I made this card intuitively, just feeling drawn to the facial expressions on these three women. They seemed to fit perfectly on this background of light shining through an expansive cave.
When I asked “Who are you?”
this is what they said:
We are the ones who keep you in touch with your own deep wisdom. We are the ones who are ALWAYS with you in your daily life. We are your Guides from Beyond. We are the ones who offer you wisdom and guidance moment to moment.
We are the ones who find you in the cave of your being, and who each you contemplation and joy and trust in your inner knowing.
Our message for you today is this… use this week to slow down, to really look within, to see the beautiful Light that is within you, and to offer yourself the love and compassion that you need, that you deserve.
Keep on standing in the light. It is never far away.
From a very young age I have been drawn to dolphins, but I never thought much about it until 2004.Ā My mother died that year, and the week before her stroke, I was reading Madeleine L’Engle’s A Ring of Endless Light.Ā I found myself totally captured by the intuitive nature of the dolphin.Ā Also, there were many messages for me in that book about communicating with other beings (people as well as animals) in ways that went beyond words.Ā Because my mother had had a stroke and lay unconscious in a hospice bed for several days, I felt like I was communicating with her on a different level altogether. This lovely synchronicity is how I came to understand that Dolphin was choosing to be my 6th Chakra Animal Companion.
The 6th chakra is the energy center located at the center of our forehead, also known as our “third eye.” This energy center is the home for our intuition and imagination, and I was delighted to find m CompanionāDolphināthere.
In SoulCollageĀ®, we do inner work through guided imagery and other paths to get in touch with each of our body’s chakras/energy centers. Our founder, Seena Frost, taught that our body’s energy centers find alignment with Animal energies. Once we discover which Animals are Companioning us in our chakra centers, we make cards to honor them, and toĀ bring their energy and wisdom into our decks and our journeys. There is more info about the SoulCollage Companions Suit here.
I am the one who is intelligent and imaginative. I am the one who sees, inside and out.
Here is the wisdom that Dolphin energy brings to me: Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
Who are you?I am the one who is the prince (and princess!) of the seas.Ā I am the one who smiles, who laughs, who Knows.Ā I am the one who rides the waves in pleasure and delight.Ā I am the one who loves to play, who can “talk” to humans, who knows what others are feeling just by listening to their thoughts.Ā I am the one who knows that communication exists on many, many levels.
What do you have to give me?I give you freedom from time constraints, freedom from past and future, freedom to remember this present moment. I give you the motivation to play, to have fun, to delight in your life, to enjoy each moment as it comes.
What do you want from me?I want you to slow down, to take the time to play a little each day, to remember your outer “tribe” of playmates and to let go of all inner and outer judgements and to give yourself permission to relax and enjoy life more often.
Take a few minutes now to listen inside. Is there an Animal energy that you’ve always been drawn to?
Create a SoulCollage card for it, then ask it the questions I’ve asked: Who are you? What gifts do you bring me? What do you want from me?
What wisdom does this Animal’s presence have for your life and your journey right now?Ā
Back in 2006, our 12-year-old outdoor cat disappeared for more days than he ever had before.Ā After a week, I keenly felt his absence, and knew that I had to let him go, and prayed that his angels had been with him the whole time.Ā I was heartbroken. Scooter was the first beloved animal companion to leave us. Over the years there have been four more: Sasha-Girl, Minne, Suzy, and more recently-Seymour.Ā Each time I grieve, I remember this SoulCollageĀ® reading I did in 2006.
I went to my deck and asked “Who will help me deal with the loss of our dear cat Scooter?”
My Mystical Child Neter is the card that I drew, and her voice immediately offered me comfort and a subtle blessing of peace:
I am the one who believes in magic and fairies.Ā I am the one who talks to angels and animals, and hears them talking back to me.Ā I am the one who believes in prayer and who prayers frequently and fervently, with faith.Ā I am the one in direct contact with the Divine.Ā
I am the one who believes in magic and who watches spellbound as rabbits are pulled out of hats and scarves change color in mid-air.
I am the one who acknowledges the Mysteries of the universe, who accepts the Mysteries and loves them as they are. I give you a sense of mystery and awe. I give you the knowledge of other realities and the open mind to accept them. I want you to believe in fairies and angels, and to know that dolphins and cats can talk to you.Ā I want you to see magic everywhere you turn. I want you to pray and to know that your prayers are ALWAYS answered.Ā I want you to stay connected to the Divine.Ā
What I have to say to you today is this: Scooter has been gone for a week now, but from the first moment you met him, youĀ asked for Angel Protection for him, because you knew he was a wild free spirit– he told you this, and you listened, you heard him.Ā You honored his deepest heart’s longings by letting him have his freedom, and you always knew that you couldn’t be the one to protect him, as much as you wanted to.Ā Now, today, in the midst of your aching grief, I want you to know and to believe that he has and has always had the Angel Protection that you continually asked for.Ā I want you to have faith that the Angels have honored your request.Ā It really is that simple.Ā I also want you to know that all of your inner communication with Scooter was real. He felt safe with you and he loved you fiercely. He loves you fiercely still.Ā Let there be joy and gladness in the midst of your tears and pain, for anytime a wild creature like this is loved so deeply, heaven is full of gratitude and joy.
