Welcome : About Suzie : Services : Workshops : Gallery : Links : Newsletter : Contact
|
Welcome : About Suzie : Services : Workshops : Gallery : Links : Newsletter : Contact |
|
|
Newsletters from Suzie Newsletter April - June '08 Click here for graphic pdf version. A SoulCollage Journey Can SoulCollage Free Us from Suffering? The Witness Self. One of most powerful aspects of SoulCollage is the ability to integrate all the voices, our history and our busy minds under our own leadership. When we observe rather than enact our thoughts and feelings, we pave the way for Soul in every day life. The Witness. SoulCollage allows us to take the position of Witness. And we do this by speaking from our cards in first person, often starting with "I am the One who . . . " This simple opening quickly opens the cards story. And takes us out of the story, becoming Narrator instead. We are no longer at the mercy of our stories, and can become "President of the Board." Limiting Stories. Our minds generate powerful stories to make sense of the world, to protect us. And when we out grow them but still let the story direct our lives. We can identify so strongly, our authentic Essence gets eclipsed. When we examine the words and labels, they loosen their hold and joy rushes in fills the gap. Power of Imagery. Because they are free of words, SoulCollage imagery harvests our authenticity buried below stories the mind created to protect us. So instead of traveling incognito in one of our stories, we observe our stories. Imagery calls forth our True Nature, since it tricks the mind by defying labels. If you've worked with your cards, you've probably realized that they keep giving and giving. The Road Trip: the Entrepreneur & the Dalai Lama. If you want a fast way to resolve an issue, pull out your cards and find one that represents "The Problem" and one that seems to be more about "The Solution." For example, in a workshop one time, a man named Jim was having a lot of conflict with his wife. He looked through his cards and found the trouble maker - a committee card he called the "Entrepreneur" who urged him to put money and success above everything, for the good of his family. Not a popular part of his personality according to his wife, who preferred a simple life and quality time with the kids. He also found a card that represented the polar opposite of the "Entrepreneur" card which, turned out to be his Dalai Lama Community Card. I suggested he imagine that they found themselves on a cross country road trip in an old beater car. Traveling slowing in the old car, they were forced to eat, sleep and drive together, with no means of escape - no email, no phone, not even TV. He groaned at the very idea. And at first had a hard time even imaging any scenario where this could take place. But as he switched to the Witnessing Mind the words started to flow. He entered the Present Moment as Observer, rather than actor in the "Entrepreneur's" story. At first the "Entrepreneur" was impatient, wanted to drive like maniac to get it over with as soon as possible. The "Entrepreneur" card could barely be polite to the Dalai Lama. But on the third day of the trip, they started talking, helping each other, exchanging stories. At the conclusion of the journey, they had become friends, the Dalai Lama learning much about the world of finance and "Entrepreneur" learning to be more present, more mindful. By interweaving these two opposing stories, the limiting story lost some of its power. It was more difficult to succumb to its trance, leaving him a puppet to its demands. The Wise Self. He could have spent months gaining insights in therapy about his "type A" personality, taken Wellbutrin to manage his anxiety, but in a single session, he became the Observer, Witness to his thoughts via the imagery of SoulCollage. He was no longer held hostage by the limiting story that he'd never have enough money or security to support his family. The Wise Self - The Soul, was waiting quietly all along for Jim to wake up to be the Chairman of the Board. Heightened Consciousness. These limiting stories lose their hold on us through SoulCollage because our state of consciousness changes when we use the "I am the One who . . ." and switch to first person. It may feel odd and uncomfortable at first, yet when we take on the voice of a SoulCollage card, it automatically illuminates the Soul because we emerge from the hypnotic spell induced by the story our minds tell. We claim authorship of our own story, and are free to re-write. Story of the Golden Buddha In 1957, to make room for the Port of Bangkok, a small temple and its brown clay Buddha were being relocated. Being made of stucco it was thought to be worth very little. The crane hoisted the 16 foot statue and to the horror of the monks watching, the straps did not hold and the rain soaked statue slipped into the mud below and started to crack. Concerned about further damage, they agreed to wait until morning to decide what to do next. That evening a temple monk awoke from sleep, inspired to visit the Buddha image. When he gazed at the statue through lamp light, he saw a strange glint. He carefully started to chip away some of the brown stucco to find gold. After hours of work, he discovered that the statue was pure gold. Upon inspection they realized that the “clay” Buddha was over 700 years old and made of solid gold. It had been disguised under a layer of clay to camouflage it from Burmese invaders. The clay did its job and the statue was overlooked. And when those who had hidden and protected it were all killed, its secret identity died with them. Two hundred years later an accident revealed it true identity. It turned out to be the largest golden Buddha image in the world and is a most valued treasure of Thailand and of Buddhism. Letting Your Cards Do the Work! Here’s a tip from Cynthia Bagley. When doing a reading, Cynthia noticed that her thinking mind got in the way when she was trying to choose a card for a reading. She tried the method of turning the cards face down and letting her hands feel for the right card. Thoughts arose that she was interfering in some way. So she tried my random number approach where I shuffle the cards and look around my desk for anything with a number and then count off cards to that number . . . But Cynthia found a better way. She puts all her cards face up and lets them chose her! She commented that this method is simple and gives her confidence in the process. Wall Altar Idea, from Lorraine Bosely. Lorraine used removable poster mounting putty to place all her cards on the wall of her meditation room. Even when she wasn’t actively using them, she felt their presence. “Choosing the cards to put up and where they wanted to be strengthened my relationship with my cards. The same way your ideas of sorting them in different groups, like who supports being in the moment. It is such a simple practice, and I learn so much about my cards. They are anxious to reveal themselves. I feel so much closer to them. I love my cards and I know they are in my life to help me and guide me, and I’m just starting to understand how to turn to them.” Power of Now. If you’re taking part in the Eckhart Tolle/Oprah dialogues on the internet, you may find this little exercise interesting. Pull out all of your cards that support you being in Present Time. And make a second pile of all the cards who’s stories pull you into Past or Future Time. Then find the two polar opposites, one from each stack and ask them a question. When I tried this, I was very surprised that some of my “Shadow” cards were allies in being in Present Time. Shrine Kit Now Available
|
|
All material copyright Suzie Wolfer :: Site updated Summer 2008 |
|
My Fold-out Pop-Up Neighborhood Shrine was featured on the March/April issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. You can now buy a lit to make your own shrine.