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Mary Burg is a seasoned Life Coach and Equine guide. Today we take a peek into Mary’s upbringing and life story. Mary’s perspective is joyful, fresh and relatable. She learned early about ‘thoughts becoming things’ and the power of our mind and intention. Mary initially worked in the field of Ecology Wetlands and later shifted into the field of life coaching. She blends her passion for guiding others with her love of being with horses. Mary educates us on the heart centered nature of horses and how she works with them in a coaching session. Mary will always be your biggest cheerleader and believes that if you can dream it, you can become it!
EPISODE TAKEAWAYS (what you’ll learn):
About the Guest:
Mary Burg is a Certified Professional Life & Leadership Coach specializing in career happiness, a Skyhorse Academy Certified Equine Guided Educator, Certified 3 Vital Questions (3VQ) Trainer, and founder and creator of Authentic Path coaching programs. Mary is a transformational coach who believes that each of us is on a divine soul journey, and that part of that journey is to discover our infinite creative power – the power to create our reality. She sees her role as an ally, guiding her clients to discover their soul’s essence, wisdom, and purpose, to hone their creative abilities, and design and create the lives they came here to live. Mary delights in working one-on-one with mid-career professionals who are feeling stuck, burned-out, and unfulfilled to follow their heart’s calling and create livelihoods filled with heart, meaning, prosperity, and fulfillment.
Find Mary Here:
References Within Podcast:
Mike Dooley: www.tut.com
About the Host:
Maureen Spielman is the Founder of Mystical Sisterhood, a podcast dedicated to bringing more joy, healing and expansion to the world. She is a seasoned life coach who supports individuals through one-on-one coaching, groups and workshops.
Connect with Maureen:
● Check out her Instagram: @maureeenspielman
● Learn more about her work at www.maureenspielman.com
● Want to join our Mystical Sisterhood Membership community? Find out more here: https://www.maureenspielman.com/mysticalsisterhood
● Email Maureen at hello@maureenspielman.com to inquire about coaching, podcasting & speaking engagements
● Want to view Mystical Sisterhood episodes? Visit the Mystical Sisterhood YouTube Channel here: Magical Sisterhood Youtube
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Hello and welcome back to mystical sisterhood. This is
Unknown:your host, Maureen Spielman. Today I'm really excited to sit
Unknown:down with Mary Berg. She is a seasoned life coach. I met her
Unknown:through my sister Kelly. And she's very well rounded and well
Unknown:respected within the field of life coaching. She is here to
Unknown:tell us her family of origin story, her life's path with
Unknown:regard to career. And also I was fascinated by the fact that Mary
Unknown:has worked for a number of years with horses. She has brought
Unknown:them into her coaching. And she has gotten to know these animals
Unknown:up close and personal. So she shares with us stories about the
Unknown:horses, the intelligence and soul that these animals just
Unknown:embody. So I hope that you love the episode as much as I did. I
Unknown:learned a lot about her equine work. And there's just a lot
Unknown:here for all of us. Please join me in welcoming Mary and here we
Unknown:go.
Unknown:Hey there, welcome to mystical sisterhood. This is your host,
Unknown:Maureen Spielman. I started the show to highlight the intuitives
Unknown:healers and other courageous women that I've met along my
Unknown:journey and continue to meet. Through amazing interviews, I
Unknown:seek to ask insightful questions to uncover ways in which you the
Unknown:listener can apply the wisdom and knowledge to your own life.
Unknown:I believe that we're all in this together. So sharing healing and
Unknown:joy, and bringing community together is both my passion and
Unknown:purpose. If you'd like to learn more about the mystical
Unknown:sisterhood community I'm building, please visit www
Unknown:mystical sisterhood.com See you in the episode.
Unknown:Okay, welcome back to mystical sisterhood. This is Maureen
Unknown:Spielman, your host. I'm back today with Mary Berg. I don't
Unknown:even have a bio to read on Mary, because I know her fairly well,
Unknown:I'd say, Mary, I met you through my sister, Kelly Sanders, and
Unknown:the two of you live out in Denver. And I think one morning
Unknown:when I was visiting Kelly, a few years back, I had a curiosity
Unknown:about you. And so Kelly, put together it was like a 6am
Unknown:coffee. And we met back by her firepit. And it was just a
Unknown:lovely morning, a couple hours, just a juicy conversation right
Unknown:off the bat. And then I went and did, I may have been doing at
Unknown:the time by coach training. But when I finished it, just want to
Unknown:welcome you as a seasoned life coach. And there's other reasons
Unknown:you're here today. But I hired you to guide me through the
Unknown:process of setting up my business, and worked with you
Unknown:for quite a few months to really dig deep dive deep, because I
Unknown:was taking it so seriously, I didn't want to leave many stones
Unknown:on turned in that process. But I'll say thank you today for
Unknown:helping me launch my career and coaching and where I find myself
Unknown:today. Wow. Well, thank you and what a wonderful gift. It's been
Unknown:to just be able to be with you on that journey. And that was a
Unknown:wonderful morning. And
Mary Burg:you and Kelly have such an amazing sisterhood that
Mary Burg:it seems studying that that's how we met. Yeah. Oh,
Mary Burg:definitely. Yeah. And I also Marine, just want to thank you
Mary Burg:for creating the mystical sisterhood. I feel like it's all
Mary Burg:these people that you've invited to the table have come together.
Mary Burg:And it's like we're at a party solving a giant jigsaw puzzle.
Mary Burg:And only it's not one of those jigsaw puzzles where you can
Mary Burg:start with the flat edge and start to build the boundaries.
Mary Burg:And then every thing fell in. It's like this infinite jigsaw
Mary Burg:puzzle of the mysteries of the universe. And it expands to
Mary Burg:infinity in every direction and in multi dimensions. And we're
Mary Burg:all just coming and saying, here's some pieces that I have,
Mary Burg:that I could share, you know, and I don't know if it's true or
Mary Burg:not, but this is what I've experienced. This is what I
Mary Burg:think might be true and just all building this picture together
Mary Burg:and it's just such a delightful oh my gosh, thank you for the
Mary Burg:visual the vision of that and it's true. Because it's pulling
Mary Burg:in everybody has their different kind of specialty their
Mary Burg:experiences what like you're saying what they're bringing in
Mary Burg:and it feels like it's as I've watched it grow, it's pulling in
Mary Burg:some mystic it's it's pulling in a
Unknown:Healing, then it's got the application to our lives,
Unknown:whether it's in parenting, or, you know, all these different
Unknown:uncovering of the spaces that we can actually use these tools,
Unknown:like it's, and I was saying to you before we started, I rarely,
Unknown:I rarely record two in one day, and I met with a yoga instructor
Unknown:this morning. But that's what was coming together in my mind.
