a species in this largely unhealthy state of being… or perhaps state of mind. It is the mind, specifically, the left hemisphere that, once activated by stress, attaches meaning to it (or attempts to do so incessantly, ultimately driving the actual suffering that we experience).

My first professional life was spent as an artist and creative director in various industries. During the pursuit of an art degree, my colleagues and I learned about left brain and right brain function. Moments of sheer creativity, or pure right brain activity (that is creativity free of judgement) are blissful and seemingly stress-free. Ah hah! So we should all just go paint pictures, right? Well, if that takes you to that ultimate state of bliss (without judgement), then by all means, this can be a way to relieve stress.

But I’m not talking about activities that our left brain has labeled and “judged” to be “creative”; rather, anything that takes you into the bliss of creative flow. Some would call this connectedness, and might find this place through spirituality or in nature; others might find this place through listening to music or meditating. Ultimately, it’s that experience of wordless bliss. It’s when words fail to describe and seem meaningless.

This state of bliss, of creativity, detaches us from fear. It would seam that bliss and unhealthy stress are not to be experienced at once. So, by taking time to get to a state of bliss through whatever that involves on a personal level, we can push the stress-enhancing, left brain thinking out of the picture for at least temporary relief.

I have been reading some of Amit Goswami‘s work on quantum physics and health. He talks about the “Do Be Do Be Do” practice of being to increase consciousness and ultimately health. I hate to try to paraphrase his genius, but as I read it, I get a sense that it taps into this interplay between being in bliss and thinking in words and logic… it is the play between right and left brain states of experience, and understanding techniques to shift into our creative, our bliss, our “Be” seems to be key to reducing the unhealthy effects of stress in a very quantum and cellular way. Both short and long term benefits of this are substantial and well researched.

This is a key reason why, it would seem, clients make astounding leaps in the pasture (working on the ground with horses) to get under the barriers in life that are causing them fear, stress and ultimately holding them back. The whole-body activity, the environment, indeed the very nature of the horse is all right brain activity. The horses respond best to us when we release the stressful left brain thinking and “be” in the right brain. Working with horses can place us in the creative part of our brain. Once we are in that state, true consciousness, our inner wisdom, can be heard. I am also, thanks to one of my enlightened clients, reading work about the differences between the human brain and the horse brain by brain surgeon, Allan Hamilton. All of this information points to the same reality: over millions of years, we have evolved into predominantly left brain living. The gap between our daily stressful states and moments of bliss can be overcome by learning to access a creative state on a regular basis.

I am working with a new assessment tool that accurately measures how we move through seven energetic states during stress, the ELI Assessment. What a gift to be able to give this information to our left brains who need to rationalize everything! It actually helps to understand the logic and benefits of regularly and consciously shifting into this right brain energetic state.

There are innumerable methods to get to this state of creativity, bliss and “be”ing, and no simple prescription or advice blankets everyone. Clients who work with me in the office find their own unique paths to the right hemisphere. Regardless of your method, the evidence strongly suggests that finding a way to spend time in right brain activity reduces the impact of our daily unhealthy stress.

So what is it that takes you to that state of bliss, and how can you find time to incorporate that activity into your daily life? … and how will that benefit you?

Book your retreat now. Come to Minnesota and recharge.  Click on the tab above for more info or call 507-278-3553.  Personal Retreat with Horses Flyer

Read this:  From the November, 2011 MN Valley Business Magazine

Team Building

All for one!

Many Hands...

Leadership

Looking forward, moving it along...

Personal Development

New Levels of Understanding

Slide Show:  Corporate Leadership & Team Building with the Herd

How Horses Help Us To Be Better Humans

I was recently asked to explain more about my Equine Guided Corporate Training and Private Coaching services. Here’s part of an article I wrote to help explain why this method is so powerful.

My style of coaching and training is termed “Core Energy Leadership”. This method helps clients to use their own strengths and abilities to increase their energy, effectiveness, and general happiness. We break through barriers that stop the client or team from achieving important milestones in their corporate or private lives. I also assist many folks through life transitions such as retirement, empty-nesters, career changes, and relationship challenges.

Since I started using horses in my practice, I have been amazed at the results. We gain faster access to creativity and intuition. I have had several individuals tell me that we got more done in one session with the horses and “Core Energy Coaching” than they had accomplished over the course of several years of standard therapy. Corporate Teams learn better communication, stress reduction, and leadership skills faster than the traditional workshop as well.

