The chaos of the Christmas holidays is behind us and the New Year is fast approaching. As we transition from 2018 into 2019, it’s time for rest, reflection and renewal.

Rest- I encourage you to spend some time on self care and rest as we shift into the new year. Find the quiet, or create it around you with the intention of discovering the stillness within yourself. It’s in that stillness that we can quiet the mind and begin to listen to the whispering inner voice of the heart. It is in this space where we can connect to our intuition and inspiration. If you struggle with finding your purpose, or feel like your life is spinning out of control around you, it’s in this quiet time that you can begin to connect with your inner knowing, to Source. In this restful time, sit or walk in nature, journal, paint, write. Find the time, even if it means waking up 15 minutes early just to have some time for yourself.

Reflection- What happened in 2018? Who did you become this year? In what ways have you grown? Reflect back on your experiences. Did you achieve your goals? If not, what happened? To me, more importantly than whether you accomplished what you set out to is how you have grown. Did you face your failures with grace and determination or with self hatred and ridicule? Reflection is the best way to start charting your life forward.

Renewal- Who do you want to become in 2019? What characteristics do you want to build upon? What goals will you set to help you accomplish this? The transition from one year to the next is a new beginning- a chance to start new and embrace whatever you envision for yourself. My belief is that we are reborn each day if we choose to be, so even if you set those New Years Resolutions and fail at them in a few weeks, don’t quit and say “well I’ll try again next year”. Each day, each moment, we have the opportunity to make a choice. We can stay in the status quo, perhaps not living the life that we wish we had but we are comfortable in the known. Or we can take a chance, face our fears and embrace the unknown. Take that first step forward into living the life of your dreams. Each day, do something that moves you towards the life you imagine. Experiment, try new things, open yourself to new experiences. You never know where you end up when you follow the breadcrumbs.

When watching a dressage horse working, it’s in the transitions where we can see if the horse is truly on the aids. It’s the transitions that tell the story. If the horse isn’t on the aids, the transitions will be hollow, non responsive or unbalanced.

The same can be said for us as well. How do we handle transitions? When change happens, as it inevitably will, how do we face it? Do we stiffen and resist or do we relax into the shifting experience? The Buddhist philosophy of impermanence teaches that the nature of the Universe and of humanity is in constant change. American Buddhist nun and writer Pema Chodran explains “When we resist change, it’s called suffering. But when we can completely let go and not struggle against it, when we can embrace the groundlessness of our situation and relax into it’s dynamic quality, that’s called enlightenment.”

Change can be uncomfortable but lean into it rather than resist it. Allow yourself to feel what arises within you and then let it go. It’s in allowing this energy to move through you that you can find peace and happiness.

So, in these last few days of 2018, I invite you to rest, reflect and renew yourself and remember that this power is yours all the time, not just at the passage into a new year.

May 2019 bring you abundance and joy!

​ I invite you to Awaken to the Truth of your Divine nature. You are love, you are loved and you are always enough.

Jenna

Ahhhh, Thanksgiving, the smell of turkey roasting in the oven, all assortment of sides, fresh baked bread and the sweet smell of pecan pie. Family and friends gather together for fun and games. After the meal, folks may take a leisurely walk or settle down for a nap or to watch a game of football.

Thanksgiving means something different to everybody but I think we can all agree that it’s a day that we all pause and take a moment to reflect on all we are thankful for.

It’s a day totally dedicated to gratitude, and for that reason I have come to love Thanksgiving a little more each year, especially now as a parent of young children so that I can instill in them a sense of gratitude for the things that are most important in ones life.

Good health, clean water and the overall abundance we experience as a citizen of the western world are so often taken for granted. Until one is faced with illness themselves or experiences the loss of a loved one, it’s easy to focus on our daily stresses and worries and lose sight of the bigger picture.

So, today, as you gather with family and friends, I encourage you to take a moment and really reflect on what you are most grateful. The simple things. The feeling of love when your child brings you a flower, the warmth of an embrace with someone you love, the connection you feel with others as you gather around the Thanksgiving table.

Give thanks to those who are no longer with us in the physical world, yet still remain in our hearts, shaping us into the most beautiful versions of ourselves.

Choose today of all days to be incredibly present. Don’t stress about the dishes, don’t worry about the mess the kids are making as they play. Instead, open yourself to the love all around you. Choose gratitude.

