Inner Surprises Blog

SoulCollage® Suits

By Anne Marie Bennett

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SoulCollage® Suits

Permission to Draw Boundaries- Committee

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Scboundaries I drew this card in my Daily Reading yesterday, and she had volumes to say to me about my re-entry into the “real world” after the KaleidoSoul Weekend Retreat I facilitated this weekend!

Who are you? I am the one who threatens violence, who is ready to kill anything that gets in the way of my own inner healing and growth.  I am the one who puts up a boundary. I am the one who has boundaries, who knows who I need to keep away from.  I am the one who walks away (from those who will hurt me) with ease and grace and power. What do you want from me? I want you to remember that you don’t always have to lift the sword.  I want you to know that boundaries are good.  Boundaries are transformative and life-giving.  I want you to trust your inner knowing of when to create boundaries, and how. What do you have to give me? I give you boundaries, and permission to create them when necessary.  I give you the power and strength and wisdom and grace to walk away from people, places, and things that get in the way of your joy, your growth, your solitude, your transformation. Notes from Daily Readings: April, 2006- I am the one who paints your world with vivid, soul-pleasing color when you keep out that which doesn’t belong.  What I say to you today is this- look at your life…. look at how boundary-less your life was last week.  I tell you it is ok to draw your sword, to draw a line in the sand and say, “I will not cross over there” because “there” is unhealthy for me and does not serve my greater good. August, 2006- I am the one whose third eye is prominent and marked with bright color and symbol. (I hadn’t noticed this until I drew the card yesterday!!!) I am the one who gracefully walks away from everything that doesn’t serve me.  What I am saying to you today is this: Listen carefully to your intuition today and all week.  Draw your boundaries so that you give yourself time and space to assimilate last weekend’s retreat.  You alone can do this.  You alone know where the boundaries are to be drawn.

Divine Mothers- Council Suit

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Divine Mother- BirthingScdivinemother_1

I made this first Divine Mother card a month or two into my SoulCollage® journey. 

Who are you? I am the one who first gave birth.  I am the one who holds all mothers in my arms and all children as well.  I am the one who sees and knows and is sure of her decisions.  I am the one who blesses your womb whether or not is has borne children.  I am the one who shelters and protects the children, ALL children.  I am the one who helps you to give birth to ideas, dreams, books,websites, relationships…. anything that is created from the seeds I plant within you.  I am the one who mothers your inner mother, who parents you and her with wisdom and tenderness and love.

What do you have to give me? I give you the power and will to give birth to your dreams.  I give you abundant, never-ending, unconditional love. What do you want from me? I want you to know that giving birth doesn’t always mean giving physical birth to children.  It also means giving birth to that which is inside of you.  It also means opening yourself up wide and letting your authenticity out into the world. I want you to give birth to your dreams. I will help you to do this. And I want you to mother yourself and your Inner Family/Tribe with tenderness and compassion and faith. Divine Mother- Unconditional Love About a year after making the first Divine Mother card, I was sifting through images at one of my workshops, and discovered the central image in this card here.Scmother01_1 It called my name so loud and clear, that I had to smile (and I grabbed it, of course!).  Shortly after that, I created this card, and deeply curious, did the interpretation that you see below.  As I was writing, it became clear to me that this was another Divine Mother card.  At first I was a little dubious about having TWO Divine Mother cards, but then I realized…. WHY NOT???  This is a very powerful archetype for me on many levels, so why not have two cards to express two different aspects of her? Who are you? I am the one who shields you, who protects you from danger and harm.  I am the one who loves you unconditionally and always, no matter what.  I am the one who knows you like no other ever has or ever will.  I am the one who protects you with nothing but my own two hands.  I am the one whose face is hidden but whose hands show all.  I am the one who is your shelter, your comfort, your lean-to.  I am the one who is always waiting for you to come to me.  I am the one who is blessing you with my hands and my heart.  I am the one who sees the seeds of beautiful flowers inside of you and who does everything in my power to bring them to blossom in your soul.  I am the one who knows you completely.  I am the one who makes self-acceptance possible.  Because I accept you exactly as you are, you are better able to do the same.

