June 24, 2007 

It is funny how horses have come back into my life again. Here I was at a conference for Therapeutic Riding and I have learned so much. There were people from Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming and most of them work at a

Therapeutic Riding Center. In the morning we were at the Holiday Inn where we learned more about what the benefits are of Therapy with horses as well as how to take care of your horse which was presented by a vet from

Sheridan. 

In the afternoon we went to CHAPS which is the riding center in

Sheridan. Michelle from

Arizona did a presentation in which we had to either act out a disability or be the volunteer to help this person. I was the volunteer for a woman who had to pretend that she was blind. As I had never worked like this before I said to her; I am not sure if I will be of much help guiding you but I can sing for you. We all had a great laugh about this one. After she had been brought to the horse and had brushed him, it was my turn to have the blindfold on and to pretend that I was blind. It was interesting to experience this. I enjoyed feeling the horse with a visual input.  As I have very little experience working with people with disabilities, I found all the information very helpful. 

On Sunday morning a massage therapist for horses did a presentation and I was really fascinated by this. She works with pressure points and also mentioned energy work. Afterwards I felt drawn to talk to her and explain what I do. She was really interested and feels that some of her clients would benefit from a workshop. 

I did my presentation on Sunday afternoon. Never thought I would do one in an arena for horses. I am so glad that I was part of this conference. I have learned so much and have met wonderful people. New doors have opened for me and I am excited to see where this will lead.

Posted: June 25th, 2007 under June 2007.
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June 23, 2007 

My intuition is increasing tremendously. When I was driving from Jackson to

Sheridan, which was about 7 ½ hrs, I heard this soft voice inside my head saying to check the tires. I ignored this voice and about 100 miles later; I heard a loud bang and realized I had a flat tire. As I was in the middle of nowhere I had to drive another 20 miles to the nearest town where I found a petrol station that was able to help me out. These big tires can’t be replaced by someone like me without the right tools. After the spare tire was put on, I saw that some wires were dragging on the ground. They were broken but we couldn’t see where they were coming from. I still had another 200 miles to go and had to cross the

Big Horn Mountains with an elevation of 9660 ft. What was I to do? The man at the gas station didn’t know of any one who could help me so I had no option but to drive on. It bothered me that I didn’t know what they were for and every thing I tried was still working. While driving all these thoughts popped in my mind; what if it is related to the breaks or the steering wheel and I am in the mountains and I crash? Fear came over me. When I realized this, I took some time to tune into my intuition and ask if I should drive on. I felt I would be ok as long as I was careful. So of I went visualizing that I would arrive safely in

Sheridan and I did. 

When I was in

Sheridan last week, I saw a flyer for a Victorian ball and really wanted to go there but I didn’t think that I was going to be in town for this event. While driving I remembered that this was on the 22^nd, I was excited as I would be able to attend this event. The flyer had said that it was a costumed ball so I was wondering what I could wear for the occasion. I didn’t really have anything Victorian and there was no time for me to rent something. Then I realized that when I was in a store in Denver a few weeks ago, I had seen a dress that was on sale and it was a more classical gown than I usually wear. I had bought it as I felt I could use it if I would do a more classical type of concert. This dress was perfect for this event. I arrived half an hour before the ball started so had to rush to fresh up, do my hair and make up and get dressed.

 

When I walked in, I saw some people from the Chamber of Commerce and suddenly I hear; Simone, what are you doing here? It was Edre whom I had met at the Holistic Fair. Most people came in pairs but I was lucky that I got asked by Nathan from Colorado, who turned out to be the perfect dance partner. It was great fun to see everyone in beautiful costumes and to learn Victorian dances. I had a great time and it was another one of those things that you don’t get to do very often. I just love to experience new things so when it is my time to pass on, I can look back and say; I have done all the things that I wanted to do. I have had an incredible life.  