I challenge you to keep a little of this Thanksgiving spirit each day of the year. Take a moment at the beginning and end of each day and give thanks for all the wonderful blessings in your life. Especially when you face great challenges and heartache, a gratitude practice can help you to stay grounded and connected to the abundant love that is all around us.

Life is a gift.
​
Happy Thanksgiving!

I invite you to Awaken to the Truth of your Divine nature. You are love, you are loved and you are always enough.

Jenna

So, y’all, this weekend I got a tattoo. Me, 34 year old mother of two who drives a minivan and doesn’t even have my ears pierced got a tattoo. Who knew I was so cool! (Haha, just kidding!)

This year, for me, has been about creative expression as a spiritual practice. I believe that our creative gifts are innate within us and unfortunately many of us lose our connection with creativity as we grow older.

When I was young, in middle school and high school, I was an avid writer. I never went anywhere without a notebook that I filled with stories and poems. Somewhere in my late teens I lost part of myself. I stopped writing all together. Maybe it was the identity shift between being a teenage girl living at home to a college student living on her own, who really had no idea what she was going to do with her life. Perhaps it was the death of my grandmother, who was a writer and a huge inspiration to me, when I was 19. Whatever it was that made me move away from the creative inside of me, it was not a conscious decision.

Those years when I was disconnected from that inner creator were some of the most difficult in my life. I didn’t know my purpose and I held on to so much frustration and anger because I was not embracing my true self. I was trying to be the person everybody thought I should be. When asked, “Who are you?”, I genuinely had no idea.

For years I stayed inside that comfort zone of familiarity. I was miserable and unhappy but it was comfortable in a morbid sort of way. On the surface, my life looked perfect but inside I was hurting and felt so alone. Then the guilt would come...”My life is wonderful right? I have everything I need and more. What right do I have to be unhappy?”

Those years thinking that outside validation was the only way I could find happiness were sad and lonely times for me. I would allow dark times to overwhelm me. I didn’t have the knowledge or the tools to be able to pull myself out of the pit. About four years ago I was burned out. I questioned my purpose. I had always felt that I was destined to do something important but I had yet to find what that was. It was only when I journeyed inward and found happiness within, in my completeness, that my life truly began to shift.

Here I am now four years later and I feel like most days I embrace life. Yes, life has its challenges and some days I feel I’m doing a better job at living my best life than other days. And some days are just really really tough but at least now I know who I am and I know ups and downs are part of life but it’s not letting those tough times destroy you that leads to the greatest growth in life.

Direction, purpose and connection to something bigger has really propelled me towards how I feel today. Now I see challenges as opportunities for growth. I feel my purpose is to help serve others by helping them wake up to who they truly are.

We are all creators in one way or another. Think back to when you were young- did you have some sort of art form that helped you to express who were? Dance, painting, sketching, writing, music? I think most of us had something that we did to express ourselves until it was snuffed out by our peers, society or our families (most of the time with well meaning intentions). What was yours?

I think this disconnection from our true selves, from Spirit, is a big reason we feel so unfulfilled. It’s why we may dream big but live small for fear of upsetting the status quo. For living small is safe (or we perceive it that way)- it doesn’t require courage or vulnerability, but by living small we are denying the world, and ourselves our creative gifts and, in essence, denying who we truly are.

So I encourage you to reconnect with your creativity, in whatever form best expresses you. For me, it is writing. This blog, in a sense, is a spiritual practice for me. While I would love if others would find my words helpful or inspiring, ultimately this online journal is for my own growth as I embrace vulnerability and share a piece of my Soul with the world.

So, for me, my tattoo represents creative expression. It encourages me to not play it safe just because it’s comfortable and to do something that scares me if it means embracing my true nature.

You don’t have to go out and get a tattoo but I do encourage you to step outside your comfort zone. Reconnect with the child within you that loved to paint, or to sing or to dance. Allow your inner artist to emerge to help you connect back to your truest essence of Spirit.

I invite you to Awaken to the Truth of your Divine nature. You are love, you are loved and you are always enough.

Jenna


**Make sure to sign up for our Artists Way 12 week course that starts October 1! It will be a combination of in person and online meet ups so anybody can join! Go to www.mindfulriding.com to sign up!

Thursday is my blog post day. I made a promise to myself that on Thursdays I post my blog that I have (hopefully) written earlier in the week. This week I have not been feeling super inspired or creative so I asked my husband what he thought I should write about this week and he said, “Inspiration”.

