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The Committee Suit Each SoulCollage® card is a 'part', or, ‘aspect’ of you. The Committee Suit comprises aspects of your ‘personality’ or to put it another way, your ‘sub-personalities’. These sub-personalities might be the “labels” you put on yourself, or that others attach to you. Some will be obvious to you, such as Mother, Sister or Boss. Others will be a little trickier to unearth. You might also think of some of these committee suit ‘parts’ as roles you play at various times with different people. Here are some examples of possible committee members: Rebel Carer Angry one Judgemental one Victim Martyr Rescuer Peacemaker Sinner Saviour Joyful child Dancer Sensual one Mother Animal Lover Organiser Conformist Responsible one Loving parent Angry parent Inner critic Hurt child Wise one Artist Writer Innocent one Self-sabotager Healer Procrastinator Confused one Within your Committee suit (yourself) you will find your ‘shadow selves’ both dark and light. Your ‘shadow selves’ are the hidden parts of you that you rarely acknowledge. The dark-shadow selves are often parts of you you’d rather not own, and want to keep hidden. The light-shadow selves are parts of you that you may rarely acknowledge or recognise in yourself but may admire in others. You might identify your shadow selves by the voices that inhabit your mind from time to time. Most of us have a critical or judgemental voice popping up now and then. At times there will be an angry voice or a frightened voice, a joyful, or compassionate, or wise and loving voice. I’m sure you now have lots of ideas for your own list!
You can also identify these various parts of you by thinking about how you behave towards other people or in the company of certain people. How are you with your partner, your boss, your mother, your child, or your pet? With one you may be impatient, with another patient. With one you may be critical, with another empathic. With one you may be placating, ‘a pleaser’ with another you may be intolerant. It’s good to honour all aspects of you, even the ones you don’t want to own, the ones you’d rather not have. Because what we resist grows stronger. So it is better to hold all aspects of ourselves up to the light, to accept them and honour them. They then become our friends instead of our enemies. Every dark-shadow side has a positive aspect and every light-shadow has a negative aspect. Each only needs a little shift in balance to move it to the other side. Indeed, depending on your perspective, each can be viewed as a positive or a negative. For example, the mean ‘tight-wad’, scrooge aspect of you can also be viewed as frugal, prudent, and financially wise! It may have gone a little over the top but it really only wants the best for you. It just wants you to feel better (as do all aspects of you). That’s all any of our sub-personalities want for us. Once we’ve realised that, we may find the ‘scrooge’ loosens up a bit and becomes a little less fearful and a little more giving. Don’t allow yourself to be frightened by any personality aspect you discover. It may be an aspect that never comes to the surface and that you never fully draw on. But if you’ve identified it, then it’s there. You may think “but I could never own this slaying warrior as part of me!” But the qualities of that slaying warrior (enormous courage and powerful strength perhaps) may be exactly what you need if faced with a crisis or to ‘slay’ a particular fear.
Once you have created your first committee card, allow it to ‘speak’. For each card you will do the same process (the only exception being the Source card). For each card complete the sentence “I am the one who……..” Sometimes you may find yourself phrasing slightly differently but the gist of it is the same. Take a while to sit with your card and study the image and the feel of it. What does it say to you? “I am the one who……” Example: For my ‘confident woman’ card I got: “I am the Confident One. I stride forward fearlessly. It’s my life and I own it.” Another of the cards I created was after I’d asked for feedback on some written work I’d done. I’d put my work out to a group I had not known for very long and after I’d done that I realised I’d made a complete cock up in the work I’d submitted. I felt a complete fool. I reminded myself why I’m always reluctant to speak up in groups for fear of saying the ‘wrong thing’ and looking foolish. I had a horrible feeling almost of ‘shame’ that I couldn’t shake. It felt irrational but I couldn’t shift it, so I made a card. The card shows young girls, all of them, serious, sad and silent. A little girl sits on the sofa, head down, all limp-looking as an adult scolds her. The words that came to me for the card almost make me want to weep as I read them now: “I am the Silent One. I have closed my ears, my mind. I am deaf and dumb. You cannot hurt me”.
The good news is that I, and you, can create cards that support that little one. Such as a strong protector, or a loving angel. It's not just about 'creating a supportive card'. It's about finding strengths within yourself and discovering you are so much more than you realise. If you feel pain around anything, make a SoulCollage® card and feel the pain ease. When you acknowledge, honour and love the 'wounded' parts of yourself (in this case, through SoulCollage®) they become healed. My ‘true’ real-life parents will be found in the next suit ...
the Community Suit.
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Also it’s worth remembering that each part is only a small part of the whole of you. You don’t need to disown any parts. Together they work to make you who you are and each has its role to play and its value in your life.
If it makes you want to weep too then you’ve just got in touch with one of your own little children inside.