  

 

Posted: June 25th, 2007 under June 2007.
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June 22, 2007 

Last night I found a nice place at Mosquito Creek in

Wilson to park my RV for the night. I parked it really close to the creek and felt drawn to sing so while I was cooling down my feet, I gave a concert for the trees and wildlife of that area. There is something special about singing in nature and not having a human audience. In nature it doesn’t matter how I sing or what I do, it is always ok and I never feel judged. We as humans and I am guilty of this too, do have a tendency to judge. Our mind is a funny thing. Every time we see something, our mind needs to label this. How often do we try to change someone if this person is different or acts different than we do? We would like them to act, behave and live like we do but when we really look into this, how would this world be if everybody would be the same. I am observing these thought patterns now and try not to pay attention to this. I would like to see the brilliance in every thing and every body and accept someone for who they are. It is such a wonderful feeling to be accepted for who you are. This is probably the biggest gift you can give to someone. 

Karen Clift, the singer from Sheridan, had given me the name of her friends Denny and Sally Beckers who live in Wilson which is close to

Jackson. I had called them when I first came into town and they had invited me for breakfast in their home so this morning at 8am I was welcomed into their beautiful home. They have a B & B so the table was filled with people from all over. They came from Florida, California, Dallas and even the

UK. I always love to meet new people and hear their stories. Danny and Sally are very warm and hospitable and their house is located on top of a hill surrounded by lush greens and a great view of the mountains. Their website is www.cruising-america.com/tetontreehouse

 

 

After a wonderful home cooked breakfast with great company I went back the Riding Center again as Donna had asked me to work with a group of people who were mentally challenged. This was a fun group with lots of play time so I did some singing with them which they enjoyed.  

Afterwards Donna said that she was going to this NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association) and that she had talked to the organization and it might be possible for me to do a presentation on the Healing Power of Sound. I asked her where this conference was and had to laugh when she said Sheridan. I guess Sheridan is calling me again. I had not even been gone for a week and I am heading out there again.

Posted: June 25th, 2007 under June 2007.
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June 21, 2007 

Yesterday morning I took the ski lift up onto the mountain at 8000ft from which I had a great view of the Grand Tetons. These mountains have stolen my heart. I feel extremely drawn to them. From there I hiked all the way down which was really nice. I like

Jackson. I think I could live here although the winters might be a bit too cold for me.  

In the afternoon I went back to the

Therapeutic Riding Center as Donna had asked me to work with some children. They were both around 16 and mentally and physically challenged. After I did some toning for a while Sydney, one of the girls, started to make sounds as well. I followed her tone and she seemed to really enjoy it. With some tones, she even shaped her mouth. Her mother told me later that she has never been so verbal and that she doesn’t speak so for her to shape her mouth was really amazing. She really got into the toning and it was a very special moment. The physical therapist of both girls was present and she said that the other girl McKeanna had been more quite and relaxed. 

After this session there was an older woman Donna and Laura, the woman from yesterday, in the same session. Donna really enjoyed the toning and when I asked her if she liked to sing, she started to sing a song and it sounded really beautiful. We then sang Ave Maria together and she knew most of the words to this. The trainers had goose bumps all over. After this, I asked her to tone with me and she did so. I then worked on Laura and got her to tone with me and focus on certain areas of her body while also visualizing a color in that area. She could feel the resonance through her own sound and her body relaxed.  

She had mentioned that after the first time I worked on her, she could still feel the benefit of this in the evening. She had felt her whole neck and jaw area much more relaxed. 

The next session was a young Spanish boy, who every time I stopped with toning said; mass which means more. I couldn’t even take a breath or he already asked for more. He also did a bit of toning with me. 

It is so wonderful to work with all these different children and people and see what kind of effect it has on them. 

Kelly, the executive director, said that they had a board meeting that morning and that she had mentioned what had happened. The board was really interested and might like to have me as part of the therapy. We will see where this goes but I am very excited about all the possibilities. 

Posted: June 21st, 2007 under June 2007.
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June 20, 2007 

Something really amazing happened yesterday. When I had sent out an email to my friends that I was coming to Wyoming and if they could recommend any places, my friend Ed from upstate New York emailed me that he was in

Jackson. I told him that I longed to be on a horse ranch and if he knew of any. He asked his friends but they didn’t know of any but Ed gave me the phone number of his friend Trace and said that I could call him when I was in

Jackson. So when I arrived two days ago, I called him and ask if he knew of anyone with horses as I still had that longing to be with horses and hopefully to do some riding in this amazing area. I did wonder why I still had this strong longing as I haven’t had that for years. Trace told me he only knew of the

Therapeutic Riding Center and that they always are in need of volunteers. I felt I needed to go there so in the afternoon I drove to the center.  

