Let the Crayons Out of the Box: Lesson #7 – SoulCollage®

Welcome to Week 7 of Let the Crayons Out of the Box and a brief introduction to SoulCollage®.

Do you have a big pile of images you have saved in the closet or under the bed that you have been waiting to figure out what to do with? Do you love making vision boards and other types of collage? Then you will love SoulCollage®: a process which begins as simple creative fun, but which suddenly may surprise and awaken you! Learn how to access your intuition and create an incredible deck of cards with deep personal

meaning that will help you with life’s questions.

From the first moment I learned about SoulCollage®, I knew I was hooked - it combines everything that I love in one magical process. Art, creativity, self-awareness, journaling, meditation and personal growth are all part of working with your SoulCollage deck. I have dozens of decks of cards that I play with on a regular basis - angel cards, fairy cards, goddess cards, animal cards. I now focus on using my personal SoulCollage deck. There is something so powerful about SoulCollage and creating a deck of cards to give voice to all the different aspects present and working in my life.

At a time in my life when I am focused on creativity, self-expression and self-acceptance, SoulCollage has been a blessing! Creating a visual smorgasbord of all the different part of me has allowed me to honor and accept them – including the aspects that cause me stress or that I don’t like, like the image below of women stuffing their face: been there done that. Today’s introduction is going to be very brief but I will tell you how you can learn more a bit later on.

“Images have a way of bypassing the chatter of our logical minds and nudging our deep soul wisdom where intuitive answers can be found

and spoken.”- Seena Frost, founder of SoulCollage.

According to the founder and creator of SoulCollage®, Seena Frost, "SoulCollage® is a creative and satisfying collage process. You make your own deck of cards - each collage card representing one aspect of your personality or Soul. Use the collage cards intuitively to answer life's questions and participate in self-discovery. Joyfully deepen your understanding of the relationships between your personality parts, you and your family/community/world, and you and your dreams, symbols, and Spirit." excerpt from SoulCollage.com

SoulCollage® is not only fun, creative play for me, it has also been a very powerful addition to my spiritual practice, my daily journaling practice and my ability to see, acknowledge and accept all the different aspects of my personality as guides and teachers on my path.

I also use SoulCollage® in my private coaching practice with clients. It's a great way to visualize where you are you stuck, what you need to celebrate and whom you want to honor in your life.

Here’s what you need to get started:

• 5 pieces of Mat board cut into 5x7 pieces (ask your local craft store to cut them for you and if they have scraps available.) If you cannot get mat board, cardstock or large index cards could be used. I love creating recycled art, so cereal boxes or other thin cardboard could work as well.

• Magazines, printed images and photographs • Scissors (small scissors are great for creating SoulCollage cards.) • Glue sticks

I  am  not  going  to  go  into  too  much  detail  in  this  brief  introduction  but  know  that  a  deck  of  SoulCollage  cards  has  4  suits,  very  similar  to  a  deck  of  playing  cards.  Those  4  suits  are  called:    

• Committee  Suit  • Community  Suit  • Council  Suit  • Companion  Suit  

 

For  the  purpose  of  today’s  lesson,  we  will  focus  on  the  Committee  Suit  and  you  will  create  a  set  of  5  cards  to  represent  different  aspects  of  your  personal  character  or  life  experiences.    The  Committee  Suit  represents  the  psychological  dimension  in  our  deck  of  cards.  You  will  make  cards  to  honor  the  inner  parts  of  your  personality  by  identifying,  naming  and  finding  images  to  represent  the  various  voices  or  ego  states  of  yourself.    Another  name  for  this  suit  could  be  the  Inner  Family.    Note:  each  card  should  only  represent  one  aspect  of  your  self.  For  example,  if    you  decide  to  make  a  card  to  honor  your  inner  child,  you  would  not  create  a  card  with  an  angry  child  and  a  happy  child  on  the  same  card  –  these  are  two  different  energies.  Below  is  an  example  of  two  cards  of  mine  that  represent  different  energies  from  my  childhood.  

     Step  one:  Collect  all  of  your  supplies    Step  two:  Decide  which  cards  you  would  like  to  create.  Below  is  a  list  of  ideas  for  creating  Committee  cards.  I  encourage  you  to  create  both  a  negative  and  a  positive  card(s).  Part  of  healing  is  to  acknowledge,  honor  and  accept  all  aspects  of  our  selves.      

     

Committee  Characters  Usually  Seen  as  Negative  or  Bothersome    

• The  Critic  (of  self)  we  all  have  this  one  to  some  degree  • The  Judge  (of  others)  we  also  all  have  this  one  • The  Wounded  Child  • The  Rebellious  Child  • The  Perfectionist  • The  Nag  • The  Bitch  • The  Bully  • The  Procrastinator  • The  Whiner  • The  Blamer  • Etc.  

 Committee  Characters  Usually  Seen  as  Positive    

• The  Happy  Child  (make  a  card  for  this  one  as  it  is  in  there  somewhere.)  • The  Grateful  One  • The  Curious  Kid  • The  Lover  • The  Loyal  Friend  • The  Writer,  Poet,  Storyteller,  Artist,  Chef,  Dancer,  etc.  • The  Volunteer  • The  Generous  One  • The  Comedian  • The  Mother  • The  Daughter  • The  Wife  • The  Business  Woman  • Etc.  

     Step  three:  Grab  your  magazines  and  start  looking  for  images  that  capture  the  essence  of  these  different  aspects  of  yourself.    Step  four:  Carefully  cut  out  the  images,  cutting  them  away  from  their  backgrounds  and  placing  them  on  your  cards.  You  can  see  in  the  sample  cards  throughout  this  handout  how  I  have  layered  images  on  new  backgrounds.    Step  five:  Once  you  have  completed  your  set  of  cards  or  even  one  card,  grab  a  pen  and  journal  or  some  paper  and  answer  the  following  questions.  In  the  SoulCollage  process,  we  always  allow  the  card  to  speak.  It’s  a  type  of  role  playing  where  we  allow  the  energy  of  the  card  to  speak  to  us  and  share  it’s  wisdom  using  the  statement,  “I  am  the  one  who...”  It  takes  some  practice  but  you  will  get  the  hang  of  it!      Journaling  questions.      Begin  the  answer  to  each  question  with  “I  am  the  one  who…”    Who  are  you?    What  do  you  have  to  give  me?  What  do  you  want  from  me?  How  will  I  remember?  What  is  your  shadow  side?  What  is  core  meaning  of  this  card,  it’s  essence?    These  questions  using  the  “I  am  the  one  who”  model  may  seem  a  bit  odd  at  first,  but  will  become  more  comfortable  if  you  choose  to  continue  working  with  SoulCollage®  and  creating  your  personal  deck  of  cards.    Resources  for  learning  more  about  the  origins  and  process  of  SoulCollage:      SoulCollage®  Evolving  by  Seena  Frost    www.SoulCollage.com    Private  classes  via  Skype  with  Dr.  Minette  Riordan.  Email  for  more  information:  Minette@minetteriordan.com