Unknown:Because as I go through the process of this podcast,
Unknown:bringing it into the world, I I don't see a lot before it
Unknown:happens, I almost as it occurs, it's coming together, and then
Unknown:I'll see. And it's so similar to the puzzle pieces that you're
Unknown:saying. And I was just saying to Betsy, who I interviewed this
Unknown:morning, that it is by, by bringing in people to talk about
Unknown:the different ways, they not only use it in your life, or use
Unknown:it in their life, but maybe also teach it in their life, it could
Unknown:be just utilize it in their life. But the more times we hear
Unknown:it, it allows it to go deeper into one, maybe one particular
Unknown:person, or just, it's just amplified in different ways.
Unknown:It's just it's like a ping that goes out into the universe. And
Unknown:it's sometimes it gets absorbed. I mean, I know that, yeah, a big
Unknown:study of the universe and energy and all of that so.
Unknown:And well. And you know, the other thing that I think is so
Unknown:valuable about what you're doing is that, and you and I've talked
Unknown:about this many times before, that there may be hundreds of
Unknown:people out there who are delivering essentially the same
Unknown:message. But for each one of us, there's one voice that we can,
Unknown:you know, that will will really hear the message. And so you
Unknown:bring all these voices makes it that much more available to
Unknown:everybody, all of us out here to, to come in contact with the
Unknown:voice that resonates in our being, and really gets the
Unknown:message across. So it's just lovely. Yeah, I love that. I
Unknown:love it. It makes me think of, well, I'm thinking already
Unknown:thinking of a question like, have you found that in your
Unknown:business, but it's really your business and life, that for you,
Unknown:if we're just focused on you, that that message or that that
Unknown:friendship or that, that it, it just, it gets to the right
Unknown:people, they come to you. And I know you're a big believer in
Unknown:the trust of the universe? Is that? Yes, I feel like that's
Unknown:one of the principles you kind of live by. It is and you know,
Unknown:it's also something that comes up in my work with clients a
Unknown:lot. And again, it's something that you and I talked about a
Unknown:lot that
Unknown:when when people are starting their own businesses, especially
Unknown:entrepreneurs, and they're they're thinking about how to
Unknown:market. And, you know, one of the things I I always encourage
Unknown:people is just speak your own voice, because there's someone
Unknown:out there who's looking for the morning channel, they're dialing
Unknown:their radio, and it's all static until they hit Maureen's voice.
Unknown:And those are your ideal clients, your ideal clients are
Unknown:going to resonate with your message, you don't have to worry
Unknown:about how to find them. They're looking for you. And when they
Unknown:hear your message in your authentic voice, they'll be
Unknown:there. And and I absolutely trust that and I've seen it time
Unknown:and time and time again that I it's no longer a leap of faith.
Unknown:It's just something I know.
Unknown:Right? It feels like vibration. Yeah, like vibration. It is I
Unknown:really truly believe that. Yeah, yeah.
Unknown:Well, I we had set out questions we're going to today, I'll say
Unknown:to the listeners, we're going to touch upon a bit of Mary's
Unknown:background and, and coaching and just life principles that but
Unknown:also go into your work with the horses and equine
Unknown:therapy. I don't know if that's right therapy. But just for the
Unknown:listener, we're going to we're going to dance in both areas
Unknown:today. And they're both really fascinating to me.
Unknown:Before we when we met last week, we talked about touching upon,
Unknown:that that truth that you grew up with, I think you call them
Unknown:metaphysical healers around you, and would you say a bit more
Unknown:about that store? And actually, I was listening to the podcasts
Unknown:that you did with Dina Wiggins, and I loved her phrase about
Unknown:rearview mirror wisdom. Because I've lived for a long time with
Unknown:this question.
Unknown:If I chose this life, if I chose my family, what was it that I
Unknown:was seeking? Why did I choose them and and this life
Unknown:And, you know, it's only really, through the decades being able
Unknown:to look back on the decades and what my choices were, what my
Unknown:influences were, and how it all fits together and makes perfect
Unknown:sense and, and led me to finding my path my purpose. And, and it
Unknown:did I, I really do believe that if I, if I chose my family, and
Unknown:I think I did,
Unknown:it was because that was a family of generations of
Unknown:just very powerful, masterful spiritual, metaphysical healers,
Unknown:wow. And especially my dad, and probably the most influential
Unknown:person in my life was my great aunt. Grace.
Unknown:She was probably my best friend growing up, I was the youngest
Unknown:in the family. And so when I was growing up, everybody else was
Unknown:off at school, my mom had gone back to work, my dad was already
Unknown:working. And so I spent a lot of time alone. And we we had three
Unknown:generations in our household and Grace was sort of my caretaker.
Unknown:And so I spent hours and hours and hours with her and she was
Unknown:just an amazing
Unknown:spiritual healer. And so, you know, so much of what I still
Unknown:believe today, I really learned from from her in terms of
Unknown:learning about the divine, giving me a definition of the
Unknown:Divine that truly resonates with me, which is that, you know, the
Unknown:universe, the divine God help what however you want to refer
Unknown:to it is, is loving, and forgiving, and
Unknown:for us, and that we are, in fact, a reflection of that we
Unknown:are divine, and we are powerful creators. And the other thing so
Unknown:ironic to me all these many years later was how powerful our
Unknown:thoughts are, this is what my parents said she taught me is
Unknown:that our thoughts and beliefs that then are manifested in our
Unknown:actions create our reality. And that we need to, I probably
Unknown:would have said, guard our thoughts, not in a hyper
Unknown:vigilant way, but in being aware of what our thoughts are, and
Unknown:not attaching to and believing everything we think. Yeah, wow,
Unknown:and really cultivating
Unknown:an awareness of our thoughts, because
Unknown:they really do create our reality. And we get to choose
Unknown:our thoughts. And that choice, you know, is also so
Unknown:foundational to coaching. So it's just as I look back, it's
Unknown:ironic and wonderful that this was sort of my grounding in life
Unknown:from the time I can remember. It's astounding, it's I'm
Unknown:sitting here, you know, I knew some of this, I don't think I've
Unknown:ever known about your Aunt Grace.
