Soul
Singing with Anne Marie |
Hi!
I'm Anne Marie, the creator of KaleidoSoul.com, and a
SoulCollage® facilitator in Massachusetts. If you're
just starting to sing your song with SoulCollage®, this column is
especially for you.
Don't Postpone Joy
Several years ago when I was diagnosed with cancer the first time, I bought a purple bumper sticker with bright white letters that proclaimed "Don't Postpone Joy" and affixed it to the bumper sticker of my shiny red Kia. When I bought it and put it there, I was passionate about not postponing joy, about creating more joy in my life and offering myself easy access to it.
However, as the months and years went by, I hardly even noticed the bumper sticker, and many things that do bring me joy were moved to the bottom of my many to-do lists. Of course, I wasn't aware of this at the time; it all just kind of slipped through my fingers.
Now, ten years later, I am re-evaluating this whole concept of not putting off those things, people, activities and experiences that bring me JOY.
I've been reading a wonderful book by Sanaya Roman, Living with Joy, and it is giving me pause to think about how I've previously defined joy and what joy really means. The chapter I've just read is about self-love, and about how being true to ourselves brings about a much deeper joy in our lives.
The challenge of loving yourself is to step aside from everything people tell you and ask, "Does this fit me? Does this bring me joy? Do I feel good when I do it?" Ultimately, your own experience is what counts. (p. 41)
I am gently working with myself these days to follow this "challenge" of loving myself. It's not as simple as it sounds, especially if you've made a habit of basing your decisions based on what others might think instead of what your heart and soul deeply want.
You know how Oprah always knows something "for sure" at the end of every one of
her magazine issues? Well this is what I, Anne Marie Bennett, know for sure:
life is too short to put joy at the bottom of any of our lists. Joy should not
even be ON a list. It should be as natural as breathing and loving. I will admit
right now that Joy does not come quite that naturally to me, and that is okay. I
am where I am and it is what it is. And there is much joy, also, in allowing
myself my imperfection as well as my brilliance.
Anne Marie Bennett is a writer, self-taught
artist, website goddess, cancer survivor, and SoulCollage®
Facilitator / Trainer who was mentored directly by Seena Frost. In
2005, she fell in love with SoulCollage® and was inspired to use
her professional experience along with Internet technology as a
means to serve the world by putting SoulCollage® "out there" in a
really big way with KaleidoSoul. Anne Marie lives in eastern
Massachusetts with her middle-aged husband, two elderly cats and
one youthful dog who keeps them all young. You can read more about
her on her website annemariebennett.com or on
her blogs Inner
Surprises, and Standing
Still.
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Guest
Columnist: Imelda Maguire |
Hello! I'm Imelda Maguire, SoulCollage® facilitator and trainer from Donegal, Ireland. Also a counselor and poet, my joy is in working with others in healing and creativity. This column is for those of you who have already made some cards & are ready to discover the symphony of voices inside of you and around you.
SoulCollage® and Joy
SoulCollage® and Joy... The two words go together so naturally! It seems that we cannot work with SoulCollage® for any length of time without reaching a place where the process allows us to access our joyful self. The connection may be momentary, as so many experiences of joy are fleeting and intense but so, so memorable. We might not have a card that is named "Joy" (No? Why not? Does it need to go on your list of "Cards I Plan to Make Sometime?"), but there are likely to be some cards in your deck that, when you allow yourself to fully embody the Neter, will bring you to a place of joy.
As I write, we are in the run-up to the holiday season – the season of Joy. As you read this, that season is by now a memory. Did you encounter joy in your holiday season? Where do
you meet joy? I realize that I am posing questions more than offering any great wisdom, because I know that I recognize my own experience of joy, and yet I am not sure of how to convey it. It is one of those things that I know because I know. I know that joy is beyond an experience of pleasure or happiness, and that I may say casually that I have "enjoyed" something – a movie, a meal, an outing, a book, but that does not necessarily mean that I truly felt Joy in the experience. At the same time, I may eat an ordinary meal, but because I am sharing it with my son, newly (and unexpectedly) returned from the other side of the world, there is Joy abounding in that experience!
I think that experiencing Joy may take a moment of alignment, when our various and many selves are at peace with one another, and open to allowing any one Neter to fully experience a moment. In taking a random selection of cards from my deck today, I ask "In what way do you allow me to experience joy?" The responses all do return to the idea that when I fully experience the Neter, there will be joy. Allow me to share one with you...
The Grass Angel... I am one who reminds you that, like even the smallest
blade of grass, you too have your Angel that leans over you and whispers "Grow."
I bring you the joy of that knowledge, of my presence, of the moment when you
lean into my sheltering wings.
----------------
Joy
When you meet Joy,
say Welcome.
You will not be able
to keep your delight
from your face.
It will show.
Be sure of that.
When you meet Joy,
grasp her to you
briefly, then let her stand,
and look a while
at what has come to you,
and look a while
at who Joy meets –
this You who is ready,
just now, just now
to say Come in.
[© Imelda Maguire, 2011]
Imelda Maguire is a SoulCollage® facilitator and trainer from Donegal, Ireland. A counsellor, poet, Bach Flower Remedy practitioner, and creative-writing facilitator, her joy is in working with others, in witnessing a-ha moments and experiences of healing. She has been sharing SoulCollage® with groups since 2003, when she first discovered the process, and delights in others' excitement on meeting their Neters for the first time.
