SoulCollage Inspiration

By Anne Marie Bennett

Painting/Breathing Rainbows

scunknown 102014 09Who are you?

I am the one who paints rainbows over the clouds.  I am the one who puts color into boring black and white situations.  I am the one who opens the door to rainbows in the distance.  I am the one who breathes rainbows in and out.  I am the one who puts rainbows into the world intentionally.

 

What wisdom do you have for me today?

My wisdom for you today is in the form of a question:

Where can you paint a rainbow today?

I’m talking metaphorically, of course. Pause before you move into your day.  What area of your life has gone gray and dull and could use the uplifting brightness of a rainbow?  How can you add some color and beauty to this part of your life?

Addiction

scaddictcouncilThis is a card I made recently to  honor the archetypal energy of Addiction that has been with me since I was very young, in one form or another.  Addiction is a theme or pattern that has shaped my life over the years.  This is different than my Inner Addict which is another card altogether (stay tuned!).

Addiction was a pattern in my family from before I was born- grandparents on both sides were alcoholics. This shaped my parents in that they didn’t drink a drop of alcohol, and the reason for it was always made clear to us.

I developed an addiction to sugar at a very young age and this has continued throughout my life until the past two years when hypoglycemia has had me facing my own addiction and coming to terms with it.

In my 20’s and 30’s I was in a serious, intense relationship with an alcoholic and this led me into 12-Step programs such as Al-Anon and ACOA where breaking free from my addiction to the addicted was a huge theme for me for many years.

So you can see that this Archetype of Addict has played itself out in my life in many ways.

Here is what this Neter said to me recently:

I am the one who has been with you from the beginning.  I have colored your world with darkness and cravings and hunger and need and want.  I am the one who seduced you into eating what your body did not need in order to satisfy the longing of your spirit.

I am the one who was trying to care for you by feeding your emotions instead of urging you to feel what you were feeling.  I am the one who held you to me and convinced you there was no one else but me. 

What I have to say to you today is this: remember our story.  I am still present in your life but I have a different intent and purpose now.  Now, when you feel me drawing you in, pulling you close… know that this is a signal that there is something out of balance, something that needs your emotional attention.  And pay attention to that instead of toe me. 

My best intention is to care for you.  But you now know that caring for yourself involves honoring and feeling all your feelings instead of tamping them down with food.  It is quite a journey we have been on all these years, you and I.  Learn from it.

Pointing Towards the Light

scunknown 102014 2I made this card intuitively, combining images that I loved, not quite knowing the reason, but just knowing that they tugged at my heart and spirit in some way.  There are  two central beings on this card and when I started working with it, the woman on the right was the one who was speaking to me:

I am the one who faces the light.  I am the one who is outlined in light.  I am the one who lifts my arms to the light, who points the way to the brightness outside the window.  I am the one who is standing in darkness but who is illuminated anyway.

My message for you today is this- I see you there, hunched over in dejection but I see what you cannot see- you are wearing a crown of LIGHT!  The light shines from you, you are wreathed in a crown of bright light. 

Come, raise your head, look toward the light, look toward the brightness that awaits you.  All is not dark.  You are wearing the light!

You are sitting in darkness, yes, but I am the one who points the way to the light that always overcomes the darkness.

Mystery Card

scunknown 102014 3Here is what I call a “mystery card” that I made intuitively (oh, SO intuitively) a few months ago.  I define a Mystery Card as one that I have NO CLUE as to what it means, even though I absolutely am drawn to it in some way.

Some Mystery Cards remain Mystery Cards for a looooooong time.  Some reveal themselves right away. I have found that it’s best to be patient (not my strongest suit) when working with these.

In my experience, I’ve found that it’s sometimes difficult to dive right into the I Am the One Who… journaling exercise with it.  For me, when working with a card like this, I find it helpful to start with a DETAILED PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION of what is actually on the card.  First, I scan the card with my eyes slowly from left to right… and then right to left.  Then top to bottom… and bottom to top.  It’s a very left-brain kindof exercise, which can sometimes be helpful before jumping headfirst  into the intuitive.  Also, it’s helpful for me because I’m not so focused on discovering something deep and meaningful in the card!  For me, it affects a good balance of the left and right brain.

As I scan, I am asking my brain to register things like: colors, shapes, symbols, dark/light, objects, people, animals.  I am thinking of words like:

next to
beside
on top of
under
inside
outside
over
above
between

Here is my PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION of this Mystery Card:

There is a woman with feathers as wings and she is standing in a yoga balance pose.  All of her body except her head is inside of a glass jar that is glowing with light.  The jar rests on a large body of water.  On either side of the woman is a long row of lighted luminarias.

The water in front of the woman is lit from the glow of the setting sun. Or maybe it is the rising sun?  Her arms are lifted over her head and her hands are pointing upward in prayer/praise.  She is facing towards the setting/rising sun.

Usually, after writing a detailed description like that, I find it easier to get into the I Am the One Who…

Who are you?  I am the one who stands in the light.  I am the one at the beginning of a pathway of light.  I am the one with wings.  I am the one who lifts my arms in praise.  I am the one whose pathway is lined with light.  I am the one standing inside of a glass jar but I know I can lift up and away any time I choose because I am the one who has WINGS!!!

What do you have to give me?  I give you light.  I give you the gift of wings.  I give you the ability to fly free at anytime.  I gift you with balance!  I give you a moment of pause and stillness at the beginning of a journey.  I give you the knowing that your journeys are always infused with and surrounded by light.

What do you want from me? I want you to remember to lift your being in gratitude before you start any long journey.  I want you to remember that you are never fully trapped/encased, that you can fly free at any time.  I want you to PAUSE AND APPRECIATE THE LIGHT THAT IS ALL AROUND YOU.

 

NOW…. YOU TRY IT!

Take one of your own Mystery Cards and start by slowly scanning it and noticing everything on it.  Then write a detailed description of it. Set the timer for five minutes and go!  When you are done, launch right into asking the card “Who are you?” and then let the being or beings on the card tell you its story.

Rising from the Nautilus

scunknown12345I am the one who was covered up with my illness and now I am free from it. 

I am the one who is naked and free and open to life. 

I am the one who rises out of the Nautilus Shell and its many inner chambers.

I am the one in active movement, saying a joyous YES to life!

My message for you today is this- you are connected- head to toe- to divine inner Spirit. Rest easy in this knowledge and CLAIM YOUR JOYFUL LIFE.

 

 

Note from Anne Marie: You can see the SoulCollage® cards I made for my 2011-12 cancer journey on this page.