The Writer

This amazing card is by SoulCollage artist, Janet Boggia, Ashland, Oregon.It was made January 2006 at our annual workshop Align With Your Vision, Setting Intention with SoulCollage. Recently Jan brought this card to our group to speak from again. She told us, “When I made this card and set my intention 2 years ago, I was yearning. Now I’m doing it." More about our 2008 workshop here.

Her January 2006 statements, speaking from The Writer :

I am the one writing a book about various connections to the universe from the grand to the mundane.

I am the one inspired by patterns.

I am the one who feels in touch with the heart of the universe.

What does this card want from me?

Do what I say: This work is important and wants me to complete it.

What does the energy of this card have to give me?

It reminds me that the universe gives me all that I need.

Here are her words now, December 2007:

I am the one whose DNA is being activated, as if I’m in touch with what I came here to do.

I am the one doing my research.

I am the one sinking into the passion of writing.

What does this card want from me?

Keep being connected to my purpose and keep writing.

What does the energy of this card have to give me?

It envelops me in love, creativity, and knowledge. All I have to do is ask.

It has been so exciting to hear Jan’s enthusiasm for this book as it has evolved this past year. We all feel we are part of it, since we were there to support her initial intention. This whole SoulCollage community is part of her support. Thank you all.

I hope you will also visit Walking Toward Wisdom, a virtual exhibit of SoulCollage cards honoring the Wise Woman/Crone.

Community Card -- Emily Lunday

The woman on this card is Emily Lunday. Of course we called her Mrs. Lunday because she was a teacher and this was 1959. Mrs. Lunday taught Journalism and English at Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth Texas. I had the privilege of working with her on both our school newspaper, The Jacket Journal, and our new literary magazine, The Jabberwocky. This community suit card catalyzed a significant piece of self-recognition for me recently.

During an Embodied Life retreat in September, we were asked to explore the question: What do I regret?

It turns out that what I really, really regretted was the complete dismissal of my talents as a journalist and writer in high school and beyond. I mean my own dismissal. The full recognition of this self-betrayal was the memory of a scholarship interview with two women from a local journalism sorority. I answered their questions, but toward the end of our time together I said, "You really shouldn't give this scholarship to me. I'm not going to become a real newspaper writer or anything. Give it to ___ (a male competitor from across town)."

This sobering recognition was part of a larger Ah Ha! regarding a deeply buried assumption: my life's role would be through supporting a man rather than through my own expressive energy. Though I would have denied it at the time, the destiny of wife and mother was part of the air I breathed. Pre-Feminine Mystique, I'd just swallowed the cultural modeling whole. With the help of Inner Relationship Focusing, I sensed fully that place of self-abandonment. In my willingness to be there completely, I felt a powerful shift. The words that came were, "I have a voice of my own. I have my own voice." Suddenly I felt like Tracy Turnblad (Hairspray) bopping down the street singing "Good Morning, Baltimore!" You know, happy and confident.

I combined SoulCollage, Embodied Inquiry, and Focusing--magical. I'm wondering what other therapeutic practices go well with SoulCollage.

Home page

Visit Embodied Aging to see what's new there

Bears

Bears!

To celebrate the equinox a group of us did readings from each others SoulCollage cards. Here's how we do it:

We put everyone's cards out (face down), spend some time inviting a question to form, and then draw two cards. We keep them face down in front of us. Each person, in turn, reads her question and turns over the first card. She then speaks from the card using the statement "I am the one who....". When that feels complete, she asks, "What does this card have to tell me about (fill in question)?" Then the next person in the circle states her question and reads her first card. After each person has read their first card, we go around again using the second card.

My question was, "What can lead me to my heart's desire?" I was thinking specifically about a time period (two weeks), but also felt I was considering this question more generally. The card I turned over first was the one pictured at left. It is the heart chakra card of my friend and fellow facilitator, Sheila Filan. I mumbled a few words but mostly was struck dumb. So many bears! Bears doubled! I could definitely see that it relates to relationship, play, and animal (bodily?) nature. But it just didn't seem clear how it answered my question.

When my turn came around again I was truly shocked. The card I turned over was almost identical to the first one. Several bears, some in pairs. The next morning in my e-mail was something from Anne Marie Bennett featuring her first chakra bear card which I love so much.

I did some reading. Intuition came up a lot. So did hibernation. I have since found out that bears do not hibernate; they settle into a deep sleep that is intermittent between normal sleep and true hibernation which leave the body feeling cold. I learned this at the Museum of Science in Boston recently. I cannot say I yet have the message from this reading. I am posting this card partly to signify that I am truly open to what these incredible bears have to tell me about my heart's desire.

Notice How He Walks on Water

Today I tried to link from my other blog, Embodied Aging, to my Community suit card for my dad. I found I'd never posted it! So here he is: Gordon Teague.

I am the one who is reliable.
I am the one who is creative.
I am the one who loves the outdoors and nature.
I am the one who steps forward when someone is needed.
I am the one who is kind.