When horse people hear that I’m using the horses in my practice, they immediately think of the standard horse trainers and clinicians who train people on horsemanship skills. That’s not what this is about. However, I have personally experienced a much deeper bond with my horses since working with them in this way.

One thing to note: my style of EGE (Equine Guided Education) is done on the ground, interacting with the herd. These are not riding or horsemanship clinics.

Equine Guided Education is less about horsemanship and more about “human-ship”, if that makes sense. While it certainly increases the bond between horse and rider, the focus is on what horses can teach us about the rest of our lives or certain situations that we might be experiencing such as relationship issues, grief, career transitions, etc. They teach us because they are masters at reading and reflecting our energetic state. Anyone who’s ever gotten into an argument with a horse over getting in a trailer or going away from the herd knows this–the more frustrated we get, the more frustrated and stubborn the horse gets. This is the most obvious example of energy attracting like energy between you and the horse, and it’s not even the tip of the tip of the iceberg of how horses read us. They are truly “human whisperers”.

Equine Guided Education accesses your ability to learn concepts through three channels: kinesthetic learning through physical activity; metaphorical learning through symbolism and comparative conceptual application; and metaphysical learning through core energy connections. In other words, it access your body, mind, and spirit to internalize what you learn.

So Equine Guided Corporate Training is similar to other experiential learning programs such as ropes courses or rock climbing. Teams do activites safely on the ground with the horses to learn about things like leadership and team building. We find that the learning sticks better with this style of learning because it is outside their normal business box and therefore extremely metaphorical and memorable.

Private coaching with horses is the same. We learn through the benefit of having the horse as mirror and the coach to translate and probe for deeper opening and access to that inner wisdom that we so often ignore or can’t hear anymore because of the rush of daily living. This is a powerful, transformative method and perfect for anyone who is contemplating life changes or anyone who just wants to take their experience on this planet to the next level.

The difference is the horse as your learning parrtner. It’s just one big bundle of information, energy and spirit, and it is the missing link in our modern every day. Humans and horses have cohabitated for most of our existence prior to the invention of the automobile. It is a piece missing in our daily learning and energetic connection to the earth, our spirit, and the rest of the species.

_________________________________________________________________

For more information on these services contact:

Sara@FusionOneSource.com

507-2-78-3553

Please note and take advantage of the special July, 2011 promotion:  Equine Promo July

SPECIAL DEMONSTRATION, JULY 7, 2011:  FLYER: Demo JULY 7 2011

And the very special Women & Horses Retreat in the Black Hills of South Dakota:  Women&Horses

We do this training right here in Minnesota, or can travel and conduct corporate training anywhere.

Come for a Personal Journey & Retreat in the Black Hills!

Transformative! This retreat is a very personal journey into possibility. Learn how to access your Core Energy through the wisdom of your equine companion and allow that gentle wisdom to heal and strengthen other areas of your life. Participants will learn techniques to reach a higher level of understanding and self-awareness through their own inner wisdom and the power of their relationship with the horse.

The bond between women and horses has basis in myth, legend and history and is often forgotten in our daily busy lives. The horse is a powerful spiritual partner and wise coach. No matter what your spiritual beliefs, if you are a woman with a horse, you have a deep appreciation for the gift of that relationship.

Come for the weekend of Women & Horses. Bring your horse. Stay as long as you like and take advantage of the event discount on camping or cabin packages for the duration of your stay at Hay Creek Ranch in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

10:00 AM – Workshop: Your Horse, Your Spirit Coach (with horses)

12:00 PM – 6:00 PM Personal time (Guided riding tours available)

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Workshop: Find Your Personal Vision & Mission

Sunday, August 28, 2011

9:00 AM Workshop: Centering with Your Horse (with Horses)

11:00 AM Personal time (Guided riding tours available)

Workshop Cost: $150/person*

Special 25% discount on camping or cabin packages for event attendees.

Stay as long as you like and explore the beauty of Hay Creek Ranch and the Black Hills!

Door Prizes!

Grand door prize is a $200 vacation package for a later stay at Hay Creek Ranch!

