The Ride of Our Life: Lessons in Faith, Love, and Wisdom from a Magical Horse, Book One--The Early Years

By Lisa Brisse

The Ride of Our Life: Lessons in Faith, Love, and Wisdom from a Magical Horse is the first book in a multi-volume series that tells the story of the profound relationship Lisa Brisse shared with her horse, Little Miss. Twin spirits and soul companions for 35 years, Lisa and Little Miss’s deepening bond carried them from challenging battles of will in their early years through a series of life-changing experiences that reveal Miss’s true identity as a wise avatar in animal form – a Zen master whose spiritual mission is to teach Lisa and everyone else she meets about love in all its soul-shaping complexity. At a time when it is crucial for us to heal our relationships with ourselves, each other, the planet and all its living beings, The Ride of Our Life offers a remarkable story of love and connection that can help show us the way.

If you’ve ever bonded with an animal and felt an unspoken communication, The Ride of Our Life: Lessons in Faith, Love, and Wisdom from a Magical Horse will speak to your heart. And if you recall leaving home for the first time and setting out to find your place in the world, this book will take you back to your younger self and the complex emotions of that moment. As it weaves together a heartfelt coming of age narrative with extended reflections on the many spiritual lessons Lisa learned from Little Miss as they grew together from adolescence to maturity, The Ride of Our Life reminds us of the tremendous potential for healing and enlightenment that lies at the heart of our relationships with animal companions. Drawing on a lifetime of deep spiritual study and on her long experience as a wellness coach and meditation teacher to help communicate Little Miss’s profound wisdom, Lisa invites us to reflect on how we respond to life’s inevitable challenges and gently urges us to leave behind the limiting stories that keep us from opening to all that the universe has to offer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lisa Brisse
• Release date: Dec 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9780991492732

Lisa Brisse

Lisa Brisse is an Exercise Physiologist, Wellness Coach, Speaker, Spin Instructor, Writer and Founder of State of the Heart Fitness in Santa Monica, California. Ever since she was a little girl, Lisa has always felt a deep caring for humanity and the planet and has dedicated her life to helping others achieve their optimal health and live their best life through exercise, healthy eating and mindful awareness. She has traveled extensively around the world, has journaled about her life experiences since the age of 12, and attributes much of her joy and learned wisdom to her most profound teacher, her horse of 32 years, Little Miss. Michael Jackson: The Man in Our Mirror, A Reflection of Our Collective Soul is her first published book.

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The Ride of Our Life

Lessons in Faith, Love, and Wisdom from a Magical Horse

Book One: The Early Years

Lisa Brisse

The Ride of Our Life

Lessons in Faith, Love, and Wisdom from a Magical Horse

Copyright © 2021 by Lisa Brisse

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.

In some instances the names of individuals in this book have been changed to protect their privacy.

ISBNs:

978-0-9914927-2-5 (print)

978-0-9914927-3-2 (eBook)

Published by:

State of the Heart Publishing

Santa Monica, California 90406

Also by Lisa Brisse:

Michael Jackson: The Man in Our Mirror –

A Reflection of Our Collective Soul (2014)

Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

Animal Angels: An Introduction to the White Horse

1 A Unicorn Finds Her Wings

2 Don’t Judge a Horse by Its Color

3 The Early Years: A Mission of Love Begins

4 Miss as My Mirror: Who Do You See? Is it You or Is it Me?

5 The Snaffle: The Miracle of a Change in Perception

6 The Keeper of My Soul

7 When the Heart Speaks

8 The Choice and the Power of Being Chosen

9 California Bound: There’s Gold in Them Thar Hills!

10 The Realm of Miracles: A New Life Begins

11 Angels in Flight

12 Goodbye, Minnesota: My Little Filly Heads West

13 A Call in the Night: Two Souls Reunite

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse!

—Book of Revelation 19:11a

Dedication

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK to all of the animals who, in their own unique way, selflessly and tirelessly give of themselves to the cause of human awakening and enlightenment. In their humility, purity of spirit, and reflection, they not only anchor and balance the often-misaligned energies of the human race, but also give what we rarely find from another human being: the experience of unconditional love and healing.

And so, with profound gratitude to the collective animal soul for reminding us of what is true, I thank you for gracing Planet Earth with your beautiful presence. None of us would survive, much less thrive, without you.

Foreword

THERE IS SOMETHING very special about the bond between human and horse, something iconic and epic about the love story between them. Whether you have had a horse or not, you can probably feel into this and know that to be true from watching movies like Black Beauty, The Black Stallion or even Seabiscuit or Secretariat .

