chapter three take-away

For some odd reason I am already stuck on Sacred Spaces. Perhaps better said IN Sacred Spaces. Chapter 3 to be specific. It is titled "The Thought-Full and Emotional Human". Ummm, yep that is me.

I know in part the reason I am stuck is because I am an over-thinker. Wondering if I missed something. For now, I am refraining from re-reading chapter three.

What the author calls Productive Contemplation (PC) is what I call Visualization mixed with Meditation. 

My whole head is full of visualization. I think in pictures. Not by choice, it is how I am wired. I am very visual and frequently work on:

• Keeping my minds thoughts/pictures positive

• Focusing on one thing at a time, or at least quieting the others

Out of respect for the author, I don't want to give away too much of the book. I am sure she would prefer you read it :) However, there are some horse loading/unloading PC examples given that are ruminating in my head. Especially because the stories/examples in the book are real. 

Condensed version: A women has a horse dropped off to haul and was told it doesn't load. Over night, she imagines the unknown horse loading/unloading. In the morning, it does without issue. 

Another women has always needed help loading/unloading her horse. Driving home from the clinic, she imagines her horse loading/unloading. She unloads it by herself without issue. 

Hmmm. 

Brad and I were discussing how this is possible, when the handlers are not even in the same space as the horse. Telepathic sounds a bit woo-woo to me. It does make sense that PC changes a persons perception, and therefore shifts approach. The horse is the receptor. My take-away is the change resides in the person, and therefore the horse is approached/asked differently.

The power of positive thinking is real.

our winter herd were not part of book discussion

(Hope, Harmony, Cierra and Nemo)
1.17.2026

There are other related factors presented in Chapter 3, but I will close with the books clear message: 

Behavior <> Emotions <> Thoughts <> Emotions <> Behavior.

creating mindful space

This Winter. This year. This life. Has got me thinking. More than usual, which is already a lot.

I finally finished reading a book a friend chose for me. It was a book from her old reading group that she thought I would like. It was witchy. Maybe she was trying to tell me something LOL! She wasn't, the recommendation was spurred for a different reason.

The Witch's Daughter flops around different centuries (1600-2007) with a lot of death and fantasy weirdness. Reading it started out slooow, with pages full of tiny type. About a third of the way through the book, I was all in. I just found out this book is part of a series. I may or may not read more of them. I am familiar with the main witches ('er characters) and reading it involves imagination.

Meanwhile, among a few other TBR books there was one that jumped the line. Waiting to be cracked open. Suspenseful. I try not to start one book before I finish another. You can guess which book jumped the line, Sacred Spaces. Mentioned previously here and stemming from the Beautiful Mustang blog. 

I promptly read the Preface, Intro and Chapter One with interest. It closes with packing these three things for the book journey:

"A Desire to Learn.

An Open Mind.

A Loving Heart."

I already have those packed! Although some might beg to differ. My intention is to read this book slowly. To pause. Not for lack of interest, but to make space. Something that will be difficult for me. My files are always full and over-flowing. Letting go is hard. At least for me. 

I started reading Chapter Two in the evening, aaand said "this is way to technical right now". Perhaps it was the distracting drone of the wha-wha-wha TV noise. Suffice it to say, my night time reading is better kept light.

The next morning, I re-read the pages between sips of coffee. Finished Chapter two...and whoa!! Where is the mind blown emoji when I need it?! Oh, here it is 🤯 found on my laptop scrolly. Needless to say, I will be re-reading "Getting on the Same Wavelength(s)" more than once! Being on the same wavelength is not only necessary, it is interesting.

I give the author a lot of credit for acknowledging that not everyone is into science/techy/brain stuff. She suggests those readers skim, and skip ahead. I already noticed, questions are posed for the reader to decide. Meanwhile, theories and information shared is backed up by studies/science. 

Which leads me to a segua into my past and why this brainy-mind stuff is so exciting for me. One of my favorite college memories was sitting in a Psychology lecture about the brain. Why people do what they do. I recall thinking "that is me" and "oh no, that is also me"...and that is why so and so does XYZ. It was then that I fell in love with Psychology.

