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Cindy L. McGinley, MS, CHt, CCTP

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Cindy McGinley

November 28, 2019 by Cindy McGinley Leave a Comment

New Offering: The Mini-Goat Mindfulness Experience!

Come and meet the newest kids on the block, and learn some helpful mindfulness techniques at the same time.

Experience the joyful presence of this little herd of young goats while you practice being mindful. Mindfulness is the psychological process of purposely bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment. Mindfulness also involves acceptance, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them—without believing, for instance, that there’s a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment. Mindfulness practice has been proven to help alleviate anxiety and depression by focusing our attention on the present moment, which counteracts rumination and worrying. Mindfulness teaches us how to respond to stress with awareness of what is happening in the present moment, rather than simply acting instinctively. By teaching awareness for one’s physical and mental state in the moment, mindfulness allows for more adaptive reactions to difficult situations. Learn how to cultivate mindfulness in a fun and interesting way.

And hey — close encounters with these adorable Nigerian dwarf goats! But please be aware that this is a learning experience on the farm, not a petting zoo.

Special introductory offer!

Individual sessions: $25 per 50-minute session. Group rates upon request. Contact Cindy: info@blackhorsespirit.com or 315.289.2030 for an appointment.

Pssst! In the springtime, when the weather improves, we will also be offering Goat Yoga (with instructor Midge Regier) on the grass with the kids. Put your name on the waiting list now to ensure your spot!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: goats, mindful goat experience, mindfulness

November 28, 2019 by Cindy McGinley Leave a Comment

WILD Black Horse Holiday Sale!

Is Equine-Assisted Counseling and Personal Development for You?

You can find out for less with the
WILD Black Horse BOGO Holiday Sale!

In the spirit of generosity that permeates the holiday season, Black Horse Spirit is offering a wildly spirited gift to you! Buy One Equine-Assisted Session before January 1st and Get a Second Session (a $100 value) Absolutely Free!

Why Equine-Assisted? Well, with all populations, including children, adolescents, adults, and veterans, equine-assisted counseling has been found to induce a sense of well-being and feelings of acceptance. It is also effective with people who have control issues and childhood trauma. Additionally, positive changes have been observed in the field of alcohol and drug treatment. Sessions with a horse tend to create a safe environment where coping and problem-solving skills can be practiced. It is recommended for use in individual, family, and group settings to work through depression, grief, trauma, loss, and setting healthy boundaries. Studies have shown that equine-assisted counseling is a supportive intervention for women who have survived abuse, providing opportunities to improve self-esteem, a sense of empowerment, and an ability to trust and feel physically and emotionally safe.

There has never been a better time to gift yourself or someone you love with Equine-Assisted Counseling at Rivendell Farm in Chittenango, NY. If you are willing to brave the winter cold, we are happy to join and facilitate sessions for you!

(Sessions must be purchased by January 1st and scheduled between January 15 — March 30 to be eligible for this offer. Limited to one free session per person. Contact Cindy at 315.289.2030 or info@blackhorsespirit.com to sign up.)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: counseling, empowerment, equine-assisted, holiday, learning, sale

October 31, 2019 by Cindy McGinley 2 Comments

The Broken Spirit Bear

Horsehair Pottery Bear

I bought this spirit bear in Tucson on Samhain (Halloween) 2017. I bought it because Spirit nudged me to buy it as a home for my best friend’s power animal, who had been visiting me every night between 3:00 – 4:00 AM since he died in a tragic accident on August 20th that year. It may have had something to do with the black onyx spirit bear fetish that I had gifted to him once and then buried with my friend (a whole ‘nother story), but maybe it was just that he was trying to reach out. I would abruptly awaken at that time every night and see the spirit bear, black as the shadows, standing near the bedroom door. As soon as I brought this horsehair pottery bear home, the nightly visits ceased and I was able to get an undisturbed night’s sleep at last.

It wasn’t until today that it struck me: this bear is white, in juxtaposition to the black onyx bear that I buried with him. Curiouser and curiouser. (Things are sometimes shifted into their opposites between the worlds; left and right, for instance, or night and day. It occurred to me that black and white should be no different.)

Yesterday, on Samhain Eve, two years to the day after I bought it, the bear was broken beyond repair. I was changing the curtain rods in my new office and the curtain swept some books off my desk, taking the bear with them. Needless to say, I was devastated. I cried as a picked up the pieces of his back legs off the floor. I got the desire, the nudge to smash the rest of the broken bear up today and return him to the land.

I was thinking about the back legs and what they might symbolize. Bears often stand on their hind legs, looking very human-esque in the undertaking, especially to mark or defend territory. Perhaps this signified a foundational energy. It is definitely a big shift of some kind. I discussed it with my buddy Karl, who is very Jungian in his approach to things. We agreed it was foundational (standing on the foundation of the earth), and he said my inclination to return the bear pieces to the earth as well was probably spot-on.

This morning, I awakened with the knowing that my dear old friend has probably moved on. When this came to me, I whispered to him (somewhere in the Otherworld), “So you will no longer be my guardian angel, like you have been for most of my life?” Again, tears pricked my eyes as I felt the truth of it.

