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Inner Surprises Blog

SoulCollage Inspiration

By Anne Marie Bennett

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Laughing Old Woman

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sclaughingwomanI fell in love with the image of this woman the first time I saw here and she fits right in on this background of an autumn sunset.

This is what she said to me in a short daily reading this morning:

Who are you?

I am the one who is old but not feeble.

I am the one who is laughing out loud.

I am the one who is sitting on an old wooden chair.

I am the one who is content with who I turned out to be.

I am the one who is wearing Mala beads because my faith is important to me.

I am the one who is in the winter/sunset of my life and who isn’t worried about a thing.

What do you have to say to me today?

My message for you today is one of acceptance with where you are sitting right now.Ā 

Slow down and ENJOY every little thing that is happening to and for you.

Look around you. Is the sun REALLY setting on your life right now? I don’t think so!

When was the last time you laughed like this? Give yourself more moments like that, more laughter.

Does this woman have something to say to YOU today?
Ask her “who are you?”Ā 
Then just listen…. listen for what she says.
If you want to capture her wisdom, then write her words in your journal and carry them in your heart.

 

Dancing Babies and Long-Gone Aunts

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ally mcbealThere’s a wonderful scene in an old Ally McBeal episode that I love to refer to when talking about the SoulCollageĀ® Committee Suit.Ā  If you’ve never seen it, Ally McBeal was a delightful comedy about a quirky lawyer and her life and loves in Boston in the 1990’s.Ā 

In this scene, Ally is telling John Cage (another lawyer, even more idiosyncratic than Ally) about how a small dancing baby has been following her around.Ā  This baby has been appearing to her at the strangest moments and it’s really starting to drive her crazy.Ā  She has tried ignoring this imaginary baby, and she has even tried kick-boxing it out of her life, but it still continues to “haunt” her.

At this point, John tells her about a time in his life when he kept dreaming about his long-deceased aunt, who was insisting that he have tea with her.Ā 

Ally is fascinated, because John’s problem sounds so similar to her own.Ā  “So what did you do to stop the annoying dreams?” she asks.

“Simple,” John replies.Ā  “I had tea with her.”

I think of this in relation to all of my own parts that make up my Inner Committee.Ā  If there’s one that’s really pestering me for attention, then the very best thing for me to do is to sit down with it and listen.Ā  Instead of ignoring it, orĀ  trying to kick it away in frustration, I invite it in to my inner play room and have a little tea party with it.Ā 

Putting It Into Practice

Take a moment to see if there are any dancing babies and/or long-deceased relatives following you around this week.Ā  Or any other inner voices that are acting out and causing you bewildering moments of embarrassment.Ā 

Instead of wishing it would go away, simply name it and then find some time to sit down with it.Ā 

You can do this by making a SoulCollageĀ® card for it, or by asking it “Who are you?” and writing down its answers for a few minutes.

Bowls of Light

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scemptybowlHawaiian shaman Hank Wesselman teaches that every child who is born into this world has a bowl of perfect light within him/her/them. If the child lives from their center and honors this light, then he/she grows in strength, ability, and wisdom. However, if they do things against their lightā€™s true nature, or if they allow feelings like hate, fear, or judgement to rule them, then a metaphorical stone is dropped into their bowl of light.Ā 
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Every stone that is dropped into their bowl obscures some of the light in their bowl. If enough stones fall into that bowl, the light will eventually go out.Ā 
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However, when the child is ready, all he or she needs to do is to practice Kalana, which means forgiveness of self and others. This practice (and it is a practice!) enables us to turn our bowls upside down and allow the stones to fall out, one by one (and sometimes all at once!).Ā 
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In her book, Girls Rising, Urana Jackson says:Ā In the course of a human life, some experiences and events will inevitably lead us away from our highest nature. It is important to remember, however, that the core essence of who we are is exquisite and whole; and, perhaps just knowing this is one of the essential ways of bringing us back to our light.Ā 
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In the northern hemisphere when we experience the season of darkness, we are see less and less light until after the Solstice on December 21.
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But any time of year is fitting for looking into our personal bowls of light and inquiring of ourselves what, if any, stones are in the way of our own intended light.Ā 
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We could also think of this bowl of light as our SoulEssence. Each living being has this spark of the divine Source within them, including you. The practice of Kalana can help to remove any stones that hold judgement of others, or any stones that represent events we need to forgive in ourselves or others.
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Putting It Into Practice:

Give yourself a restful five minutes today and listen to the song, Bowl of Light, performed by Trevor Hall.Ā 
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In your journal, explore these questions, or any others that arise:Ā 
  1. Am I carrying stones in my own bowl of light?
  2. Can I name some of these stones right now?
  3. What would my life look like if I let go of some of these stones?
  4. What does my bowl of light look like?
Consider making a SoulCollageĀ® card for your own bowl of light.Ā Or make a card to honor one of the ā€œstonesā€ that youā€™ve let go of.

Listening Inside

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sccopyrightfree 105Who are you?

I am the one who is sitting very still.Ā  I am the one whose eyes are closed.

I am the one who is focused within

because I am the one who is listening inside of myself.

Don’t confuse me with your meditating self.

This week, don’t be distracted by all the things on your to-do lists.

Take some time to simply sit and BE with yourself.

What do you want from me?

What would make me happy this week is for you to close your eyes as you pause throughout your day,
even if just for a minute or two. Pause and take a few deep breaths.

Close your eyes…stand still…listen inside…

…listen to what is going on inside of your mind and heart…

…listen to your Bright Ones (guides).

 

What About Those Shadowy Cards?

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Art is like therapy; what comes up is what comes up.
It may be dark, but that’s what comes up.
You may want to keep some of it in a drawer. . .
but never judge it.
~ Nick Bantock

This is one of the things I most love about SoulCollageĀ®. It’s a process full of unfoldments and surprises.

One moment you’re flipping through a magazine looking for images, and the next moment you turn a page and there’s an image staring at you which is whispering to you of your own self-hatred, or your dismissal of a major dream, or how you judged your stepchildren too harshly when they were teenagers.

You may not like what the image is whispering to you. You may feel frozen inside with a battered recognition of one of your darker inner parts.Ā  You might even choose to close the magazine and throw it in the recycle box. And that’s okay too.

The freedom comes from your willingness to begin the process.

The inner joy comes from your determination to meet whatever comes up with a gentle respect.

The clarity and wholeness comes when you listen to what the more shadowy images are saying to you, and when you make the SoulCollageĀ® cards to honor them, in spite of your hesitation, fear, and dislike of them.