What is Siobhan Doing to Nourish Her Soul and Spirit?
My husband and I moved from Coastal California to the mountains and forests of western 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 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. Also, I love walking down our beautiful country road no matter what time of year, because it is so beautiful seeing the rolling hills, cows, horses, 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. Body language is used to connect and engage with each other in a mutual choice to play together. It is a fun dance that requires that you be mindful and present. I was quite involved in the equine community while living in California. I assisted with equine healing and therapy groups as well as facilitating mindfulness meditation for a Healing Horse group.
My husband and I currently volunteer at a horse rescue in Leicester, and I am so grateful to be able to take care of and contribute to the wellbeing of these amazing sentient beings. Connecting with horses and the healing they offer, opens my heart, brings me into a state of presence and creates space to feel peace, joy, gratitude, and fulfillment.
Another passion of mine is eating healthy organic food. I love playing with recipes and using them as a foundation from which my own creativity can take flight. Now that we have some acreage, we are learning by trial and error, raised bed vegetable gardening. This is a fun and fulfilling activity my husband and I share. Vegetable gardening is always full of surprises! We had an overflow of tomatoes one summer, an abundance of cucumbers the following summer, and volunteer squash along with a few things that got eaten by bugs. We are enjoying the moment-to-moment process of this adventure, and like my tagline says, “The journey IS the destination.”
My regular Mindfulness practice supports 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 and bring my full attention to what I am doing.
Check out this short 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, which lets people report their feelings in real-time. Among the surprising results:
“We are 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 and notice the rhythm of my breath. I look at the horse paintings on the wall in the living room, 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 love reading books about Equine Facilitated Therapy and Natural Horsemanship. Other favorites are reading Mindfulness/Buddhist oriented books, fun non-violent adventure stories, raw, honest poetry that speaks about facing and accepting the challenging, not so pretty aspects of life. Also, cutting-edge health and healing books including nervous system regulation and trauma healing.
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, are always well organized so that I can find things quickly. We have a saying in Feng Shui, “Everything needs a home.” That means every household and office item needs a designated place to live. Otherwise, we spend wasted frustrating moments looking for things.
There is something very satisfying and freeing about purging and getting rid of things I no longer love or wear or items that are used or broken. It makes me happy to give these items to the Humane Society Thrift store. “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” And if you ever feel stuck, I highly recommend what I do frequently. Rearrange rooms in your home. Move furniture and paintings around and bring in more color with pillows and throws. Then you will feel like you are in a completely new home. And the benefit of sitting in a different location is that you will have a new perspective of that room and consequently, your life’s possibilities.
My husband and I both feel incredibly blessed to be living here in North Carolina, surrounded by such incredible nature, and to have a wonderful community of conscious, loving, supportive friends and family all over the country.
What is Siobhan Doing to Nourish Her Soul and Spirit?
My husband and I moved from Coastal California to the mountains and forests of western 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 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. Also, I love walking down our beautiful country road no matter what time of year, because it is so beautiful seeing the rolling hills, cows, horses, 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. Body language is used to connect and engage with each other in a mutual choice to play together. It is a fun dance that requires that you be mindful and present. I was quite involved in the equine community while living in California. I assisted with equine healing and therapy groups as well as facilitating mindfulness meditation for a Healing Horse group.
My husband and I currently volunteer at a horse rescue in Leicester, and I am so grateful to be able to take care of and contribute to the wellbeing of these amazing sentient beings. Connecting with horses and the healing they offer, opens my heart, brings me into a state of presence and creates space to feel peace, joy, gratitude, and fulfillment.
Another passion of mine is eating healthy organic food. I love playing with recipes and using them as a foundation from which my own creativity can take flight. Now that we have some acreage, we are learning by trial and error, raised bed vegetable gardening. This is a fun and fulfilling activity my husband and I share. Vegetable gardening is always full of surprises! We had an overflow of tomatoes one summer, an abundance of cucumbers the following summer, and volunteer squash along with a few things that got eaten by bugs. We are enjoying the moment-to-moment process of this adventure, and like my tagline says, “The journey IS the destination.”
My regular Mindfulness practice supports 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 and bring my full attention to what I am doing.
Check out this short 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, which lets people report their feelings in real-time. Among the surprising results:
“We are 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.”
(click here) 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 and notice the rhythm of my breath. I look at the horse paintings on the wall in the living room, 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 love reading books about Equine Facilitated Therapy and Natural Horsemanship. Other favorites are reading Mindfulness/Buddhist oriented books, fun non-violent adventure stories, raw, honest poetry that speaks about facing and accepting the challenging, not so pretty aspects of life. Also, cutting-edge health and healing books including nervous system regulation and trauma healing.
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, are always well organized so that I can find things quickly. We have a saying in Feng Shui, “Everything needs a home.” That means every household and office item needs a designated place to live. Otherwise, we spend wasted frustrating moments looking for things.
There is something very satisfying and freeing about purging and getting rid of things I no longer love or wear or items that are used or broken. It makes me happy to give these items to the Humane Society Thrift store. “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” And if you ever feel stuck, I highly recommend what I do frequently. Rearrange rooms in your home. Move furniture and paintings around and bring in more color with pillows and throws. Then you will feel like you are in a completely new home. And the benefit of sitting in a different location is that you will have a new perspective of that room and consequently, your life’s possibilities.
My husband and I both feel incredibly blessed to be living here in North Carolina, surrounded by such incredible nature, and to have a wonderful community of conscious, loving, supportive friends and family all over the country.