You are about to read one of those stories here. The story of twin flames, soulmates, best friends—the story of a little girl who becomes a woman and her journey with her horse. This is a story about partnership, one that can’t be separated no matter what—not by time, space, or even death. While I was never lucky enough to witness this particular love story in person, I have felt, read about, and heard it. And it’s also one I know deep in my own bones, having had my own heart horse (or two). I was, however, lucky enough to meet Lisa in a very chance encounter that would ultimately weave our lives together in the most powerful of ways.

I originally met Lisa while doing a combined interview on a radio show in February of 2017. The topic was the huge role horses play in helping people to heal just through their presence, and also, more formally, through equine coaching. This was just the start for Lisa and me—the first point in a web of stars that form a constellation of connection between two women and two horses that changed their lives for good. On the day of the radio show I was excited and a bit nervous. I wasn’t sure about sharing the show with a fitness instructor named Lisa Brisse who also loved horses and had a special horse. I admit, being my own publicist, I was kind of let down because I had wanted the whole spotlight to myself – sigh, the human ego is relentless in its need to feel like it’s enough.

However, when I got to the studio and I met Lisa, she was so warm and open, and we immediately started chatting about our special horses. I somehow mentioned that my journey actually started before my current horse Lindsey, with a horse named Felici who had passed a couple years before. Lisa said her horse Miss was getting older and she knew her time would most likely come soon given that she was 36 years old. Naturally she was worried about how that would be for her. I reassured her she’d be okay no matter what, even though it would most certainly suck. I also mentioned that my relationship with Felici—on the other side—was now more powerful than when she was alive. I told her that we don’t really die, we just change forms, something Lisa knew but maybe needed to hear again from another woman who had lost her horse.

We filmed our show and felt a new friendship budding. Then we connected on social media and life went on. Lisa was curious about my work as an equine coach, thinking Miss would like it. I really wanted to go meet Miss, but for one reason or another, it wasn’t happening at the time. However, I saw lots of photos and stories on Facebook and could tell how close Lisa and Miss were. Beyond close actually – sort of like one soul sharing two bodies! Lisa was also writing this book about Miss and I mentioned I had written a book about my equine therapy experiences with Felici. In fact, it’s what helped me grieve her loss the most.

Lisa was curious about Felici so I sent her a video I received when she was originally for sale. She watched and immediately felt like things looked familiar. She looked more closely at the pasture Felici was riding by and was stunned to realize that it was Little Miss’s pasture! What?! Turns out that Felici and Little Miss had once lived right across the road from each other in the Santa Ynez Valley! What are the chances of that?! Lisa and I started writing back and forth in total awe and glee at the serendipity!

I was even more determined to meet Miss after learning this, but was also focused on my own horse Lindsey, an off-the-track Thoroughbred brood mare who had a way of demanding my full focus as my best friend, soulmate, and the CEO of our equine coaching business—helping people transform through the power of the horse! However, Lisa and I were now connected by an unbreakable kinship – the kind that happens when women understand other women who run with, ride, and wholeheartedly love their horses.

Lisa and I both have stories about going out in torrential downpours to make sure our mares were safe. We both were firmly guided by our horses that were full of fierce love and wouldn’t put up with our bullshit or self-pity. We both felt called to write down their wisdom with the intention to share that insight and guidance with the world at large. We both had story after story about how unique, special, important, and all-consuming they were in our lives. I would even go so far as to say that Lisa and I made our mares the focus and source of our deepest love—a love both given and received.

We would each sit under trees and journal, meditate, and gaze at the beauty of our horses. We would feel nature in all her glory with the wind on our cheeks and sun on our backs. We would forget about time and worries when we walked down trails and dug our fingers into manes and tails.

Our mares helped us feel seen, heard, loved and cherished beyond measure. Little Miss was like a magical unicorn in Lisa’s life, bringing her all she could ever hope for—for more than three decades! I personally have never had a horse for more than a few years because of some tragic losses, but Lisa had 35 years with Miss which is truly incredible to me. That is a full lifetime for a horse—a timespan that allows for a girl to experience all the rites of passage into adulthood. To have a life shaped by a horse is beyond special. All the lessons she received around responsibility, accountability, leadership, presence, authenticity, innovation, compassion, love, partnership—it’s the best life school (taught by the horse of course) that anyone could ever wish for.

