I first heard of the concept of a 'temenos' when reading a book, Free Play, Improvisation in Art and Life, by Stephen Nachmanovich (see my More Resources page).

He described a temenos as "A space without limits, a magic circle, where special rules apply, and extraordinary events are free to occur."

He went on to say that as an artist, before beginning to create, he would 'prepare his temenos', meaning that he would set his intention that he was now entering into a space where he was free to create ... without limits.

I loved this concept so much that I named my property Temenos Fields. I hope that students feel that when they come here, they embrace the temenos spirit and are willing to play by special rules, perhaps the rules of the horse and nature. And of course, I hope that they are open to the extraordinary!

A temenos is not so much a physical place, but a state of mind.