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Inner Surprises Blog

SoulCollage Inspiration

By Anne Marie Bennett

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Giving Up

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scgiveup

Do you ever feel like giving up on a goal or a dream? I think it’s common ground for most of us, so when I found myself drawn to this image of these people on the ground, I resonated with this part of me who sometimes wants to give up.Ā 

It’s important to remember that this Neter is only ONE PART of me whole, kaleidoscopic self!

Who are you?

We are the ones who are tired and discouraged. We are the ones who want to give up. LIFE IS HARD, we say.Ā  Writing is hard. Sometimes being kind is hard. Stopping over-eating is hard. We just want to stop it all and give up. Please don’t make us keep going.

What is your message for me today?

Our message for you is this: we know you want to be on this journey with your new book and with your Eating Less journey, but we are tired and it is hard. Could you please give us some love and encouragement instead of being mad at us for wanting to give up?

Same Card, Different Day

Who are you?

We are the ones who want to give up. We are weary and tired from trying to make all these changes. We feel cracked and dry and parched. We are the ones who are trying to stop you from achieving your dreams.

What is your message for me today?

Our message for you is this: We NEED you to HONOR our fatigue. We need you to reassure us that we can rest first, before moving on. We just want your acknowledgment that this is hard for us. We need you to notice that all the Trying makes us want to give up sometimes. We want you to not push us away.

We don’t REALLY want you give up… we just need time to rest before going any further.

Questions to Ponder

Questions Or Decision Making ConceptFeel free to ponder these questions in your journal, or respond to one or more of them in the comments below.

1. Is there a part of you who sometimes just wants to give up? If you were to ask this part “What do you want most right now?” , what might it say to you?

2. What does this “let’s give up” part of you look like? What does he/she/they need?

3. Sometimes it is important to let go of a dream or a goal because it just isn’t realistic any more. How can you tell the difference between Giving Up and Letting Go?

 

Trusting That I Am Held

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When I first started SoulCollaging in 2005, I created a card for Trust that was rather simplistic in nature. I can’t find the card right now, but it showed a little girl walking across a thin pole, balancing herself high up in the air, and two adults on the ground below, poised to catch her if she fell.Ā 

Recently, I put all of these images together onto a card and found that they were also speaking to me about Trust.

Who are you?

I am the one who walks ahead, who follows the path.

I am the one who sometimes leaps.Ā 

I am the one who rests easy… because I know that I am held.

I am the one who knows that I am safe and that is why I trust that I am held by larger Hands than my own. That is why I trust that I am guarded and guided. It doesn’t mean that nothing bad will happen to me. it just means that I am always, always held.

Why have you shown up for me today?

I am here today because you are learning much about trusting and safety and being held. I want you to slow down and activate Trust particularly when it comes to your writing. It is also my message today for you to activate Trust whenever worries and fears about Death (your own and others’) come up for you. Know that these worries and fears are normal, that everyone experiences them at one time or another, and that your breath work, mindfulness practice, and EFT Tapping are brilliant tools that can help you turn your fears to Trust.

Questions to Ponder

1. Whatever is going on in your life today, is a specific word or phrase from this Neter’s message meaningful for you?

2. Do you have a hard time trusting? If so, why do you think that might be so?

3. What are some tools in your own spiritual Tool Box that can move you toward leaning into trusting that youā€”yes, YOU!ā€” are held by Hands larger than your own?

Craving Solitude- My Archetypal Hermit

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Archetypal Hermit

This is one of my favorite cards of all time. Whenever it shows up in a reading, I breathe a deep sigh ofĀ  contentment. . .Ā  that is how deeply my need for Solitude (with a capital S) is rooted inside of me.

When I first made this card, I had no idea what she represented. I only knew that every placement of every item felt absolutely “right” to me.Ā  Her presence only became clear to me after asking her some questions and listening carefully for her answers.

Who are you?
I am the wild feathered one who dances in the forest alone.Ā  Ā I am the one who is at home in the woods.Ā  The trees are my friends.Ā  I am the one determined to remain alone in these woods, in my home in the trees.Ā  I find light and mystery and surprise in my alone-ness.Ā  I find my strength and passion in solitude.Ā  Behind the doors of my soul is where all of the answers lie, and these doors are accessed through solitude only.Ā  My freedom comes from being alone.Ā  I am free here in the wilderness of my Self, to dance and sing and be exactly who I am, to discover who I am, to revel in the beautiful mystery of my Soul’s expression.

What do you have to give me?
I give you a deep yearning for solitude.Ā  I give you a wild imagination for soul-searching.Ā  I give you freedom.

What do you want from me?
I want you to never be ashamed of your need for solitude.Ā  It is more than a passing need, it is an integral part of who you are.