We both shared with each other how blessed and lucky we were to have horses as our teachers, especially OUR horses. We didn’t just get silly, playful geldings or aloof, traumatized problem horses, we had massive, Jesus-like, Yogananda-like master-level equine partners to journey through life with and share our hearts with. How does it get better than that?

Through our love of the horse, I would say Lisa and I found our way back to our true selves, out of that sticky ego that thinks it’s better than or less than someone else and into the infinite acceptance, compassion, and center of the horse. We became present in the moment to experience all of life. We learned how to hear our horses in different ways and know their inner workings—likes, dislikes, and demands. We were required to step up to match their energy and their presence on the Planet, to become the best possible versions of ourselves we could ever imagine.

However, despite all of this joy and all of these incredible moments that make up a lifetime of love, all beginnings also have endings. There is a reason Lisa and I needed to meet in February of 2017 because by June 1st of that year both of our beloved mares were gone.

Lindsey first, in a freak accident in which she broke her leg in a way I still don’t fully comprehend. When I racked my brain to think of every single way to save her, I heard her loudly and clearly say it’s my time, let me go and so I did, holding onto reservoirs of strength I didn’t even know I had as she fell to the ground the way an angel falls.

Then almost exactly a month later it was Miss’s time. Lisa did all she could to keep her alive and comfortable for as long as possible. She wondered in those last few weeks when she would need to do what I did and fully surrender her physical life with Miss. It came time on Memorial Day and Miss passed in the most memorial way I’ve seen a horse exit – in ceremony, with a full crew of human angels at her side. But I’ll let Lisa tell the full story of this amazing transition.

It’s surreal that Miss passed so close to Lindsey, but because of this, Lisa and I knew we had to be there for each other. Not many could understand our pain and the massive gap that losing 1,200 pounds of unconditional love leaves in one’s life.

While I’m grateful that Lisa and I can be there for each other at any moment and get each other in a way that very few others ever will, we will never be able to comfort each other the way our mares comforted us—with a touch of their soft nuzzles to our face. We will always miss the physical touch, the gentle way our horses were with us and their strength that taught us how to be better women.

Lisa and I were truly gifted by God with the bounty of the majestic horse. Through reading this story you will be as well. You will feel the love between Lisa and Miss in your cells and you will learn the wisdom Miss shared with Lisa along their incredible journey together—the wisdom that Lisa is now generously sharing with you. It can transform your life if you let it.

To behold the wisdom of the horse is like entering a secret, sacred, garden of ripe fruit that can leave you fulfilled for eternity. Your cup will become full from reading, from allowing a unicorn to slowly lower her head and blast your heart wide open with her horn. Stay open as you read these pages. Stay present. That is all Miss would ask of you. She is here for you now the way she was for Lisa. Don’t treat that gift lightly. You are about to journey with a magical teacher, a beautiful beast that can lift your burdens and transmute them to a thousand joys. Honor yourself and honor her as you read this. Savor it, the way Lisa savored every second with Miss. You will be blessed by the heart of the horse.

Kate Neligan

Equine-Partnered Life/Business Coach & Animal Communicator/Healer with Awakening with Equines

https://www.consciousrockstar.com

Preface

I REMEMBER THAT MOMENT. It was the summer of 1998 and I was riding my bike on the Venice Beach bike path. It was a typical beautiful California afternoon. The breeze was warm as I was looking out admiring the Pacific Ocean when . . . boom! There it was. Out of nowhere, the light went on . . . I needed to write a book. Not just any book, but a book about all the profound lessons of love and life wisdom that I was learning from a most unique teacher, my beloved horse, Little Miss.

Knowing what I know now about that magical, mystical horse and having spent 35 years of our lives together, I am pretty sure it was Miss herself who put that thought in my head. She had and still has her way of communicating telepathically, making herself known to me despite the fact that most of our lives we lived apart (me in Santa Monica and her in the Santa Ynez Valley, 120 miles away). Yet never was our connection, nor our communication, ever limited to physical proximity or the fact that I’m a human and she a horse. Not in the least. In fact, it was she herself who made that crystal clear to me on an evening ride way back in 1993 when I somehow heard her say in what sounded like the most loving voice ever: Lisa, you must know and always remember: No matter where we are in this world—even if galaxies apart—we are never separate . . . forever connected in spirit. And even now, having crossed over to the other side and no longer embodying her physical form, she still challenges me to remember this truth more than ever . . . that we are forever connected in Spirit and even the illusion of death doesn’t separate those who share the same soul.

Absolutely true, and if there is one thing I have learned from my journey with her, it’s that when the "White