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Quotation of the Week
 

There is one among you or within you
who is not afraid.
Let that fearless one guide,
and you will remain safe and be successful.

--- Alan Cohen
  

Inner Journeys
with Anne Marie Bennett

Integrating the Practice of SoulCollage?
Into Our Daily Lives




You're Bigger Than They Are

When my beloved 16 year old Sasha was only a kitten, I struggled with those days when it was time to cut her claws. Armed with a pair of fingernail clippers, I proceeded so cautiously, fearful of injuring her. What always ensued was a tussle, a struggle, a skirmish, a veritable melee: me and the kitten, and the kitten always won. Sasha always managed to squirm away, and her claws thus kept growing longer and sharper. Ouch.

Several months into these failed, fearful attempts at claw-snipping, we went to the vet for Sasha's yearly check-up. Dr. Friedman commented on how long her claws were, so I proceeded to tell him how hard it was for me to cut them. "She's always squirming around," I whined. "And I'm afraid of hurting her. She just won't sit still, and then she runs away from me."

Even though this was 16 years ago, I remember our kind vet's response to this day. He stopped me in midsentence, put his hand up, palm facing me like a stop sign and said, "I think you're forgetting something. You're bigger than she is."

His words stopped my self-defeating thoughts right in their grooved tracks. Could it possibly be that simple? I am bigger than she is. I can hold her still, and I do, to this day. Claw-trimming time became a time of loving and cuddling, and she did sit still for that (also, a treat or two didn't hurt!).

And as I think about this story, I think that maybe it can be like this in my Inner World as well. Oftentimes, I hear myself whining and complaining that certain inner voices (Queen Puritanica, the Overeaters, Ethel my Inner Critic...etc.) have taken over again. And I feel helpless and out of control.

But now I'm thinking about this in light of Dr. Friedman's wisdom with my cat. Yes, I am certainly bigger than my little animal friends, but isn't it true that "I" am also bigger than each of my inner parts? Isn't it absolutely true that "I" am the one who is in charge? Me. ME! I am the one who decides what goes on inside of me in the long run, isn't it? So why do I let these darker inner voices sometimes get the better of me? Is it fear or just old habits?

Or is it basically that I've forgotten a very simple truth: I am bigger than they are.

And if "I" am not strong enough yet to really talk back to these very strong, very dark parts of myself, then maybe I can ask a different, brighter, stronger part of myself to converse with them instead. There are many wise, clear parts of my inner world who can do this: the wise one, the smart one, the good mother, and the priestess, to name a few. Try it yourself and see.
 

 
SoulCollage® Expressionss
Ideas and Challenges to Spice Up
Your SoulCollage® Practice

Challenge of the Week


Choose an area of your life where a shadowy inner voice has "taken over." It could be Anger, or Fear, or something more specific like Overeating or Overspending.

Allow this part of you to "speak" to you, telling you exactly what it thinks and feels and wants and doesn't want. Don't hold it back. Truly, let it have its say. It's okay if you don't have a SoulCollage® card for this part of yourself yet, but you might want to consider creating one eventually.

Then flip through your Deck until you find a strong, bright, shining part of yourself (that maybe you've forgotten about).

Write a conversation between these two parts. Allow the bright part to say what needs to be said to the darker part.
 
 
 

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