Let’s face it, the holidays can be really intense. December is filled with lots of opportunities to be triggered: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ōmisoka, Christmas, Winter Solstice, and New Year’s Eve. Something about the combination of family, obligations, politics, secrets, loyalties, gift buying expense and stress, alcohol, and unresolved tension creates a toxic cocktail for drama. And most of the time we are dealing with folks who don’t know how to relate skillfully or consciously.
Posts
Flying Lead Change
56 Million Years of Wisdom for Leading and Living
This seminal book will be released in October of 2020 by Sounds True, and stands to position EQUUS as a leader in the field of transformational change in the personal and organizational sectors.
Sign up and get: updates, a special download, and join us for an upcoming webinar!
“Hard times are coming, when we’ll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope. We’ll need writers who can remember freedom — poets, visionaries — realists of a larger reality.” — Ursula Le Guin
Excerpt from Flying Lead Change Click the text below to read more
On a hot, humid afternoon, a small dog-like creature nibbles on grapes suspended above a lush fern-covered ground. The thick jungle forest is bursting with sound, as this is a time when mammal life explodes with innovative evolutionary options. Nearby, our earliest ancestor, also small, moves past, vying for the same sweet fruit. For a moment the two lock eyes. Fifty-six-million years later, in the very same place that is now Wyoming, their descendants will be working together in perfect harmony, human and horse, to move a herd of cattle off a northern slope into a grassy valley.
As the horse gallops up a ridgeline, suddenly the topography changes, and the herd of cattle makes an abrupt shift. In response, the horse effortlessly executes what is known as a flying lead change – a gravity-defying maneuver that allows him to change balance and respond to the changing scenario without losing momentum or unseating his rider. It’s not only a masterfully effective response, it is joyful. Like this, the horse has been our perfect companion in successfully navigating change, for thousands of years.
We now find ourselves at an evolutionary brink, inside frighteningly complex and rapidly changing times—a radical shift of topography. As people invested in the future, we need to be uncommonly skilled in order to respond, and assist those who we care about to respond also, in order that we may joyfully thrive. Increasingly more people feel a sense of calling to step into their true vocation, to make a difference inside the turbulence. Such service requires mastery in wisdom, awareness, intuition, mindfulness, and attunement. Yet these elusive capacities cannot easily be acquired through conventional means. We need a physics-defying solution, a masterful mid-flight switch in how we lead our lives and organizations.
Flying Lead Change – 56 Million Years of Wisdom for Leading and Living is a guidebook for that switch of lead, bringing in the principles behind creating a just, joyful and sustainable world, informed by the ancient tutelage and modeling of nature-based wisdom. It is written for those who feel a sense of collective responsibility and seek sound guidance from a deeply trustworthy source that resonates with their intrinsic values of wholeness and connection.
The contents couple two nature-based influences: Horses, and Indigenous teachings directly instructed and shared with the author through her relationship to several key First Nations teachers, colleagues and friends. Science and contemplative principles weave these two influences together in a way that importantly grounds both into material that is relevant, practical and evidence-based. One of the author’s key teachers is an Australian Aboriginal Elder named Uncle Bob Randall, the Listed Custodial Elder of Uluru in Central Australia, and their private conversations feature largely in Flying Lead Change.
I have a small square card placed on my desk. On it are these words, written in frank, block letters “Opt out of consensus reality”. This simple instruction has become my north star, a compass setting inside the maelstrom of narratives that exist in our collective mind. These stories can feel deeply personal, such as “I’m not enough”, “I’ll go broke”, or “I should have done that differently”. Or civilizational, such as “homework makes better students”, “drink more water”, “we need a growth economy” or “humanity is bad”.
This panel discussion features five coaches who each implement their own specialized approach to coaching by integrating various unique tools and methodologies based on their respective backgrounds. They will dialogue with each other and webinar attendees about how their coaching presence facilitates breakthrough learning in their clients. We will also explore ways to enhance the coaching environment through invoking the power of our clients’ presence.
Presence as a Coaching Tool
Coacharya Coaching Colloquium
Wednesday, July 17
9pm IST / 10:30am CST
Free • Zoom
This panel discussion features five coaches who each implement their own specialized approach to coaching by integrating various unique tools and methodologies based on their respective backgrounds. They will dialogue with each other and webinar attendees about how their coaching presence facilitates breakthrough learning in their clients. We will also explore ways to enhance the coaching environment through invoking the power of our clients’ presence.
