Personal Relationships - Collage Cards

Another* tool I use in personal coaching sessions is collage cards. 

 

Taking this week's theme of developing relationships I thought I'd see what insights might be gleaned from pulling a few of my collage cards. 

NB these are used in a personal setting and would only be used if the client was open to using perhaps a more obscure means of connecting with their own inner wisdom as their 

unconscious makes meaning from the images (because it can't but help find meaning).

When I made this card I assumed it was this way up - but have subsequently found it to be more useful the other way up. 

I wonder if its about 'giving' and 'receiving' in our relationships and inviting us to think about how much we do of each. Asking us to reflect how much of an imbalance there might be as shown in the different sizes of the 2 figures. 

I also notice mist between both figures potentially obscuring the actions of both. How might the motive of your actions not be as obvious to the other person? or perhaps be misinterpreted by them?

You may get completely different insights from the cards than me and of course that's perfect. The aim of the cards is to help you tap into your inner wisdom not necessarily listen to mine :-). It's simply about helping you to see a situation differently, and therefore understand what actions you might be able to take in order to improve the current situation. 

 

Sometimes I wish I'd just be a little less honest and put a card back and pull a different one :-) . However I do need to demonstrate that, even if a card doesn't seem obvious at first glance, if we persevere, an insight can be found.

I suppose I've always seen Dawn French as epitomising being happy in her own skin. Being truly authentic in all that she does and happy with it. 

In that context such a great reminder to hold true to ourselves when in relationship with others.

 

I've generally seen this card as being one of purification. However in connection to the enquiry about relationships I wonder if it's about warning us about dumping our stuff onto others. A slower trickle might just be more effective than a huge bucket :-).

 

Using collages is not a process everyone feels comfortable with but can provide some very meaningful insights. What insight did you obtain from these cards and as a reault what action will you take?

 

Alison Smith

Inspiring change inside and out - when what you're doing isn't working 

* Earlier blogs this week shared more about tools I use in a business setting such as Frameworks for change coaching process, creative whack pack and oblique strategies. Tomorrow I will share more about the Transformation Game - another personal development tool.

More on how I use the collage process can be found here, and more about the origins of the collage process can be found here.