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Inner Surprises Blog

SoulCollage® Suits

By Anne Marie Bennett

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SoulCollage® Suits

Channeling My Inner Lion- 5th Chakra

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SclionGiven my natural attraction to cats, I wasn’t surprised when Lion showed up years ago as one of my animal totems!Ā  He is directly related to my Fifth Chakra center, the Throat, which focuses on self-expression.

Who are you? I am the one who is King of the jungle, king of the forest, king of all that is.Ā  I am the one who is both gentle and ferocious.Ā 

I am the one who roars when I have need to roar and who is silent when silence is demanded. I am the one whose eyes have seen all and know all.Ā  I am the one who is called Aslan in your favorite children’s book. I am the one of wisdom, strength, gentleness and courage.

I am the one who is the Grand Parent of the cats you so dearly love in your daily life.Ā  I am the one who helps you rise above daily worries and fears, who carries you above the clouds and closer to the Sun

What do you have to give me? I give you strength and courage.Ā  I give you the ability to roar, the inner peace and centeredness to be silent, and the wisdom to know when each is called for. I give you Power and Authority and Wisdom.

What do you want from me? I want you to be still for a moment and feel the power of life roaring through you.Ā  This power, this energy, is always there, always inside of you, surrounding you.Ā  I want you to notice it, feel it, grasp it, claim it, allow it to transform you.

My message for you today is this: Take my energy with you into all of your relationships.Ā  What needs to be said?Ā  Say it.Ā  Ask yourself, and others, the questions that need to be asked.Ā  Answer them.Ā  Allow the answers to come forth.Ā  I am the energy of your throat chakra.Ā  Allow my energy to open this area of your body so that your voice can be heard, and given and received in love.

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Loneliness

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Here are two great questions to ask a shadowed Neter (a part of you that is out of balance, or getting in your way somehow)

Instead of asking “Who are you?” I tried a few different questions with this card:

What are you curious about?

I am curious about what will happen if I am ever NOT lonely. I am curious about how it would feel to not be pretending all the time.Ā  I am curious to know how to make this loneliness go away.Ā  I am curious to find someone who will help me drop the mask.

 

What do you love about yourself?

I love being by myself.Ā  I love having alone time.Ā  I love not having people around me all the time.Ā  I love that I am okay with being alone.Ā  I love that I don’t need others all the time to make me happy!

Goddess of Never Not Broken

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Goddess of Never Not Broken (seeing beauty in imperfection)

A while back, another SoulCollage Facilitator posted online about Akhilandeshvari, an ancient and relatively unknown Hindu goddess.Ā Ā  In Sanskrit,Ā Ishvari means “female power,” or “goddess.”Ā  And Akhilanda means essentially ā€œnever not broken.ā€

I was immediately struck by this and felt like this goddess has perhaps been watching over me at many critical moments in my life.Ā  And so, of course… I felt led to make a card to honor her.

She showed up recently in a Daily Reading and here is what she said:

Who are you?

I am the one who is full of cracks.Ā  I am the one who is not perfect. I am the one who has been broken apart and then put back together.Ā  I am the one who has light streaming through my broken places.Ā  I am the one who closes my eyes and knows that I am perfect exactly as I am, cracks and all. I am the one who accepts my imperfections.Ā  I am the one who allows the light to shine out from the cracks in my body,. my my mind, my spirit.Ā  I am the one who knows that even though I am broken, I am whole.

What is your message for me today?

My message for you today is this: sit in meditation a while today and focus on those parts of you that you are trying to force into healing, those parts of you that are imperfect that you are trying to change… and just be with them AS THEY ARE instead.

Woman on Dock

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scunknow051511This card came together magically but I was clueless as to its meaning. As I journaled with it, it spoke to me about real things going on in my life right now.

Also, halfway through journaling, I noticed that the woman looks an awful lot like Attorney Erin on the TV show Blue Bloods!Ā  And then the whole exercise morphed into a conversation with Erin which was very affirming for me.

I share this Neter and this journaling with you as encouragement for you to follow the journaling wherever it leads.Ā  Usually we ask “Who are you” and then “What do you have to give me” and then “What do you want from me”… but in this case, I just stayed with the image and with what was happening inside me as I worked with it.Ā  And I got exactly what I needed!

Who are you?

I am the one who is surrounded by blue water, blue dock, blue hills.Ā  I am the one who is standing tall, poised, calm, and serene. I am the one whose face is tilted up towards the Divine. I am the one who is breathing in the Divine.

I am the one who is standing near the very edge of this dock. If I take one step forward, I will be in the water, in the unknown. But I am not ready to take that next step. I am perfectly content to stand here, soaking in the light from Beyond. I am wide open to possibility, direction, guidance.

I am perfectly content right where I am. I will be just as perfectly content turning around and moving away from the edge as I would be to step off the edge or just stay where I am.

Me: You look an awful lot like Erin Regan from Blue Bloods.

And would it be so bad if I am Erin?

Me: Not at all. I just haven’t paid much attention to her on the show. I haven’t really identified with any of the characters except for Jaimie who is always so kind and good.

Yes, my little brother!Ā  I love him too.

Me: Tell me more about yourself, Erin.

I am the one who is smart and fiercely honest. I am the one who has integrity and who sees life as very black and white. It is hard for me to live in the gray areas.Ā  I am the one who is having a highly successful career AND am raising a happy healthy loving teenager daughter. I am the one who is a loving, devoted, loyal daughter, granddaughter, mother and sister. I am the one who is defined by my career AND by my family ties.

I am the one who is serious and intense. I take everything seriously. It is hard for me to have fun, to lighten up and let loose.

ME: Thank you! I can relate to most of your qualities. I also am very serious and intense. I am smart and focused on my career. It is also difficult for me to loosen up and let go and have fun.

Yes, and we are both beautiful!

ME: Ha!

I’m serious about that.

ME: Thank you. Seriously1Ā  So Erin, what are you poised on the edge of?

I am pausing to take a whole lot of breaths before I take my next step.Ā  The question for you is “What’s next?”

ME: Ah. I see.

And that is my GIFT to you- the ability, the desire to pause before stepping into the unknown. Perhaps the “unknown” for you is what happens after your 60th birthday in May.

ME: Yes! You feel like a symbol of exactly that.Ā  Thank you so much for spending time with me today.

My pleasure!

Surrounded by Community

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scbc2011-2 communityHave I ever shared with y’all how deeply grateful I am to be a part of this SoulCollage community?Ā  If not, I am sharing it now!Ā  Here is a card I made in 2011 when I faced cancer for the second time.Ā  It expressed for me then how held and supported and loved I felt by this particular community around the world.

Who are you?

I still draw it from time to time in my every-other-daily readings.Ā  Here is what this Neter said to me recently:

I am the one who is part of a community. I am the one who is held and loved by an unseen Community of Bright Ones and Angels, as well as an earthly community of spiritual seekers around the world.Ā 

I am the one who is a valuable piece of this community.