Recently, I drew this Neter in a reading and her answers to my questions deepened her meaning for me:

Who are you?
I am the one who goes behind the door where the Light is.Ā  I am the one who stays there, alone, until I feel like myself again. I am the one wearing feathers. I am the one who is gazing intently ahead.

What do you have to say to me today?
My message for you today is this: I love moving through the French doors and sitting on the sun porch with the doors closed and windows open. I love sitting alone in that small space and being Quiet. This feeds my soul! Thank you for giving me what I need.

Questions to Ponder
Question Mark Over Head
Questions to Ponder

Feel free to play with one or more of these questions in your journal, or respond in the comments below.

1. Did a particular phrase or sentence from my sharing hold special meaning for you? Copy just that into your journal and write about what it means for YOUR life.

2. Are you someone who craves solitude? Has this always been true for you or is this something new? Either way, consider what your own Hermit looks likes, sounds like, feels like.Ā  Seek out some images and create a card for him or her. You might call this part of you Solitude Seeker or Monk or Anchorite or Sister Solitude… or whatever comes to mind!

3. Even if you don’t have a card for this part of you yet, ask it “Who are you?” and “What do you want?” and “How can I help you?”Ā  Listen carefully for the answers you hear before writing.

 

Two Cards – One Message

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I drew these cards in my every-other-daily readings this year, a few months apart from each other. They had a similar message that might just resonate with you today, wherever you are on your own Life’s Journey:

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Dancing on my Grave

Who are you?
I am the one who is performing an elegant ballet on top of my grave. I am the one who isn’t buried in the ground yet. I am the one who holds flowers in my hand. I am the one who is ALIVE! I am the one who isn’t dead yet. I am the one who is dancing in the facee of the sunrise.

My message for you today is this… you are not dead yet, dear one! Keep reminding yourself that you are ALIVE!!Ā  EnJOY your life.

 

Savoring the Momentscstrawberry girl

Who are you?
I am the one who is swinging on my swing. I am the one who is happy when I am near the ocean. I am the one who loves fresh, ripe strawberries! I am the one who is content to do nothing but swing and play.

My message for you today is this… take some time today to just sit and BE with yourself. Find a way to bring play and joy to your life today, if only for ten minutes. You don’t always have to be DOING something!

 

Questions to Ponder

Feel free to play with these questions in your journal, or respond in the comments below if you feel so led.

1. Do either (or both) of these cards have a message for YOU?

2. Can you find ten minutes in your day today to stop moving, to stop DOING things, and to simply BE?

3. How does it feel to pause and to remind yourself that you are ALIVE?

Patiently Waiting

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Patient Self

When I first made this SoulCollageĀ® card, it was just the image of the woman looking out to sea.Ā  I just loved how she was sitting there.Ā  After I did the initial interpretation of the card (see below), I realized that she represented a part of me (Committee Suit) that is patient and calm while waiting, so I added the nautilus shell and blue spiral symbol in the bottom right corner to give it an added feeling of patience, calm, and grace.

Patience was never my strong suit, but this card has helped me get in touch with my own capacity for slowing down and letting Time do its work. It’s an excellent reminder to have in my deck about the fact that even though I don’t naturally come by the personality trait of patience, I can activate it when I need to.

Who are you? I am the one with nowhere to go and nothing to do. I am full of patience and abiding grace. I like to sit in silence and peace and let the world go on around me. I am not in a hurry. The world goes on and time goes on, and I am content to let it be. There is a stillness inside of me which passes all understanding, and when I access that, all else becomes unimportant.Ā  I am waiting, waiting, and wanting for something to come to me over the horizon and into my view.Ā  I am waiting, but with poise and calm and grace, and an inner knowing that it will come to me in its own time and way.Ā  I wait for it without agitation.

What do you have to give me? I give you patience- calm, abiding patience… waiting that is without frustration or agitation or anxiety.

What do you want from me? I want you to follow my example.Ā  Ask for this gift of patience, for it is truly a gift.Ā  Notice the presence of patience and impatience in your life… ask for patience whenever impatience has too strong of a voice.

Additional bits of wisdom offered by this card when it has showed up over the years in daily readings:

What I say to you today is this: make a card to honor your Impatient Voice, for that is a voice which is controlling you lately.Ā  Listen carefully to what IT is telling you. Impatience is getting in the way of getting your body back to its natural weight.Ā  I, Patience, can help you, once you remove Impatience from his throne of power in your daily life.

Ā I am the one who sits by the salt water, absorbing its healing essence with my stillness and an open body. I am the one who is healed by the water.Ā  I am the one who allows myself to be healed, who wants to be healed, who is eager to be healed by the water.

I am the one who cherishes the waiting, who knows that this is the journey as well.Ā  You can learn so much in the times of patient waiting. You are doing the work… now be still once the work is done… be still and allow the good things to come to you.