Unknown:It's super impactful. I don't think that many people can say
Unknown:that. And so the fact that that became your foundation, and it
Unknown:ended up being really the foundation of your life's work
Unknown:is incredible. Isn't it? Amazing? Yeah. It's amazing. So
Unknown:I can only really see that in the rear view, like Dina said,
Unknown:you know, I wasn't aware of it. Sure. At the time, it was just
Unknown:my life. It was just my environment was the water that I
Unknown:swam in. And, and, you know, fast forward 40 years, and the
Unknown:lineage of Coach Training that I was in is saying, We're all
Unknown:divine beings, and our thoughts create our reality.
Unknown:You know, it's like, wow, okay. This is like a homecoming. Yes,
Unknown:I imagine. I know, because you had spent years that's one of
Unknown:the things I was wondering if you would talk about today, but
Unknown:you had spent years in the ecology field. And, you know,
Unknown:how many years did you spend in that? And did you find, were
Unknown:there? Were there qualities of this coming through? Even in
Unknown:that work? Yeah, in fact, that's another sort of pattern that I
Unknown:see in my path was starting with the medical, metaphysical, and
Unknown:then going into the world of science. And
Unknown:I worked in that field for 30 years, 20 years in my career, in
Unknown:ecology, and at the Department of Ecology in the state of
Unknown:Washington. But,
Unknown:and so many people in my world wanted to make it either or you
Unknown:either believe in science and you live by science or
Unknown:You are a spiritual person. And that's your truth. And the thing
Unknown:is, I never saw that as a dichotomy. And in fact, and I
Unknown:love science. And, to me,
Unknown:science has a very particular function. And its to its a
Unknown:gatekeeper, it says we're only gonna admit, as fact, those
Unknown:things that we can measure and test and prove, before we allow
Unknown:it into, you know, this little fenced in area that we say is,
Unknown:is, is fact. And so many people want to say that until it's
Unknown:proven, it's not real, it's woowoo. It's whatever. Well, you
Unknown:know, think about it. 20 or 30 years ago, acupuncture was on
Unknown:the you we will fringe you know, it was like, oh, right, yeah.
Unknown:meridians, chakras. You right? Yeah. Uh huh. Well, now
Unknown:insurance companies pay for it. Yes. And it's just because, you
Unknown:know, science only goes as far as our technology and our
Unknown:ability to measure our environment. And so just because
Unknown:we can't yet measure, there was a time when we couldn't, when we
Unknown:didn't have microscopes, and we couldn't see microbes, and
Unknown:that we couldn't prove, but people believe people had
Unknown:intuitions and really, it's, it's intuition. It's thought,
Unknown:where science begins, someone has an idea, they think the
Unknown:seems like, and that's where hypotheses are generated. And
Unknown:that's what you test. And you know, and depending on how the
Unknown:test comes out, then you either admit it as as a fact or not,
Unknown:but it's really through the unseen, that we bring things
Unknown:into the realm of science. And so I've I really see the oneness
Unknown:between metaphysics and, and physics and the universal
Unknown:truths, that kind of that underlie both I mean, you know,
Unknown:people, again, you know, people think it's woowoo to talk about
Unknown:everything is energy, but actually, if you look at
Unknown:science, everything is energy, everything, everything is atoms,
Unknown:it's, it's all electricity, it's positive and, and negative
Unknown:charges. And so, so yeah, so maybe that's not so great. Yeah,
Unknown:it's just, to me, it's like, what's the argument? You know,
Unknown:well, and to when you talk about? Well, first of all, thank
Unknown:you for that all that connection of, wow, it starts with
Unknown:intuition or itself, it can start with a little ping from
Unknown:the universe. And that, that that thing that we call science
Unknown:two does go alongside facts, and what we learned in school and
Unknown:like, all these things being truth or, you know, for like
Unknown:social studies, yes, we can say that those events happened,
Unknown:right. So, so their truth. And I see, I think we still see a lot
Unknown:of conditioning, and people in that realm where it literally
Unknown:feels scary, it feels like to go over there is like wild, but
Unknown:what you're saying is it's really not it's, it's all one,
Unknown:right? And in both in both science and spirituality and
Unknown:academia, there's dogma, in both. And you know, I have a
Unknown:dear friend who's part of my sisterhood, and
Unknown:she's, she's, she calls herself an atheist, and, you know, is
Unknown:that, you know, science is, she lives and breathes by science
Unknown:and reason. And I just say, Well, you know, just make sure
Unknown:you don't make science or religion, you know, because
Unknown:there's as much dogma in the, in the academic and scientific
Unknown:realms as there is,
Unknown:you know, in in spiritual and religious
Unknown:belief systems. So
Unknown:it could be comfort zones, right. If you experienced
Unknown:something before, you don't know what it feels like. So yeah, but
Unknown:that's why these conversations are so good, because we can talk
Unknown:about it. I know, one of the questions I had positive to you
Unknown:that led to something else I wanted to ask you about was this
Unknown:idea because I think there are a lot of people who listen to
Unknown:mystical sisterhood, who are pivoting midlife to, you know,
Unknown:maybe they've stayed at home, maybe they've been in this one
Unknown:career and feel burnout. Maybe they're just starting to open up
Unknown:to GE what is my passion and purpose? But Are you a believer
Unknown:in pivoting at midlife? How do you feel about that? Well, you
Unknown:know, that was my path. That's my story. It's kind of a start
Unknown:up.
Unknown:So, you know, when people ask me, you know, is this possible?
