#50 Sarah Barnes: Trust Your Intuition

My guest for this episode of the podcast is Sarah V. Barnes, author of She Who Rides Horses. If you have ever wondered if intuition is real or questioned whether you could really trust your instincts, this podcast is for you. Sarah practiced in the logical world of academia before becoming an author. Working with horses taught her to move beyond logic. As she said in the podcast, “I feel like I’m reclaiming my birthright.” I couldn’t agree more. Sarah has a lot of wisdom to offer, both in this podcast and in her book. 

The book She Who Rides Horses is a historical fiction account of the first person to ride a horse in about 4000 BCE. The story dances the tightrope between the hard evidence of what historians know about that time period and that which can’t be known. It’s a gripping tale of life, love and spirit in an era long past. 

Given her background, Sarah is well-equipped to tell this story.

Sarah V. Barnes is both an historian and a horsewoman. When she is not writing stories, she practices and teaches riding as a meditative art. She also offers equine-facilitated coaching and wellness workshops. Sarah holds a Ph.D. in history from Northwestern University and spent many years as a college professor before turning full-time to riding and writing. She has two grown daughters and lives with her husband, her dogs, and her horses near Boulder, CO.  

Additional Topics:

• How to follow your intuition. 2:51
• We were born to be able to understand our instincts. 9:10
• The breath is a bridge between our conscious and our subconscious. It’s the only one we have. 16:41
• The importance of paying attention to heart rate variability. 20:06
• If you’re congruent, then the horse gets an opportunity to answer the question for itself. 31:40
• The difference between communication and intimidation in horses and humans. 38:03
• The impact of horses on warfare and the world. 45:56
• What was it about the domestication of the horse that tipped the scales in favor of patriarchy in Western society? 52:25
• As a fiction writer I get to play in the gap between the evidence and the unknown. 59:34
• Don’t wrestle with what the story is already giving you. 1:06:53
• What do you do when you don’t know what you’re doing?

Website: www.sarahvbarnes.com