I took two elective Psychology courses in college, and did very well under an amazing tough love instructor. I looked into switching my major (Applied Arts) so I could marry the things I loved. I wanted to help others through Art Therapy. Specifically children. However, it required a separate Art Therapy Masters. A field that was new-ish back in the day and not offered in the big-little city. As a single mother, it would have been difficult at best to travel to classes and achieve all the extra schooling. What really swayed me, was finding out that an Art Therapist might spend one hour a day actually working with kids/art. The rest is spent managing/paperwork. No thanks. I didn't need more managing roles in my life, or paperwork.

Back to the present. Where shifting mindset will be close to impossible for me. It requires me to:

"Hone my Senses.

Pay Attention to Messages from my Senses.

Gain Control over Thoughts and Emotions (aka Energy Signature)".

Easier typed than done. Reframing my awareness will no doubt be trial and a lot of error. A worthwhile time (and mind) investment. I have already started my accompanying reflection journal, and have the remaining chapters in Sacred Spaces to guide me. One by one. 

Nemo & Cierra and Jameson
1.14.26

  

trying new things

Instead of setting New Year’s resolutions, which I gave up on decades ago, choosing goals or a focus word, I decided to try something I had never heard about. Rauhnächte. Have you heard of it?

"The Rauhnächte (Mystic Nights) are a period of 12 holy nights between Christmas and Epiphany (Dec 25th - Jan 6th) in ancient Germanic/Celtic traditions, seen as a time when the veil between worlds is thin, perfect for introspection, setting intentions, and spiritual cleansing to prepare for the new year. Rituals include smoke-cleansing homes to banish spirits, reflecting on the past year, and a popular "13 Wishes" practice where one wish is burned nightly, leaving the 13th as a guiding intention for the year ahead." 