Unknown:It's like, Well, absolutely. And
Unknown:and not only is it Poor
Unknown:possible, I truly believe that if, if you whatever you pursue
Unknown:if you do it with awareness, you know, I mean, my work is all
Unknown:about finding your authentic path. And that can look
Unknown:different at different points in life. And I mean, I, I made my
Unknown:change from, you know, science and administration and public
Unknown:policy to coaching at 52. And I am starting my 20th year in
Unknown:coaching. So it's amazing. Yes. So, yeah, I, you know, I'm a big
Unknown:believer in in following your heart, again, it's a rearview
Unknown:mirror wisdom. I didn't start out saying, I'm going to follow
Unknown:my heart. I just followed my inclinations. And I tell people
Unknown:follow your inclination if you have this yearning.
Unknown:To me, that's your heart's calling. And just allow it. And
Unknown:you don't have to second guess it or wonder or, you know,
Unknown:market test it or
Unknown:anything else if, if it is genuinely calling to you? It
Unknown:doesn't matter if anyone's done it before, it doesn't matter. In
Unknown:fact, I think I may have told you that story about
Unknown:when I was going through graduate school, you know,
Unknown:anytime you're in school, people are always asking you, what are
Unknown:you going to do when you get out? And for three years, I just
Unknown:told people, I said, Well, I'm preparing myself for a job that
Unknown:doesn't exist. This was long before anybody was talking about
Unknown:manifestation or anything. It was not in my consciousness at
Unknown:all. It was just something I was saying. I said, Well, I'm
Unknown:preparing myself for a job that doesn't exist. I want to be a
Unknown:wetland ecologist for the Department of Ecology. And at
Unknown:the end of that three years, I, I wrote a letter to the
Unknown:Department of Ecology, and I said, Hey, if you're looking for
Unknown:wetlands ecologist now or in the future, please give me a call.
Unknown:And two weeks later, I got a phone call. And that said, Well,
Unknown:as a matter of fact, we're starting up a brand new wetlands
Unknown:program. And the first thing we need to do is hire well.
Unknown:So I just walked into the job of my dreams. And I didn't get it
Unknown:at that point, that that's how it works. Well, it's actually I
Unknown:believe, how it works. Yes, that we set an intention. And it's a
Unknown:pure intention. And then all we don't have to figure out how
Unknown:it's going to come together. All we're responsible for doing is
Unknown:taking the actions that only we can take. Yes, yes. I love the
Unknown:story. I love and I and, you know, you told me the other day,
Unknown:too, about how a little bit of that got seated. And again, I
Unknown:was blown away by your age, when like the stage in life, I should
Unknown:say, not your age, when you told me that you read the works of a
Unknown:nice man. And you said that I think it was like bringing
Unknown:dreams into reality. So something even then was sparking
Unknown:in view to back in my late teens. Yeah, I mean, my college
Unknown:roommates introduced me to her diaries, and that was really, I
Unknown:think the beginning. Okay, yeah. I mean, other than my, you know,
Unknown:my my childhood upbringing, but that, that idea that we could
Unknown:bring our dreams into our waking life. And, you know, she was
Unknown:focused a lot on psychoanalysis. But she also did you know, she,
Unknown:she dressed her dreams, she painted her rooms. According to
Unknown:her dream, she dreamed of living on a houseboat. And she created
Unknown:that as
Unknown:a period in her life. And I just, it had a huge impact on
Unknown:me. And I just in little ways like that I would consciously
Unknown:create my life. And you know, that was sort of my looking
Unknown:back. Yes. Oh, and I even looked at you. And I thought, like, Oh,
Unknown:for sure. You've lived in the Denver area for such a long
Unknown:time. And I asked you one day, and you're like, No, I haven't
Unknown:been there that long. But I didn't know that that shift that
Unknown:you had created for yourself. It was the job before the move. But
Unknown:then the move and I just know what magical kind of worlds were
Unknown:opened just from the you know, you being in the business group
Unknown:of Kelly. And,
Unknown:and I wholeheartedly, I want the audience to hear that because I
Unknown:know that you always were attracting clients through
Unknown:there. You've, you know, when we did our work together, you often
Unknown:I think that you used to refer to it as baby steps. Was that
Unknown:right? Yeah. And just that idea of putting those dreams into
Unknown:reality, speaking them into reality and
Unknown:backing them up with the Align to action. And I think that
Unknown:that's a super important part of it. And that's one that I
Unknown:revisit with myself all the time. It is I mean, vision
Unknown:boards are incredibly powerful.
Unknown:And if all you do is create a vision board and stick it up on
Unknown:your wall, and then just kind of say, well, I wonder why it's not
Unknown:happening, you know, but we don't have to that. And the
Unknown:thing is, and Mike Dooley says this so well, in all of his
Unknown:books, it's
Unknown:it's just, it's it's take, we don't have to figure out all the
Unknown:house, he calls them the cursive house, all we have to do is take
Unknown:action in the general direction of our dreams, and, and the rest
Unknown:will come together. I love it. And I've seen it again and again
Unknown:and again.
Unknown:And actually, it was it was in my former job that I, I was
Unknown:brought to coaching. When I was
Unknown:I was asked to move and from directing the Toxics cleanup
Unknown:program to taking over the air quality program. And then I'm I
Unknown:agreed and in doing that, I apologies to anyone who's
Unknown:listening to this, who might have been on my management team,
Unknown:but I inherited a dysfunctional managing,
Unknown:as did my counterpart at the Federal Environmental Protection
Unknown:Agency, who was our oversight agency. But she had come from
Unknown:EPA Office of Innovation, and she knew about coaching. And she
Unknown:suggested that we hire a team of coaches and and work with our,
Unknown:to work with our teams independently, and then bring
Unknown:them together once they had a common language. And I had
Unknown:always been interested in personal development and
Unknown:organizational development. But I'll tell you, the
Unknown:transformation that I saw in our organizational culture, and the
Unknown:animosity that those coaches had been greeted with the first time
Unknown:we got together. And then a year later, one of my managers saying
Unknown:to one of the coaches, Katherine, can you stay on the
Unknown:line? I need you was like, wow. So yeah, you know, when it when
Unknown:I got to the point where my my dream job was no longer my dream
Unknown:job.
