Inner Surprises Blog

SoulCollage Inspiration

By Anne Marie Bennett

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Journaling Suggestion

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In her amazing book, How to Make MeCards4Kids, SoulCollage® Facilitator Nancy Weiss offers a series of short prompts that children can use with their collages. Today I’m sharing with you a few examples from my own grown-up deck.

And I challenge you to try this exercise with one or more of your own cards. You might just be surprised at what you discover!

 

SOLITUDE

I am the one who is curled into myself.

I wonder how I can give myself more alone time.

I hear the soothing sounds of the ocean.

I see my inner world.

I want more time alone.

I am soft and centered and at peace.

I pretend I am in my Inner Sanctuary.

I feel so so sooooo good.

I touch my soul when I am still.

I worry not.

I try sometimes.

I am whole.

I understand that I can choose to claim solitude every day.

I say I LOVE TO BE ALONE!!!

I dream of peace and quiet.

I try to give myself more times of slowness and stillness.

I hope that everyone can have this deep peace.

I am home.

 

Inner Homebody

HOMEBODY

I am the one who loves to be at home.

I wonder how I can clear my schedule so I can be home more.

I hear my heartbeat.
I hear my beloved cats’ purring.
I hear the birds outside my window.

I see beloved art surrounding me.

I want to stay here.

I am safe.

I pretend that I never have to leave.

I feel comforted.

I touch my inner life more deeply from home base.

I worry about what happens when I am not here.

I cry because some people don’t have a safe home like I do.

I am in love with my home.

I understand that I can’t always be here and that my work in the world has to take me away form my home.

I say this is good.

I dream of a day when no one is homeless.

I try to stay home as much as possible.

I hope to spend more time at home this year.

I am grateful for my home.

 

Suzy, Now


I am still your beloved dog even though my body is not with you.

I wonder how long ’til you join me.

I can hear everything again; I am no longer deaf.

I see everyone and everything so clearly now; I am no longer blind.

I want you to know that I was so happy with you.

I am still happy with you.

I pretend sometimes that I am chewing on my bone in the living room.

I feel loved, even now.

I touch your heart as you touched mine.

I worry that you don’t understand how close I still am to you.

I cry no more.

I am healed and whole now.

I am clear.

I understand the Love.

I say I love you all ways.

I dream of being together here with you.

I try to remind you of my presence.

I hope you feel me in your heart.

I am still your Suzy.

ANCESTORS

We are your family.

We hear you.

We see you.

We want you to have a good life.

We are who you came from.

We feel happy and excited that you have connected with us.

We touch all hearts.

We worry that we will be forgotten.

We cry no more.

We are home now.

We understand how much you are loved.

We say what a beautiful life you have created.

We dram of honoring you.

We hope you will continue to lean on our understanding and wisdom.

We are your family.

We are here for you.

 

 

 

 

A Conversation with My Overwhelmed Self

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Overwhelmed

I am the one who feels overwhelmed, squashed flat, buried. I am the one who sees no way out. I am the one who despairs becasue no one notices that I am being squashed flat, buried. I am the one who feels so alone even though I see that others are also buried. I am the one who feels helpless.

Me: What is overwhelming you?

O: Your never-ending to-do lists. All the things you want us to “do” this year. All of your efforts at self-improvement.

Me: What is overwhelming you MOST of all?

O: (sighs) These other Neters (parts) who say mean things to us, who don’t want us to feel whole and happy… all the Neters who are keeping us from letting go of what needs to be let go of. Especially Killjoy.

Me: Thank you for letting me know. How can I help you?

O: You can help me by SLOWING DOWN on the to-do lists. You can help me by slowing down the pace of your days, weeks, years, life. You can help me by calming down Killjoy. Talk with him, will you please? Give him some attention. Find out why he is influencing you so much these days.

Killjoy

Me:  Okay, I will! Killjoy, please join me.

KJ: Yeah? What you want, lady? (pokes finger in my chest)

Me: Hey! (removes finger) It’s me, the one whose mind you inhabit. Let’s sit down. So I hear you’re having a big effect on some of my other Neters (inner parts).

KJ: (gruffly) So what?

Me: So… I need to know what’s going on with you.  Your energy is out of balance and it’s making all of us uncomfortable.

KJ: (folds arms across chest) I don’t care.

Me: I’m sorry to hear that. I’m remembering, however, that you used to care. I’m remembering that you have been an integral, good force in my life and that when you are in balance you are an excellent Security Guard, protecting me from unnecessary influences. Do you remembering having that responsibility in my inner world?

KJ: (not meeting my eyes) Yes.

Me: Good, good! Can you tell me why you left that security guard post? And why you’re back to harrassing me? I really want to help you.

KJ: Why aren’t you pissed off at me and trying to kill me?

