© Cindy L. McGinley
Happy New Year! May 2015 be the year your dreams come true!
When I reflect on the past year (2014), I realize that I had a mixed year; some good things happened, but some not-so-good things, too.
The not-so-good things: Alf, my soulmate, my equine anamcara, died in April, and though I knew it was coming and I knew I would be spun into a hard grief, I had no idea just how long that melancholy would last. In addition, my mother was in and out of the hospital with congestive heart failure and then finally went into hospice care in October with end-stage renal failure. I had to take yet another leave of absence from grad school to help get her affairs in order, putting me now a full year-and-a-half behind my original schedule toward attaining my Masters degree in Counseling Psychology/Equine-Assisted Mental Health.
But then I look at the good things, and realize that maybe, in spite of my overall sadness, 2014 wasn’t really so bad after all. For instance, I started working seriously with Michele Grace Lessirard and met some lovely spiritual entrepreneur sisters along the way. I got really clear on what I have to offer the world. I updated my website to better reflect my purpose, and found the perfect horse for my logo from artist AmyLyn Bihrle.
I hosted John Lockley, South African Sangoma, for the first 2 weekend workshops of the 5 in the Way of the Leopard Series (one in May and one in October), and also hosted Karyn Armstrong (Medicine Art Woman®) for a drum & rattle making workshop in August. I taught shamanic techniques to beginner, intermediate, and advanced level students at the RoseHeart Center, and I held the first formal shamanic instruction (of what I hope will be many) at my Rivendell Farm with a Limpia Bath & Fire Ceremony in June.
Another good thing in 2014: I received an important part of my own soul back in June at a Tom Cowan workshop, the effects of which are still magically unfolding in my life. And I got to do a training with Robert Moss, something I have wanted to do for quite some time now but could never get to because of conflicting timing or difficult locations.
In September, my two sisters and I took a 2-week trip to Ireland, which was the hands-down highlight of the year. And when I returned home from that glorious holiday, I adopted two more horses, Henry and Lady B, who are wonderful in every way and are (along with Dare and Saffron, of course), day by day, bit by bit, nuzzle by nuzzle, somehow helping me recover from the loss of my darling Alf.
So yes, a mixed bag indeed. But I feel the energy shifting, I feel inspiration that I haven’t felt in over 3 years, and I foresee great things coming up in 2015 from the Black Horse! Stay tuned, and may the coming year be our best ever!
– CLM