Unknown:You know, I hired one of those coaches, and I spent a year with
Unknown:her looking at everything I thought I ever thought I might
Unknown:want to do, and came down to coaching and it was just another
Unknown:one of those, you know, rear view or rear view mirror things
Unknown:were just, I can see how you know, it all. Yeah, together.
Unknown:And it was from one thing to another. Yeah, that's really
Unknown:beautiful. And I think that everything is in that divine
Unknown:timing.
Unknown:Because I did work around even, you know, I have a gifted friend
Unknown:around purpose. And I know that it was seen it was seeding
Unknown:who I would become, but I think I wanted, I wanted it at the
Unknown:time to turn into something, Let's even say this is five
Unknown:years ago or something. And that I would have a lot of self
Unknown:frustration, because I couldn't alchemize it. Like, I think I
Unknown:was probably thinking about it too much. I was exerting too
Unknown:much control about it. And in that rearview mirror, now I can
Unknown:see, well, no, that occurred at that time on purpose for you.
Unknown:And, and it was an element in your path. So now I understand
Unknown:that at the time, I used to, I've said this before, but I
Unknown:think in my path.
Unknown:I stayed home so many years with the kids that I always was
Unknown:feeling it wasn't enough. And I have to say, I just saw, you
Unknown:know, my teacher was Dr. Shefali. And she just did an
Unknown:Instagram video on this the other day. And it was just such
Unknown:affirmation for those who make that choice. Because there is I
Unknown:it's just that's probably a testament to the shame that can
Unknown:come for any of our choices, right? And not trusting them and
Unknown:not but now I can now I can look in trust and if anything, it's
Unknown:just like, like a little more aligned action worrying a little
Unknown:bit more. So yeah, and you know, I mean, when we tell these
Unknown:stories, when, you know, we pick out the themes and it sounds
Unknown:like it's all all was just all ones Yeah, Brittany right.
Unknown:Without any of these fits and starts and obstacles and bumps
Unknown:and
Unknown:you know, and
Unknown:it hasn't been like that. And
Unknown:and I do find Well, a couple things one, I will go through
Unknown:these dark periods where where I feel lost.
Unknown:Because I've always I don't know why but I've always been someone
Unknown:who's had not a good
Unknown:All, but some kind of vision of the future that's evolved. And,
Unknown:but there are times when I find myself without that, and I feel
Unknown:lost. And the first time this happened for me in a really big
Unknown:way was actually right before I came to the horses
Unknown:and just stopped like I was at the bottom of a dark well.
Unknown:And
Unknown:I was working with a friend of mine who is a shaman and an
Unknown:amazing man. And I was telling him this whole completely lost,
Unknown:I felt that he just chuckled. And he said, Neeraj, you're not
Unknown:going to think your way out of
Unknown:Yeah. And what Yeah, what do you know about that now? Or what do
Unknown:you Well, yeah, well, what I learned about that, then is that
Unknown:now I still have those dark periods where and I don't mean
Unknown:dark necessarily. I, I have also struggled with depression on and
Unknown:off my whole life. But when I say dark, I really just mean
Unknown:like, black. No, no vision, no sense of where next and yeah,
Unknown:like, it's not this, but I don't have a sense of where to go
Unknown:next. Well, that that time really kind of taught me that
Unknown:that a darkness is not being lost. It's more like being in
Unknown:the womb. It's something's gestating. Okay, yeah. And it
Unknown:isn't clear what it is yet. So now I can relax more. And just
Unknown:know that whatever it is, that's just hating, will eventually
Unknown:make itself known. And what you were saying a minute ago, it's
Unknown:when I tried to force it.
Unknown:That I'm so unhappy. Yeah, I've got that imagery of like, trying
Unknown:to fight yourself our way out of that paper bag. Yeah. And that.
Unknown:It's a remembering of when we get to those places. I
Unknown:appreciate you sharing that. Because I think I think that's
Unknown:the human experience. And, you know, you and I have learned
Unknown:over the years, the things that we reach for to bring that
Unknown:vibration higher. And that's not always possible to access when
Unknown:we're lower. But that that what you're sharing is, is is the
Unknown:human experience, whatever form that comes for people, and we
Unknown:all are human. So Right. Yeah, yeah.
Unknown:And it's hard to see that things are for us at times. But we, you
Unknown:know, often need to get through that that darkness or the
Unknown:density to get to the light again, good work.
Unknown:Yeah. So you said that was a dark period before you got into
Unknown:your work with horses? First of all, that was
Unknown:we've already had this amazing conversation about the work that
Unknown:you do, and just the parts of your life are here to be shared.
Unknown:And when I reached out to you just a few weeks ago, it was the
Unknown:horses I was thinking about, too. So there's just it is the
Unknown:both and everything that you're sharing today, which I'm so
Unknown:excited about. But I'm utterly fascinated by the work that you
Unknown:do with horses. So Mary, how did you get into this work? And
Unknown:where would you begin? Oh, gosh, well, that was actually another
Unknown:very mystical experience.
Unknown:I was in that period of I don't know what's next. And I had had
Unknown:a series of experiences of guided meditations where the
Unknown:animals were calling. I was not busy telling my friends, the
Unknown:animals are calling me because I thought somebody would put me in
Unknown:a straitjacket. You know, like, What do you mean, the animals
Unknown:are calling you? They were saying you need to me you and I
Unknown:would be in conversation with them. And I say, Well, what do
Unknown:you mean? Like,
Unknown:save your habitat? Like, no, that's important, but that's not
Unknown:it. Okay, like, SPCA? No, that's important, but that's not it.
Unknown:Okay. Like animal communication, finding. No, that's important,
Unknown:but that's not it. And finally, what they said was, No, we have
Unknown:wisdom that your kind need. And you get us. We're going to speak
Unknown:through you it's not about you know, it's not you adding
Unknown:something it's you just being the the vehicle for our wisdom
Unknown:to come through. It's like Oh, cool.
Unknown:We're live that yeah, you're the conduit. But
Unknown:yeah, don't wait that great yet.
Unknown:And
Unknown:I had gotten reintroduced to horses, it just so happens that
Unknown:my, my grandfather, my great grandfather, were harness
Unknown:makers, and my dad raised me to love horses. So it just so
Unknown:happened.
