SoulCollage® Council Suit: Fertility

I am the One who is fertile. I am the one who feeds the world and nurtures life. I am the one who brings color out of darkness and form to nothingness. I am the one who is energy, who scatters seeds of energy everywhere. I am the one who cannot be stopped.

What is your gift or message for me?

I still have life in me. I still can create and have power. I am part of eternity.

What do you want me to do?

I want you to engage. Throw seeds around and see what grows. Take the materials in front of you and make new life. I want you to be encouraged.

Why did you show up today?

To remind you that all droughts have an end. This is the end of your drought.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The potential for suffocation, overgrowth, obscuration.

SoulCollage® Council Suit: The Beginner

I am the One who steps over thresholds. I am the one who takes the leap of faith. I am the one who sees the universe in drops of water, for whom the infinitesimal and infinite are synonymous. I am the one who understands the present moment is an eternity in itself, that the beginning is completion.

What is your gift or message for me?

Trust life. Touch your connection to it and nourish it.

What do you want me to do?

Notice when you are bored or distracted, and return to what is at hand. 

Why did you show up today?

You've been anxious about C's new teacher and the school year, and I invite you to be with me, the infinite moment of beginning.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is planning and worrying about the future. The light is Presence.

SoulCollage® Council Suit: Eternal Return

 

I am the One who changes. I am transition. I am a window into death and into life. I am one who marries space and form. I am billions. And I am one who is the root of stillness underneath the frenzy.

What is your gift or message for me?

Silence is the window into life beyond this existence.

What do you want me to do?

Make time for more silence; immerse yourself.

Why did you show up today?

Lately dying and death have been weighing on me and the fear and curiosity are invitations to really see.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is resignation and apathy.

The light is a glimpse of unity. 

SoulCollage® Council Suit: Connection

I am the One who, when you feel isolated and distant, brings you back into awareness that you are connected. You are never alone. I am the One who holds community for you.

What is your gift or message for me?

The Universe is all one, and separation is an illusion.

What do you want me to do?

Seek wha you need. You will find it.

Why did you show up today?

Sometimes you get lost inside your head.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is loneliness.

SoulCollage® Council Suit: The Analyst

I am the One who is transparent. I am the One who engages the left brain. I see things from many angles, I scheme, I plan, I deduce.

What is your gift or message for me?

The tool is effective only when used well.

What do you want me to do?

Use your left brain more.

Why did you show up today?

Because you've been resistant.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is linearity. 

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Syracuse Roots

I am one from whom you grew. I was your first world. I was gray, harsh in the winter, with limited possibilities. I was economically depressed. I am the one you escaped from to create a new life.

What is your gift or message for me?

I am your source. I served a purpose.

What do you want me to do?

Remember that I am "a good place to be from" even though I could not sustain you. To feel proud of your achievement of burning down your old life to release potential for new.

Why did you show up today?

To remind you of the many strengths you developed growing up with me. To ask you to remember me and not disparage your origins.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The light is hardiness, stamina.

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Stella

 

I am one who was your friend for 15 years. I am one who provided many moments of intimacy and comfort. I introduced Claire to her first animal companion. I am one who was vocal, expressive, loud. I was large and in charge. I had great personality and presence. I am one with whom you began again. I moved across country with you. I was 17 when I died, and I'd had a good, long life. I loved you unconditionally.

What is your gift or message for me?

You gave me a wonderful life, and I gave you all my love.

What do you want me to do?

Remember me.

Why did you show up today?

You are missing me and want to enjoy a reminder. I died two years ago on the day you are making this card.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

I offer the light of happy memories. 

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Sofia

 

I am one who is a doula for your soul. I join you on the journey of finding your truth and expressing what is true for you. I am one who accepts emotional messiness and encourages intimacy. I am comfortable with silence. I help you listen to your wisdom and not abandon yourself. I am one who practices Presence.

What is your gift or message for me?

You can trust Life's wisdom.

What do you want me to do?

Notice your bodily sensations and where your feelings manifest. Keep practicing how to speak your truth. Listen to your intuition.

Why did you show up today?

To celebrate our work together.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is the potential to confuse boundaries.

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Smokey

 

I am one who, after living in your neighborhood for five years, decided to adopt you. I am one who is a cat about town, yet I am also loving. I am mellow and enjoy cuddling. I am one who brings you gifts of mice and birds. I am one who entices you to sit outside and watch the world with me. I am god in fur. 

What is your gift or message for me?

I am your cat, and I am not your cat. I am my own self.

What do you want me to do?

