Who are you? I am the one who loves to read. I am the one who reads for hours and hours and doesn’t pay attention to the passing of time.  I am the one who finds solace in words, who seeks information and comfort in the words of others.  I am the one who loves stories, who finds myself in stories and novels and good books. I am the one who loves the feel of a good book in my hands, who escapes into other worlds through the arms of a good book.

What do you have to give me? I give you pleasure, enjoyment, comfort, and I stimulate your imagination. I give you knowledge of other worlds, both within you and outside of you.

What do you want from me? I want you to make reading an integral part of your life- not just something you save for “after” your work is done.  I want you to remember that you derive a deep sense of pleasure from reading fiction.

NOTES FROM DAILY READINGS:

August 2006- I am the one who loves to read!  I am the one whose most favorite form of entertainment is reading.  I am the one who is at peace when I read.  I act out my frustration when you DON’T read regularly… by EATING!  If you find yourself eating too much, stop for a moment and ask me if what I’m really hungry for is words, books, stories.

August 2007- I am the one who has always loved books of all kinds, sizes, shapes and colors.  I am the one who needs to read like I need to breathe.  My message for you today is this: I don’t EVER need to EAT when I am reading.  A part of you eats when I am reading in order to distract you from the pure pleasure I feel when I am reading.  The next time you read, try just sipping a cup of tea instead, or just BREATHING.  I would like that much better. And thank you for listening!

Who are you? I am the one who is walking the labyrinth, oblivious to the harried rush of Time around me.  I am the one who moves slowly and calmly through this labyrinth, and through my own life’s path. I am the one who exists only in this moment, right now.

What do you have to give me? I give you a centering peace. I give you awareness of the central moment only. I give you disregard for time, for the past, for the future. I give you the blessing and grace that is yours in the moment alone.  I give you a centered steady pace through your life.

What do you want from me? I want you to walk slowly, mindfully.  I want you to claim this moment in time only.  Past and future exist, but not in this moment, which is all that you are given.  Allow the past and the future to become a gentle blur.  The reality is right here, right now.  Time is irrelevant.  What matters only is what is happening right here, right now, inside of you.

I made this card spontaneously (intuitively) at the first SoulCollage^® Retreat I ever led in 2006.  It seemed to come together quite naturally and easily.  It’s really just a couple of images, and I loved how I felt when I looked at it or held it in my hands.

Up until the time I made this card, I had not even remotely thought of myself as powerful.  This card certainly had something to say about that!

Who are you? I am the one who is powerful and strong.  I am the one who holds the world in the palm of my hand.  I am the one with power in my body and mind, who can balance the weight of the world on my shoulders and know that it won’t destroy me.  I am the one who is powerful enough that time doesn’t overwhelm me.  I am the one who is being given all the time in the world as a gift and who balances that gift with the powerful stance of my body, mind and spirit.

What do you have to give me? I give you strength and power to balance this new world you’ve been given.  I give you a posture which contains the power to receive and to balance.

What do you want from me? I want you to know that you are inherently powerful and strong.  I want you to stand tall and strong and gorgeously balanced.  I want you to receive this gift of all the time in the world—- with joy and unabashed strength!

Believe it or not, I made this SoulCollage^® card intuitively/spontaneously (3 years ago!) because I was drawn to the images, even though they were a bit scary!  What a surprise to let this SoulCollage^® speak to me and tell me its story… I discovered a very strong inner voice here, one that has been with me for a LONG time, but that I’d been unaware of.

Who are you? I am the one who puts up armor so that no one hurts me. I am the one who hides my true feelings about what you are saying because I don’t want you to see/know how hurt I am.  I am the one who protects myself with quick verbal defenses. I am the one who is defensive. I am the one who fears vulnerability.  I am the one who covers my true self up with protective, defensive armor so that I cannot be wounded.

What do you have to give me? I give you protection from those who want to hurt you, and from those who intend to do you harm.

What do you want from me? I want you to put on the armor when you are around people who can hurt you. I want you to KNOW WHEN to be defensive and when being defensive DOESN’T serve you at all.

NOTES FROM DAILY READINGS:

10/18/05- Sometimes you are defensive when you don’t need to be. You don’t always have to be wary of an attack.  It is good to be prepared, but your job now is to know WHEN you need to be prepared and when it is ok to let the armor down.

6/11/06- What I am saying to you today is this: it’s all about closing and defending your heart.  I tend to act up when I’ve been hurt.  I tend to act up when my heart has been wounded- that is when I put up the walls and the armor and shields, so I won’t be hurt again. But my real purpose is to protect you from people and things who really will hurt you. It’s your job to know the difference.

9/6/06- I am the one who doesn’t want people to know how I really feel. I am the one who holds in the hurt with the veil, the mask, the armor.  I am the one who cannot be my own true self because of my fear of being hurt.  What I am saying to you today is this: I really CAN protect you when you find yourself in the the presence of people who really WILL hurt you.  It’s OKAY to take off the veil, the shield, the armor, when you are with people who love and care about you.

5/20/07- I am the one who needs armor to protect myself.  I am the one who hides behind my armor. I am the one who is afraid of getting hurt.  My message for you today is this: happy birthday,dear one.  And know that there is a time and a place for using the armor… but most of the time you do not even need it!

During a discussion with my therapist about how anxious I was feeling about something, she asked me to close my eyes and notice where that anxiety was in my body.  I did as she said but I didn’t feel anything in my body at all. I felt completely numb.  Then I realized… it was in my head. When I start to feel anxious, it’s like I go straight up into my head with it and forget I have a body at all!

So I started looking for images of people without bodies…and this card was born.

At first I was a bit perplexed about the image in the lower right corner, though… it’s a full-bodied person (not just a head) who has just climbed a ladder up through the clouds and is standing in the clouds, looking at the sunrise.  But as you can see in one of my daily readings (below), it spoke to me and told me why I’d put it on this card, even though it doesn’t seem to fit with the theme.

Who are you? I am the one who is anxious.  I am the one who goes completely into my head when I feel displaced, out of place, alone, sad, lonely, afraid, angry, disappointed.  I go out of my body completely.  I forget that I even have a body.  I am the one who eats to numb the pain of feeling displaced and alone.  I am the one who eats to drug the anxious feelings.

What do you have to give me? I give you a reminder- when you feel anxious, get back into your body. I also give you an excuse to eat when you’re not hungry, to overeat to numb out.

What do you want from me? I want you to recognize and acknowledge me when I show up.  I want you to not feed me sugar when I appear.  I want you to breathe, stretch, go for a walk, dance, get back into your body. I want you to remember that you are never really displaced if you remember that your true home is your soul.

Notes from Daily Readings:

December, 2005: What I have to say to you today is this: Remember to breathe, to stay in your body. Especially after Jeff has gone to sleep and you still have awake time.  Breathe. Stay in your body. Anxiety doesn’t serve you… let it go.

November, 2006: I am the one who gets completely caught up in “head stuff.” I am the one who thinks reality is the stories I tell myself in my mind.  I am the one who is anxious and afraid.  My message for you today is this: Relax. Breathe. Know that there is more to you than what is going on in your mind.  Climb the ladder out of your mind and revel in the freedom of being back at home in your body.