THE MARSHMALLOW TEST
Kids who could delay eating a marshmallow went on to have:
•Better grades
•Better jobs
•More successful lives

Why? Self-regulation.

Inside your brain right now:
🧠 Limbic System (Impulsive teenager) Wants instant gratification NOW
VS.
🧘 Prefrontal Cortex (Zen monk) Can delay gratification for bigger rewards

THE PROBLEM:
Most of us are living in chronic fight-or-flight.

When your limbic system runs the show, blood flows AWAY from your brain.

You literally can't think clearly.

RESEARCH SHOWS:
People with insufficient self-control:
❌ Focus on negative emotions
❌ Can't overcome difficult states
❌ Don't look for solutions

They complain. They make excuses. They don't change.

THE SOLUTION:
Create a "Ulysses Pact"

High performers don't rely on willpower.

They make decisions when they're STRONG that protect them when they're weak.

What's YOUR marshmallow?

What instant gratification keeps pulling you off course?

Ready to transform your life and your relationship with your horse? Tao of Horsemanship offers a holistic, heart-centered path to connection, relationships, and effortless partnership with horses.

Through online courses, coaching, educational blogs and podcasts, and in-person training, you’ll learn how to create trust, connection, and effortless harmony—through flow, not force.

Whether you’re working from the ground, in the saddle, or on a spiritual journey with your h

Welcome back to Wisdom of Tao - The Way of Inner Alchemy.

Monk said: “Zen is not about thinking — it’s about being awake.” 🌿

In this episode, we explore one of the most profound paradoxes of both spirituality and horsemanship: the more you try to control, the further you drift from what you seek.

True connection — with ourselves, our horses, and the universe — doesn’t come from force, striving, or overthinking. It arises when we let go.

🧘‍♂️ We’ll journey into the heart of what it means to be awake — present, aware, and unattached to the relentless stream of thoughts that shape our inner stories.

You’ll learn:
🌱 How to observe thoughts without identifying with them — and why that liberates both you and your horse.
🌱 The difference between “not thinking” and freedom from thought.
🌱 Taoist and Zen teachings on wu wei — “effortless action” — and how they mirror the natural harmony horses seek in us.
🌱 Why connection, trust, and flow in horsemanship emerge when we stop trying to make them happen.
🌱 How to create effortless flow and harmony with horses and everything you do in life.

Much like the skilled butcher in Zhuangzi’s parable who carves with ease by following nature’s pathways, we too can learn to move with life — and with our horses — effortlessly. 🐎💫

🎧 To listen to the video I shared by Einzelganger's: When You Seek It, You Lose It/The Zen Secret to Letting Go, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sul-i5CxJks.

I'm so excited! I can’t wait to journey with you into the Way of Inner Alchemy.

With heart and harmony,
Caroline Beste

🌀 Be well. Be whole. Be the Way.

Ready to transform your life and your relationship with your horse? Tao of Horsemanship offers a holistic, heart-centered path to connection, relationships, and effortless partnership with horses.

Through online courses, coaching, educational blogs and podcasts, and in-person training, you’ll learn how to create trust, connection, and effortless harmony—through flow, not force.

Whether you’re working from the ground, in the saddle, or on a spiritual journey with your h

What if your greatest spiritual awakening comes not from striving, achieving, or accumulating, but from remembering? Remembering that you are not merely a human searching for Spirit, but an infinite spiritual being having a temporary human experience.

This episode explores the beautiful bridge between Dr. Wayne Dyer’s timeless teachings and the ancient wisdom of the Tao Te Ching. Both offer a path to freedom from fear, a deeper connection with the Source within you, and the invitation to live in peace, abundance, and harmony.

Wayne Dyer believed spirituality is about prioritizing your connection to the divine Source over material pursuits and the fear of death. By aligning your thoughts with the universal Source and practicing faith, you can access the spiritual energy to transform your life, banish fear, and live with peace and abundance. His message is clear: as you think, so shall you be.

The Tao Te Ching offers a complementary path, one that doesn’t require striving for connection but instead invites us to flow with the Tao—the natural Way of all things. This is a natural process that does not strive for order, control or rules.

Lao Tzu reminds us that when we practice wu wei (effortless action), cultivate presence, embrace paradox, and live with integrity, life unfolds in harmony, just as rivers find their way to the sea.

Together, Dyer and Lao Tzu reveal a shared truth. I will explain how I incorporate their teachings into my personal life and horsemanship.

🌿 Prioritize the Source: Recognize your eternal connection to Spirit and let it guide your choices.
🌊 Flow with the Tao: Release resistance and control, allowing life to unfold naturally.
💫 Overcome Fear: See endings not as loss, but as a return to infinite Spirit.
🕊️ Transcend Materialism: Move beyond striving for status and possessions into a higher spiritual frequency.
🌟 Align Thought with Spirit: Remember that your inner dialogue shapes your reality.
🌱 Seek Wisdom in Simplicity: Let the quiet teachings of nature and the Tao ground your awareness.

This conversation is not about dogma or rigid belief—it’s about liberation. It’s about surrendering to the flow of life while holding faith in the unseen power of Source. It’s about letting go of fear and control, and realizing that the universe knows exactly what it’s doing.

When you live as Wayne Dyer encouraged—tuned into the Divine, grateful, devoted to service—and as Lao Tzu taught—non-resistant, present, and in harmony with the Way—you open the door to a life of true spiritual abundance.

Join me as we journey into these parallel paths of wisdom, discovering how to live from Spirit, flow with the Tao, and embody the effortless flow that is within us. 🌌🌿🌊

I'm so excited! I can’t wait to journey with you into the Way of Inner Alchemy

With heart and harmony,
Caroline Beste

🌀 Be well. Be whole. Be the Way.

Ready to transform your life and your relationship with your horse? Tao of Horsemanship offers a holistic, heart-centered path to connection, relationships, and effortless partnership with horses.

Through online courses, coaching, educational blogs and podcasts, and in-person training, you’ll learn how to create trust, connection, and effortless harmony—through flow, not force.

Whether you’re working from the ground, in the saddle, or on a spiritual journey with your h