From what I've read, start and end dates vary. Is the 13th wish chosen by that which we cannot see, or by pure chance? You decide.
 

~~~

On December 24th, I wrote 13 wishes on paper and chose them one by one without looking. I tossed wishes into the fire place each night, starting the 25th. One by one my wishes went up in flame. Poof!!

13 days is a long time to wait and wonder. It felt kinda weird. Am I dismissing 12 wishes forever-n-ever-n-ever? I sure hope not. I truly hope by participating in Rauhnächte that I did not open up my world to weirdness. According to my friend Google the Mystic Nights are also celebrated by Pagen, and probably others. Like me, who are not German/Celtic/Pagen. I can't even pronounce "ROW-na-tek-teh"!! Translated from German as "Rough Nights". Also known as "Twelve Nights". I did not smudge my house, nor burn incense or do any other related rituals. Of which there are many.

January 6th finally arrived. A familiar notable date. I grew up celebrating Dia de Los Reyes Magos (aka Three Kings Day) on January 6th in a much different way. That is another story.

Are you curious what my remaining wish to focus on this year is??!? I was too!

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wait for it

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wait for it

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the first wish I wrote down!

I was completely stunned!! I am still stunned. How in the heckle bejeckle did this happen? I mean, my first wish made it though to the end? 2026 is the Year of the Horse and my wish is about horses. I recently received the book Sacred Spaces and a beautiful Horse Journal from Linda, to help me along my way. Did I mention my first wish remained?! Jaw Drop.

Looks like it is up to me to make my chosen wish happen. Next month, it will be two years since I was on a horse. Nemo and I walked around the arena briefly, maybe 5-10 minutes.

me and Nemo

2.3.24

You gotta believe. 

land of wonders ~ december

December on Hidden Cactus Ranch started out much like November closed out. With snow, happy dogs, and snow shoe walks.

 

Tankee 12.1.25

Tank, Remi and Jameson

12.2.25

snow much fun (6X in December)

a snowy porcupine

Nemo is always concerned about my poles

12.3.25

Nemo (22 secs)

Grand dog Jameson turned a corner and is holding his own for now. He is on a raw dog food diet, and a couple meds. He has gotten so skinny. On cold and windy days, I put our old dog Sam's winter coat on Jameson (clipped up).

Heading down to the pines (18 secs)
12.5.25

Our weather turned cold(er) and we didn't go out on walks. I just can't leave J behind. 

Jameson on his fav bed
12.7.25

While flying high in the sky on our way to Vegas, I enjoyed different land views.

Brad said these are crop circle patterns
12.10.25

mountain view from Denver airport

I was in awe of the detailed texture, patterns and rich colors of the desert.

Nevada

It was below zero when we returned from vacationing. Purr was not amused.

12.14.25

A welcome return to gorgeous land sunset views...

close-up

...and more snow shoe walks.

12.16.25

whispy clouds

ground fog 12.18.25

Having recently returned from NFR Cowboy Christmas, we thought it was ironic when this swag bag arrived from Snake River Farms. Brad occasionally orders specialty meat from SRF.

As long as I am off the land topic, I wanted to share an updated photo of my most treasured plant. You may recall the Christmas Cactus I have had since I was 17. It was temporarily relocated to our bedroom in order to have space for a Christmas Tree. It is now 54" wide!

For a couple days, our land wasn't so wonderful. We had wild high winds and warmer temps. It melted and turned our snow into messy slush. What I call ugly snow. 

Jameson's mom took him to her new home for a few days. It had been a minute since it was safe to be in our woods. It felt odd to walk them with only one dog.

12.22.25

mother natures pruning

There were tons of deer tracks all over our woods. As if they held a dance party during my absence. Have you ever noticed some melting deer tracks turn into heart shapes? Beauty can be found in every situation. If you are open to it. I found so many heart shapes!

follow your heart

After Christmas Eve with our family at home and Christmas Day at Brad's parents, we welcomed the stillness of natures fog.

Cierra 12.26.25

We enjoyed a shorter slushy walk in our Enchanted Woods area, after the fog lifted.

Leo and Jameson

Hope & Harmony waiting to come inside
12.26.25

The closing of December was sparkly. Sparkles were literally blowing sideways past our windows. Glimmering reflective light crystals are one of the hardest things to capture. Much prettier than the video clip.

flying sparkles (7 secs)

On our last walk of the year, we found the winds had helped Mother Nature do some tree trimming in our woods. 

A large oak tree with a split had shifted. It needs to either finally fall, or get cut down. Which I understand is a tricky tree situation. I've been watching this tree get increasingly dangerous for years. The split is now complete and reaches the ground. The left arrow points to the trunk split. The arrow on the right points to a large hung up tree sized branch. Waiting to fall on someone’s head. It will not be mine, or our dogs. We turned around and will refrain from walking that part of our Y path. 

big two-trunk tree 12.30.25



little down branches

 

big down tree

Our grand dog Remi is a Bernese Mountain Dog that upon occasion goes rouge on our walks. She is very (very) routine oriented and stubborn. See the black dot at the bottom of the field, near the tree line below? We were going to walk the Western part of our property, but she likes to head north to the pines. So she did. By herself. I looked up from putting my trackers on my boots, and I couldn't believe where she was. Wow, that dog covers ground like a ranch dog!

In order to get Remi to stop, I hollered. Pretty sure they heard me in town. She plopped down to wait for us, as she often does. Sigh. I don't need her walking the woods alone. Remi might look like a bear with a big bark, but is fairly helpless. Although she might lick you to death.

12.31.25

see, Remi’s drop-n-plop

12.31.25

This my friends closes out not only December, but 2025 land of wonders. Onward.

New Year wishes

Wishing each of you a Healthy & Happy New Year!!

~~~

2025 seasonal card



inside stamped sentiment



back of card

~~~

Thank you all, for your continued Blogger friendships! I love reading, learning and interacting with each of you!! 2026 is going to be a great year. If I say it enough, it could happen LOL!

I look forward to unfolding, unpacking and letting go of that which feels heavy. Another year of sharing and caring, learning, reconnecting and expanding horizons.

All my best to you for 2026!!