Inner Surprises Blog

SoulCollage Inspiration

By Anne Marie Bennett

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Tears Into Treasure- Council Suit

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Sc6789222 I made this card intuitively at the KaleidoSoul Annual Retreat this spring. I was drawn to the woman weeping tears that turned into pearls, and I was drawn to the quiet strength in her face, the serenity, in spite of her tears.  I tried her against several different backgrounds and this one just “clicked” for me.

And I haven’t worked with her until today, when I drew her in my Daily Reading practice.  This is what she said to me today:

I am the one who weeps peacefully under the setting sun.  I am the one who is beautiful in my sadness.  I am the one whose tears turn to valuable jewels.  I am the one who is blessed both by the sun and by the spirits of the night.  I am the one who lifts my face to meet the pain.  I am the one who stills my soul to greet the pain and sadness that is a natural part of life. I am the one who gracefully transforms your pain into blessing. My message for you today is this: I am the one who takes the pain of ending and loss, and turns it all into blessing and treasure.  What is ending in your life?  Can you honor and respect the passing of these parts of yourself?  Can you celebrate these endings as you celebrate new beginnings?

Choice- Committee Suit

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 This is the very first card that I ever created!  And it really changed my whole life.  Because this little girl gave voice to a part of me who was feeling dragged along by the status quo… a part of me who was hearing another voice calling my name.

At that time in my life, I was totally dissatisfied with the theatre job (customer service) I’d been in for ten years, even though it had served me well and creatively for several years.  I was aching to leave that place I’d come to know as home-away-from-home, but until I made this card, and listened to it speak, I didn’t know how to voice that longing.

Just two months after creating this card and writing with it, I left the theatre and embarked on a new journey of being a SoulCollage® Facilitator, and creator of KaleidoSoul.com.

But I’m sharing this card with you now, more than three years later, because it showed up last week in my Daily Card Reading on September 11.

I got chills as soon as I turned it over that morning, especially when I saw the little girl looking straight at me, and the lines of the airplane in the background.  I had woken up that morning with a heavy heart, and even though I stayed away from the newspapers and television and radio that day, my body instinctually seemed to be remembering the grief of 9/11 and there was no way I could shake it.

Here then, is what this little girl said to me as I journaled with her on September 11, 2008-  seven long years after the terrorist attacks in New York:

I am the one who is wearing the white dress.  I am the one who is being led away by a woman in black.  I am the one who has to leave you now.  I am the one whose life ended with an airplane in the background.  I am the one who is looking back one last time.  I am the one who represents those who died seven years ago this very day.  My message for you today is this: I am okay.  We are all okay.  We are still with you.  We feel your grief.  WE honor YOUR grief.  We did not choose to leave you but we are gone.  We wear white to celebrate the purity of new life.  We are no longer cloaked in ashes and fire, nor should YOU be.  The lady leading me away from you is not totally dressed in black, see?  She has a white bow in her hair, white polka dots on her dress.  Stripes.  A sailor collar.  Polka dots…see?  Death is not as dark as you make it out to be. My message for you today is of peace.  Certain politicians and countries may not understand or embrace peace, but YOU can embrace it.  I give you peace.  I give you all peace. I have to leave now.  It is time for me to turn and follow this woman who is guiding me onwards.  I loved my life when I was there on earth.  And I love my life Here.  Now.

Witness- Transpersonal Cards

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Note: You can click on this card (and any on this blog) to enlarge it and see it better.

I made this card “completely by accident” (AHEM!) a few weeks ago while spending a few hours with some newbie SoulCollagers.  I had found the image of this young man recently and was immediately drawn to it although I didn’t know why.

In my impromptu card making session, I tried many different backgrounds before I hit on this black and white one, then added the rainbow background supposedly to “fill in the space” leftover on the mat board.

BUT!  When I cut the edges off and saw my new card for the first time face to face (or should I say soul to soul) I instantly recognized it as my transpersonal Witness card.

If you are curious about the Transpersonal cards, I highly recommend that you read Seena’s article on this fascinating topic: The One and the Many and the Source Card by Seena Frost

To me, my Witness card represents a part of me that is directly related to Source.  This Witness self is the part that can step back and watch everything that is happening within my inner world.  I love that this image includes a bit of Mystery in the Light and the Rainbow background.  I love how he is prayerfully and meditatively (and serenely) watching the crowds below scurrying around and doing their thing.

