Riding into Your Mythic Life: Transformational Adventures with the Horse [Paperback]

Patricia Broersma (Author), Jean Houston (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2008

Anyone who has admired a horse galloping across a field has stepped into their mythic life, if only for a moment. Horses are by nature mythic, representing in our collective imagination the human journey at its greatest. In Riding into Your Mythic Life, therapeutic riding instructor Patricia Broersma invites readers on a transformative trip with these powerful creatures, offering strategies to explore life’s events as part of a personal mythic voyage. Broersma draws on more than 12 years of working with horses and adults, teenagers, and special-needs children, blending that experience with thoughtful mythological stories and a range of body-based modalities. Riding into Your Mythic Life teaches skills for developing intuition, compassion, and leadership, and ultimately for stepping into one’s greater life. The book encourages an awareness of subtle cues in oneself and others — both horses and people — and ways to orchestrate this awareness to overcome painful life events and lead a more joyful and fulfilling life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A pleasure to read and an adventure to live, Riding into Your Mythic Life is an important book!” — Linda Kohanov, author of The Tao of Equus “Riding into Your Mythic Life opened my mind, my heart, and my soul and sent all of them out over hidden mountain trails into rich green pastures - in fact, into a whole new way of experiencing the world.” — Margaret N. Rubin, director of the Center for Sacred Theatre “Trish Broersma has given readers a great gift with Riding into Your Mythic Life. This special book provides a wonderful insight into the many ways horses can change lives through their power, magic, and mythic legacy.” — Sheila Dietrich, former CEO of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) “In Riding into Your Mythic Life, Broersma explores the capacity of horses to take us instantly into an ancient world and there reveal to us our authentic selves. Through engaging rituals and conscious connection with horses, she helps us open to our mythic inner landscape and discover our true path in life.” — Marta Williams, animal communicator and author of Learning Their Language, Beyond Words, and Ask Your Animal --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

From the Back Cover

"Patricia Broersma takes the work of Joseph Campbell and Jean Houston one colossal step further, offering practical advice and experiential lessons on how we become our own knights in shining armor through the wisdom of the horse. A pleasure to read and an adventure to live, Riding into Your Mythic Life is an important book!"
-- Linda Kohanov, author of The Tao of Equus, Riding between the Worlds, and Way of the Horse: Equine Archetypes for Self-Discovery

"Riding into Your Mythic Life opened my mind, my heart, and my soul and sent all of them out over hidden mountain trails into rich green pastures -- in fact, into a whole new way of experiencing the world. I learned from this book, adventured with it, delighted in it. Patricia Broersma has hugely enriched my understanding of the healing power and presence of the horse. Her book invites us not only to experience the breathtaking wonder of partnering with a noble-hearted animal but also to transform our way of looking at all creatures. May its message ride out across the earth carrying joy and wisdom."
-- Margaret N. Rubin, director of the Center for Sacred Theatre

"Trish Broersma has given readers a great gift with Riding into Your Mythic Life. This special book provides a wonderful insight into the many ways horses can change lives through their power, magic, and mythic legacy. It should be read by anyone on a journey to empower themselves or for those who want to help others in need and with special needs. As Broersma explains, by partnering with the horse, the world can be changed for the better -- one person at a time."
-- Sheila Dietrich, former CEO of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA)

"In Riding into Your Mythic Life, Broersma explores the capacity of horses to take us instantly into an ancient world and there reveal to us our authentic selves. Through engaging rituals and conscious connection with horses, she helps us open to our mythic inner landscape and discover our true path in life."
-- Marta Williams, animal communicator and author of Learning Their Language, Beyond Words, and Ask Your Animal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: New World Library; First Trade Paper Edition edition (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157731655X
• ISBN-13: 978-1577316558
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #755,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Riding Into Your Mythic Life, November 30, 2007

By 

Tony Johnson (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Riding into Your Mythic Life: Transformational Adventures with the Horse (Hardcover)

This new book is a must read for every professional in the equine facilitated mental health profession. Broersma offers excellent, explicit exercises for therapists. She skillfully wraps these in a narrative of the hero's journey. Every horse lover will understand and enjoy the human-horse connections spelled out in the book. Every literature student will enjoy the explanation of mythological implications in our everyday life. Riding Into Your Mythic Life is a groundbreaking study into the new and exciting world of equine facilitated mental health by Patricia Broersma, a leader in the field. Kathryn King Johnson, C.O.O, Medicine Horse Program, Boulder, Colorado.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riding into Your Mythic Life, December 17, 2007

By 

Sharry Lachman (Eugene, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Riding into Your Mythic Life: Transformational Adventures with the Horse (Hardcover)

I would recommend this new book by Patricia Broersma to anyone who has an appreciation for horses and a desire to befriend themselves at a deeper level.

If, in addition, you happen to own or have access to a horse, this therapeudic riding instructor can lead you into a profoundly deep relationship, heightening your sensitivity to your horse and teaching you new ways to communicate and learn from each interaction. Reading this book, I felt I was being gently guided on an experiential journey through my own life, discovering it from a much larger perspective and learning how to appreciate the magic and wonder of it. With Broersma's guidance, I found it easy and very empowering to see the events of my life in the framework of a personal mythic journey, as the great adventure it is. What a gift!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Mythic Handbook, December 21, 2007

By 

P. Mootz - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Riding into Your Mythic Life: Transformational Adventures with the Horse (Hardcover)

I've always felt a deep connection with horses, even during the times in my life when none lived with me. 'Riding into Your Mythic Life' takes its readers on a hero's journey to explore that connection. I love the blend of myth, science, poetry and personal stories. It seems that if you open your heart and let in the message that Broersma and the horses have to share, it could truly change your life. I keep this book on the kitchen table and read it with my morning coffee. I am finding that I go back to it and reread chapters after working with my horses.