Soul Songs: Your SoulCollage NewsletterSoul Songs
Your SoulCollage® Newsletter

Enabling us to sing the songs
we were born to sing
through the practice
of SoulCollage®
Issue #72   June 2011 Theme: Heroines
Welcome!

Greetings, and welcome to Soul Songs, the official KaleidoSoul Newsletter, and the only monthly newsletter that focuses exclusively on SoulCollage® ideas, resources and artists.

Our intention is to fill each issue (and your life) with inspiration, soul-solace and delight.  Whether you are new to SoulCollage®, or already immersed in the creation of your deck, Soul Songs is for you. 

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any friends, colleagues, or family members who will enjoy it.

View this newsletter as a web page with complete color and graphics.

If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, please subscribe here.

Read back issues of Soul Songs on this KaleidoSoul page.

Soul Singing with Anne Marie
Anne Marie, the creator of KaleidoSoul.com
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.


Heroines in Your Community Suit

I had not really thought about including heroines in my Community Suit until a KaleidoSoul Kindred Spirit, Karen in Oregon, emailed me last year and suggested it. She told me that she personally celebrated a different female heroine every month because she was tired of how (in America) we get days off for important men in history but not women.

I was struck by the ring of truth in these words, so I sent a request to our KaleidoSoul SoulCollage® Yahoo Group for cards for this issue of Soul Songs. As you can see from the cards to the right, we didn't get a huge response, which leads me to believe that it's a topic worth diving into.

So... if you truly don't have any cards in your deck for real-life Heroines, perhaps it's time to consider adding some!



Dictionary.com defines the word "heroine" as a woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for her brave deeds and noble qualities. This definition, of course, is wide open to your own interpretation. I used to think that a heroine is someone who had to save someone's life or do something outstandingly brave in the face of physical danger, but now I am thinking differently.

For instance, you might know a woman in your life (a distant relative, close family member or friend), or you might have read about her or seen her in a news story on TV or in a movie. This woman might have faced a difficult diagnosis with humor and a remarkable spirit. She might have given up a successful medical career to live a life helping feed the hungry in Africa.

Heroines in your SoulCollage® Deck might include famous (or not so famous) historical figures, women who took a stand, women who changed the course of history, women who stepped into a field (politics, medicine, law, the arts...) where they made a difference.

I encourage you, as the month of June unfolds, to start thinking about and collecting images for women who are your own personal heroines, so that you can create cards for them and add them to the rich layers of your own SoulCollage® Deck.

Here are just a few names of women who might qualify for this category:

Clara Barton * Mother Teresa * Amelia Earhart * Susan B. Anthony * Rosa Parks * Eleanor Roosevelt * Helen Keller * Beatrix Potter * Anne Frank * Hilary Clinton * Abigail Adams * Maya Angelou * Ellen DeGeneres * Dorothy Day * Elizabeth Cady Stanton * Christa McAuliffe * Georgia O'Keefe * Sandra Day O'Connor * Harriet Tubman * Margaret Mead * Gloria Steinem * Juliette Low * Rachel Carson

Which ones do YOU personally resonate with?
You will find many more on this website

Feel free to add your own. Think about women on your journey who have inspired you to greater creativity, wholeness, authenticity, and success, however you define success. These can be women still living, or already passed on. When these women show up in your Readings, they will have much wisdom, strength and hope to add to your life.


 
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 is also the author of Bright Side of the Road.  She lives in eastern Massachusetts with her middle-aged husband, two elderly cats and one very youthful dog who keeps all of them young. You can read more about her on her website annemariebennett.com or on her blogs Inner Surprises, and Standing Still.
 
 OUR NEXT TELE-CLASS
 

Exploring the Castle:
Discovering Your Personal Archetypes
with Maggie Cahoon, SoulCollage® Facilitator
in New Hampshire
Have you ever wondered exactly what archetypes are in your psyche? Or how you can discover them? Do you wonder what they look like and what wisdom they have to give you?
 
Join us for a guided experience exploring these questions. We'll embark on an inner journey to discover one or more of our own personal archetypes. We will gain access to a vast and unique inner realm that each of us is blessed to possess.

Please visit this page now for more information.
We hope you'll join us!

 
 New Online Workshop!
SoulCollage®
Summer Camp:
Journaling with
Your Cards

Facilitated by
Anne Marie Bennett


Starts July 10, 2011

 

*** three 90-minute tele-classes ***
*** audio recordings of classes***
*** actual writing experiences ***
*** new ways to go deeper with your cards ***
*** multiple handouts ***
*** support from Anne Marie ***
*** connection to SoulCollage® community ***
*** private online place to post your insights***
*** scholarships available ***

Only $67
 
NOTE: Kindred Spirit Members - $10 Discount

Use your special Coupon Code on the checkout screen. For more information about this course, please visit this KaleidoSoul page.
 
 
Soul Symphonies with Karen


My name is Karen Mann and I'm a SoulCollage® facilitator from Melbourne, Australia. 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. 



A Brave Heroine

Oprah is one of my heroines. The SoulCollage® card I made for her illustrated some of my feelings related to her very public battle with body image. When I made this Community Card for Oprah back in 2005, it helped me identify with some of my own issues and beliefs around weight, food, body image and dieting. I wrote:



I am the one who is no longer held back by fear. I am using my own healing experience as an example to assist others on their own healing journey. I am the one who is successful at the same time as healing myself. I do not have to be perfect before I can assist others and to make something of myself.

At the time I was struggling with getting clear on my beliefs about being overweight as a symptom of something being out of balance. I also had some hang-ups about not being taken seriously as a professional woman in the healing/personal development industry if I was overweight.

