Creation of Horses As Mentors, Inc.
I felt my body react to a friend’s suggestion that my starting the non-profit was to offer to more people what I do. The same curious sensation occurred in me a while later when I thought back on that part of our conversation. Since what I do is teach people to listen to their bodies and to horses I chose to listen to mine. The message from my body was clear - I felt the desire to tell the story – the brief version. I sat and remembered my process from the origin of my desires through to the laying of the “ground” for Horses As Mentors, Inc.
Quite a few years ago, I became aware of my increasing desire to help more people - specifically those in need and in some way struggling with life situations, past or present. I considered going back to school to be licensed as a counselor to help in schools or in agencies; I thought of traveling to different areas of the country to offer the healing work of Rubenfeld Synergy Method® to people who did not have access to such assistance; to offer RSM to those in my community who could use the help; I imagined taking in children for foster care; etc. With every idea I met roadblocks, either the idea did not seem to completely fit with who I was in some way or the road was blocked by my lack of a way to support myself if I changed my life in the ways I was considering.
The origin of that first phase had actually occupied a space in my heart way back in grammar school. My intention as I graduated and went off to college had been to be a school counselor or work in Harlem as a social worker. During a chance life-changing meeting during my last year of college, I chose to follow my continuing childhood passion for horses and teaching.
Another turning point came in the late 1980’s when I enrolled in a 3-year training in the Rubenfeld Synergy Method®. This most effective bodymind healing modality changed my approach to life and to my teaching. Life began to make more sense to me and to those I taught. I became dedicated to teaching people to discover and uncover their intrinsic nature and thus their full potential and sense of well-being.
The next phase of my process came a few years after I moved to Montana in 2005. I was exploring avenues that would allow me to be of service. I was trying to find a way to work and earn money while following my heart. I kept meeting dead ends whether jobs I applied for did not come through or I met with options that did not fulfill my growing commitment to be true to my heart and soul.
During the long winters in Montana I finally realized the obvious! I was looking back on how horses had helped me throughout my life and wondered how I could help others the same way. I was already asking horses to help me as I taught my work of the past twenty-five years which combines my teaching of riding and my Synergy practice.
For years I had also been struggling with how I wanted to help people - RSM or Horses? My tendency to go “either-or” was unconsciously limiting. It became an absorbing internal process to explore and find a way to bring the combination of RSM and horses, what I had been calling Equestrian Synergy™, out into the world more. After traveling down multiple paths in my mind to discover how I could make a living and stay true to myself, I was hit with the idea of a non-profit. Being in Missoula had opened my eyes to the many ways non-profits help with our environment, humans, animals and other needs. The possibility of offering financial assistance so that more people could benefit from the powerful connection with horses satisfied my aspirations to be of service and gave me a sincere sense of joy.
My mission is to expand my Equestrian Synergy™ work to reach more people. This commitment matches my internal heartfelt truths and my career work as it has evolved over the years. The mission of Horses As Mentors, Inc. is congruent with my passion on many levels. I am excited to see where this will take us and how many people’s lives we can touch and impact in a positive way.