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Upcoming SoulCollage® Retreats
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FRANCE
SoulCollage® in France
Carcassonne, France
May 24-29, 2012
Facilitator: Kat Kirby
Come to a beautiful part of France on the outskirts of Carcassonne and join me for a 6-day SoulCollage® retreat. We will meet in a 200-year-old stone barn, renovated in Art Deco style with 8 comfortable bedrooms, private pool, tennis court, bicycles and home-cooked meals. We will combine our SoulCollage® sessions with a visit to the local market and optional field trips. Whether you are new to SoulCollage® or an experienced Facilitator or Trainer, this retreat might be just what you've been waiting for! You might even want to add a few days before or after our gathering and explore parts of Europe you've always wanted to see. Cost includes everything other than air fare.
Registration Info Here
MASSACHUSETTS
Coming Fully Alive: Awakening the Divine Feminine with
SoulCollage® & Altered Art
Westfield, MA
June 14-17, 2012
Facilitators: Anne Marie Bennett, Anne Boedecker, Jeanne Marie
Merkel
We will use SoulCollage®, journaling, small group sharing,
drumming, ceremony, altered books, and card readings in order to
embody the innate knowledge of our own feminine power. We'll also
create rituals together that bring our deep engagement with our
cards and art to life. There will be LOTS of time for card making,
sharing our SoulCollage® cards and card making ideas, as well as
doing readings with our Decks. No previous artistic experience is
necessary. For beginners as well as experienced SoulCollagers.
Relax. Renew. Connect. Create. Ahhhh.....
Only 4 Spaces Left!
Lots more
info here
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CONTACT US |
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KaleidoSoul Creations |
As promised, we are featuring
SoulCollage® cards from our readers in each issue.
Each card below is a card that represents JOY from
one SoulCollager's Deck.
Safely Free
Committee Suit
Mary
Massachusetts
I am the one who feels free with my inner child.
I am the one who is joyful when playing.
I am the one who knows safety and security go together.
I am the one who loves the feel of the wind in my hair!
Rejoice! Celebrate!
Council Suit
Charlene Caswell
Kentucky
I am the one who knows that joy is uplifting. Let your spirit soar!
My Playful One
Committee Suit
John
Australia
I am the playful side of you that has come to remind you to make time for play.
My gift to you is the playground that lies before you. Make use of it wisely, as it is at your feet. You are there already, so you don't have to go looking any further.
I bring you the gift of joy as you surround yourself with nature.
I want you to know that you can delight in the rainbow that comes after the rain. I want you to dive in to the fresh cool waters without fear of abandonment of your true purpose. I want you to open your eyes and see the beauty around you. I want you to immerse yourself in it and you will heal whatever is in need.
I want you to en-joy it. I want you to take the joy within and to embrace it through your rituals. I want you to give gratitude for all the beauty that surrounds you.
Playfulness
Committee Suit
Melisa
Ontario, Canada
I am the one who jumps for joy. I am the one who lives every joyful second of life to its fullest. I am the optimist, the happy, playful one, glad to be alive.
Joy
Suit Unknown
Audrey
Texas
I am one who praises the Universe differently than others.
I am one who is unafraid to show my joy.
To see LOTS more SoulCollagers' cards about JOY, please
visit this KaleidoSoul page.
Please feel free to submit one of your cards for a
future issue by sending a reply email to this
newsletter.
Future themes include: Community Suit: Lovers
Animal Companions: Imaginary
Fear
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KaleidoSoul Notes
Noteworthy
resources for anyone interested in SoulCollage®
Facilitator
Trainings: Information about content and
dates/locations of upcoming trainings of SoulCollage®
Facilitators.
SoulCollage
website - Seena Frost created the process of
SoulCollage®, and this is her website.
KaleidoSoul -
Spinning the fragments of your world into wholeness and beauty
through SoulCollage®.
Kindred
Spirits Join our fast-growing worldwide
membership of people who put the "soul" in SoulCollage®!
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including:
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Use Coupon Code NEWYEAR Please click image above
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Soul Songs
Back Issues - Read back issues of Soul Songs on
this
KaleidoSoul page.
Just look for whatever SoulCollage® topic you are interested
in,
and read to your heart's content!
SoulCollage® is a trademarked process created by
Seena B. Frost.
For more information about Seena and the origins of SoulCollage®,
please visit her
website.
SoulCollage® cards are made either from one's own art or
from images found in materials which have been bought by or given
to the SoulCollage® card maker. These collaged cards are used only
for the cardmaker's own inner exploration. SoulCollage® cards are
not sold, traded, bartered, or copied (except as a back-up for the
cardmakers own use) as is stated in the "Principles
of SoulCollage®." Where SoulCollage® cards are available to
be seen by others, it is for the purposes either of demonstrating
the SoulCollage® process or of sharing the cardmakers' inner
process in the context of community. SoulCollage® is grateful to
the artists and photographers who make this deep awakening process
possible and in all ways SoulCollage® seeks to be respectful of
their rights.
All articles in SOUL SONGS are copyrighted
2012,
by Anne Marie Bennett and
Cat Carcelo, Imelda Maguire,
Kat Kirby, or Catherine Anderson.
Articles may be reprinted by permission only.
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