Unknown:So my dad raised me to love horses, but we lived in Chicago.
Unknown:And, you know, unless you belong to a country club, really, and
Unknown:we didn't.
Unknown:That's, that's how I would have written horses. And so I, you
Unknown:know, had a few experiences at summer camp of riding horses,
Unknown:but I never really got to be with horses.
Unknown:And then my first coaching partner bred horses, and
Unknown:and so I got to be present for the births of the horses and got
Unknown:to be around them and
Unknown:but I still didn't put that together with my work or, or
Unknown:this, these messages I was getting. And
Unknown:so my coach at the time, had just had a miscarriage. And she
Unknown:was telling me that she was working with a somatic coach to
Unknown:process that experience. And I thought, somatic coaching.
Unknown:That's interesting. I wonder what that's about. So I googled
Unknown:somatic coaching. And up comes Arianna strazi. At sky horse
Unknown:ranch, she's a biologist, she's a horse woman. And she has
Unknown:found that
Unknown:horses are incredible coaching partners in personal
Unknown:development, and that they have wisdom to share with people. And
Unknown:I felt like I was at a slot machine and you know, had just
Unknown:pulled the arm down and it came up cherries, it's like, you
Unknown:know, so I called her and I said, you know, okay, this is
Unknown:gonna sound weird, but the animals are calling me and she
Unknown:said, Well, that doesn't sound weird to me. The animals are
Unknown:calling a lot of people right now. And I said, Okay. And I
Unknown:said, Well, could I come down to the ranch, you know, and just
Unknown:explore this with you. And I did. And I hope this isn't too
Unknown:long a story, but it's,
Unknown:um, so I got down there. And the first day, she told me the third
Unknown:rules of engagement, which was you can't be mean to the horses.
Unknown:And you have to say, whatever it is, you're thinking, because the
Unknown:horses demand that whatever is going on inside be apparent on
Unknown:the outside you don't you don't they? They demand authenticity,
Unknown:they, they require that you'd be congruent inside and outside. So
Unknown:what would be an example of that? That if you're scared, so
Unknown:you're scared?
Unknown:If you're sad, say you're sad. Don't try to pretend. Because to
Unknown:a horse, they don't have any judgment. If you're scared,
Unknown:you're scared. That's okay. They understand fear. That's amazing.
Unknown:So they don't what they can't What's dangerous is if you're
Unknown:pretending, because a predator pretense.
Unknown:And so any, if you're pretending you're dangerous, and they would
Unknown:just assume not be with you. Okay. And they're also very,
Unknown:they're incredibly perceptive. I mean, they can read us like a
Unknown:book, because it, you know, their survival requires on being
Unknown:able to read the energy and the intention of other beings. And
Unknown:they're also very opinionated. They're not in a judgmental way,
Unknown:but they have they have opinions. And if you pause and
Unknown:slow down and actually tune in and listen, they will, they will
Unknown:absolutely tell you what they think through
Unknown:through their actions.
Unknown:And it's, it's hard to explain it's not like we G horse. Yeah,
Unknown:this it means that right?
Unknown:But in context, it's so clear. Yeah, I'm, I'm wondering, do the
Unknown:horses pick the individuals to do this work? I mean, you are
Unknown:getting the messages that you had decode. Yeah, but like, and
Unknown:do you see
Unknown:the qualities of the horses you're describing? Do you see
Unknown:any similarities to the way you see the world? Um, well, in
Unknown:terms of who chooses who, you know, I, well, I don't know
Unknown:about in personal development, whether the
Unknown:well, when we're operating in a personal development situation,
Unknown:if there's more than one horse, we like to have
Unknown:know whatever horse wants to work with the person come
Unknown:forward volunteer. And, and if there's only one horse and the
Unknown:horse isn't interested, then it's a no thank you, you know,
Unknown:and we just don't.
Unknown:In the bigger context, I think that one of the reasons that
Unknown:horse that makes horses so special to me at least is that
Unknown:these are wild beings. I mean, we do have domestic horses, but
Unknown:you know, they're originally wild beings. And somewhere in
Unknown:our history together,
Unknown:a horse decided that a human was worth partnering with her. Yeah,
Unknown:I mean, there are other equine zebras don't do you don't
Unknown:domesticate a zebra zebras have absolutely no desire to partner
Unknown:with a human being. But for whatever reason? Yes. Horses, I
Unknown:do believe have chosen us who? Wow.
Unknown:You were talking about when we were talking last week about
Unknown:this about their biology and the science, some of the science
Unknown:roughly that's been done around their hearts? Yeah, there's a
Unknown:group called the Heart Math, Heart Math Institute, that.
Unknown:And they don't just look at horses. I mean, it's mainly
Unknown:looking at humans. And they've done a lot of really excellent
Unknown:science, and found that
Unknown:the,
Unknown:the electromagnetic
Unknown:generation of the heart is much more powerful than the brain,
Unknown:that there's more
Unknown:messages going from the heart to the brain than from the brain to
Unknown:the heart. That's for the horses or for No, for humans, for
Unknown:humans. Yeah. For humans and, and horses. And so that,
Unknown:and the,
Unknown:and I'm not I'm not a Heart Math expert. Let me just say that
Unknown:right now. But my, how I understand it is that
Unknown:one of the aims of Heart Math is to bring our hearts into a
Unknown:coherent rhythm. Because there's a certain rhythm that brings
Unknown:about is associated with calm and joy, and well being lowered
Unknown:heart rate,
Unknown:increased endorphins, all kinds of things. Well, that's so
Unknown:happens that
Unknown:the human heart can be measured about eight or 10 feet, all the
Unknown:way around us. A horse's heart, energy, electromagnetic energy,
Unknown:if you hook them up to an EKG, is about five times ours. And
Unknown:horses just so happen to
Unknown:have a congruent heart. Rhythm. Oh, wow. So imagine when you
Unknown:put, you know, imagine a human's standing next to a horse, we're
Unknown:really standing heart to heart.
Unknown:And there's this enormously powerful heart energy that is in
Unknown:this congruent rhythm. Yes. And when humans come in contact with
Unknown:that rhythm, we tend to be we are influenced by it.