This panel is in honor of EQUUS launching a 30-hour coaching course on presence-based coaching inspired by contemplative wisdom called The Selfless Coach, with EQUUS Founder Kelly Wendorf and EQUUS Faculty Adam Ramcharan as trainers. The course starts late October, early November. CEUs will be available.
Panelists
Kelly Wendorf, PCC, MECD
J. Scott Strachan, CPCC, PCC, MECD
Adam Ramcharan
Dan Weil, CPCC
Rebekkah Goldsmith
‘What could be wrong with enlightened CEOs?’ my friend Ken wondered over his chai. ‘It could mean that all their power is used for awakening and good.’ We all sat quietly for a moment thinking over this new possibility. Then I asked, ‘Ok, so let’s take a hypothetical scenario here; what if the CEO is someone like Dick Cheney? What if teaching him mindfulness just assists him to feel less stressed and less conflicted about bombing a country?’ We all got quiet again… ‘No way!’ we suddenly chimed naively. How could meditation enable bad behavior?
The most memorable experience, perhaps, is located a short but beautiful hike away from the resort, at Thunderbird Ridge. There, bordering the property of Egan’s former home (where local shamans have located two spiritual vortexes), co-founders Kelly Wendorf and J. Scott Strachan have launched a horse-assisted self-empowerment program, Equus.
Our Beginning
Several years ago, EQUUS Co-Founders Kelly Wendorf and J. Scott Strachan were on a completely different path. Scott was living on a boat in Sausalito, California (just near the Golden Gate Bridge) working as an executive /personal coach, culture consultant, and facilitator. His life was relatively carefree as a single bachelor, cycling long treks around northern California, sailing the San Francisco Bay, or enjoying a sunset off of the pier on his time off. Kelly, a mother of two teenagers, was working as a horse trainer, coach, mentor and facilitator in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and developing The EQUUS Experience®, an equine-assisted learning process that she facilitated for her clientele. She spent her days with horses and clients, and spent her off time hiking and backpacking in the wilderness. The two were worlds away from one another.
Then Scott was recruited by an Argentinian consultancy firm to be one of their six US-based coaches and facilitators. This same firm became clients of Kelly’s and sent their leadership team to do The EQUUS Experience in Santa Fe. After their time there, they invited Kelly as well to join their team. As new recruits, both were invited to attend the firm’s global study group. When Scott and Kelly arrived in Miami, Florida for their first study group workshop, little did they realize everything was about to change. Though they had many things in common, when Kelly described to Scott the part of her work that included horses, Scott expressed his indifference towards horses saying (with no malice) that in his opinion horses were ‘1200 pound beasts with brains the size of walnuts and it made for a bad combination!’ Kelly laughed. Immediately following their first meeting in Florida, they became friends. Over time they became a couple.
Scott’s first sojourn to Santa Fe to visit Kelly, included an introduction to the EQUUS horses. Kelly invited Scott to have a taste of the power inside equine-inspired wisdom. Within twenty minutes, Scott held a new perspective and appreciation for horses, and their powerful ability to create change. He asked Kelly why she had been keeping this work a secret, and immediately invested himself to change that. He traded in his Sperry topsiders for cowboy boots, his foul-weather sailing gear for a Carhartt jacket, and his green Marin vehicle for a horse-trailer-pulling Dodge Ram truck.
Starting a business together is never a first recommendation for a new couple. But Kelly and Scott are no ordinary pair. From the beginning they shared a robust passion for creating conditions where people and organizations could transform. So deep was their commitment to human potential, that they placed their entire relationship in service to that calling. The couple founded EQUUS and with that began the search for a property on which not only to call home, but to create an experiential discovery and learning campus.
One day, as part of their evaluation process of which accommodation partners would bring forward the same level of high touch care to their clients that EQUUS aspires to, they met with Four Seasons Rancho Encantado. During this meeting, Scott and Kelly were informed of an 11-acre estate next door, not on the market, yet standing empty for eight years. Perhaps the owners might be willing to look at a creative way to restore the property through a lease-purchase, they thought, as they peered through the coyote fence into the forsaken property. It was quite obvious that in its current state of disrepair, no lender would provide a mortgage.
As they ambled around its perimeter, they were beginning to think outside the box. Clearly it had suffered from years of neglect. There was colossal amount of work to do. And extreme risk. How on earth could they pull this off? The answer: by doing exactly what they empower their clients to do – leverage their gifts, strengths and crystal clear intention.
