0828

Amy P. Isaacs
Salisbury, MD

In March, 2004, Seena Frost came to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to give a workshop at a retreat center in Easton, MD.
A friend of mine was on the mailing list for the center and alerted me just a couple of days before the event. I was eager to go and there I learned about the facilitator's training in September 2004, which I signed up for on the spot.

I was drawn in to the work through my desire to have a personal process and something I could share with others who wanted to create and to know themselves better. The recognition of a possible community of like-minded souls raised a happy hurrah in my heart.

I am continually delighted by the images that appear to be chosen for a card. Often there is something in the image that I do not see until much later, as if with new eyes. A question for a reading may bring it to my attention, or I may just drop down into a deeper level or experience of the images.

I also love seeing the images that others create and to hear what they mean to them. When this happens, I feel closer to that person and know them in a way I would not have otherwise.

I eagerly await the opportunity to have time for the making of cards. The readings done alone with my own cards have provided guidance and direction when I have felt stuck in a feeling or situation. This happens in spite of my thought that I already know what the card has to say. Although I treasure my cards and love to look at them, the readings generate my respect for the mystery of psyche and soul, for wisdom coming from within and beyond myself.

When working alone with the "I Am The One Who..." statements and the follow-up questions, I have found that it is important to get to the bottom of the well. Supporting myself in allowing more to bubble up, I may be able to avoid stopping the process too soon. A tape recorder is sometimes helpful. Writing with pencil works for me if I ask my editor to step aside. I need to have a focused intention of entering the card and becoming the main image.

As a facilitator and art therapist, I have learned from Eligio Stephen Gallegos' book, The Personal Totem Pole : Animal Imagery, the Chakras, and Psychotherapy, (referenced by Seena Frost in the book SoulCollage) that animal guides in the chakras may be scary to us, but they have a message to share and need attention. They may transform over time and I can change or add to the card as needed. If I do not find an image for an animal guide right away, as often happens for me, I may still be able to work with the imagery in my imagination. The questions about what it has to give, and what it wants from me are often significant.

Here are 2 of my favorite SoulCollage® cards:

Future Self

Suit- Committee or Council

I am The One Who has a child's spirit with me.

I Am The One Who weaves the threads together.

I Am The one who has built my house on the threads, who knows the weaving is beginning.

I Am The One with joy at old age.

What Do You Have To Give Me,
Future Self?

What I have to give you is this relationship with the child, this blanket, this weaving, this relationship with the child.

What Do You Want From Me, Future Self?

What I want from you is for you to continue your work at the loom, to add more threads, to take these threads and weave them, and to have hope. What I want you to do is to work at it every day.

How Will I Remember What You Have Told Me?

The way you will remember is to spend time in the early morning light. You will remember by doing the work. Repetition, intention, solitude, and the sound of the shuttle.

This card was created from a guided imagery session with a Creative Life Coach. It was designed to lead me to that part of myself that is in the future. It is a relatively new card and so I have left the name as Future Self, though I imagine its name will change. I like thinking of it as a Committee suit member, but it has qualities of a Council card. That too will become clearer with time.

Although I am not a weaver, I remembered after completing the image that the metaphor (of weaving) has been part of my thoughts for the last year. I began the search for images with skepticism. I knew my file of images; there was nothing there that connected with the imagery in my imagination. Or so I thought. But I was wrong. A few strong images emerged and the challenge was to find if and how they wanted to be together. The shelf at the top of the card didn't make sense, but provided insights later in the I Am The One Who exercise.

Invisible Hand

Suit- Council

I Am The One Who moves you into new territory when you are uncertain and unskilled.

I Am The One Who helps you do things that demand your best efforts.

Come, follow me!

When the image of the woman biking captured my attention, I thought it would be the main element of a card representing the part of me that enjoys biking- a neutral committee card. Even the addition of the women jumping from the head or helmet seemed to connect with the risk it involved for me to get back on a bike after 20 years of not riding and train to do a century ride. That's all I thought it was. On reflection, however, it came to represent the mysterious impulse that has come into my life at various times to move me to a new and needed level of development. No logical decision or course, but an intuitive and spontaneous knowing.

Books, movies, music, & websites to support your inner work as you dive deeper into your soul....

Books:

Range of Motion, by Elizabeth Berg. Lainey is a woman who truly and deeply loves her husband. But while he spends several months in a coma, she finds that her love is deepened as she decides to trust her own deepest inner knowing that he will one day awaken.

Dance of Intimacy, by Harriet Lerner, author of Dance of Anger, which we referred to a few weeks ago. Lerner writes from the assumption that the most intimate relationship is the one we have with ourselves, and all other relationships flow from that one.

Finding Your Way Home, by Melody Beattie. Subtitled A Soul Survival Kit, this book packed a whollop of an impact when I first read it several years ago. Beattie writes with wisdom and grace about how we can all come home to our selves every day of our lives.

Music:

Sun Spirit, by Deuter. Meditative, inspiring new CD from world-renowned composer. Featuring flute, drums, and synthesizer, each track captures the essence of sun- warmth, and a bright sense of wholeness.

Movies:

Shall We Dance? - starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Lopez. Aside from the fact that it's great fun watching Richard Gere dance (or do anything, for that matter!), watch what happens to his marriage when he decides to be true to his heart by continuing to dance.

Websites:

Be True To Your Own Wonderful Self...
with an
Artella E-workshop!
You'll find an awesome variety here... something for everyone, including YOU! Here are a few that I have tried and loved:
The Gratitude Garland,
Accounting Your Blessings,
Creative Manifestival,
Red Chair Recordings, and
World of Pretend. See which one is right for you, and go play!

The Enchanted Self- dedicated to helping you achieve joy, happiness, and well-being. Step in and become enchanted with your self!

Articus Studio- Something for everyone. Come fuel your creative juices, no matter what "flavor" they are!

Spinning the fragments of your world
into wholeness and beauty
through SoulCollage®