We’re well into autumn now here in eastern Massachusetts, and our thoughts are turning to Thanksgiving and gathering the colorful fallen leaves that are collecting on our lawn and driveway.Ā When I drew this card today, I was reminded to think on other things that can be gathered, like. . .for instance. . . blessings!
I love having this card in my deck to remind me to notice and actively collect blessings (that for which I am grateful) all year long, not just at Thanksgiving and the holidays.
The last six months have been difficult for me as we had to say good-bye to our beloved feline Seymour in May. I’ve been turning more steadily to a practice of gratitude and it’s been helpful as I’ve been wading through streams and riversāand some days seeming oceansāof grief. Practicing gratitude doesn’t necessarily lessen the grief to any extent, but it makes it easier to carry.
Who are you?
I am the one who stands in a field of flowers. I am the one who gladly picks the flowers and gathers them into my big bowl.
I am the one who is grateful for every blessing that comes my way, every single one.
I am the one who notices my blessings, who takes time to savor each one as I gather it in.
I am the one who is thankful for each and every moment of the six and a half years that Seymour graced my life.
I am the one who feels blessed for the love and presence that he blessed me with.
I am the one who continually looks around my garden of blessings… I am the one who carries the gratitude alongside the grief.
NOTE: I am offering a SoulCollageĀ® series called Healing Hurt Hearts at the Holidays this December. If you are carrying any hurt or grief that makes the holidays difficult this time of year, check it out. We have scholarships available too! More info here.
I grew up in the fifties and early sixties, and our family was Roman Catholic. We went to church weekly until my Confirmation at age 13. By then, my two older brothers were grown and on their own, and my parents had various reasons for no longer attending. However, I went by myself! I was drawn to the liturgy, the ceremony, the music, the prayers, and to God.
As I grew up, and even into my late thirties, my concept of God was male-oriented. Patriarchal. Whatever you’d like to call it, that’s what it was. I am glad of it, though, and here is why:
My father was a warm, loving, living example of unconditional love. My mother, although she tried her best, was not. I had two big brothers, no sisters. I had positive and powerful relationships with male priests along my journey: Father Alagna, who sat with me several times in college as I wrestled with the tension between Catholic dogma and my own deeply personal journey with Jesus. Reverend Dunn (well, okay, he was only five years older than me, so I called him Donald!), whose passion for bringing Christ out into the world was contagious. Father Randy (He was my age, so I didn’t call him Father, either!) who acted as my spiritual director for several years.
I am so grateful for all of this positive male influence in my life because it fed and nurtured my soul in ways that were perfect for what I needed at the time.
It wasn’t until 1995 that I realized there was another way of looking at and experiencing God. That year, I came across the book, A God Who Looks Like Me, by Patricia Lynn Reilly. The subtitle was Discovering a Woman-Affirming Spirituality. My whole inner world changed, with the reading of this one book!
The following year, Dance of the Dissident Daughter found its way into my hands, and my spiritual journey took another turn. This book was written by Sue Monk Kidd, and I had previously read (and loved!) several of her books on Christian spirituality. This book, however, told of her “Journey from Christian Tradition to
Divine Feminine
the Sacred Feminine.” I devoured each page as I discovered that her words, her research and her personal story, was quenching a thirst that I hadn’t even known was a part of me.Ā
One sentence in particular rang truth throughout my whole body, mind and spirit:
To embrace Goddess is simply to discover the Divine in yourself as powerfully and vividly feminine.
I have been re-reading these books as I prepare to facilitate and moderate the Gathering of the Goddesses series, and I am touched all over again by the balance that these truths continue to bring to my own life and journey. It’s not like I discovered the feminine side of God and suddenly discarded the masculine. I still feel close to Father God, and now I hold the energy of Divine Mother as well. I still sometimes converse with Jesus in my inner meditations and I have delightful conversations with various feminine energies. I honor male priests/ministers and female priests/ministers. For me, the real revelation is not that Goddess replaces God, but rather that they complement and balance one another.
What is your experience of the divine feminine? How is She active in your life? Have you read either of the above two books? Please share your thoughts!