After several months of Scott’s nimble negotiations, the property was theirs to lease, and then ultimately to buy. All they needed to do was immerse themselves into creating an environment befitting EQUUS’s quickly growing, high-performing clientele. This took an enormous amount of commitment, hard work, sweat and capital investment on their part. And it took an uncommon courage – all while continuing to grow and develop EQUUS. While they did not realize it at the time, what they were in fact doing was modelling for their clients what it is like to work towards your dream with unwavering determination. This is what they continue to do every day.
“Alice laughed: ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said; ‘one can’t believe impossible things.’ ‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’ – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Scott and Kelly took special care to work within the Traditional Indigenous protocols of the area, and in so doing engaged with the Tesuque Pueblo governance, and asked for express permission to do the EQUUS work. Tesuque Elder, Kathy Sanchez, came to the property, blessed the land, blessed each of the horses, and blessed their work. They embed this protocol each day by formally acknowledging the Traditional carers, past present and future, in every opening of their workshops and retreats, and thanking them for EQUUS’s ability to do its work on the land. In ongoing support of their neighbors, EQUUS donates their property and workshop space to Tewa Women United, a multicultural and multiracial organization founded and led by Native women, for some of their meetings.
Within a year, the property metamorphized into Thunderbird Ridge – an Experiential Discovery and Learning Campus, touting a gracious hacienda, a large arena, paddocks, a large sun-drenched workshop space, sculpture garden and landscaped hiking trails leading all the way into National Forest. It is the home of six gregarious horses, a donkey named Kassie, a dog and two barn cats. And it is a place that embraces every client that steps foot onto the land, and places themselves into the powerful tutelage of the horses. Each and every person, without exception, leaves there transformed.
And they are still at the beginning. There is so much more about to unfold – for EQUUS, for its clients, and for you. We invite you to follow along with us as we continue to grow and make immeasurably powerful impact in the world. Welcome to EQUUS, we are so pleased you are a part of this journey.
Stories of Transformation
Couple’s Retreat
Lucy and Robert, married for 28 years, seeking to renew and revitalize their relationship.
Government Agency
Change Culture of Department Through Long-Term Contract.
International Consultancy Firm
The client sought a deeply personal experience for each participant, and a transformational change.
Women, Power & Money Retreat
A three-day retreat for 12 professional women from major national corporations, educational institutions and privately held businesses.
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Let’s face it, the holidays can be really intense. December is filled with lots of opportunities to be triggered: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ōmisoka, Christmas, Winter Solstice, and New Year’s Eve. Something about the combination of family, obligations, politics, secrets, loyalties, gift buying expense and stress, alcohol, and unresolved tension creates a toxic cocktail for drama. And most of the time we are dealing with folks who don’t know how to relate skillfully or consciously.
Flying Lead Change
56 Million Years of Wisdom for Leading and Living
This seminal book will be released in October of 2020 by Sounds True, and stands to position EQUUS as a leader in the field of transformational change in the personal and organizational sectors.
Sign up and get: updates, a special download, and join us for an upcoming webinar!
“Hard times are coming, when we’ll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope. We’ll need writers who can remember freedom — poets, visionaries — realists of a larger reality.” — Ursula Le Guin
Excerpt from Flying Lead Change Click the text below to read more
On a hot, humid afternoon, a small dog-like creature nibbles on grapes suspended above a lush fern-covered ground. The thick jungle forest is bursting with sound, as this is a time when mammal life explodes with innovative evolutionary options. Nearby, our earliest ancestor, also small, moves past, vying for the same sweet fruit. For a moment the two lock eyes. Fifty-six-million years later, in the very same place that is now Wyoming, their descendants will be working together in perfect harmony, human and horse, to move a herd of cattle off a northern slope into a grassy valley.
As the horse gallops up a ridgeline, suddenly the topography changes, and the herd of cattle makes an abrupt shift. In response, the horse effortlessly executes what is known as a flying lead change – a gravity-defying maneuver that allows him to change balance and respond to the changing scenario without losing momentum or unseating his rider. It’s not only a masterfully effective response, it is joyful. Like this, the horse has been our perfect companion in successfully navigating change, for thousands of years.
We now find ourselves at an evolutionary brink, inside frighteningly complex and rapidly changing times—a radical shift of topography. As people invested in the future, we need to be uncommonly skilled in order to respond, and assist those who we care about to respond also, in order that we may joyfully thrive. Increasingly more people feel a sense of calling to step into their true vocation, to make a difference inside the turbulence. Such service requires mastery in wisdom, awareness, intuition, mindfulness, and attunement. Yet these elusive capacities cannot easily be acquired through conventional means. We need a physics-defying solution, a masterful mid-flight switch in how we lead our lives and organizations.
