SoulCollage®

By Anne Marie Bennett

Bristlecone Pines

bristlecone 2Have you heard about these amazing bristlecone pine trees* that grow only in isolated groves in the western U.S.?  They are more than 5,000 years old and are thought to be the oldest living organisms known to humankind.  They grow extremely slowly because of cold temperatures, rocky soil, and high winds.

Because of the high winds and rocky ground in their environment, it is impossible for rain to penetrate into their root system to offer nourishment and sustenance for growth.

But here’s the thing.  Insects dig into the earth and feed off of the roots of the bristlecone pines. This breaks off the tough skin of the trees’ roots so that water from the rain can actually get through. Thus these amazing trees are nourished through their wounds.

And here’s another thing. The bristlecone pines’ trunks and branches are scarred by the rough winds. Then dirt comes into the grooves/scars, which makes them look beautifully tattooed. They allow themselves to be written upon.

What I take from this beautiful gift from Nature is that even in a difficult environment, even when chaos is blowing all around me and I am laid low to the cold, cold ground, I am still growing. I am still being nourished. There is always a way to open to nourishment, even if that means allowing my wounds to be the vessels for new growth and sustenance.

*I give thanks to Clarissa Pinkola Estes for telling the story of these trees in The Joyous Body, an online class I took with her in the spring of 2011, which is now available in CD format.

scbristleconepinesI made this card for my deck to honor the lesson of the Bristlecone Pines:

We are the ones who grow amidst rocky soil and difficult conditions.  We are the ones who only receive water because insects chew holes in our roots.  We are the onews who are etched upon by the wind.

Our message for you today is this: our energy is part of your energy.  You have survived and grown strong in spite of bad “weather” and nutrient-poor “soil.”  Stand tall and proud and with grace.  Embrace your own story.

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?

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.

Life is Sacred

scwritingsoulThis image of the woman breathing in the flowers and the light came to me in a foreign magazine a few years ago. I think it was a French magazine and this might have been an ad for perfume!

This is one of those cards that I made because I loved it so much, and then put in my deck and forgot about it.  But I worked with her recently and here is what she said.

I am the one who is savoring the scent of the flowers.  I am the one who is breathing in the Light from the Divine, from the entire Universe.

I am the one who is in the present moment, this moment, right now. I have left behind the past and I do not even wonder about the future.

I am the one who holds the flowers in my hands and treasures their beauty, their presence.  I am the one who savors life, who holds life as sacred, part of the Mystery.

My message for you today is this- take some more time today to close your eyes and breathe in how precious your life is.