What is Siobhan Doing to Nourish Her Soul and Spirit?
My husband, kitty and I moved from Coastal California to the rolling hills and forests of North Carolina on July 1, 2020.
We were blessed to have had a soft landing here with everything falling into place with much ease, grace, and support. We bought a beautiful home in the countryside of Leicester, NC, which is on the outskirts of Asheville.
We couldn’t have moved to a more beautiful place than western NC. We live nestled in between the Smokey and Blue Ridge mountains with views from our house of rolling hills and the mountains in the background. One of my favorite ways to rejuvenate and nourish my soul is to spend time in nature, particularly spending time in forests with lots of trees, wildlife, rivers, streams, and waterfalls. My husband and I take walks down our beautiful country road almost daily no matter what the weather is because it is so beautiful seeing the rolling hills, cows, horses and donkeys, and the mountains in the background.
One of my passions is being around horses. Equine Facilitated Therapy and Mindfulness Meditation with horses have played a big part in healing my nervous system. I love playing and meditating with horses at Liberty. This means the horses are free in a turnout with no halter or lead rope, and using body language, connecting and engaging with each other in a mutual choice to be together and play. It’s a fun dance that requires that you are mindful and present. I was quite involved while living in CA, assisting with equine healing and therapy groups as well as facilitating the mindfulness meditation for a Healing Horse group. I know that I will find my herd of friends and horses here in the Leicester, NC area so that I can continue engaging in this way of connecting with horses and the healing they offer, which brings me much peace, joy, gratitude, and fulfillment.
Another passion of mine is eating healthy, live organic food! I love playing with recipes, using them as a foundation from which my own creativity can take flight! Now that we have some acreage, we will learn how to plant a permaculture garden to produce food to eat and share with friends and neighbors and beauty to uplift our senses.
My passion and interest in Mindfulness besides my daily Mindful Meditation, is practicing being present in my life, which is where it counts! I have found life to be much more fulfilling when I am present and connected to whatever I am doing, rather than being lost in thought. A fun game I like to play is using transitions throughout the day to be my mindful wake-up bell.
Check out this short and Tedx talk below.
When Are Humans Most Happy?
When are humans most happy? To gather data on this question, Matt Killingsworth, a Harvard scientist, built an app, Track Your Happiness, that lets people report their feelings in real-time. Among the surprising results:
“We’re often happiest when we are present in the moment. On the flip side, the more we are lost in thought instead of being present with whatever we are doing, the less happy we are.”
For example: When I get up from my desk and walk to the kitchen, I feel my feet on the floor, notice the rhythm of my breath, I look at the horse paintings on the wall in the living room as I pass through, see the maroon loveseat and the pretty basket with the collection of cat toys. So every time I transition from one activity to another, it becomes my wake up reminder bell to pay attention and connect with my surroundings, body sensations, my breath, and any thoughts or emotions. Even mundane activities that we label as boring or unpleasant, such as doing the dishes, laundry or vacuuming, can become more enjoyable. Why? Because we are present with that activity while we are doing those things rather than being lost in thought.
I am a voracious reader of anything having to do with Equine Facilitated Therapy and Healing; Mindfulness and Buddhist oriented books; fun non-violent adventure stories; cutting edge health and healing; mind opening and altering books that require that you loosen your current belief structure and embrace a new viewpoint; (Charles Eisenstein and Dr. Zach Bush comes to mind!).
Another favorite pastime of mine is purging, organizing and rearranging my house. I think I have always been this way even before I studied Feng Shui. My office and files both paper and electronic HAVE to be well organized so that I can finds things instantly. Otherwise stress and frustration creeps in and I become a grumpy bear. There is something very satisfying and fulfilling about getting rid of things I no longer love, wear, use or is broken and I honestly know I am not going to fix it. And if you ever feel stuck in your life, I highly recommend what I do frequently, which is to rearrange your home. Move furniture and paintings around, bring in more color with pillows and throws, and you will feel like you’re in a completely new home! And the big benefit, sitting on your furniture, which is now in a different place, with different views, will give you a new ways to see your life and possibilities and opportunities.
And of course my little kitty, Sachi, makes sure I take breaks throughout the day to play with her. She jumps up on my desk at regular intervals with her favorite toys. I think she is actually very tuned in and is supporting my health and wellbeing by getting me to get up from my chair in front of the computer and take a needed break for my eyes that have been relentlessly staring at the screen and also to stretch and move around a bit.
My husband and I both feel incredibly blessed to be living here in NC, surrounded by such incredible nature, and to have a wonderful community of conscious, loving, supportive friends and family all over the country now! I experience such gratitude, joy, and fulfillment and am in love with my life!
What is Siobhan Doing to Nourish Her Soul and Spirit?
