
Show Notes
About Sacred Stories of the Spirit This new podcast creates space for honest conversations about how we find meaning in a world where so much is shifting. We talk about personal turning points, spiritual unravelings, creative awakenings, and the stories we’ve outgrown. Hosted by author and artist Jordan Harcourt-Hughes, guests offer insights, expertise and lived wisdom on storytelling as medicine and as a pathway to healing, intuitive way-finding, meaning-making and reclaiming our personal narrative. Episode commentary from JordanIn this conversation, Dawn Robyn shares her transformative journey from a successful theater designer in New York City to founding a horse rescue sanctuary. We talk about the challenges and rewards of her new life, the importance of understanding horse communication, and the healing power of working with traumatized animals. Dawn emphasizes the need for a shift in how we relate to horses, advocating for a more compassionate and understanding approach. We also explore the idea of stepping into a more meaningful, satisfying life - and Dawn shares wonderful tips and insights on how to go after the life that you really want.Chapters00:00Dawn's Journey from NYC to the Country02:56Discovering a New Purpose with Horses05:47Learning to Communicate with Horses08:41The Power of Energy and Connection11:55Teaching Moments from Horses14:53Understanding Horse Behavior and Communication22:14Evolving Relationships with Horses24:23The Importance of Willingness in Training26:51Letting Horses Be Horses30:30Healing Trauma in Horses34:52Creating a Lasting Impact39:26The Power of VolunteeringAbout our GuestDawn is the founder and Executive Director of Rosemary Farm Sanctuary, the largest equine Sanctuary in the NE region, specifically in the Catskill Mountains of NY, where over 100 rescued souls call home. Rosemary Farm Sanctuary has been a registered non-profit for 13 years and is an approved location with the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS). There are public and private tours, a Guest House for overnight stays, and the opportunity to see wild horses and groups of horses living together, which is something that few humans get to observe.Connect with Dawnhttps://www.facebook.com/RosemaryFarm/https://www.rosemaryfarm.org/About your HostJordan is an author, artist and a creative living coach. She helps sensitive, thoughtful, and visionary professionals reclaim their creative agency and build lives that thrive. Her work blends reflection, creative practice, and deep listening to help people release outdated narratives and write new, sacred ones.Connect with Jordanhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanharcourthughes/https://jordanharcourthughes.com/https://www.instagram.com/jordaninthestudio/
More from Sacred Stories of the Spirit
What if spiraling isn't a sign that you're falling apart? In this episode of Sacred Stories of the Spirit, I sit down with intuitive tarot reader, educator, healer and U.S. Army veteran Evylyn Rose to explore a different understanding of growth, healing and personal evolution. Together, we discuss Evylyn's powerful metaphor of life as a spiral rather than a straight line. Instead of seeing ourselves as moving from one point to another, she invites us to consider how we revisit familiar lessons throughout our lives, each time bringing new wisdom, perspective and understanding. Along the way, we explore: • Why life may be better understood as a spiral than a straight line • The stories we inherit from family, culture and society • Rewriting narratives that no longer serve us • Military service, resilience and belonging • Tarot as a tool for storytelling and self-reflection • Storytelling as medicine in times of uncertainty • The journey of integrating the many parts of ourselves into a coherent whole At the heart of this conversation is a simple but profound question: What is the connecting thread that runs through every chapter of your life? For Evylyn, the answer is simple. "Me. It's me." This is a conversation about identity, integration, and finding yourself within the spiral of your own story.
How leaders and facilitators can become more present, responsive and attentive in times of change In this episode, Jordan speaks with Digby Scott — leadership coach, facilitator, speaker, podcaster and author — about leadership, change and the practice of attendance. Together, they explore what it means to become truly attentive in conversations, facilitation and leadership spaces - particularly in times of uncertainty, complexity and rapid change. Digby shares his framework for the Four Ways of Listening: Personal Listening Relational Listening Directional Listening Contextual Listening The conversation explores: noticing over predicting, presence over performance emotional literacy and intuition the illusion of control in leadership embodied communication, psychological safety, and how leaders can become more responsive to the people and dynamics around them. This episode is especially relevant for leaders, facilitators, coaches,educators, OD practitioners, and anyone working closely with people and groups. About Digby Scott Digby Scott is a leadership coach, speaker, facilitator, podcaster and author who works with senior leaders and leadership teams across Australasia. His work focuses on helping leaders create meaningful and lasting impact while sustaining momentum and energy. He is the author of Change Makers and Out There, and host of the Dig Deeper podcast. LinkedIn: Digby Scott on LinkedIn Website: Digby Scott Website Podcast: Dig Deeper Podcast
What happens when curiosity becomes more than a learning tool, and instead becomes a pathway back to ourselves? In this opening episode of Series 3: Consciousness in the World of Work, Jordan sits down with leadership coach and learning and development specialist Kathryn Jackson to explore the deeper human questions behind performance,engagement and leadership. Together, they reflect on the growing fatigue facing middle managers, the pressure to separate our personal and professional selves, and the quiet role that spirituality -understood as connection, meaning and hope - can play in helping people navigate uncertainty. This conversation invites listeners to reconsider what it means to feel aligned at work, to reconnect with curiosity, and to notice the signals from our own inner landscape in a world that is moving faster than ever. If you've ever felt squeezed between expectations, searching for meaning in your work, or wondering how to bring more of yourself into the workplace, this episode is for you.
Entrepreneurship is often framed as freedom, innovation, and success — but beneath the surface, it can quietly activate anxiety, burnout, people-pleasing, and a deep sense of over-responsibility. In this episode of Sacred Stories of the Spirit, I’m joined by Gretchen Hernandez, founder of My Freedom Grove, who helps entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs build sustainable businesses without sacrificing mental health. Together, we explore: Why entrepreneurship is also a personal evolution journey
What if your anxiety, exhaustion, insomnia or overwhelm weren’t signs that something is wrong with you — but signals your body is asking to be listened to? In this episode of Sacred Stories of the Spirit, I’m joined by Cristie Robbins, mental wellness coach, former HR professional, poet and author of Scars Like Constellations. Cristie shares her deeply human approach to healing — one that centres the nervous system, the wisdom of the body, and the courage it takes to slow down and listen rather than push through. In our conversation, we explore: Why the body holds intelligence we’ve been trained to ignore