Last Night As I Was Sleeping

This is the first time I've ever made a card that so clearly represented a beloved poem. This poem, Last Night As I Was Sleeping by Antonio Machado (translated by Robert Bly) reminds us of the beauty and mystery of our Inner Life.


Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that a spring was breaking
out in my heart.
I said: Along which secret aqueduct,
Oh water, are you coming to me,
water of a new life
that I have never drunk?

Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.

Last night as I was sleeping,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that a fiery sun was giving
light inside my heart.
It was fiery because I felt
warmth as from a hearth,
and sun because it gave light
and brought tears to my eyes.

Last night as I slept,
I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that it was God I had
here inside my heart.

Many thanks to Anna Chambers for her beehive photo. You can see more of her work at http://www.peoplesgardens.co.uk/

Picnic with The Great Mother

It’s hot. So what! It’s Summer!
Picnics, swimming, biking, lying around reading. Yum Yum.

Sheila and I, Sharry, will be holding our annual Summer Splash SoulCollage pool party and card reading Aug 10 from 1-5 pm in Ashland, Oregon.
Call (541) 488-0956 (Sheila) for directions and RSVP (we so need a head count)

If you have never done SoulCollage, you will enjoy learning about a life transforming process. If you have made SoulCollage cards, bring them to share with others. Newcomers and experienced artists will be guided through the “reading process”.

Swimming and mingling from 1-3ish. Reading begins at 3:15.

The card featured at left is called Picnic with the Great Mother. That’s me at about 8 years old. I’ve always loved that Polaroid photo my dad took. Picnic complements of Mollie Katzen. And the Great Mother? She is out and about, within and without. Bow to her abundant offerings Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring.

Ageless Beauty

THE BLESSED CRONE

The wise woman of experience offers her perspective on life.
She savors the past and smiles at the future,
not knowing what it holds.
But she is sure it is something good.
Live for today, enjoy your wrinkles, make them beautiful and meaningful.

Diane Kern, SoulCollage artist and feng shui consultant, made this incredible card. To see more cards honoring the Wise Woman/Crone visit Walking Toward Wisdom, a virtual SoulCollage exhibit. There is also a teleclass on the Crone Archetype available at KaleidoSoul.

6th Chakra - Raccoon

This amazing card was made by Sheila Filan. And it was a long time coming. Over a year ago, using Seena Frost's mediation from SoulCollage, Sheila sensed that her 6th chakra (the third eye center) was companioned by a raccoon! Talk about resistence! Sheila has had her bedroom invaded by raccoons! This was not an animal she could easily accept into her Companion Suit. However, she kept her eyes open for images and her heart open for acceptance and understanding.

In our last workshop she found both. This card is a powerful example of letting the images find you, even it takes months. Trust yourself. You'll know when it's right.

Here are are her words for this card:
I am the one who can wear many masks and am learning to be real with each mask.
I am the one who finds creativity and possibility in all aspects of myself.
I am the one who wants to own all those aspects and not shrink from or disown parts of myself.
I am the one who is curious and open to new ideas.

This card wants me to be able to look at other people beyond appearances.

This card gives me a sense of changing my perception about something really deep.

Ageless

This card was made by Marti Vargas at a workshop last weekend. I feel deeply moved when I look at it. Although we had done the meditation to find our animal companions, this did not appear as one of her chakra companions. At this workshop we discussed the idea that it is not always easy to say in what suit a card belongs. I think this is a Council card. When my husband saw it, he particularly noted the gorilla at bottom left. "These are going extinct. We don't know how to make something like this."

Here are Marti's words:

I am the one who has lots of life experience.

I am the one who is looking for something new.

I am the one who is waiting for a teacher.

This card wants me to be patient, just wait with myself--don't rush things or be in a hurry.

The energy of this card gives me loving acceptance of where I am right now.

Companion Suit

Shining in Juicy Wholeness

This card is by Leslie Primus. Over a year ago I posted Leslie's Winter Solstice card. It has a completely different feel from this one, made mid December of 2007. Here are Leslie's words:

I am the one who is juggling many things, at home with food and the preparation of food.
I am the one who loves the creative fun of playing with food--the colors and textures.
I am the one who comes alive through the vital forces of freshness. I am the one who is holding a lot.

What does this card want from me?
It want me to recognize my blessings.

What does the energy of this card have to give me?
The reminder to make each day and activity a form of play.
To bring joy to simple things in the midst of chaos.

Leslie's card is a wonderful harbinger of summer flavors and ripeness. August is still a ways off, but I can lick my lips in anticipation when I look at this yummy card. As we shared after Leslie had spoken, my comment was "If this were my card I would say: I am the one shining in juicy wholeness."

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.