My husband, kitty and I moved from Coastal California to the rolling hills and forests of North Carolina on July 1, 2020.
We were blessed to have had a soft landing here with everything falling into place with much ease, grace, and support. We bought a beautiful home in the countryside of Leicester, NC, which is on the outskirts of Asheville.
We couldn’t have moved to a more beautiful place than western NC. We live nestled in between the Smokey and Blue Ridge mountains with views from our house of rolling hills and the mountains in the background. One of my favorite ways to rejuvenate and nourish my soul is to spend time in nature, particularly spending time in forests with lots of trees, wildlife, rivers, streams, and waterfalls. My husband and I take walks down our beautiful country road almost daily no matter what the weather is because it is so beautiful seeing the rolling hills, cows, horses and donkeys, and the mountains in the background.
One of my passions is being around horses. Equine Facilitated Therapy and Mindfulness Meditation with horses have played a big part in healing my nervous system. I love playing and meditating with horses at Liberty. This means the horses are free in a turnout with no halter or lead rope, and using body language, connecting and engaging with each other in a mutual choice to be together and play. It’s a fun dance that requires that you are mindful and present. I was quite involved while living in CA, assisting with equine healing and therapy groups as well as facilitating the mindfulness meditation for a Healing Horse group. I know that I will find my herd of friends and horses here in the Leicester, NC area so that I can continue engaging in this way of connecting with horses and the healing they offer, which brings me much peace, joy, gratitude, and fulfillment.
Another passion of mine is eating healthy, live organic food! I love playing with recipes, using them as a foundation from which my own creativity can take flight! Now that we have some acreage, we will learn how to plant a permaculture garden to produce food to eat and share with friends and neighbors and beauty to uplift our senses.
My passion and interest in Mindfulness besides my daily Mindful Meditation, is practicing being present in my life, which is where it counts! I have found life to be much more fulfilling when I am present and connected to whatever I am doing, rather than being lost in thought. A fun game I like to play is using transitions throughout the day to be my mindful wake-up bell.
Check out this short and Tedx talk below.
When Are Humans Most Happy?
When are humans most happy? To gather data on this question, Matt Killingsworth, a Harvard scientist, built an app, Track Your Happiness, that lets people report their feelings in real-time. Among the surprising results:
“We’re often happiest when we are present in the moment. On the flip side, the more we are lost in thought instead of being present with whatever we are doing, the less happy we are.”
TEDx Want to be happier? Stay in the moment | Matt Killingsworth
For example: When I get up from my desk and walk to the kitchen, I feel my feet on the floor, notice the rhythm of my breath, I look at the horse paintings on the wall in the living room as I pass through, see the maroon loveseat and the pretty basket with the collection of cat toys. So every time I transition from one activity to another, it becomes my wake up reminder bell to pay attention and connect with my surroundings, body sensations, my breath, and any thoughts or emotions. Even mundane activities that we label as boring or unpleasant, such as doing the dishes, laundry or vacuuming, can become more enjoyable. Why? Because we are present with that activity while we are doing those things rather than being lost in thought.
I am a voracious reader of anything having to do with Equine Facilitated Therapy and Healing; Mindfulness and Buddhist oriented books; fun non-violent adventure stories; cutting edge health and healing; mind opening and altering books that require that you loosen your current belief structure and embrace a new viewpoint; (Charles Eisenstein and Dr. Zach Bush comes to mind!).
Another favorite pastime of mine is purging, organizing and rearranging my house. I think I have always been this way even before I studied Feng Shui. My office and files both paper and electronic HAVE to be well organized so that I can finds things instantly. Otherwise stress and frustration creeps in and I become a grumpy bear. There is something very satisfying and fulfilling about getting rid of things I no longer love, wear, use or is broken and I honestly know I am not going to fix it. And if you ever feel stuck in your life, I highly recommend what I do frequently, which is to rearrange your home. Move furniture and paintings around, bring in more color with pillows and throws, and you will feel like you’re in a completely new home! And the big benefit, sitting on your furniture, which is now in a different place, with different views, will give you a new ways to see your life and possibilities and opportunities.
And of course my little kitty, Sachi, makes sure I take breaks throughout the day to play with her. She jumps up on my desk at regular intervals with her favorite toys. I think she is actually very tuned in and is supporting my health and wellbeing by getting me to get up from my chair in front of the computer and take a needed break for my eyes that have been relentlessly staring at the screen and also to stretch and move around a bit.
My husband and I both feel incredibly blessed to be living here in NC, surrounded by such incredible nature, and to have a wonderful community of conscious, loving, supportive friends and family all over the country now! I experience such gratitude, joy, and fulfillment and am in love with my life!