As human animals, we’ve always needed each other. But we’ve spent a few generations forgetting just how much. The global pandemic was our reminder. A giant level set with an invitation to notice and find awe, strength, and innate connection in our human herdship. But we need to get intentional about herd behavior and practice leaning on each other for those instincts to become part of our daily lives. Beth explains in her latest post for MOMSRISING.

The natural rhythm of a new year offers us an opportunity to reflect and repair. It calls upon us to make meaning of what we have walked through and to think ahead to what we will encounter. But before we do the work of setting intentions and thinking ahead, we really need some closure. Read more in Beth’s latest contribution to MomsRising.

Broncos, Actually Video Series
In this episode, Beth (MA Counseling Psychology ’03) shares the dream, literally, that motivated her to start The Circle Up Experience, the impact of the pandemic on mental health and leadership, the role of horse and other animal herds in teaching us about relationships and well-being, and what it means to be an entrepreneur with integrity.

Own your narrative. How can we improve the way we relate to ourselves and to others? Dr. Keba Rogers and Beth joined KAHILLA PODCAST, CONVERSATIONS AT BASECAMP for a conversation on Self-Authoring Your Script -- how to define your own beliefs, identity, and purpose for a stronger relationship with yourself and your community.

Too often we lead and show up in our relationships with complete ignorance. We plow through each other’s sensitivities like heavy machinery.  With a slight pivot, we can become human whisperers, changing our approach to relating in some simple but profoundly effective ways. Read more in Beth’s latest contribution to MomsRising.

Humans, Now and Then explores how our rapidly changing world impacts our human experience, now and in the future.  As Humans, we belong in a group. Much like horses, belonging to a herd allows us to truly thrive. So, what can we learn from horses to help us better connect with those around us, and enable us to lead in more effective ways?  Beth spoke with host Rebecca Scott about how we can see our true nature through the eyes of a horse, and what we can learn from animals to help us center on our human selves.

Are You an Emotional Butler? We all have tipping points, even in the roles we willingly signed up to play. Too often, we think we’re showing up for the common good, a belief that can keep us propping up other people even if it’s hurting us and blocking them from growth. We think we’re supporting or nurturing. But really, we’re like a butler, pouring tea and providing a blanket that covers up the realities of life. Beth Killough joined the Kahilla Podcast, Conversations at Basecamp to share how caretaking instincts can backfire, and how to cultivate awareness and healthy feedback mechanisms that will truly nurture ourselves and help support the growth of others.

Beth joined Take the Reins podcast, Nikki Porter, for a deep dive into our ability to show up in life and recognizing the role awareness plays in all of our relationships. And toward the end of the conversation, Beth and Nikki share their personal connections to awareness and awareness fatigue as a mother. Take the Reins is a personal growth podcast featuring interviews with leading trainers and thought leaders.

While wildfires rage across the west, the elections, pandemic and societal unrest have fueled a fire of fear in our households, work teams, virtual classrooms, and neighborhoods. In my latest MomsRising.org column, I share how we can tame these internal fires as we continue to battle 2020's inferno of upset and trauma.

The Value through Vulnerability Podcast (boosted by HumansFirst) and sponsored by Aequip is dedicated to helping put the human back into humanity. Guest Beth Killough chats with hosts, Mike Vacanti and Garry Turner, about how humans have a unique moment in the COVID Crisis to use the unprecedented pressures we are facing to wake up, adjust, and transform how we are leading our lives and how we are showing up in our communities.

Click the link below to listen, or READ THE TRANSCRIPT HERE.

Beth Killough joins Alison van Diggelen on her podcast, Fresh Dialogues, to discuss equine therapy and how working with animals can improve our resilience and well being.

As part of the rescue efforts, Beth Killough of The Circle Up Experience is temporarily housing 40 horses whose owners were forced to flee their homes in the California fires at Take a Chance Ranch.

Usually The Circle Up Experience at Take a Chance Ranch is hosting online and in person leadership and consulting programs, but right now the ranch is housing more than 40 evacuated horses as the region fights wildfires.

Practicing “pressure awareness” is a game changer in how we lead and show up for our children, spouses, and others. Humans don’t play with pressure, engage with feedback, or adjust until we hit overwhelm. Natural Leadership Awareness is about embracing and honing that mammal part of ourselves, so we have more self-care tools and better relationship strategies. 

There are ways to have a healthy work environment, even while working remotely.

Click the link below to read the article, or READ THE PDF.

Now more than ever humans, women especially, need to wake up and utilize our Natural Leadership instincts and skills inherent to us as mammals including signals, sensations, and sensors about well-being and needs. We must return to the human-animal, the inner mammal, we lost as we became busy adults and parents.

Kelsey Abbott is an intuitive Human Design Reader, a Certified Professional Coach, and Instigator of Joy. Kelsey helps spiritual adventurers remember who they are and why they’re here so they can uplevel with ease. 

"A life-long cowgirl, writer, professor, and a licensed psychotherapist, Beth helps people awaken their innate leadership gifts so they can live and work with more authentic relationship and connection. Listen in as Beth shares stories from the ranch and her own life to teach us about true leadership."

Click the link below to listen, or download a PDF transcript.

#11: Horses, Herds and Human Animals

In today's episode, we talk with Beth Killough from The Circle Up Experience. Beth teaches about natural leadership, humans as animals, and how people respond to pressure. She will also discuss the four types of awareness, that whether we are conscious of it or not, actually guide us in our daily lives.

This isn’t the typical corporate culture training, with stuffy PowerPoints, dry lectures, and the dreaded “trust fall.” Instead, it features a bucolic, indoor/outdoor setting with horses, cattle, dogs, and other furry and feathered friends.

That bright and clear morning as I drove to Take A Chance Ranch, I could not have predicted what would happen to me that day.

Choosing your partners and staff is the most important job every entrepreneur has to manage to run a successful business. 

Gary and the crew head to Morgan Hill, California to talk with Beth Killough and Susan McCusker, the founders of The Circle Up Experience, a horse assisted leadership and team building program. Start Up Experience PBS | Ep: 6 (Video)

"When we see ourselves through the eyes of a horse, we are seeing ourselves how others see us."