SoulCollage
~Sharing the process of SoulCollage and the gifts it brings~
What is SoulCollage?
I was recently interviewed by my friend April Wyett on her podcast Living With Intention.
Here is the video of me explaining what SoulCollage is
and some of my experiences with it over the years of using it myself and with others.
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I first discovered SoulCollage when a friend posted photos of a bunch of her SoulCollage cards on Facebook around 10 years ago. I was mesmerized by their ethereal beauty. The combination of images spoke to something deep within me that was waiting for a way to be heard.
I took my first class in 2011 and began making cards on my own. By 2014, I had made 17 cards and felt ready to take the next step and become a SoulCollage Facilitator. Now I have made over 100 cards, all of which feel like very dear friends of mine, and I've shared the process with many friends.
SoulCollage is a simple process of sorting through images (found in magazines, books, or even online) and selecting the ones that resonate deeply within. We work with images rather than words, and we listen to the right hemisphere of our brain that responds emotionally, rather than to the left hemisphere that responds with logic and reason. This is likely different from the process you might have used when creating a vision board of collages, that selects images according to our intentions. Creating a collage using the SoulCollage process can feel like putting your mind in Witness mode, watching while you instinctively pull the images that speak to your soul and put together the ones "that feel like they go together".
Once you feel your card is complete, you can follow a journaling template of prompts to let your card begin to speak and share what archetypal energy it represents in yourself or in your life. You may choose to randomly draw a card each morning, revealing what might be in store for the day, or what energy would be helpful for you to embody or draw upon for the day's events. You may choose to draw a spread of 4 cards at critical points in your life (at the new year, on your birthday, when faced with a big decision, etc.) like you might with a deck of oracle cards, and let the wisdom of your soul speak to you through the cards. Or you can simply enjoy the process of making the cards and collecting them. I like to set them up in my house on my altar and other power spots, as helpers for my intentions at the time.
Seena Frost is the founder of SoulCollage, and there is a video available of her here on the website soulcollage.com that demonstrates and clearly explains the process of creating SoulCollage cards. You can purchase blank cards to make them through that website, through Hanford Mead, the publishing company, or even through amazon!
You do not have to limit yourself to the 5x8 size cards that are typically used to make SoulCollage cards. If you are a crafty sort, you can make your own blank cards, and you can even use this process to make large collages that you might hang on your wall.
There are various online courses on the soulcollage.com website, including a FREE in-depth instruction course here. I found that when I gathered together with friends to make cards on a regular basis, I made many more cards than I did on my own. And the conversations we have are always so rich and full of deep wisdom, laughter, and empathy for one another and our respective life experiences. I invite you to discover the wonderful world of SoulCollage in whatever way your soul is leading you to at this time!
I am available to come to you to host a SoulCollage class or workshop.
Please call me at 515-724-3797
or email me at open4healing@gmail.com
to discuss that possibility!
~The Grateful~
January 6, 2021
In SoulCollage, we create cards using the right hemisphere of our brain by selecting images that create a strong emotional and intuitive resonance somewhere deep within. After we have combined images that "seem to go together" on a card, we can then invite the card to begin speaking to us, to share its wisdom. We may follow a specific set of journaling prompts, or we can simply begin speaking or writing freehand from the people, settings, and things in our cards. A lot of us name our cards based on the energy or archetype it represents.
This is the 8th card I made, maybe 12 years ago now. I share below some of what it said to me in the initial journaling I did for it, following the prompts provided to me at the first SoulCollage class I took. In SoulCollage, we often use the phrase "I am one who..." and complete that statement speaking from each image in the card.
I am one who…
approaches life with an open heart and open attitude, completes her tasks and work with gratitude, is wonderfully surprised by life, lifts up her arms in praise and gratitude, sees beauty in the mundane, respects the earth, peacefully accepts her responsibilities and lot in life, is bowed backward from the beauty and love in life, leans forward in reverence and gratitude.
What do you have to give me?
I bring you an open hearted approach to life, gratitude for the blessings in your life, the ability to see beauty in the mundane, and open acceptance of your life the way it is.
What do you want from me?
I want you to live life with your heart wide open in gracious acceptance of whatever comes your way, and for the responsibilities you have before you, I want you to see the beauty in everything that is, I want you to shed your fear that you need to protect yourself against the world and anything in it
How will I remember?
You will remember when you float on your back in water, not a want in the world; when you find yourself gratefully doing mundane tasks like taking out the garbage, doing the dishes, gathering sustenance; when you witness people less privileged than you who are happy and find joy in living
What is your shadow side?
Accepting things that should not be accepted, not giving voice to anger when needed, bending over backward to accommodate others when it is not healthy for you
What is the core meaning of this card, its essence?
I am one who gratefully accepts everything that life brings me with an open heart, open arms and open hands, because I am one who sees the beauty in everything that is.
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Try it for yourself....
You can take these journaling prompts and use them to speak from the images in this card, or from any image that speaks to your soul deep inside. It could be a painting, a favorite photograph, or simply thumb through a magazine, book, or pinterest board until you come across an image that grabs your attention.