I was reminded of the most recent dream I had of him, where he was found living another life in a place far away, and when I asked him if he had had amnesia, he said no and told me we would discuss it later.

Perhaps this was that discussion.

And perhaps the most fascinating part of this story is the fact that a friend in southern Arizona had recently gifted me with a beautiful horsehair pottery horse that she had made herself. Of course, southern Arizona is where the bear came from. That seems no mere coincidence, because the horse is (of course) MY power animal. A cycle has ended; we have come full circle.

Horsehair Pottery Horse

I really miss my friend, who was very dear to me. He was someone I relied on for advice and support quite frequently. He had a wonderful sense of humor and the uncanny ability to pull me out of any anger or despair that might grip me on occasion. You know, sometimes in our grief we may hold the subconscious belief that moving on with life will cause dishonor to our loved ones. And perhaps because of that erroneous belief, we hold on to our memories a bit too tightly and try to maintain a holding pattern in our lives, balking against a life that seems to be careening forward at breakneck speed without the loved one we miss so much. Somewhere deep inside, perhaps I have been reluctant to move forward for fear of abandoning my best friend’s memory. This will never happen, of course, and my intellect knows that the concept is irrational, but my heart does not. All my heart knows is that it was broken, like the bear — suddenly, without warning. All my heart knows is that if my friend could die like that, then anything can happen, and it may be best to hold on.

Still, after much consideration, it seems that I have divined the intended message of the broken spirit bear at Samhain (which, by the way, marks the Celtic New Year): it is finally time to stand on my own two back feet, moving boldly into my future. I have been released.

My dear old friend, thank you.

© Samhain 2019 – Cindy L. McGinley. All rights reserved.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: bereavement, grief, loss, spirit bear, spirit horse

October 30, 2019 by Cindy McGinley Leave a Comment

New Equine Counselor

Toby

Toby is a Percheron gelding who arrived here last month. He is donated and sponsored by Sylvia Hall. He joins equine counselors Dare, Henry, Bea, and Duncan, helping to provide special encounters designed to help humans learn better ways to be present in their lives and relationships. We provide trauma-informed equine-assisted counseling and learning, and most of our horses are “rescues” (horses that know trauma first-hand). Please consider donating to the Edoras Farm Go Fund Me Campaign.

To find out how you can sponsor one of our equine counselors, or to find out how to volunteer on the farm, contact us directly.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: equine counselor, transpersonal psychology, trauma-informed psychotherapy

August 30, 2019 by Cindy McGinley Leave a Comment

What is a Transpersonal Counselor?

(Or “Why I Chose a Transpersonal Theoretical Orientation“)

Green Lakes, October 2014 © Cindy L. McGinley

A Very Brief History of Transpersonal Psychology

            Transpersonal psychology is a term coined by Abraham Maslow, Stan Grof, Victor Frankl, and others in the late 1960s. “It is the field of psychology that integrates psychological concepts, theories, and methods with the subject matter and practices of the spiritual disciplines” (Davis, 2003). The root of the term “transpersonal” – or “beyond the personal” derives from the Greek word “persona,” or the masks that Greek actors wore to portray characters, so transpersonal literally means “beyond the mask” (Davis, 2003). According to the California Institute for Integral Studies, “a transpersonal approach appreciates all that a conventional psychology brings, but also gives weight to lived experience, intuition, and exceptional human experiences such as those associated with mysticism and spirituality” (2018).

Basic Philosophical Assumptions of the Theory

            The interests of transpersonal psychology “include spiritual experiences, mystical states of consciousness, mindfulness and meditative practices, shamanic states, ritual, the overlap of spiritual experiences with disturbed states such as psychosis and depression, interpersonal relationships, service, and encounters with the natural world” (Davis, 2003). Just as school psychology applies psychology in a school setting or health psychology applies psychology to medical or health care concerns, transpersonal psychology applies psychology to a specific range of concerns. It is not a religion or belief system, but rather, a field of scientific inquiry. “Overlaps between psychology and spirituality have been present in both psychology (e.g., William James, Jung, Maslow) and in the spiritual traditions (which have their own rich views of development, cognition, social interactions, emotional and behavioral suffering, and methods of healing)” (Davis, 2003).

            A fundamental concept in transpersonal psychology is the idea of non-duality, or “the recognition that each part (e.g., each person) is fundamentally and ultimately a part of the whole (the cosmos)” (Davis, 2003); that the mind is larger than it appears from our normal vantagepoint. In fact, transpersonal theory reaches into existential anxiety by reaching out into a bigger concept of existence. It confronts the existential alone-ness of human existence and addresses creating new meaning out of life from a soul perspective.

            “From this insight come two other central insights: the intrinsic health and basic goodness of the whole and each of its parts, and the validity of self-transcendence from the conditional and conditioned personality to a sense of identity which is deeper, broader, and more unified with the whole” (Davis, 2003). Lancaster expresses that “we gain something in our lives by recognizing that the larger dimension of mind extends beyond the personal” (Law, 2011). In other words, when we realize that we are part of something greater, or that we are connected to everything else, it changes our entire perspective of life and its meaning.