Unknown:And I've so many times. And before I knew about Heart Math,
Unknown:I would always just be amazed because I've seen men and women
Unknown:walk into a round pen with a horse. And tears start flowing
Unknown:from their eyes, or it's just like this heart opening. So
Unknown:there's that in terms of, you know, what makes them great
Unknown:learning partners is just getting us out of our heads and
Unknown:into our hearts. I always say that, for the first 40 years of
Unknown:my life, I live from the head up, it was all the the reward
Unknown:was all in having the right answer and using your powerful
Unknown:brain and all that. And that coaching got me into my heart.
Unknown:It got me in in dialogue with my heart to actually where it was
Unknown:actually something that I could say, Okay, tell me, and I could,
Unknown:yes, and it was the horses that got me into my entire body as a
Unknown:place of wisdom. Yeah, that's amazing that they taught you.
Unknown:Right and, and there's somatic beings I mean, they experienced
Unknown:the world with their entire
Unknown:being and you know, one of the things that you you learn if you
Unknown:train to work partner with them in
Unknown:And
Unknown:in any kind of human development, you mentioned
Unknown:equine therapy. The horses are the same no matter what the
Unknown:modality the horses just are, who they are. And the wonderful
Unknown:thing about it is that
Unknown:in partnering with them, you can take it into any domain, whether
Unknown:it's horsemanship or
Unknown:psychology, therapy, even physical healing hippotherapy,
Unknown:or coaching. And the particular
Unknown:brand of training that I had was called equine guided education.
Unknown:Where the horse is the guide, the horse is not a tool, the
Unknown:horse is a partner and not just a partner dog guide.
Unknown:Where you really look to them for for their insight. Okay.
Unknown:Yeah, would you be able to break down for me and the listener?
Unknown:Like, who comes to you to then engage in the equine guided
Unknown:therapy? And what is it? What does it look like when you're
Unknown:actually working in a session? I'm really the same people who
Unknown:would come to you for coaching anyone who's interested in
Unknown:personal spiritual development.
Unknown:Now, let me just say, I wish I were offering it right now.
Unknown:Yeah, I, I, I offered it until we moved here to Colorado. And I
Unknown:hope to do it again, starting in 2024.
Unknown:And it looks like any other coaching session, except that
Unknown:the, the client is in an enclosure with a horse with a
Unknown:little bit of training in how to be safe around the horse and how
Unknown:to, and that's also, you know, I'm looking out to make sure
Unknown:that that that person is safe, I'm trained to know when, you
Unknown:know, the horse is concerned.
Unknown:And, you know, when it could,
Unknown:when there could be a safety issue,
Unknown:although it's rarely anything dramatic, but um, and so it's
Unknown:really a three way conversation. The horses there for the client,
Unknown:the horse is there with me. And
Unknown:you would ask the same questions that you would ask in a in a
Unknown:coaching session, what the person, you know, wants to work
Unknown:on. Yeah, and, and there's just an exchange, and the horse
Unknown:has a lot of different responses to the conversation. And I
Unknown:really think that what they're tuning into is that the energy
Unknown:and the intention and the emotion and the feeling. And I
Unknown:do have to say, though, that there are times when I'm, I just
Unknown:have to sit, they understand what we're saying, yes. They
Unknown:understand exactly what we're saying. I mean, they speak
Unknown:English, I don't know how they do. They speak whatever language
Unknown:we're, whatever it is, they understand what we're talking
Unknown:about, and more. Wow. And, yeah. So that's why they're so
Unknown:valuable, because they pick up on stuff that a client might not
Unknown:reveal to me in a coaching conversation. For months, it
Unknown:might take us weeks, to really get to what's really going on
Unknown:for them.
Unknown:A horse just cuts right
Unknown:through it. And and humans tend to respond. I think it's partly
Unknown:this, the Heart Math aspect of things, but also, you know, the
Unknown:whole archetype of the horses, they're beautiful, they're
Unknown:powerful, they're fast, they're graceful.
Unknown:They're soft, they're beautiful, they're yummy. And who, who
Unknown:doesn't want the horse to be accepted by a horse and have
Unknown:them come up? And, you know,
Unknown:and so,
Unknown:and the only way you're going to get that from a horse is if you
Unknown:are authentic. Yes, yes. And I always say horses have laser
Unknown:bullshit detectors for them. And so, and they don't have any
Unknown:judgment, they just want you to be real. They don't care what it
Unknown:is. They just want you to be real about whatever it is. Yes.
Unknown:And so so people respond by just dropping their masks and getting
Unknown:to the heart of the matter so much faster than they would
Unknown:without your presence that I can do your description and teaching
Unknown:around this. I can really hear that.
Unknown:That
Unknown:people
Unknown:because they
Unknown:And visually see, like, as if we're just meeting human to
Unknown:human person to person. And we're not ready to reveal yet
Unknown:the other person was okay, you know, will afford you some time
Unknown:and how many sessions it takes you to feel safe or
Unknown:what have you. But I could hear that, like, the client in this
Unknown:situation, they drop into the heart space really, really
Unknown:quickly. And I get like it's a resonance in a coherence. And
Unknown:you know, the very amazing yeah. And they do have an uncanny
Unknown:sense for actual
Unknown:circumstances that are going on in a person's life that are not
Unknown:present in the internet space or not, at the time,
Unknown:I think I may have shared with you about the client who asked
Unknown:me to come and work with her with her horses, about her
Unknown:business, she had a business decision, there was a colleague
Unknown:who wanted to go into business with her. And she, and that's
Unknown:how she presented it to me with as a decision. Well, horses are
Unknown:really great when you're, when you're at a choice point,
Unknown:to partner with them. Because, again, you know, we tend to make
Unknown:decisions on what we think we should do, or what we're afraid
Unknown:of, or, you know, all these other different things and, and
Unknown:to deliberate in the presence of a horse is to get really clear
Unknown:on what it is your heart is calling you to do. In this case,
Unknown:it went into a whole different realm, which is, you know,
Unknown:she's, I have to make this decision about my business. And
Unknown:she she had two horses, and she wanted to work with both of
Unknown:them. And
Unknown:one was to her left, and one was to her right one was a buckskin.