As Seena suggests in her article, the Witness card does not speak with I Am The One Who… because it is part of Source which is the One that holds the Many, not part of the Many with voices.

And let this also be a testament to the fact that you don’t have to plan out your Witness card ahead of time, intentionally, like I thought I might do someday in the future.  Perhaps your own Witness will make itself known to you as mine did, “accidentally on purpose” as my Dad used to say!

Possibility- Council Suit

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Who are you? I am the one who is passing the Aladdin’s wishing lamp on to you.  I have been waiting for you, Dear One.  I am the one who makes the wishes come true.  I am the one who tells you to wish for and receive whatever you want, whatever dreams are in your heart. Possibility is not just a dream, all possibilities can be real… but first you must say out loud what it is that you want and then you must ask for it.  Go ahead.  Make the wish.  Then let the Universe and Spirit, bring it to you.  You CAN have what you want!

What do you have to give me? I give you the magic lamp.  I give you the knowledge that wishes are not just things in fairy tales, but real expressions of your heart.  I give you a belief in Possibility and the permission to ask for what you want.

What do you want from me? I want you to listen to your heart, to make your wishes, to believe that they will come true. I want you to know that ASKING has power and real Spiritual value to it.

NOTES FROM DAILY READINGS:

7/10/06- I am the one who knows about wishes.  Hey, take the magic lamp and wish to your heart’s content.  Your wishes are already coming true, even before you speak them.  Do not forget to ASK.  Every day.  Ask.  You must ask for what you want,that is the first step.

7/19/06- I am the one who looks so mysterious and magical but I am telling you today that this principle is simple and basic and down to earth.  You CAN have what you want, Dear One.  Ask every day for your dearest wishes and they will come true, one by one. I am here to promise you that.

12/1/06- I am the one who is always here to remind you that the Magic Lamp is yours for the taking.  Go ahead.  Take the Lamp.  Know what you want and ask for it loud and clear.  Your deepest desires are already yours.

Noelle- Community Suit

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This is the week that I will lead my very first (and hopefully not
last!) SoulCollage® Facilitator Training in western Massachusetts.  So I am choosing to share this particular card with y’all this week because it represents the SoulCollage® Community to me in a very real and vivid way.

This is a very special card in my deck. It honors Noelle Remington, SoulCollage® Facilitator in Seattle, Washington. Noelle is the one who facilitated the very first SoulCollage® workshop I ever took.  I have fond memories of Noelle and the 20 or so women squeezed into a trailer behind the hotel where the Art and Soul Retreat was being held in February of 2005.

After I returned to New England from that workshop, I hired Noelle as my Creative Coach for six months and she was a gentle, nurturing presence for me as I began my own SoulCollage® practice and business.

Also, towards the center of the card I placed a photo of Noelle sitting with Seena Frost, which signifies to me the passing from one kindred soul to another, the blessed torch that is SoulCollage.  From Seena…to Noelle… to me… and then to countless others.

Who are you? I am the one who asks the right questions, who listens fully and completely.  I am the one who encourages your dreams. I am the one who shows you how to grow, to expand, to become who you are. I am the one who gives you wings to fly, who gently pushes you to realize that you are free, that you can soar. I am the one who first introduced you to SoulCollage®. I am the one who holds your hand as you cross the bridge of transformation, who cheers you on past the voices of doom and gloom when there is “trouble at the border.”

What do you give me? I give you the gift of SoulCollage®. I give you a knowing that anything and everything is possible.  I give you the value of taking care of yourself as a priority.  I give you validation of your dreams and desires.

What do you want from me? I want you to know that you can ASK YOURSELF the questions that need to be asked.  I want you to listen to yourself carefully for you have much to say and your inner wisdom is precious and powerful.

NOTES FROM DAILY READINGS:

May 2006- What I say to you today is this: You are a powerful, strong, creative and awesome woman.  Remember that!  Remember to use SoulCollage® as a tool.  Remember to write down your insights and priorities and creative ideas.  Remember that you are on a journey and that there is abundance help for the journey.

July 2007- I am the one with a passion for SoulCollage.  I am the one who passed that passion on to you.  What I say to you today is this: There is power and transformation available to you daily through the process of SoulCollage.  Ask your own questions and listen for the answers as they are sent to you from the Spirit World, and from within.  Remember to give yourself the stillness, from which the ripples flow.