What do you have to give me? I give you unconditional love.  I give you flowers in your heart and soul.  I give you protection and strength, a place to come home to.  I give you nurturing and sustenance and shelter from life’s storms.  I give you acceptance and love, no matter what. What do you want from me? I want you to come to me, often.  I want you to open to my love for you, to believe it, to accept it, to receive it fully.  My love makes the biggest difference in your life, but you have to receive it, you have to come to me to get it, you have to allow it in, you have to believe that you deserve it.

Dolphin- Companion Animals Suit

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Scdolphin From a very young age I have been drawn to dolphins.  The week before my mother died a few years ago, I read Madeleine L’Engle’s A Ring of Endless Light, and was totally captured by the intuitive nature of the dolphin.  Also, there were many messages for me in that book about communicating with other beings in ways beyond words.  This is how I came to choose Dolphin for my 6th Chakra, the intuitive third eye, located at the center of the forehead.

Who are you? I am the one who is the prince (and princess!) of the seas.  I am the one who smiles, who laughs, who knows.  I am the one who rides the waves in pleasure and delight.  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.  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.

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 play often.

The Angry One- Committee

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Scangryone_3 Sometimes I visualize all of my “inner voices” as residing in a big castle. Each one has its own room and sometimes I visualize (in meditation or in writing) myself there, exploring the rooms and the part of me that inhabits each one. 

One day a few weeks ago while “exploring” my inner castle, I found myself in the dungeon, so to speak, and guess what?  There are some parts of me that I’ve locked up down there because other parts have been stronger, or because I just haven’t known how to interact with them.

This Angry One is one of those parts. I don’t have a name for her yet (except Angry One) , but I am getting to know her a little bit better day by day. 

One day last week I imagined myself taking her hand in the dungeon and inviting her to go with me “upstairs” into my world and into my life.  “Just for the day,” I promised her.  I can’t even begin to tell you what a difference it made! And it just so happened that that very same day, my husband did something that REALLY pissed me off on a very deep level (not just surface stuff being activated, but many years of stepfamily issues rising to the surface).  And as I was feeling my blood boil, I remembered The Angry One and that she was with/beside me for the day….. It was as if I’d really been set free.  I was able to speak my anger to my husband without being consumed by it, and believe me…. this was a brand new experience for me!

I haven’t done a formal interpretation of this card yet (asking the questions and letting her answer). For now it is just enough that I have invited her out of the dungeon and into my everyday world. For now it is enough that I am becoming aware of the times when I’m angry, and offering compassion and curiosity to this part of me instead of shutting her away in the dungeon of my inner castle.

I think a lot of it has to do with social conditioning around the subject of anger. It’s not “nice” to be angry is a message that seems to be prevalent.  Growing up, I saw my mother lash out with her anger…. and I saw my father repress his completely.  I chose his way because her way was hurtful.  But now I am seeing that there is a different way. 

At first I was actually afraid of The Angry One, but now I see that she isn’t here to hurt me or anyone else in my life. She is here to shine light on injustice and to help me forge the way to my own best self.

Little Brown Bird- Companion Animals Suit

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Scbird This is the very first Animal Totem card that I made for my SoulCollage® deck.  It goes with my heart chakra energy. And this is the interpretation I did at that time:

Who are you? I am just a simple ordinary bird sitting on my nest of eggs.  I am the one who nurtures and gives birth.  I am the one who creates new life.  I am the one who sets that life free.  I am the one who shelters the young, who teaches them how to fly. I am the one who flies. What do you want from me? I need to spend more time flying and less time here on the nest. Where to you want to fly to? Nowhere in particular.  Just flying. Flying is the whole point. Since creating this card, it has shown up several times in my daily SoulCollage® readings.  Here is some more wisdom gleaned from this card as the months have gone by:

January 2006– What I’m saying to you today is this: there is much inside you waiting to be born, and there is much inside you that is waiting to fly and soar and be free.  Let the lesson now be discerning when to sit on the eggs and when to fly free. There is tension in this, but when there is balance, there is much joy. March 2006– I am the one whose eggs are ready to hatch.  I am the one who is birthing new ideas and projects and books. I am the one who is choosing now to sit on the nest while these ideas and projects and books incubate and ready themselves to hatch.