Who better to write about inspiration than the uninspired? (I’m only partly kidding) Oh, how I love the word inspire. It’s one of those words that warms my Soul. The word inspire can be defined as “fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.” Perhaps I feel such an affinity for this word because I feel it so fully encompasses what I feel my purpose is.

For me, inspiring others to embrace their true authentic self with love and compassion is my highest ideal. Connecting back to this idea helps me open myself to the creative flow of the Universe.

Here are a few ways that you can find inspiration:

Share your passion- For me, nothing fires me up like teaching. I can be working one on one with a rider in a lesson or teaching in a group setting. I can be sharing my passion of riding and training, or, spiritual and personal development principles. It’s that energy transference between teacher and student that I find thrilling, especially when the student understands something that they may have previously struggled with. What’s your passion? Share your creativity with others. Show your paintings to some friends or let someone close to you read your poetry, not for the external validation but for the good of putting your creation out to the world.

Allow others to share their passion- Find a riding instructor that is passionate about teaching. Not all great riders are great teachers so find someone that you feel has both a riding and teaching philosophy you can believe in. Go on a retreat or sign up to attend a lecture or motivational speaker. Try to find someone that is passionate about their craft and open yourself to their enthusiasm. Positive energy is contagious!

Read something inspiring- This one, perhaps, seems obvious but sometimes when you are feeling overwhelmed and lacking inspiration or motivation to ride, write, work out etc... reading someone else’s experiences about it can certainly help give you a boost. If you struggle getting yourself out to the barn to ride, consider reading The Ethics and Passion of Dressage by Charles de Kunffy or Riding Towards the Light by Paul Belasik. If you struggle getting inspired to write, read a few passages from your favorite author. If you write poetry, read some poems to get in the rhythmic flow.

Listen to someone inspiring- Who inspires you? See if you can find a YouTube video of them speaking or a podcast that you can listen to when driving to work. Go audit a clinic of your favorite instructor or watch them coach on video. When I need a little energy and inspiration boost, I like to listen to Inspire Nation, a podcast that features inspirational authors, spiritual leaders, athletes and entrepreneurs. When I really want to get into a flow for a writing topic a little more spiritual in nature, I like to listen to Matt Kahn and Pema Chodran.

Join a community- Join a community of like minded people! You’ll see this one come up time and time again because in this world that is more and more technologically connected, people are more disconnected than ever. Join a barn that has a great vibe or join a moms group or a church. If you write, join a writers group. If you love to dance, join others that also love to dance. Get in on that great group energy!

Get moving- Even if you don’t feel inspired to write, write anyway. If you don’t feel like going to the gym even though you said you would, go anyway. Get out of the house. Take a walk in nature or go ride your horse. Half the battle is just getting started. Once you start, you gain momentum. You never know when that beautiful divine inspired creativity will hit you- you might as well have pen or paintbrush in hand!

Finally, breathe, take time for yourself. Listen to your heart. If it says take a break, take it. It’s 100% ok and natural to not be inspired, motivated and enthusiastic all the time. When you feel blah and like sitting around and watching Netflix, it’s ok! Do it. Reset and you’ll be surprised that your creative juices often flow again after a break.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Show yourself love and patience when you’re struggling and when you do feel inspired, girl, share it with the world!!!

You are the only one with the gifts you have to offer the world. Express yourself, share your passions and love abundantly!

I invite you to Awaken to the Truth of your Divine nature. You are love, you are loved and you are always enough.

Jenna

Ok y’all I’m not going to lie, it’s been a tough week, and boy, those difficult days are really good for personal growth! (Or, at least that’s what I try to tell myself). I’m sure you all can relate.

How can we stay centered when it feels like things are falling apart around us?

For me, I feel that I have made a lot of progress in my path of personal development. I do not feel like the same person I was five years ago, and that is a really good thing! The me from five years ago was really insecure about a lot of things- my riding, my body, my ability to talk with people. (I can be painfully shy!) It didn’t matter how much success I had in the show ring or how busy my business was- I still felt like I was never good enough.

Soon after I had my first child, I began to rewire my internal programming and shift my perspective. I worked to cultivate self love and I can honestly say today that I love myself- imperfections and all. But this week has been trying.

Our personality, developed when we were young, is based on our experiences with family and society which often reinforces a feeling of lack, or, not enough. Whenever things go awry, that old wiring kicks in and voila- we begin to live from a place of fear, anger, worry, anxiety, etc...

