Giving Voice to Your 

SoulCollage® Cards

Long before I found SoulCollage®, I was aware that I had many parts of myself. My goal was to find a way to integrate these many facets so that I could operate as a cohesive, whole person. I was delighted to discover the SoulCollage® process, and as I created more and more cards, I began to see my deck of SoulCollage® cards as a diverse group of energies who would each like to be participating members of my inner symphony orchestra. Some played instruments, some sang songs, some made sounds, some spoke in words, and all wanted to be seen and heard.

It was helpful to think of the work of integration as a process of learning how to bring these many energies and sounds together in harmony, balance and rhythm. I wondered how I could put a laugh and cry together? I wondered how I could put a scream of joy and terror together, or a shout of love and joy with a scream of anger. In short, how could I create beauty out of chaos?

I have been creating SoulCollage® cards, and working with them in my personal and professional practice for over a decade. I have learned that the work of inhabiting my SoulCollage® cards is sometimes challenging. These cards, or Neters as they are sometimes called, do represent energies that live within and around me. All energetic beings have a vibration. This vibration can be expressed through the voice, or through sounds. These sounds can come in the form of words, or music, or just plain guttural noises. Sometimes, I create a card that will not speak in words. Sometimes, I bump up against strong resistance to using the phrase, "I Am One Who..." When that happens, I consider the possibility of allowing the energies that are portrayed in my SoulCollage® cards to express themselves through sound and music. I have found that "sounding" from a card can work very well, not only with my own cards, but also with clients and workshop participants who cannot articulate words from the point of view of the card. I think of sound as the energy, which fuels and forms the words.

We can make our souls visible through creating SoulCollage® cards. We can also perceive the soul with our ears. In fact the word "audience" does not come from a derivation of a word meaning those who see, but, rather, those who hear. By allowing our cards to make music and sound, we open our ears to the language of the soul, which is the human voice.

Here is an example from my own deck:

This is a little girl, sitting at the piano, who calls herself, "The Singer." When I ask her "What do you sing?" she answers: "I Am One Who sings a song of joy! I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, and I hope that you'll sing with me!"

Where did she learn this song? I can only remember hearing it when I attended a church service with my neighbor when I was around 6 years old. My family did not attend a church at that time, so this was one of my few exposures to hymns at that early age. The hymns must have made a strong impression on me, and the spiritual significance of the song has stayed with that little girl inside all of this time. When I "speak" from this card, I sing the song as loudly as I dare, and I feel the joy that really does still live down in my heart. For me, sound, music and SoulCollage® are part of my spiritual practice. Sounding from the energies that surround me, and that live within me, is my way of connecting to the divine.

My hope is that these ideas will spark your imagination and that you will be inspired and encouraged to explore new and exciting ways to give voice to your own cards or to help your clients and workshop participants express the essence of their SoulCollage® Neters.

Audrey Chowdhury is an art therapist from Madison, WI, USA. She is a   SoulCollage® Facilitator and Trainer, and has been trained in soul-based psychology, Integrative Breathwork and sound healing. She has a private art therapy practice, and teaches workshops throughout the Midwest and beyond. She is the author of the CD, SoulCollage® in Spiritual Settings, and 2  newly released CDs Giving Voice to Your SoulCollage® Cards: Sound Music & Image, and  Discovering the Suits in Your SoulCollage® Deck published by Hanford Mead.

Be inspired and nourished by SoulCollage®

by Mariabruna Sirabella MFT/SoulCollage® Facilitator

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