Keep loving me the way you do, with food, snuggles, and kindness. Keep coming outside to be with me. 

Why did you show up today?

You are thinking of your feline friends lately. Stella died two years ago on the day you made this card. You miss her. 

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is the desire to take me in and make me yours. 

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Shinrin-Yoku

I am one who bathes in nature. I am one whose connection to nature restores my being.

What is your gift or message for me?

You are of this world and in this world. You are inseparable from it.

What do you want me to do?

Go outside. It's that simple. Sit against a tree. Lie in the grass. 

Why did you show up today?

Because nature beckons, and you've been hungry and thirsty for it.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is overgrowth. 

 

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Karen Maezen Miller Sensei

 

I am one who shows you your life as it is. I introduced you to Zen Buddhism and the "cushion of kindness." I share wisdom so you can be the mother you are, and I invited you to see your life as a spiritual practice. I am one who teaches and learns. I am your dharma mother.

What is your gift or message for me?

Buddhists are imperfect, and awakening is a process that requires practice.

What do you want me to do?

Make the commitment to put the practice on the cushion at the front and center of your life.

Why did you show up today?

To keep you company.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is deluding yourself that you are practicing simply because you know me.

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Hazy Moon Zen Center

I am one who represents an intention. I am one who calls you from a distance to practice zazen. I am the home of your teachers, Maezen, Nyogen, Maezumi, and Buddha.

What is your gift or message for me?

The purity and integrity of Zen teachings flows through established lineages. At Hazy Moon we are not playing at being Buddhists.

What do you want me to do?

Don't pretend. Take the steps in your practice as you are able. Come to us when you can. Becoming officially Buddhist isn't as important as becoming, through practice, a Buddha.

Why did you show up today?

To honor the path you find yourself following.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is being pre-occupied with the idea of legitimacy and in judging other centers as not real or good enough.

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Green River Trail

I am one who gave you hope. I am one who sheltered your dreams and nurtured them. I am one who gave you space to play and begin making art. I was the ground in which your love with Alex was planted. I am one where the homemaker in you came alive and was given expression. I am one you left for new adventure but remain rooted in your heart.

What is your gift or message for me?

You asked, and you received.

What do you want me to do?

Remember me fondly.

Why did you show up today?

Because you are honoring your community, and I am part of that.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is pining for the past.

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Fremont Street

 

I am one who welcomed you to California. I am cozy and small and taught you to downsize your life. I witnessed your creative flow with making art and knitting. I was the chapel for your wedding. I am one who held you through two miscarriages and the third successful conception. I taught you the beauty of light and gave you a garden to play in.

What is your gift or message for me?

I was rejected by you at first glance, but I turned out to be exactly what you needed.

What do you want me to do?

Remember to look more closely at what you are tempted to dismiss.

Why did you show up today?

To make you smile.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

Light is always present.

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Diane Marie Way

I am one whom you chose in the desperation of first-trimester exhaustion and nausea. I had four levels and 28 steps and was not ideal for a new family, but you bloomed within me nonetheless. I sheltered you through first steps and emerging teeth, through hundreds of hours of cuddling. Because I was a rental you had no fear of doing crafts and cooking with a toddler. I had a teeny backyard patio, and I was surrounded by pavement and traffic, yet you found ways to be outdoors. You thrived as a family here for three years, and many precious memories are entwined with me. 

What is your gift or message for me?

Ideal circumstances are not required for growth.

What do you want me to do?

Work with whatever is at hand.

Why did you show up today?

To give you a chance to have happy memories.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is allowing constraints and difficulties to be a reason to shut down.

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Books

 

I am one who finds companionship in books. I am one who is sustained by the worlds that words create. Books have been part of my life since birth. Books are friends.

What is your gift or message for me?

Keep reading and absorbing. There is vast treasure to discover. Relax, because you won't get to read all the books.

What do you want me to do?

Share community. Give books. Pass them on when you are done with them.

Why did you show up today?

To celebrate with you!

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is hoarding books instead of introducing them to the wider community.

SoulCollage® Community Suit: My Sunshine

 

I am one who brings light to your life. I am one who sparks your creativity. I am one who lives as your heart outside of your boy. I prove that miracles happen. I am your teacher of surrender. I am your love and your life.

What is your gift or message for me?

You are the perfect mother for me, and together we will find the way.

What do you want me to do?

Pay attention. Remember that we are born every second, and love me with all your power and imperfection.

Why did you show up today?

Because I am a force that will not go unnoticed.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is inclination to control. The light is simply celebration of her.