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.

This is a card I made intentionally to honor SoulCollage’s creator, Seena B. Frost.  Many Facilitators and SoulCollagers created cards for their own decks to honor Seena’s 75th birthday in March 2007. 

She says to me:

I am the one who created SoulCollage.  I am the one who inspires imagination and inner work by opening the doors to your soul and letting the light flood in.

I have drawn this card twice in the past year during my daily readings as well, and each time she comes up, she has wisdom to share.

June 1, 2007- I am the one who encourages inner growth and creativity.  I am the one who sends the ripples of healing and transformation outward into the world as I continue my work.  My message for you today is this: be still and you will know many things.  Revel in the waters of your own colorful creativity.  Drink from the rainbowed rivers of your own reflection.  And all shall be well.

May 9, 2008- I am the one who gave you the gift of SoulCollage.  I am the one who says “grab your box of crayons and JUMP RIGHT IN!!”  Celebrate your artistic self!!! Right now!!!!

About 20 years ago, Doug was the rector’s assistant at the Episcopal church I attended in Salem, MA.  He touched my life in SO many ways.  After a few years, his journey took him to another parish. We stayed in touch for a while, and he even sang at our wedding in 1995.  Then our journeys just took us in different directions.

And a few months ago, I learned that he had died last summer, at age 53, of inoperable brain cancer.  I was shocked at the immediate grief that flooded me when I heard the news.   I wept for his family, his students, and for the loss of him to this world.

I created this card to honor Doug, his place in my life so long ago, and his place in my life now, even though he is with us no longer in his body.  It eased the empty space in my heart, it softened the grief I felt when I heard of his suffering, of his family’s loss. 

The stained glass window is there to remind me of the love of God which he brought to me and taught us all so lovingly, and with such vulnerability and grace.  The butterfly of course stands for Resurrection and transformation.  The lotus is there because one of his gifts to me was a rooted belief in the soul’s right to growth even from muddy conditions.  Why the seal and the white lion landed there… I don’t know yet.  I found them in my stack of treasured, saved images and they seemed to be telling me that they wanted to be on Doug’s card, so I listened and heeded their advice.

Who are you? I am the one who is a Priest. I am the one who is a teacher. I am the one who rode a motorcycle and sang in a rock band and also loved people and God with a wild, spectacular love. I am the one who brought joy and laughter to the parish. I am the one who was never afraid to be myself up there in the pulpit or with the people. I am the one who suffered so much when my daughter suffered. I am the one who was never afraid to ask for prayer, for help, for time. I am the one who sang at your wedding. I am the one who always looked at people with eyes of love.  I am the one who is with you even now as you are writing this. I am the one who smiles to see this card you have made for me. I am the one who brings the light of God to you from the other side.

What do you have to give me? What I gave you then and what I give you now is the exact same thing: unconditional love. I give you light in your heart that comes straight from the heart of God. I give you reassurance that Death is not the end. I give you my presence and in that presence, comfort. I give you a light heart, laughter, love, a reminder that joy is yours right now. Reach out and grab it, hold it, embrace it… it is easy, and it is yours. I give you the knowing that life is short. I give you appreciation for the little things in life. I give you a reminder that every tiny piece of life is important, blessed, wonderful.

What do you want from me? I want you to be yourself. I want you to remember me with love and happiness. I want you to not beat yourself up because we didn’t stay in touch.  I want you to know that our paths crossed, and then went in separate directions, for a reason.  I want you to know that your writing touched my soul. I want you to know that your courage in taking on Jeff’s children inspired me. I want you to know that even though you cannot see me, I am still with you. I want you to know that you are special, beloved, wonderful. I want you to know that I am now aware of all those times you prayed for me and for my daughter when she was hurt, broken. I want you to know that your love crosses time and space and blesses me even now.

I made this card intentionally to honor the entirety of my family, the family that centers and anchors me.

I haven’t written much about it, but I do love this card and it gives me great peace whenever I look at it.

Who are you? We are the ones who are your family.  We are your family of origin, from whom you were birthed into the world.  We are the ones who love you unconditionally.  Mom and Dad, Joe and John, Mike and Pete, Allison and Stephanie.  Our message for you today is this: We love you.  We support you.  We carry you with us and you carry us with you, wherever you go. We love you.

Here is my SoulCollage^® card for my father. I created it intentionally the first few months of practicing SoulCollage.  He had died several years prior to this, and I felt SO close to him while I was making this card!

As with my “Mom” card, I used photos of my Dad alone, as a young boy as well as older.  And I included two photos of him with me, one when I was a baby and one when I was older.

I love this card!  And even though it hasn’t yet shown up in a Daily Reading or a question-focused reading, I still feel comforted knowing that this card is in my deck.

Who are you? I am the one who is your father.  I am the one who loves you unconditionally since the day you were born, and even NOW that I am gone.  I am the one who was born in New Bedford, who loved the ocean, who loved family dinners when we were all together. I am the one who loved taking photos.  I am the one who was a creative man- I loved to draw and tell funny stories, to rea, and after I retired I was a weaver.  I was a good musician and piano player too.  I I am the one who loved surprise gifts, and especially giving them.  I am the one who loved/loves your mother and who took my family responsibilities very seriously.  I am the one who loved being a father and grandfather and husband.

What do you have to give me? I give you unconditional love.  Remember, EVEN NOW I am still here with you in many ways.  I give you a defining sense of creativity and artistic ability.  I give you your love of creating things.  I give you your sense of humor. I give you a father’s love, and honor, and persistence and a good sense of values.  I give you love.

What do you want from me? I want you to know that you were and are loved, completely and fully and utterly, for who you are.  I want you to know that you are loved.