When I arrived, I told them that I was in town for a few days and that I had been told that they need volunteers. They cheered and asked if I could help now as they were putting invitations for their fundraiser in envelopes. So I joint the group and smiled to myself. Here I was, in a new town, preparing invitations and meeting new people. Most people go sightseeing when they haven’t been somewhere before. What I love about this is that it is a great way of meeting new people quickly.  

They told me about the special programs that they do and recommended that I go and watch a session so I sat down outside of the arena watching Donna, the therapist, work with Laura. Laura is a woman of 34 who had been in a terrible accident seven years ago. She was paralyzed and the doctors had told her that she would not be able to walk again. Two years ago, she came out of her wheelchair and is now walking with a cane. 

While watching her, I felt that I might be able to help her so I thought I would approach her after her session and offer to do some healing on her. Donna suddenly asked Laura what kind of music she likes as she works with music in her sessions. Laura said classical as well as Jazz. I knew that this was the perfect time for me to speak up so I said; how about live music? I am a singer and a sound healer. Donna invited me in the arena. While I walked into the arena, I felt tingling throughout my entire body.  Laura sat on Smokey the horse; two women held her legs and one was leading the horse. While the walked around the arena, I did my toning. After about 5 minutes I stopped and Donna came up to me with tears in her eyes. She said; that was amazing. Laura told me that she had felt her entire body relax which she has not been able to do at all for the last seven years. Donna asked if I wanted to do some more so we did another five minutes. In the meantime, Donna has asked for Kelly the executive director to come and watch and some other people who were there watch too.  

After I was done, the three of us looked at each other and we all knew that this had been a very special moment. Even the trainers who were working with the horse had felt it. Laura said that she had felt the horse totally relax and that this was better then any massage that she had ever had.She said that since the last seven years she had constantly felt pain but in the last ten minutes she had not felt any. She is writing a book about Chronicle pain and all the things she has discovered that can help and said; I want to add another chapter to my book about this. Can I interview you? I want to know all about this. I was really excited about this whole experience as in the morning I had asked the Universe if I could get a testimonial that my tones really help people. Well, I couldn’t get a better testimonial then this. I told them that I had a CD out with my toning and that I would give one to each. Donna said; do you have two? I will be going to a congress on Hypo therapy this weekend and would like to tell them about this.We all felt so blessed by this very special moment and knew that this had been very important for all of us. This would open many new doors and we are all very excited about the possibilities. 

 

Every morning when I wake up, I say; please show me where I need to go, what I need to do, who I need to meet and let me be of service. This has brought me many unforgettable moments but what had happened today had truly been a God’s gift. 

Posted: June 21st, 2007 under June 2007.
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June 19, 2007 I had planned to leave early to

Grand Teton

National Park yesterday but woke up in the middle of the night and did some songwriting. After I finally went back to sleep I woke up at 8am so by the time I was ready to leave it was 9am.

 I visited the Old Faithful Geyser and was lucky that it started to blow only 10 minutes after I was there. From there I drove to the

Grand Teton

National Park. The minute I saw those incredible mountains I was mesmerized by them. They are the most incredible mountains I have ever seen. It is as if they radiate light. I felt like I had been here before and it felt like coming home. The energy here is really beautiful and I have a similar sense as when I came to Sedona although Sedona is very masculine energy and this is more feminine yet powerful in its own way.

 I went for a beautiful hike along

Jenny

Lake and then drove to a campground to stay for the night.

Posted: June 21st, 2007 under June 2007.
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June 18, 2007 

Yesterday I drove from

Bridge Bay to

Canyon Village where I saw the Yellowstone Grand Canyon. Wow, the colors of the canyon were just amazing. Because of the sulpher they had pallets of yellow, while, red and pink. The waterfall in the midst of these beautiful colors just added that extra magic. 

