Mother's Day is almost Here!
My life’s work seems to revolve around motherhood: having a mother, and being a mother and writing about motherhood – even before I had kids, growing up I played the role of the little mother as eldest of eight kids, then in my twenties, I moved into a community household (ashram) where I was the Housemother, (chief cook, and mother figure for eight adults). In my thirties I got married, went back to school and wrote a book of poems called Little Mother after two children of my own came along.
Motherhood is not always the calm, loving, supportive role it’s supposed to be. It’s more like a rollercoaster of emotions. Many of us have had imperfect mothering; mine was fraught with having to grow up too fast, having an absent alcoholic mother, but also a loving, creative, theatrical mother who was simply overwhelmed by birthing eight kids in ten years.
I didn’t even make a card for my mother till a few years after I started doing SoulCollage® and leading classes as a facilitator. For me as a writer, she was often my main subject. As a grown-up daughter, until middle age, I was still navigating how best love her and accept her, in all her quirky eccentric ways – even though she got sober after a detox and cirrhosis of the liver when I was 16, she was on anti-depressants all her life and lived like a hermit (and a bit of a hoarder) after my father died, with my brother cooking and cleaning for her till she passed away last year.
All this to say, I know it’s not easy being a mother, or having a mother! But what can you do, besides therapy? Well, one way to find the gold in the darkness, is to create SoulCollage® cards and start a dialogue with your inner parts and archetypal energies. While it is therapeutic, SoulCollage® is not therapy per se, although many therapists of different stripes use this method. In a workshop or class, the goal is self-discovery, gathering all the parts, learning to listen to them and give them a voice to start with. It’s surprising how a feeling of wholeness can come along once you find and hold close those parts that have felt neglected, pushed aside or belittled.
Because I’ve been trying to get to the root of how to mother myself for years, one of the books I read lead me to create a card for my inner Good Mother. This ever-loving archetype is the one who encourages me; she’s my best cheerleader and supporter, who never lets me down, is always reliable and trustworthy. The one who is compassionate (sometimes I feel her energy is like Kwan Yin who hears the suffering of those of us who need her).
Because I am healing myself and learning so much in the process, it is my great pleasure to share some of the exercises that although simple, can reach deep, and lead to a feeling of lovingkindness towards the self.
“Compassion isn’t some kind of self-improvement project or ideal that we’re trying to live up to. Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves, all those imperfections that we don’t even want to look at.” —Pema Chodron
This class will help you envision and dialogue with your inner child, and construct an image of the Good Mother that feels right for you. Some experience with SoulCollage(R) card making is preferable.
If this speaks to you, Register here:
NOTE: EARLY BIRD SPECIAL ENDS APRIL 30