Unknown:And he was just there, steady Eddy holding the space. And the
Unknown:horse. To her left was a bay. And so she's talking to me about
Unknown:her business and the choices that she has to make. And I'm
Unknown:asking her questions about this than that. And, and the buckskin
Unknown:is just standing there while the bay is pulling the scrunchie out
Unknown:of her hair and pulling on her.
Unknown:undressing her and very intimate, very intimate, very
Unknown:intimate, and I'm looking at this and I'm going wow, okay.
Unknown:And again, it's not lychee horror. So I say you know what's
Unknown:going on with your bay horse? Oh, he's just mouthing. And I
Unknown:said, well, over here. It's like he's undressing you.
Unknown:And she was like, Oh, okay. Now, what she's willing to share is
Unknown:that this business decision that she's working through is
Unknown:actually a romantic decision.
Unknown:And it's about whether to leave the buckskin, who represents her
Unknown:husband, for the business associate, who wants to be in a
Unknown:romantic relationship with?
Unknown:Well, she had no intention of sharing that with me. That's
Unknown:incredible. You just want to you know, she was making it about a
Unknown:business decision. Yeah, I was taking that at face value. And,
Unknown:but in the presence of the horse, it's like, Whoo, yeah.
Unknown:Now, I can't explain to you how that came about. That's
Unknown:incredible. Mystery. That's why this I know, this is part
Unknown:because we've never really talked deeply about your work
Unknown:with the horses. And the, that's the magical aspect of it is just
Unknown:there's some deep knowing and intuition and they will do
Unknown:whatever it takes to somehow Express reflect to you what the
Unknown:real issue is. I love it. And it's just staggering,
Unknown:right? Because you were saying the thing about zebras, but you
Unknown:said the other day, no one's domesticated them. So yeah,
Unknown:there is a magic here and doing the full circle to our puzzle
Unknown:pieces. The horses certainly get a few. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Unknown:Who knows how it works, but I know I know. That's a mystery
Unknown:and that's it to me. It's okay. That it's a mystery. It's a
Unknown:magical experience to witness and be a part of, yeah, kind of
Unknown:as we we finish up today. What is it that you feel when you
Unknown:finish this session? For the for the most part with the horses
Unknown:like is your heart so full? Do you just feel just it's
Unknown:otherworldly
Unknown:gratitude, just
Unknown:that I that I've just experienced that it's just a
Unknown:horrible one once in a lifetime kind of experience and they're
Unknown:never this
Unknown:ain and I think the other is just before a session, I always,
Unknown:you know, I have a little anxiety, you know, I hope, I
Unknown:hope it all comes together. And all you have to do is just trust
Unknown:and be open and just step back. And you know, the horse has got
Unknown:this is like, you know all.
Unknown:Absolutely. And for the time that you've that you've had to
Unknown:take off or have taken off.
Unknown:I'm sure you miss it. I do. Yeah, I do. It's very, very
Unknown:special. And I just wish everyone could experience that.
Unknown:Oh, me too. I know. I go. Yeah, it sounds it sounds magical. And
Unknown:it's on my, I don't always use the word bucket list, but I'm
Unknown:gonna put it on that list for sure. There you go.
Unknown:As we finish up today, Mary, is there anything else that you
Unknown:want to share with the audience or that comes to mind for you? I
Unknown:guess just that
Unknown:what I, what I see as sort of my, what my role in terms of my
Unknown:path is to be an ally, with people to discover our infinite
Unknown:creative power. That, that, for me, it's one of the great
Unknown:lessons that we get to learn here in Earth school is
Unknown:how very powerful we are. And, you know, I feel like a neophyte
Unknown:I feel like a kindergarten in this regard in terms of really
Unknown:understanding how energy how to harness energy, and, you know,
Unknown:but this idea that we are divine beings, that we are powerful
Unknown:creators, that that's what you know, that's one of the things
Unknown:there is to explore is really, how, how infinite our
Unknown:possibility is that there really are, are no limits. If, if, if
Unknown:we're willing to do the work, and take the action and all the
Unknown:rest. Yeah, that that we're just incredibly Yeah.
Unknown:Powerful, and that there's really, so much more that's
Unknown:available to us than than we normally allow ourselves to
Unknown:believe. Now, I think that's true. And I And I'm grateful for
Unknown:your ability to be such a clear channel for that message. That
Unknown:adds, I really, I do think you, you really
Unknown:say it so clearly.
Unknown:That it just, I don't know, it rings true to my ears. And it's
Unknown:so full of possibility and hope for what what is to come in our
Unknown:lives. I mean, the shifts that you've taken in the last 20
Unknown:years is just like, it's, it's all so incredible. And you're
Unknown:only just beginning.
Unknown:And it's just I get to see and what other Oh, my gosh,
Unknown:absolutely. And I was good before you share where to find
Unknown:you is that I really appreciate your sense of playfulness, too.
Unknown:And I think that that's when we can open ourselves up to that
Unknown:that conversation, and that field of infinite possibilities.
Unknown:It becomes the playground and it becomes I think Heather Hansen
Unknown:said, the sandbox, and just a place to play. Because it's so
Unknown:important to bring in those elements to that that light and
Unknown:the levity, and yes, it's another gift of Mike Dooley as
Unknown:he's so played. Yes, yeah. I'll definitely put a link to his
Unknown:work in the show notes because I love him and his notes from the
Unknown:universe from taught. So yes. Okay. Well, Mary, where can
Unknown:listeners find you? Mary berg.com. Okay. All right. Yeah.
Unknown:Great. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much
Unknown:for having me. Maureen. You're well, I Yeah. I love to be with
Unknown:you. Yes, me too. And thank you to the listeners for being here.
Unknown:If you know of anyone who would benefit from this episode,
Unknown:please share. And yeah, I'll see you next time.
Unknown:Thanks for listening to this episode of mystical sisterhood.
Unknown:If you love what you heard, please visit Apple podcast and
Unknown:subscribe and leave a review and share with a friend if you're
Unknown:called to do so. To learn more about my one on one coaching
Unknown:programs, or join the mystical sisterhood membership, visit
Unknown:Maureenspielman.com or mysticalsisterhood.com Thanks so