From there I drove North to Tower- Roosevelt and saw Moose, Deer, a Black Bear cup, and Elk. This place is a heaven for wildlife. I then drove up to Mammoth Hot Springs and saw the beautiful terraces. I am amazed how the scenery constantly changes. You only have to drive a few miles and you go from green hills, to deep canyons, then to a lake shore and then to hot springs. I had been told that

Yellowstone National Park was really beautiful but had not expected this. From the

hot springs I drove south to Norris and the weather changed. It started to snow! I couldn’t believe it. Yesterday morning it was 75 C and now it was 40 C.  I am glad that I bought some warm clothes. Tonight I am staying at a campground in

Madison.  

Although I am really enjoying being here in this amazing piece of nature, I wish that I could share this. Staying at the campground, I see couples and families and realize how wonderful it is to share these special moments. So I am glad that I can at least share this with you.

Posted: June 19th, 2007 under June 2007.
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June 17, 2007 

 

Yesterday night I stayed at the Wall-mart parking area with a lot of other RV’s because of the Powwow that was happening today. I can’t believe my luck. Of all days that I have been traveling exactly on the day that I am in Cody there is a Powwow. I have never experienced one so decided to attend. It is quite funny; one moment I am hanging out with the cowboys and the next I am surrounded by Native American Indians. 

 

The Grand Opening was really beautiful with Indians of all ages dressed in a variety of customs. They danced while others were playing the drums and singing Indians songs. This really resonated with me and I could feel the vibrations in my body. After spending a few hours there, it was time to head to

Yellowstone National Park.

The drive through it was really beautiful. I drove through a beautiful canyon and was surrounded by majestic mountains. I had made reservations this morning to stay at the

Bridge Bay campground and arrived around 6pm. I love the energy of this park. You can really feel that you are in a National Park where there is no industry or residential area at all. There is just nature.

Posted: June 19th, 2007 under June 2007.
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June 16, 2007 

It was time to say good bye to Padlock Ranch and finally head towards

West Wyoming. I had to go through the

Bighorn Mountains and the pass was about 7500 ft. I have to be honest that I could not look into the depth and had to take some deep breaths. It was only 10 years ago when Nico and I drove through

New Zealand in the RV and I couldn’t look at all when we were driving through the mountains. I have come a long way and am proud of myself that I don’t let my fear stop me from doing what I love to do. Here I am, driving a 30 ft RV through the mountains all by myself.  

On my way I saw a beautiful waterfall and amazing scenery. I had to take another pass but this one was only 9000 ft. Hey, I am getting used to this! When I was in shell I called the Flitner Family. They own a large cattle Ranch as well as a dude Ranch in Shell. Vicky had told me last week that they might let me stay on their ranch and help with a cattle drive. This was before I knew I was going to stay at Padlock. When I arrived in Shell, I rang the lady and she said that I needed to talk to the manager of the dude Ranch as he might be able to help me. I rang but got the voice mail so I decided to drive by. When I arrived, for some reason I felt that this was not the place for me to stay right now. I did have my cattle drive and it was time to move on to something new so I drove on to Cody.

   

 

In Cody, I saw that they have nightly rodeos so I went to the Rodeo Ground and talked to someone of the organization. I mentioned that I am a singer and that I would like to offer to sing the National Anthem. They loved the idea and so at 8 pm when the rodeo started and after the announcer said a prayer, I entered on a horse to the center of the arena while the announcer introduced me. I then sang the National Anthem for aprox. 1000 people and then canter out of the arena. It was a great experience! I was then able to watch the Rodeo. Having spent a day with the cowboys, I now understand why they do all these exercises and what the purpose of it is. Although I don’t really see the purpose of riding the bull.  I guess this is just to prove the manly hood of the guys.

   

 

When the Rodeo was finished, I went to a cowboy bar where they had live music and ended up doing the Two Step with a man who was a great dancer. So, I now know another dance!

