Heal with Horses and Other Spirituality Matters

Melissa Costello, certified Equine Facilitated Learning Coach through the HERD Institute and Certified Counselor of Spiritual Psychology through the University of Santa Monica, has scheduled a four-week Sacred Horse Sister Circle as a January journey. The Sacred Horse Sister Circle, which takes place Wednesday afternoons January 14-February 4, is an intimate coaching group limited to four women each week, geared toward creating deep, authentic connection with like-hearted women and the healing presence of horses. Costello and her equine partners work in a private, safe, supportive space where participants will be gently guided to release old wounds, build self-trust, and shift the limiting patterns. The program is valuable for women who are navigating a life transition, seeking clarity, or simply longing for soulful connection. Through guided somatic practices, time with horses on the ground, and sacred circle sharing, participants will leave feeling grounded, open-hearted and more connected to their truth.

No horse experience necessary – just a willingness to show up as you are. 

Full details, other opportunities, and registration information are online at www.healwithhorsessb.com

Burst Through with a 2026 Vision Board

Transform intentions into actions at Sunburst Sanctuary’s Vision Board Creative Class to kick off the new year. The lively, hands-on session takes place on Sunday, January 18, when April Juels will offer guidance as you dive into your soul’s desires and play with your creative spirit to visualize your best year yet. All you need is your imagination and a willingness to dream big, get creative, and put together a board to aid in manifesting your 2026 goals in full color. All supplies are provided, including scissors and glue. Select magazine pictures, words, and sayings in putting together your board, although you can bring your own photos and more as well. The vision board becomes a tangible map of your intentions, a daily reminder of your inner desires, and a spark to manifest your own destiny over the year.

Visit https://sunburst.org/registration. 

‘The Artist’s Way’ still leading the way 

Julia Cameron had no idea that the book she first self-published in 1990 as Healing the Artist Within would turn into an ongoing global sensation when it was re-published two years later under the title of The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. More than 30 years later, the book and its sequels continue to inspire creatives in every endeavor of life across the country and around the world, from the UK and Japan to Brazil and even the Australian outback – not to mention in classes, meetups, prison groups, and spiritual centers (including Esalen). Elizabeth Gilbert has been quoted as saying that Eat, Pray, Love wouldn’t have happened without The Artist’s Way. 

Apparently, it’s still pretty popular in town, too. The initial cohort for Michelle Anise’s eight-week course at Yoga Soup slated for Mondays, January 12-March 2 – based on The Artist’s Way and described as a transformative journey of self-discovery designed to cultivate creative flow and inspiration for personal fulfillment – has already sold out. Fortunately, Anise has added a second session for the same dates at 7 pm, limited to just 10 more participants who will likewise receive inspiration, support and accountability in working the simple yet powerful practices. These include Morning Pages (a few pages of stream-of-consciousness writing each day), Artist Dates (weekly solo adventures that spark joy and curiosity), and gentle weekly reflections for tapping into creativity and beyond. 

‘Landscape of the Soul’ and Listening to the Land 

Alexis Slutzky launches a new 10-week in person group course of song, poetry, writing prompts, small and full group sharing and ritual practices starting on Tuesday, January 13, at Yoga Soup. Subtitled “Gestures Toward a Living Culture,” the course introduces foundational material at the heart of a soul curriculum, exploring interior landscapes to re-enchant our lives, nurture our imagination, honor our longings, welcome our heartbreak, inspire our authentic impulses, remind us of the mythical, and hopefully give us the courage to become more naturally ourselves together and reclaim a sense of meaning and mystery. 

In the meantime, Slutzky’s ongoing Santa Barbara Land Listening Circles, which has an earlier time of 10 am to noon this month, has its first gathering of 2026 on Sunday January 11. Participants gather in a circle to connect, and share surrounding solo excursions to listen to and attune with nature. 

Details and registration at www.alexisslutzky.com

Flow, Sit, Sing at the Soup

Glen Phillips, the native Santa Barbara singer-songwriter-guitarist who co-founded Toad the Wet Sprocket and has enjoyed a fruitful solo career, started leading community singing events in Montecito and elsewhere back in 2017, eventually holding the call-and-response song circles weekly until passing of the reins to Heather Stevenson a couple of years ago. Now, he’s heading back to Yoga Soup for a pair of collaborative offerings with vinyasa teacher Elyse Grossman that will explore three modes of embodiment, joy, and connection through an all-level vinyasa flow session, a short, seated meditation, and an hour of community singing, sharing the power of song with each other and for each other. Events have been booked for January 30 and April 18. 

Visit www.yogasoup.com/events

NVC for All 

Veteran Santa Barbara-based Nonviolent Communication certified trainer Rodger Sorrow hosted the annual NVC Conference right here in town through SBCC’s Extended Learning program. After both the pandemic and a couple of years in L.A., the conference is now a fully online event, with the 19th annual event slated for January 16-18. The conference features 18 sessions from 15 certified NVC trainers, including Sorrow and neuroscience educator and Your Resonant Self author Sarah Payton, as well as participants from all over the world, with workshop titles that range from “Loving Conflict in Partnership” and “How to Take Responsibility without Blame” to “The Gift of Gossip.” 

Visit www.livingconnectedcc.org/nvc-conference. 

Back in town and in person, Sorrow’s long-running series of free “Nature and Self-Healing” classes through SBCC EL return at the end of the month, with beginning and intermediate sections. Participants hike for an hour, engage in discussion of self-healing topics such as forgiveness, gratitude or journaling followed by silent meditation before hiking back home.  

Details at www.chooseconnection.com/nature-and-self-healing.