I’ve just opened my 2016 ‘I Can Do It’ desk calendar by Louise Hay and the first affirmation is ‘As I begin this new year, I let go of the past and become a ‘now’ person. This month marks a fresh start for me, and I welcome it with open arms’. I am happy to leave 2015 behind, not because I haven’t enjoyed it (I have very much!!) but I do want to reflect on the gifts I received before I say goodbye.

In January, I was delighted to be offered a space on Gillian Alexander’s Sacred Touch Massage training. I’ve done a huge amount of work with Gillian over the last couple of years and it really has transformed my life; I’ve dealt with traumas, engaged them and then released them, and then have found the gifts within those experiences. Without doing all that work, I simple could not have engaged with this training. A sense of the Sacred permeates Gillian’s work and this was particularly obvious during this training.

And I’m so glad that I’ve reached this space because I know at every level of my body and soul, that this the work that I’m here to do. When I engage with a client I drop into the Priestess role – I am here to serve in a deeply loving and honouring way. I hold sexuality as Sacred and feel that it is a huge gift to be to connect with another in such a tender and intimate fashion. I now offer sessions in my own Temple Space in Prestwick; from time to time I also offer four-handed sessions with Gillian.

In essence, therefore, 2015 has been about developing my work and offering it to the wider world and I now feel much more comfortable and confident in doing that across all aspects of my work – from Sacred Touch massage to Sacred de-armouring, and from dejunking to accountancy. I’m building up a lovely client base and I would offer deep gratitude to those souls for coming to work with me and sharing their gifts with me. Thank you all.

I have found time to travel in my beloved Scotland and in February I was blessed with a truly amazing visit to my spiritual home of Barra. I went with two dear friends and we enjoyed a week of fabulous weather – very cold with snow and ice for the first couple of days, brilliant sunshine and no wind at all. We walked up Heaval in fresh snow and delighted at the views from the summit; we took the ferry to Eriskay and walked over the high ground, saying hello to the ponies on the way; we walked from Beinn Sgurabhal over the hills to Traigh Eais, walking the length of that glorious beach in sunshine. We had lunch at the south end of the beach and we were lucky enough to watch an otter as it moved from the sea to the dunes – heaven!

I rediscovered my mojo for the hills this year and decided that I would like to do all the Corbetts (hills over 2,500’/762m with a drop of 500’/150m all round) over the next few years. The year started off well with a fabulous week in Pitlochry at Easter – sunshine and blue skies, no wind and great views from all the summits. Unfortunately, April was the last time I sat on the summit of a hill without waterproofs, hat and gloves – 2015 must be one of the wettest, windiest and coldest summers I’ve experienced since starting on the hills in 1979. Still it’s fun getting out and I did manage 14 new hills; and it’s always a joy to visit new parts of Scotland.

Another joy throughout this year has been discovering and awakening to my feminine side. I love wearing my skirts and dresses, and I so enjoy how I feel when I’m wearing these clothes. I’ve also continued the fabulous journey with My Hair. I shaved my head in October 2014 and haven’t cut it since then, so it’s now longer than it has been in many a long year. I love brushing my hair, I love the feeling as it blows in the wind, I have such fun playing with different hair bands and clips and I even managed a mini ponytail last month!

I have been so blessed with the wonderful folks in my life over the last twelve months – I learn so much from you and have received life-changing gifts. My friend’s daughter is just over two years old now and I have felt it such a privilege to be part of her life, to watch a wee one look at everything in her life with such joy and wonder. And I just love when she calls me ‘My Carole’! Thanks also to Tom for my simply wonderful new fence – it fills me with joy whenever I see it, and my neighbours love it as well! The colour scheme was all Tom’s idea – I’m not sure if I would have had the nerve! It does highlight how we can turn the mundane into sheer fun and that really is a lesson for life.

I shed a lot of stuff at the time of the Winter Solstice – destructive belief patterns, negative thoughts and the long-held belief that I’m not quite good enough. I am and I intend to step into 2016 fully in my power!! I look forward to engaging with you in some capacity in the year ahead, and I also look forward to new lessons, opportunities for growth and fabulous adventures!

Thanks to all of you who have shared in my journey over the last twelve months – it has been a joy sharing space and time with each one of you.