Whatever your political beliefs or where you live in the world, if you’re willing to open your eyes, heart and mind, you know that humanity is not doing well. We are in serious danger unless we change our way of being on planet Earth and need all the help we can get. Kelly Wendorf may be just the person who can give it to us. I first learned about Kelly’s work from my friend and colleague Chip Conley who is the founder of The Modern Elder Academy, the world’s first midlife wisdom school.

                Chip and his team were offering a program at their Santa Fe Center titled Applying Ancient Wisdom for Personal Transformation, with guest faculty Kelly Wendorf. The description was intriguing.

“In this Owning Wisdom workshop co-facilitated with EQUUS founder, coach, author, and ‘CEO whisperer’ Kelly Wendorf, you will be invited to enter through Nature’s doorway into a deeper, more profound relationship with yourself and the world around you.”

                I immediately purchased Kelly’s book with the mysterious title, Flying Lead Change: 56 Million Years of Wisdom for Leading and Living. I recently had the great pleasure of having a free-ranging discussion with Kelly about her fascinating life, what she has learned from indigenous elders she has met in her travels around the world, and her love and connection with the wisdom of horses. You can engage with our fascinating discussion here.

                As the founder of EQUUS, her mission is to liberate the leadership capacities of the conscientious, empathetic, accountable, and kind individuals who are most qualified to guide humanity into a future where we live in greater communion and connection to nature and to ourselves. 

                When I read her book, I was impressed by the range of experiences and wisdom she has acquired over the years, including expertise in the field of neuropsychology. She quotes one of the leaders in the field, Dr. Mario Martinez, author of The MindBody Code. Dr. Martinez says,

“All cultures, East and West, have their own unique ways of punishing those whose ideas and behaviors run contrary to established beliefs. These forms of punishment cause emotional damage that surfaces in the form of three archetypal wounds: abandonment, shame, and betrayal.”

                Dr. Martinez goes on to say,

“I discovered something profound. There is a healing field for each of the three wounds. Commitment heals abandonment, honor heals shame, and loyalty heals betrayal.”

                When I interviewed Kelly she described an experience she had with the group of Native American healthcare practitioners and community leaders from the Four Corners region of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Kelly said,

“When they all entered the arena to meet the horses, the horses responded in a bizarre fashion. Normally when people enter the herd, our horses are curious, or may show off, be agitated, or take turns meeting each person. In this case, not one horse acknowledged any person in the entire group. It was as if the people weren’t there.”

                From long experience Kelly knows that the wisdom tunes into deep truths about the humans who visit.

“What were the horses reflecting?” she asked the participants. “If we assume that the horses have a gift of teaching, what might that be?”

                It took a while working with the group but she discovered that every member of the group held shame for simply being alive, brought about by their collective historical trauma as displaced indigenous people. Drawing on the wisdom from Dr. Martinez, she and her horses were able to help the group reclaim their honor, loyalty, and commitment to life.

                In many ways we are all wounded by our collective historical trauma that goes back more than 6,000 years and we all have much to learn from elders who have been successful here on Earth for 56 million years. Interviewing Kelly and reading her book gave me a profound insight into what all humanity could learn. Imagine being in the presence of wise elders who recognize our individual woundedness and disconnection, who can see through our defensive shields, give us honest feedback about the state of our dis-ease, and guide our healing.

                Kelly asks in her book,

“What if you had a source of wisdom, a teacher, a mentor, who had been around for a really long time and who had mastered the big challenges that we are trying to figure out about how to live here on Earth?”

The answer is that we do and we all have access to it if we are willing to live and learn.

The Five Pillars and Two Superpowers That Kelly Wendorf Offers the World

                Kelly says,

“Based on my observation of multiple herds, wild and domestic, and a lifetime of working with horses, it is my experience that equine culture is organized around five pillars: Safety, Connection, Peace, Freedom, and Joy.”

                Take a moment to breathe and imagine a world where humanity was organized around these five pillars. What kind of leadership would it take to support our safety, connection, peace, freedom, and joy? Clearly, not the kind of leaders that dominate the headlines in the news today. Kelly observes.

“The leader is the one who is not the mightiest or the most domineering but who cares the most—a true definition of a servant leader.”

                She goes on to say,

“The leader, or the head of the family, is chosen based on their ability to maintain these pillars within the herd system. How exactly does a lead horse govern and keep those five pillars intact? Through two superpowers: care and presence.

                Kelly concludes saying,

“Care is that genuine desire to attend to the needs of others. Synonymous with love, care is unconditional love with responsibility. Presence is the ability to be wholly here in this present moment, in this limitless sense of totality here and how. Presence enables care to be acutely responsive to the moment, in each moment. Without presence, care can be inaccurate or ill-timed. Without care, presence can remain aloof.”

What Equus Offers

                I invite you to check out Kelly’s work at Equusinspired.com if you answer “yes” to any of these questions:

• Do you sense something more is possible for your life?
• Are you called to something deeper?
• Do you long to be challenged and inspired?
• Are you ready to really move the needle in your life?

“Welcome to a powerful approach to self-discovery and personal and professional development,” says Kelly. “Our evidence-based experiential processes leave you changed, meaningfully impacted, and clear about your next steps forward. Our work sits at the nexus of science, ancient wisdom and social innovation, and is designed to create measurable results through the following:”

“Coaching is one of our most popular offerings and sessions are both in-person and remotely by phone or zoom.”

“We offer online courses throughout the year on varied topics based on the mission and values of ancient nature-based wisdom, neuroscience, contemplative wisdom, innovative leadership, and life-long learning.”

“The Equus Experience is our award-winning personal and leadership development process that changes organizations, and transforms individuals, families, leaders, and teams.”

“A mastermind and group coaching platform and innovative approach for navigating transition, developing leadership, and developing self-mastery developed by Kelly Wendorf, Founder and CEO, and ICF Master Certified Coach.”

“If you feel inspired, come visit EQUUS in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico, we welcome you,” says Kelly. “O’ghe P’oghe (White Shell Water Place), the original Tewa name for Santa Fe, is located on unceded territorial lands of the Tewa and Tanos people. We acknowledge the Traditional and Ancestral Carers, past, present, and future, of this land.”

To connect on-line, you may do so here: https://www.equusinspired.com/

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