Flying Lead Change – 56 Million Years of Wisdom for Leading and Living is a guidebook for that switch of lead, bringing in the principles behind creating a just, joyful and sustainable world, informed by the ancient tutelage and modeling of nature-based wisdom. It is written for those who feel a sense of collective responsibility and seek sound guidance from a deeply trustworthy source that resonates with their intrinsic values of wholeness and connection.
The contents couple two nature-based influences: Horses, and Indigenous teachings directly instructed and shared with the author through her relationship to several key First Nations teachers, colleagues and friends. Science and contemplative principles weave these two influences together in a way that importantly grounds both into material that is relevant, practical and evidence-based. One of the author’s key teachers is an Australian Aboriginal Elder named Uncle Bob Randall, the Listed Custodial Elder of Uluru in Central Australia, and their private conversations feature largely in Flying Lead Change.
I have a small square card placed on my desk. On it are these words, written in frank, block letters “Opt out of consensus reality”. This simple instruction has become my north star, a compass setting inside the maelstrom of narratives that exist in our collective mind. These stories can feel deeply personal, such as “I’m not enough”, “I’ll go broke”, or “I should have done that differently”. Or civilizational, such as “homework makes better students”, “drink more water”, “we need a growth economy” or “humanity is bad”.
This panel discussion features five coaches who each implement their own specialized approach to coaching by integrating various unique tools and methodologies based on their respective backgrounds. They will dialogue with each other and webinar attendees about how their coaching presence facilitates breakthrough learning in their clients. We will also explore ways to enhance the coaching environment through invoking the power of our clients’ presence.
Presence as a Coaching Tool
Coacharya Coaching Colloquium
Wednesday, July 17
9pm IST / 10:30am CST
Free • Zoom
This panel discussion features five coaches who each implement their own specialized approach to coaching by integrating various unique tools and methodologies based on their respective backgrounds. They will dialogue with each other and webinar attendees about how their coaching presence facilitates breakthrough learning in their clients. We will also explore ways to enhance the coaching environment through invoking the power of our clients’ presence.
This panel is in honor of EQUUS launching a 30-hour coaching course on presence-based coaching inspired by contemplative wisdom called The Selfless Coach, with EQUUS Founder Kelly Wendorf and EQUUS Faculty Adam Ramcharan as trainers. The course starts late October, early November. CEUs will be available.
Panelists
Kelly Wendorf, PCC, MECD
J. Scott Strachan, CPCC, PCC, MECD
Adam Ramcharan
Dan Weil, CPCC
Rebekkah Goldsmith
‘What could be wrong with enlightened CEOs?’ my friend Ken wondered over his chai. ‘It could mean that all their power is used for awakening and good.’ We all sat quietly for a moment thinking over this new possibility. Then I asked, ‘Ok, so let’s take a hypothetical scenario here; what if the CEO is someone like Dick Cheney? What if teaching him mindfulness just assists him to feel less stressed and less conflicted about bombing a country?’ We all got quiet again… ‘No way!’ we suddenly chimed naively. How could meditation enable bad behavior?
The most memorable experience, perhaps, is located a short but beautiful hike away from the resort, at Thunderbird Ridge. There, bordering the property of Egan’s former home (where local shamans have located two spiritual vortexes), co-founders Kelly Wendorf and J. Scott Strachan have launched a horse-assisted self-empowerment program, Equus.
Our Beginning
Several years ago, EQUUS Co-Founders Kelly Wendorf and J. Scott Strachan were on a completely different path. Scott was living on a boat in Sausalito, California (just near the Golden Gate Bridge) working as an executive /personal coach, culture consultant, and facilitator. His life was relatively carefree as a single bachelor, cycling long treks around northern California, sailing the San Francisco Bay, or enjoying a sunset off of the pier on his time off. Kelly, a mother of two teenagers, was working as a horse trainer, coach, mentor and facilitator in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and developing The EQUUS Experience®, an equine-assisted learning process that she facilitated for her clientele. She spent her days with horses and clients, and spent her off time hiking and backpacking in the wilderness. The two were worlds away from one another.