            “The focus of transpersonal psychology really concerns self-transformation, working to achieve a more integrated and larger sense of self, and even a sense that it is not simply my Self that matters” (Lancaster, interview with Law, 2011).

            The hallmark of transpersonal psychology is that it embraces the diversity of spiritual traditions around the world, like Buddhism and other Eastern religions, Jewish mysticism, shamanism and other indigenous practices – religions and spirituality that are considered the spiritual wisdom traditions. It is an inclusive approach that values both diversity and unity.

The Role of the Transpersonal Counselor

            As with existential and humanistic therapies (since transpersonal therapy is considered to have evolved in large part from the humanistic work of American psychologist Abraham Maslow), the role of the counselor or therapist in transpersonal psychotherapy is to be genuine, congruent, and empathic, and to believe in the experiences and inner resources of the client. The counselor understands that the client is made of more than mind and body; that there exists another intangible part (that some might call a soul) that make up the whole person. The transpersonal counselor, then, is an expert in the treatment of the intangible part of the client. However, the transpersonal counselor sees counseling as both a service and an act of work on oneself. It is beneficial to the client, the counselor, and the whole of existence. A transpersonal counselor normally has a transcendent basis for professional service and is deeply caring and involved in the well-being of the client. There is very often a sense that their work is a contribution to the larger whole.

            A transpersonal counselor or therapist may draw from a variety of different religions and spiritual practices for tools and methods that can help the client explore various levels of consciousness and help the client learn to use their spirituality (their connection to something greater than themselves) to guide them through troubled times. The counselor understands how to integrate traditional spiritual rituals into modern psychology.

Main Therapeutic Goals of Transpersonal Counseling

            Like existential therapy, transpersonal therapy is an invitation to the client to live a fully authentic life and make choices based on their peak or transpersonal experiences that will help them become everything they are capable of being.

            The extended sense of the mind beyond the self is a common experience for many people. Yet it is only recently that mainstream psychology has begun to accept multicultural views of wellness and has therefore considered a biopsychosocial-spiritual model of wellness. Transpersonal counseling seeks to integrate peak experiences, transpersonal and mystical experiences, and spiritual emergencies as part of normal human existence. “As psychology (and our culture) wakes up to the reality of diversity and multicultural perspectives, transpersonal psychology has much to contribute” (Davis, 2003).

            Another goal of transpersonal counseling is to help the client find or restore meaning. Living a life of meaning is so important to people that they will go to almost any lengths to avoid a lack of meaning. It has been demonstrated that those who have a strong spiritual foundation seem to cope better with trauma than those who don’t have the comfort of such belief. The connection to something beyond the personal can help clients become more resilient and strong in the face of adversity.

            Self-transformation is the ultimate goal of transpersonal counseling. It seems clear that “clients increasingly find value in embracing some sort of spirituality” (Lancaster, interview by Law, 2011). A transpersonal approach is complimentary and inclusive and can be utilized in a variety of settings. Since it is not a specific set of beliefs or a religion but rather an orientation, it is compatible with most educational and psychological approaches.

Balance of Mind, Body, and Spirit

              Transpersonal counselors help the client explore the connection to the spiritual and transpersonal by using “meditation, guided visualization, hypnotherapy, dream work, art, music, journaling, mindfulness practices, and other techniques that can help the client create meaning in life” (Psychology Today, 2018). Other transpersonal techniques include shamanic healing, ritual/ceremony, gratitude practices, and immersion in the natural world. With the counselor’s guidance, the client can find inner strength and build upon it. Through these techniques and the helping relationship, the client is guided toward the expansion of inner strengths and resources to create a more balanced life, which in turn results in a healthier state of mind.

            Transpersonal psychology seeks to draw from the wisdom of each of the great spiritual traditions to answer and even go beyond the existential questions that address the human boundary situations of alone-ness, meaninglessness, responsibility, and death. The transpersonal field delves into stages of development and states of consciousness that take us beyond the individual into a greater whole. Wisdom from the great spiritual traditions can help clients understand their connection to all of life and the universe; in effect, finding that the answers to those existential questions are to be found in the balance of mind, body, and spirit.

© 2019 – Cindy L. McGinley. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

References:

California Institute of Integral Studies website (2018). Retrieved from https://www.ciis.edu/academics/graduate-programs/integral-and-transpersonal-psychology/about-the-program

Davis, J. V. (2003). An overview of transpersonal psychology. The Humanistic Psychologist, 31(2-3), 6-21.

Law, H. (2011). What are the striking parallels between cognitive neuroscience and spiritual traditions? Or why counseling psychologists should embrace transpersonal psychology. (An interview with Professor Les Lancaster.) Counseling Psychology Quarterly; Vol. 24, No. 4; December 2011, 331-339.

Psychology Today website (2018). Transpersonal therapy. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/transpersonal-therapy

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: spiritual counseling, spiritual emergency, transpersonal counseling, transpersonal therapy

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Cindy Leigh McGinley
Black Horse Spirit. LLC
132 Albany St., Suite M-2B
Cazenovia, NY 13035
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(315) 289-2030
info@blackhorsespirit.com

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