So, how do we pull ourselves back up when we feel like our world is falling apart and nothing is going right?

Here are are some tools you can use to return to a better frame of mind. You won’t be able to solve your problems in this self destructive mindset so today’s post will focus on how to get out of that funk!

1. GRATITUDE- It is said that there are only two root emotions- love and fear, and that all other emotions stem from one or the other. Fear manifests itself in a variety of negative emotions and the best antidote for fear is gratitude. Taking a few minutes at the beginning and end of the day, or anytime when you start to feel stress and cultivate a grateful heart. You will be amazed how much this practice alone can shift you from a place of fear to a place of love.
2. HONOR YOUR FEELINGS- Don’t repress your feelings, allow them to come up but don’t identify with them. Don’t say “I am stressed”. Rather say, “I am feeling stressed.” It seems simple, but it’s an important distinction to make. What do you feel physically from this emotion? How does it make your body feel? Once we honor what we are experiencing, we can begin to heal. Repression is never the answer.
3. MEDITATION- By learning how to go within and connect with your inner knowing, you can find peace and stillness, even when your environment is chaotic. Meditation is not about eliminating your thoughts and feelings, but rather not identifying with them. Let your breath be your anchor and start your practice with 3-5 minutes of quiet stillness and build up to 15 minutes.
4. MINDFULNESS IN NATURE- Get outdoors, connect with the earth. Take your shoes off and sit in the grass. Or take a swim and allow yourself the gift of being TRULY present. Pay attention to your senses- do you feel the cool breeze on your skin? Can you feel the warmth of the sun on your face or the coolness of raindrops on your hands? Do you hear birds singing or perhaps the sound of the wind as it rustles through the trees? Get in touch with your five senses out in nature- this is my favorite mindfulness practice and can really help you move from head to heart!
5. CONNECT WITH ANIMALS - This is another way to connect with nature. Animals have an amazing way of pulling us into the present moment, if we are open and allow them to. Studies have shown that being near and touching animals can reduce blood pressure and decrease stress. So, pet your cat, play with your dog, groom your horse, or do what I did and walk some goats!
6. WRITE- Writing is a practice very dear to my heart. I always kept a journal growing up, as my mother and grandmother did before me. Writing can be a beautiful, spiritual and meditative experience. It can be a cry for help or a strongly worded letter of frustration to the Universe. It can be whatever you need it to be. There are many techniques you can use- journaling, automatic writing, soul writing. There are many great books out on these topics but I really love Janet Conner’s “Writing down your Soul.”
7. OPEN YOURSELF TO GROWTH- Look for the lessons in each challenge you face. How can this situation help you grow into the person you want to be? Last night, I was up most of the night with my sick infant. My normally very happy girl is sick for the first time and at times was inconsolable in her crying. I may have shed a few tears with her and rocking her in the dark at 5am I could feel my love, compassion and empathy grow. (And I was very grateful for a hot cup of coffee this morning!)
8. GET INSPIRED- Listen to some upbeat music or an inspiring podcast. Read some poetry or dive into an uplifting book. Reconnect with your goals and purpose. (Try feeling stressed when listening to “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”!)

Learn your triggers- This has been key for me in getting to know myself in a deeper way. Understand when and why something triggers you. The first step of any sort of growth is awareness and from awareness we can begin to make a choice in how we react.

True Confessions: As I said at the beginning of this post, this week has been more challenging than most. After a long, somewhat emotionally tumultuous horse show, we had a tire blowout on the trailer on the way home. Then the spare was low and we spent over an hour trying to get it filled up. We had five horses on the trailer and the baby in tow. I took some photos from the spot where our trailer blew the tire to share in this post- about finding beauty all around you, even when circumstances are tough. Luckily, the baby was happy and we made it home safe, sound and relatively sane.

The next day we had some personal issues and this one really brought up some old stuff. I had the awareness when the old programming came up and instead of shutting it down, I went with it, which was the first time in a long while I allowed myself those negative thoughts. I let my self critic speak up and shut out the voice of my inner spirit. It was like putting on an old pair of riding breeches...that were moth eaten, stinky, itchy, restrictive and didn’t fit right.

The next day I made a decision - I am going to live my life in love. I’m going to let love guide me in all things and the next time these old fears and worries come up, I’m going to show myself and my loved ones much more patience and compassion. I am not perfect - far from it but I am doing my best and at the end of the day, that’s all I can do.