From a workshop with Sara Post I got a list of beautiful questions/statements to consider when working with a Community suit card. Here are three of them regarding my card Gordon.

What have I learned from you?
I've learned that integrity is essential. You have modeled it always.

I am grateful for...
Your steadfast support (even in the face of my foolishness at times) and an upbringing that offered security and love.

I feel blessed because you are...
still in my life.

She Who Is Dreamed

This star studded card is by Nancy Anderson. Nancy is a dancer, a singer with the Southern Oregon Threshold Choir, and a poet. She studies dreams, SoulCollage, and her garden's cycles for truth. Speaking from her card, she says:

I am the one who is dreamed, who gets great riches from the night-receives unbidden gifts, who can trust my unconscious to work without my control. I am the one who has "faith in nights."

I asked about books for studying dreams. Her answers:
A book on dreams I like is The Natural Artistry of Dreams, by Jill Mellick, (foreword by Marion Woodman). I would also recommend Paul M. Reeve', Women's Intuition, (Unlocking the Wisdom of the Body). It's less about dreams and more about embodying soul.

Molly's on the move again

Here is my Community Suit card for Molly Gordon. She is a business coach with a large internet following. I’ve posted this card before. I’m putting it up again because Molly recently posted some photos and asked her readers to choose the one that was exactly how they pictured her. The one chosen was so like the SoulCollage card I made for her that I am choosing to post it again. She is using it on the masthead of her e-zine Authentic Promotion. you can sign up here.

My Molly card is an example of how to create a Community Suit card* without using an actual photograph of the person. I usually use photos on my community cards, but I found that a representation may have more impact. Rather than a literal representation, I must find a metaphoric representation. The need for that sends me to a deeper place in myself.

* The Community Suit in a SoulCollage deck is made up of people (or pets) you admire, love, and appreciate. They can be living or dead. Personally known to you or admired from afar.

PS. It was Molly who turned me on to the powerful work CARE is doing with women around the world. As a result, I donate 100% of my profit from my cd Simply Silence Meditation Timer
to CARE. I invite you to purchase one for yourself or a friend.

Interested in a colorful way to track your life enrichment skills? Check out the free Think TQ tests. Click on button - What's your TQ? on their home page. I was surprised at what I found out about myself.

Death

Death (Council Suit) was made by Janet Boggia. Jan is a woman of a zillion talents and interests, two of which are cosmology and tarot. Thus I was not surprised to see Life, from tiny to spacious, depicted as part of Death.

Jan's description: In my card, we see a dead bird become a feast for the colorful insects left behind. Life is in death; death is in life. We know that humans and all mammals depend upon insects and their activity for our lives. The cycle of nature, of which we are a part, is a gift of the universe that brings new life.


I am the one who brings new growth, new life.
I am the one who is in transition and change.
I am the one who is able to build upon the richness and gifts of the old as I move forward.

I Walk in Beauty

Suzanne Sky is a gifted acupuncturist here in Ashland, Oregon. She is a true healer who creates a spa atmosphere even as she finds just the right spot for those needles!

Here are her words regarding her card "I walk in beauty."

I am the one who walks the sacred path of beauty; sees beauty all around; looks to heaven for inspiration on the path.

This card wants me to recognize my own inner beauty and to connect with the beauty all around me--to walk the path of the Sacred Feminine with beauty and grace.

"Cover my Mother Earth four times with many flowers" - Zuni song

Maybe I've gone "over the top" on beauty lately. If you want something more edgy you can hop over to show off! and visit the dark side.

Vibrant Beauty

This card is by my friend Ava Walters. I just had to share it with you. Here is what Ava says of her card:

Who are you? I am the one who…

· Loves flowers, patterns and movement
· Goes with the flow
· Is vibrant and creative
· Enjoys a variety of life’s textures
· Is shaped by the winds of change
· Continues to burst forth with spectacular new blooms

What does this card want from me?

To acknowledge how full and overflowing my life is with wonderfulness, variety and color

What does the energy of this card to give me?

· Beauty in a variety of ways
· Visual richness
· Delightfulness

Ava is one of the most up-beat women I know. She has been working with a variety of processes to create this abundant beauty in her life. Last year she introduced me to the work of Jerry and Esther Hicks, who offer teachings from a being called Abraham. Yes, very New Age. And very interesting. They explained the Secret long before it hit Oprah. Check it out.

Joy Unfolding

April!!! Nuff said.

Card made by Sheila Filan

Beauty is in My Bones

I am the one sparked by beauty. All I need to move me is color.

I made this card at workshop with Denise Kester, an Ashland, Oregon, artist I've long admired. In addition to SoulCollage cards, we made stamps, prints and paste paper. Then we put them all together to create a handmade journal. Fabulous Fun!

Denise read us a passage regarding "intention" from a book by Pat B. Allen titled Art is a Spiritul Path. Great read for SoulCollage artists.