Then Scott was recruited by an Argentinian consultancy firm to be one of their six US-based coaches and facilitators. This same firm became clients of Kelly’s and sent their leadership team to do The EQUUS Experience in Santa Fe. After their time there, they invited Kelly as well to join their team. As new recruits, both were invited to attend the firm’s global study group. When Scott and Kelly arrived in Miami, Florida for their first study group workshop, little did they realize everything was about to change. Though they had many things in common, when Kelly described to Scott the part of her work that included horses, Scott expressed his indifference towards horses saying (with no malice) that in his opinion horses were ‘1200 pound beasts with brains the size of walnuts and it made for a bad combination!’ Kelly laughed. Immediately following their first meeting in Florida, they became friends. Over time they became a couple.
Scott’s first sojourn to Santa Fe to visit Kelly, included an introduction to the EQUUS horses. Kelly invited Scott to have a taste of the power inside equine-inspired wisdom. Within twenty minutes, Scott held a new perspective and appreciation for horses, and their powerful ability to create change. He asked Kelly why she had been keeping this work a secret, and immediately invested himself to change that. He traded in his Sperry topsiders for cowboy boots, his foul-weather sailing gear for a Carhartt jacket, and his green Marin vehicle for a horse-trailer-pulling Dodge Ram truck.
Starting a business together is never a first recommendation for a new couple. But Kelly and Scott are no ordinary pair. From the beginning they shared a robust passion for creating conditions where people and organizations could transform. So deep was their commitment to human potential, that they placed their entire relationship in service to that calling. The couple founded EQUUS and with that began the search for a property on which not only to call home, but to create an experiential discovery and learning campus.
One day, as part of their evaluation process of which accommodation partners would bring forward the same level of high touch care to their clients that EQUUS aspires to, they met with Four Seasons Rancho Encantado. During this meeting, Scott and Kelly were informed of an 11-acre estate next door, not on the market, yet standing empty for eight years. Perhaps the owners might be willing to look at a creative way to restore the property through a lease-purchase, they thought, as they peered through the coyote fence into the forsaken property. It was quite obvious that in its current state of disrepair, no lender would provide a mortgage.
As they ambled around its perimeter, they were beginning to think outside the box. Clearly it had suffered from years of neglect. There was colossal amount of work to do. And extreme risk. How on earth could they pull this off? The answer: by doing exactly what they empower their clients to do – leverage their gifts, strengths and crystal clear intention.
After several months of Scott’s nimble negotiations, the property was theirs to lease, and then ultimately to buy. All they needed to do was immerse themselves into creating an environment befitting EQUUS’s quickly growing, high-performing clientele. This took an enormous amount of commitment, hard work, sweat and capital investment on their part. And it took an uncommon courage – all while continuing to grow and develop EQUUS. While they did not realize it at the time, what they were in fact doing was modelling for their clients what it is like to work towards your dream with unwavering determination. This is what they continue to do every day.
“Alice laughed: ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said; ‘one can’t believe impossible things.’ ‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’ – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Scott and Kelly took special care to work within the Traditional Indigenous protocols of the area, and in so doing engaged with the Tesuque Pueblo governance, and asked for express permission to do the EQUUS work. Tesuque Elder, Kathy Sanchez, came to the property, blessed the land, blessed each of the horses, and blessed their work. They embed this protocol each day by formally acknowledging the Traditional carers, past present and future, in every opening of their workshops and retreats, and thanking them for EQUUS’s ability to do its work on the land. In ongoing support of their neighbors, EQUUS donates their property and workshop space to Tewa Women United, a multicultural and multiracial organization founded and led by Native women, for some of their meetings.
Within a year, the property metamorphized into Thunderbird Ridge – an Experiential Discovery and Learning Campus, touting a gracious hacienda, a large arena, paddocks, a large sun-drenched workshop space, sculpture garden and landscaped hiking trails leading all the way into National Forest. It is the home of six gregarious horses, a donkey named Kassie, a dog and two barn cats. And it is a place that embraces every client that steps foot onto the land, and places themselves into the powerful tutelage of the horses. Each and every person, without exception, leaves there transformed.
And they are still at the beginning. There is so much more about to unfold – for EQUUS, for its clients, and for you. We invite you to follow along with us as we continue to grow and make immeasurably powerful impact in the world. Welcome to EQUUS, we are so pleased you are a part of this journey.
Stories of Transformation
Couple’s Retreat
Lucy and Robert, married for 28 years, seeking to renew and revitalize their relationship.
Government Agency
Change Culture of Department Through Long-Term Contract.
International Consultancy Firm
The client sought a deeply personal experience for each participant, and a transformational change.
Women, Power & Money Retreat
A three-day retreat for 12 professional women from major national corporations, educational institutions and privately held businesses.