This is a pretty long post (so thank you if you are still reading!) but it’s an important topic as so many of us struggle each day with worry, fear, stress and anxiety. By being more present, we can begin to shift our perspective from those fear based feelings into one of love.

I invite you to Awaken to the Truth of your Divine nature. You are love, you are loved and you are always enough.

Jenna

Last week I wrote a little about the importance of having faith in yourself in order to achieve your goals. However, I realize this is not so simple for some of us as our core beliefs dictate that we are not good enough or unworthy (of love, happiness, success, etc...). Today I will give you some tools you can use to move through these feelings.

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Truer words have never been said. Your beliefs create a self fulfilling prophecy in your experience. However, your beliefs are often untrue. I can tell you right now that every single person is worthy of love, compassion and belonging but it doesn’t matter what anybody says if you believe in your core that you are not worthy. Until you experience universal love and abundance, it can be hard to believe that it is there for you.

We create our thoughts and our thoughts create our reality so it is in the clearing out of thoughts that do not serve us that we can begin to heal and grow. The first step is to not identify with your thoughts. Observe them but do not identify with them. If you constantly reaffirm the belief that bad things always happen to you and that life is unfair, you will continue to create that experience in your life.

On the other hand, if you can begin to shift your beliefs into one of endless abundance and love, you will start to see that experience come into your life.

I have a few tools you can use to begin to really believe in, trust and love yourself.

#1- KEEP PROMISES TO YOURSELF. If you say you are going to workout in the morning, do it. If you set a goal of competing in a horse show at the end of the month, don’t flake out just because you are afraid you will fail. Push yourself, trust your intuition and value the promises you make to yourself. Write those promises down and value them as a contract with yourself.

#2- FORGIVE. Forgive yourself for not being perfect or not being where you thought you would be when you set out on your journey. Trust in the process and look back to see how far you have come and continue to push forward. At the end of each day, write down what you have learned about yourself through the day’s experiences. Forgiving yourself is the first step towards self acceptance. Self acceptance leads to self compassion which is a necessary feeling when we talk about building your best life.

#3- PERSEVERE - Half the battle is just continuing to show up everyday. Even when you feel tired, go to the barn. Groom your horse. Allow him to pull you into the present moment. Dig deep, don’t ever give up. Keep getting out there, work hard and do your best.

#3- AFFIRM YOUR BELIEFS- I am a big fan of affirmations. When in the first stages of finding faith in yourself, you may not want to start with a huge affirmation that your subconscious totally calls BS on. If you’re a beginner rider, it’s probably best not to start with “I am an Olympic Rider”. Perhaps start with “Each day I gain more knowledge and experience and I am becoming the best rider I can be.” Have fun and create your own affirmation that stretches you but is also believable. As you develop more faith in yourself, you will be able to stretch those affirmations to step into greater and greater brilliance!! In the months leading up to my Gold Medal, I would visualize a wonderful test and the feelings of what it would feel like to have that medal. Then I would say, oh so confidently, “I AM a Grand Prix Rider”. At first it was just a saying but over time I really began to believe it.

#4- ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST- This is the final agreement from the awesome book, The Four Agreements. Ask yourself, am I doing the best that I can? If the answer is no, find ways to get re-inspired and back on track with your goals and dreams. Be honest with yourself. If the answer is yes, have confidence in that. Be gentle and kind with yourself especially in areas where you feel you fall short.

#5- COMMUNITY- This really may be the most important one of all. We all need good support and encouragement when we work towards our goals. Sometimes we struggle to find faith in ourselves but if a friend or coach that we trust can see something inside of us that we can’t yet see, we can begin to find it too.

Find a supportive community! For my riding friends, join a local club or GMO (group member organization). Take lessons or board at a barn that has a very supportive and uplifting atmosphere. Volunteer at a local show to meet folks and surround yourself with the type of people who inspire you and treat you with respect! Sadly, there are a lot of people out there with insecurities that project onto other people by tearing them down, criticizing unfairly or gossiping. Ask yourself how each relationship serves you and try only to surround yourself with people that have traits that you aspire to. Motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, says we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Choose wisely!

I hope you can use some of these tools in your own life to begin to find faith in yourself so that you may step into the best version of you!

I invite you to Awaken to the Truth of your Divine nature. You are love, you are loved and you are always enough.

Jenna