About the Presenter

SARA SINNARD, owner of FUSiON Life & Leadership, LLC,  is a coach and consultant, helping individuals and teams reach their full potential through core-energy coaching, workshops and custom training.

She specializes in life and career transitions through coaching and equine-assisted learning.  www.fusiononesource.com

* Hay Creek Ranch and FUSiON Life & Leadership reserve the right to cancel the program if registration does not meet minimum requirements.

Women&Horses Flyer

I often counsel my coaching clients to prepare three main points when they are trying to communicate something important. So, if I were to summarize my three main points for this entry they would be: 1) we are all on a path; 2) our intersection with beings (human, animal, plant) present opportunities for learning; 3) reaching out and creating those intersections increases our personal growth exponentially.

So, I’ll start with my own epiphany tonight over dinner. I was thinking about the two horses I have in my pasture right now, exploring the two very different relationships, and wondering why it has been so hard to bond in a meaningful way with Casanova, my gregarious gelding. I summed it up as a fear of sorts. The energy I feel around Cas is paramount to the bottled-up energy of a rocket about to blast. The nervous energy he emits is unnerving to me.

Shi-Annie, my old mare, on the other hand is just tired and happy to see someone coming because it might mean food is on the way. She and I have been through many years of riding. We started with the same kind of energetic friction that I have with Cas now, and have ended up with a beautiful bond and a mutual “understanding”. At first, I was on the ground more than I was on her… She was the horse that taught me how to ride a buck.

In fact, Shi came bucking into my life at a time when my life was bucking me. I was divorced, had just entered “empty-nest” syndrome, and was faced with the reality that life wasn’t necessarily “plan-able”. Shi came into my life just prior to some extremely difficult life-bucks, and I believe that her lesson for me was to accept the fact that a) life throws serious bucks; b) sometimes you can hang on and sometimes you fall; and c) no matter what, when life sends you a buck you better get back on, or you will never be “boss” of your own life.

Shi doesn’t buck so much anymore. Once I learned to get back on, she let go of the need to get me off her back… it was just wasted energy. We are now good friends. When we ride, it feels as though we are one. We have a connection that takes time to build… and she is one of my greatest teachers.

You don’t have to be on a horse’s back to start to learn from their innate wisdom. In fact, my clients don’t ride the horses; they experience the learning on the ground. We can learn from the horse simply by being one of the herd for a moment. In fact, it’s the best way to connect with our inner wisdom and creativity. To simply “be” with the herd, is powerful and transformational. To let go of all else and to be with these 1200-pound, powerful, present beings can be pivotal in our path to self-mastery because we have to surrender our ego and be our genuine selves to be “with” horses.

Tonight, perplexed about the difference in my relationship with Shi and Casanova, I had a true Oprah “light-bulb-moment”. Casanova, with all his abundant energy, curiosity and enthusiasm, represented to me that unbridled passionate beckoning of all that is out there to grab. He is the kind of horse that looks at something new with anxious curiosity instead of fear.

Horses are often extremely fearful of anything new in their environment – they are “flight” animals; this is one of their most important survival strengths. Even though humans are naturally pack animals, or “fight” animals, we still have flight instincts like the horse when something is new and frightening. Think about the first time you tried anything scary. Many of us feel like running away from things that make us uncomfortable.

One of the things that immediately endeared me to Casanova was his curious nature. He has always been curious first and scared last–an admirable trait. When he was a two-year-old, at 900 lbs, it was cute. However, as he has grown into a good-sized, 1300 lb horse, his confidence can be… intimidating; his energy can feel… overpowering.

How many times have we been afraid of something that feels intimidating or overpowering? What can we learn from Casanova? And most importantly, what does Casanova represent?

To me, Casanova represents abundance — abundance of life-force, creativity, enthusiasm, and energy. He is unbridled openness. He represents the release of all caution, old rules and limitations; and I believe that if I can open to him and build an “understanding” with him as I did with Shi, I will not only be able to handle life’s bucking, but I will open to the infinite abundance that is there for the taking. I will have boundless energy to ride, and sheer expansiveness to explore.  I think that with Casanova, I can reach infinity.

So, how do we learn from our equine friends? We just be with them. Let them speak to us. Use a few coaching tools with the power of horse wisdom to lead us to our truth. Let the horse show the way to the creative, powerful, leader within.

See you at the MN Horse Expo in April!