Me: Because you’re an important part of my life. And I love and respect and care about you. I want to know what’s thrown you off balance so I can help you get back to your best self.

KJ: I don’t know… I guess it’s easy to go to the dark side when you’re not paying attention to me.

Me: I’m sorry. You’re right. The second half of last year I was so distract because of Suzy’s (our dog’s) decline and death, and all of my work obligations, and everything else.

KJ: Yeah, well, I’m sorry about that and all. I’m really KJ- KEEPER OF THE JOY. KJ-KILLJOY is my worst self. When I feel unloved and unwanted, I start killing the Joy instead of keeping it.

Me: Oh! Right! I see. I see. And I hear you. Thank you for telling me all of this.

*****

Afterthought: I am seeking images for a Keeper of the Joy card and will post it here when I have completed that. In the meantime, I can continue to dialogue with KJ when he’s out of balance in order to bring him back to Keeping the Joy instead of Killing It.

PS As a result of this inner dialogue, my Overwhelmed Self became much less overwhelmed!

 

Fire Diver- Committee Suit

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Scfiredive I created this card because I just liked the two images and how they fit together even though you wouldn’t ordinarily think they would go together.

A card like this can remain a mystery until we sit down with it and begin a relationship with it by asking it some questions so that it can open up and tell us its story.

Who are you?
 I am the one who dives into the fire. I am the one who leans in and allows myself to freefall into the volcano of my feelings, my grief, my pain, my anger.  I am the one who falls into a hot seething fire which burns away all negativity and false expectations.  I am the one who freefalls through whatever happens in my life.  And beyond this fiery volcano is a cool, calm, peaceful sky, and a mountain nowhere near as difficult to climb.

What do you have to give me?
I give you fearlessness, to face whatever inner fires you fall into.  I give you an eagerness to know, to claim, to dive into those inner fiery realms of emotions.  I give you purification because you dared to plunge into the fiery depths of your soul.

What do you want from me?
I want you to go right into your inner worlds, no matter how scary and hot and dangerous they seem on the outside.

Perfectionist- Committee Suit

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Inner Perfectionist

I’ve been doing a lot of inner work with my Inner Critic lately, and part of that work included reading the book Embracing Your Inner Critic, by Hal and Sidra Stone.  Their teaching includes the fact that the Inner Critic is entwined in our psyches with two other inner parts: the Rule Maker and the Perfectionist.  I had a major aha! moment when I read about these three parts, and immediately began working on cards for these new parts I’d discovered.  So here is my SoulCollage® card for my Inner Perfectionist.

Who are you?
I am the one who has to do everything perfectly right, all the time.  I am the one who lies awake at night worrying and wondering how I can be sure to do everything perfectly the next day.  I am the one who spins my mind around and around until I’m dizzy with the desire to get everything just right.  I am the one who is centered in and focused on the gold star.  I am the one who loves to get the gold star each time.

What do you have to give me?
I give you the impetus to do your best work.  I give you the desire to do well.  I give you a good critical eye.

What do you want from me?
I want you to always do your best.  I want you to know that my energy gets out of control and keeps you up at night because you allow that to happen, and it doesn’t have to be that way.  I want you to remember that making a mistake is not the end of the world, and that you can learn from your mistakes too.

Jumping For Joy- Committee Suit

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A totally synchronistic thing happened right after I made this card.

I went to the Y and spent my time on the treadmill that overlooked the huge gymnastics room.  I noticed there were lots of toddlers and preschool children in there with their moms, but didn’t pay much attention. I read for a while as I sweated on the treadmill, and then one time when I looked up to turn a page, I noticed a little girl in a pink tutu, light skinned and fair haired.  She was bouncing up and down joyfully, gleefully, on the dark blue gym mats.

Then she was running, running, as fast as her little legs would carry her, all the way down the mat, and leaping into a wide bed of foam blocks.  Over and over she did this, that little girl in the pink tutu!

I went back to my book, and the next time I looked up, there were TWO little girls in pink, jumping for joy in the freedom they’d found in running, leaping, flying, jumping.  When I got my stuff together to leave, there were THREE fair-haired little girls in pink jumping for joy in that gymnastics room, and I smiled to myself all the way home.

Coincidence? I think perhaps not!

Who are you?
I am the one who leaps for joy.  I am the one who is jumping for joy.  I am the one who loves frilly girly dresses and the color pink and pretty flowers and going to my dance classes. I am the one who loves getting up in the morning, and going to school, and just EVERYTHING.  I am the one who takes pleasure in moving my body.  I am the one who is pleased with my own wondrous, special, unique self.

What do you have to give me?
I give you joy- joy in who you are, joy in life’s everyday gifts, joy in what you’ve been given, joy in your own unique self.

What do you want from me?
I want you to express your joy a little more each day.  I want you to remember my energy, and consciously tune into it every morning.  I want you to stand up a few times during the day and jump for joy.