A Gift of Education

A guest post from Lorraine Casey, Continuing Studies' student.

 

I had the unique opportunity to attend university, in that my mother had signed over her Residential School Education Credits to me. She was genuinely happy and excited for me in my endeavours as I was the only one in my family who had not received any post-secondary education.

I have absolutely loved attending Royal Roads University. What a great site – it even has a castle for heavens sakes (!!!), scenery galore, beautiful gardens, a little waterfall, waterfront property one can sit at and enjoy one's lunch, and of course those beautiful peacocks.   Prior to enrolling at Royal Roads, I had checked online courses offered at UVic and Camosun, but found navigating their websites confusing and frustrating. I was so happy to find a Royal Roads University Continuing Studies catalogue at the library (a hard copy!), easy to follow, every bit of information I needed was right there, and that is what sold me on RRU.  Once enrolled, I found the staff so very helpful, cheerful with a genuine caring attitude. One could just feel the positive energy here.

My goal had been to obtain a Professional and Applied Communication Skills Certificate, for which I required eight courses. I had the first five classes with no problems, but then because of low enrolment, several of my classes had been cancelled and a couple re-scheduled; and I was getting concerned that I'd only get seven of the eight courses I needed. But with continued assistance from Tess Wixted and from Dr. Hilary Leighton, I was very excited to reach my goal!  May 26^th was both an exciting and a sad day for me – exciting because I reached my goal and obtained my Communications Certificate, and sad because my course was complete and it would be my last day RRU.

I have had the best time – a definite High point in my life.

Thank you Mom, Tess and Hilary! :)

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You too can learn more. Meet us at cstudies.royalroads.ca.

Mindfulness and Horse Time

A guest blog from Rebecca Bosma, a staff member here at Royal Roads University and a student of our recent course, Mindfulness and Horses.

Friday after work I changed into jeans and boots and headed to Mary’s Farm and Sanctuary. I stopped at Goldstream Park for a short walk because I was so early. The majestic old cedars, the sounds of the river and a family of Canada geese put me into a calm mood and ready to learn what Mindfulness and Horses would offer. The workshop description was a little vague but I trust Royal Roads University to offer experiences that are transformative in some way or another.

The location in itself is enough to put you in a peaceful state…. a sanctuary indeed. 30 acres of cared-for nature, sloping down Mount Finlayson to Goldstream River. A beautiful senior cat greeted each participant with a gentle face and responsive meows. Some chickens foraged about freely and I could hear the horses in the barn. Down a gentle slope two llamas and two goats resided in a generously sized pen, showing some interest in the new visitors as we arrived.

Oriane Lee Johnston was the first to welcome us and when Mary Rostad joined us we went into the tack room for introductions and an overview. Then we walked across to the “meditation stall” and sat on bales of hay (and blankets) while we focused on our breathing and sense of place. Then it was time to meet the horses, but not to touch them… just stand by them and breathe with them. That was new. It felt respectful. A coffee/tea break and then we walked down into the 10 acre field. So picturesque; 10 acres of tidy horse field, a pond, a healthy garden, and happy animals both domestic and wild. I had the feeling of being protected by the beautiful mountains surrounding this sanctuary. We stood within a horseshoe of logs waiting for the horses to be led into the pasture while holding a calm space for them and imagining that we were a herd as well. The horses were happy to join us in the vast pasture and seemed to have no concern with our presence. We watched them graze and interact, while we tried to guess which horse was the herd leader. Then we changed our mindset from calm to excited and waved our arms around and made some noises like cheering and loud wind. The horses noticed this and moved quickly away! When we stopped walking towards them and went back to our calm state, the horses stopped moving as well and continued their grazing, once again unconcerned with our presence.  For them, the alarming moment was over. They just got back to grazing.

We checked in again back at the tack room and Oriane shared a quote by Coleman Barks from Essential Rumi that set a comfortable tone for the workshop (mini-retreat): “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there”. Driving home on Friday night, I realized that I had slowed down… not just my driving speed, but my mind. It felt like time had slowed down, like I’d been at the farm for several hours, not just two. I had to focus on keeping up to the speed limit and my mind felt so calm. I was not worrying.. about anything!

On Saturday morning we met in the tack room to check in about how we felt last night after leaving and how we were feeling that morning. Many of us felt more aware and mindful of how we really felt, not how we wanted to feel or thought we should feel, but how we really felt. We were encouraged to bring our authentic selves and to recognize our feelings. We would not be processing any of the feelings that arose for any of us, but were told to just recognize the feelings and let them be. Our caring facilitators made us feel safe.

We started the day off with a Ten Points and Earth Descent Meditation beside the horse pasture. The horses seemed slightly interested that we all laid down in the grass. Then we were sent out into the pasture to find a spot to just be for 20 minutes or so.  I sat on a huge old log and soaked in the scenery and sounds and fresh clean smell of the air. I saw a snake but it was the blue feather near it that had originally caught my eye, the snake moved silently through the grass away from me. After our reflection time we went back to the barn and gave the horses some treats of apples and carrots before enjoying our own packed lunches. I shared some broccoli and parsley from my lunch with the llama; he rejected the radishes. After lunch we did a Tree Meditation and there was no lack of magnificent old trees from which to gain energy from. Then we broke into pairs and took turns doing different activities with the horses. The last exercise I participated in was interesting. My first role had been to simply observe and hold space for them (the facilitator, the other participant and the horse). They were trying to engage with the mare in the ring and she was a bit standoffish. After 10 minutes or so, she showed an interest in connecting with me and came over to stand against the fence that I was standing on the other side of. I thought peaceful thoughts and she stood while the other woman walked over and hugged her for awhile. I felt trusted and honoured that the horse had asked me for help by simply connecting, perhaps asking me what they wanted and maybe I thought back to her… they just want a horse hug… because who doesn’t?

There was some reflection time and then we met in the tack room again for closing. We all felt we had experienced some healing and definite shifts in our awareness… our mindfulness. Personally, I have a new place to think of when I feel a need to connect with myself. I think of the sound of horses contently munching on hay, the wind in the leaves (audible because of the general quietness), the free roaming hens clucking away and a feeling of peace – for humans and animals and nature.

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Rebecca Bosma is Administrative Manager for Centre for Coaching and Workplace Innovation at Royal Roads University.

Find out more at cstudies.royalroads.ca.