Posted: June 19th, 2007 under June 2007.
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June 15, 2007 Yesterday one of my dreams came through. I had longed to go on a cattle drive for years and yesterday it finally happened. I had to get up at 4am, had to be in the stables at 4.30am to saddle my horse. We then loaded the horses and went over to another part of the farm where we picked up Brian and his horse. There was me, Tray (the livestock manager), his seven year old son Hugh, Brian and Sarah (a veterinary student).We then drove to the Bar V ranch where more cowboys and their horses were waiting. The land where we are going to ride and brand is actually on a Indian Reservation that belongs to the Crow tribe. 

At 7am we sat on our horses and rode the beautiful hills to find the cattle. There were three pairs who all went a different direction. I was paired up with Brian. We found some cattle up on the ridge and they needed to go down to cross the creek. Brian told me to wait on top while he would bring the cattle down. The other cowboys would come over the ridge and as soon as I would see them bring the cattle down, I needed to come down and look for him. So here I was, sitting on this beautiful quarter horse at 7.30 in the morning on top of the ridge overlooking this amazing area. It was an incredible feeling and I could imagine myself being an Indian Chief overlooking this valley in ancient times. When I saw the other cowboys bringing the cattle down, I went down the steep slope towards the creek. When I was there, I saw the cattle coming my way. I wasn’t sure what to do but Brian had told me that they needed to cross the creek so I guided them that way and just waited there till Sam came and told me that they had enough cattle and that Brian had been looking for me at the top of the ridge. There had been a misunderstanding in communication. He had meant for me to come down the ridge heading south. I thought he had wanted me to come down the hill. I learned again that communication is the key and that it would have been better if I had talked to him about what I understood he wanted me to do. Oh well, you always learn. Sam and I headed up the hill and connected with the other cowboys who were herding the cattle. This was great fun! Sometimes a calf would try to break out and then I would go after it and bring it back. Close to the corral we had the whole herd of cattle together and were driving them towards the coral. The cows could feel the pressure and we needed to stay close to push them forwards. I looked at how the others were riding but this was the first time for me so I was not as fast and flexible with my horse. At one point, there was a gap between me and another rider and the cattle broke through so we had to go in full gallop to get in front of them and bring them back again. This was very hard and focused work and I could feel myself and my horse tire. We stayed close enough this time and were able to bring the herd into the coral. Now I understand so much more about Western riding and why they do certain moves and why they all wear spurs. If you and your horse don’t respond quickly enough, you can lose the whole herd and have to start all over again. It was a great experience and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be part of this. 

The next part was not really my thing. Clayton, one of the other cowboys, gave me the tag gun and said that I had to tag the calves. I told him that I would not be good at that. I am a vegetarian so that should tell you enough about what kind of person I am, I said. They looked at me and I thought their eyes would pop out. You don’t eat steak, Brian said. The look on his face was worth a million. He had never met a vegetarian before. I guess I have landed in a different world. My new job was to prepare the tag gun with the tags and hand them to the person who was going to do the tagging. Two cowboys (or cowgirl as Claytons wife Christina also helped out and was an excellent roper) would enter the corral on horse, catch a calf with their lasso, drag it over the ground towards another cowboy who would be waiting with a iron handle that was tight to rope and rubber. He would put over the handle over the calf’s neck so that the animal would be stretched out between this and the rope around his legs attached to the horse. They would then brand it, castrate it if it was a bull, vaccinate it, tag it and dehorn it all in one go. Then they would let go of the calf and the next would be waiting.The castration is just done with a pocket knife. The just cut the testicles and throw those in a bucket that was right next to where the tags were that I had to put in the gun. I was in the way at one point and got some balls thrown at my legs. I have to say that I felt every pain of every calf and was so nauseated that I couldn’t eat lunch. I am not very good at this and definitely could not look at all. Of course I got teased because of this as Christina did the same work as all these guys and had no problems with it. I asked her what she loved about the life of a cowgirl. Everything, she said, getting dirty.  

We were back at the Ranch at 7pm and had branded 300 calves. I was exhausted. These guys work really hard. Getting up at 4am, doing extremely physical work and they might have had a break for maybe 45 minutes in between to eat some lunch and get something to drink. I am glad I got to experience all of this, even though some of it was not so pleasant. Now I have more of an understanding of the life of a cowboy. 

Posted: June 19th, 2007 under June 2007.
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