I realized that if Oprah, as someone working in the entertainment industry where one's weight is scrutinised and commented on regularly, could make a real difference, then so could I. I was inspired by Oprah's open and honest discussions with her millions of viewers about her weight, her "triumphs" and "defeats" and her beliefs around food, weight and dieting.

Over the years, Oprah has tried a variety of exercise regimes, diets and other punishing behaviors - all while being viewed weekly on television. While some of her decisions have not been the healthiest decisions, they have certainly been human, and they have gotten people from all over the world to think and talk about their own situations.

What I love is that Oprah has learned a lot and has had some major shifts in her thinking over the years. In 2005 I found this quote:

What I've learned through my thirteen-year ordeal with weight is that you can't really begin to work on the physical until you first get at what's holding you back emotionally. The reason we don't move forward in our lives is because of the fears that hold us back, the things that keep us from being who we are meant to be.

Oprah certainly didn't yet have her body image issues sorted out, but she was changing her thinking. In 2009, after more struggles, she said:

What I've learned this year is that my struggle isn't about eating less or working out harder, or even about a malfunctioning thyroid. It's about my life being out of balance, with too much work and not enough play, not enough time to calm down. I let the well run dry ... I don't have a weight problem—I have a self-care problem that manifests through weight...When I stop and ask myself, "What am I really hungry for?" the answer is always "I'm hungry for balance, I'm hungry to do something other than work."

I like Oprah's honesty. I admire her persistence and her dedication to looking for the answers. I respect her for sharing her journey with us all, and not being afraid to say she may have gotten it wrong earlier. I have heard people say her messages around weight and body image are confusing and conflicting, and they are probably be right, but in all reality, anyone who battles with their weight and body image is often confused and conflicted.

I think Oprah is a real heroine for sharing this journey openly, honestly and humbly. Through sharing her story with us, she has inspired many (including me!) to explore their own issues around weight, food and dieting from a variety of perspectives.



Karen Mann is an artist, art teacher, Lifestyle Coach, FasterEFT Practitioner and SoulCollage® Facilitator and Trainer. Karen has been working with SoulCollage® since 2004. Karen offers regular workshops in Melbourne and Geelong, Australia and also runs SoulCollage® Facilitator Training weekends. Karen's passion is using SoulCollage® combined with FasterEFT to help others to gently remove unconscious blockages around food, weight and dieting. For more information, or to contact Karen, please visit her website, Flying Colours Creativity or her blog Stop Weighting, Start Living.
 

KaleidoSoul Creations
As promised, we are featuring SoulCollage® cards from our readers in each issue.

Each card below is a Heroine from one SoulCollager's Deck.  
  

 


Oprah (Grace)
Community Suit
Linda
Colorado

 I am one who has risen from abuse and grown a healing heart.
I am one who shares my light and newborn life.
I am one who shares God's Grace.
Never give up.
Keep getting up.
Share your successes and the knowledge you have gained from your failures.
Allow God's Grace to shine in you and through you.
Every time you feel the Sun's warmth on your face, you will remember God's Grace.
Every time you raise your arms, feel God's Grace flowing through you and renewing your strength.





Georgia O'Keeffe
Community Suit
Dawn
New York

I am the One Who is your First Inspiration to be an artist.
I want you to find your own way to paint.
Study your own brush strokes.
Trust in your Genius.





Julia Butterfly Hill
Community Suit
Cindy
Oregon

I am one who lives by heart.
I follow my instincts to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
I listen to the wind, and to nature in all of her glory and I learn from her.
I am one who is willing to go out on a limb for my truth.






Seena Frost
Community Suit
Anne Marie
Massachusetts

I am the one who is artist, creator, poet, listener.
I am the one who believes in the power of creativity and self-exploration.
I am the one whose gift of SoulCollage® touches the world again and again.

 


Please feel free to submit one of your cards for a future issue by sending a reply email to this newsletter.


Future themes include:
Wild Woman Archetype
Money
Community Suit: Family
 
 

KaleidoSoul Notes
KaleidoSoul Notes

Noteworthy resources for anyone interested in SoulCollage®

Facilitator TrainingsFacilitator Trainings: Information about content and dates/locations of upcoming trainings of SoulCollage® Facilitators.


SoulCollage websiteSoulCollage 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®!
NEW PRODUCT:

Brand new CD!
Guided Meditations
with Anne Marie Bennett
 

Ready for some relaxation, imagination and some visits to
your beautiful inner world?
Then you are ready for this new CD!

Perfect for:
1. personal use
2. Facilitators leading workshops.

Available as:
1. CD
2. MP3 download
3. written script
4. MP3 + script
5. all of the above

Save 20% - Sale Ends June 15
Use Coupon Code LISTEN
Visit this page for more info now.

 
New E-Book:
 

 

 CONTACT US:

Upcoming SoulCollage® Retreats
MASSACHUSETTS

Only 2 Weeks Until...
Turning Towards Peace:
A 3 Night Retreat for Women - 1 space left!
Rolling Ridge Retreat Center, Andover MA
June 15 - 18, 2011
Facilitators: Anne Marie Bennett, Anne Boedecker
REGISTRATION DEADLINE THIS WEEK


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. The card making tables will be set up round the clock all three days, so you can make SoulCollage® cards while breakout sessions are going on, in the middle of the night, and in your jammies by the light of the moon if you want! The focus of our breakout sessions during this retreat will be using our cards to deepen our soul work. We'll be building relationships with our cards as we work with them in various ways: writing, movement, and readings.

Save $100
Use Coupon Code PEACE. Visit this KaleidoSoul page now.


WISCONSIN
 

Rediscover Your Creative Self with SoulCollage®
Willard, WI

July 29-31, 2011
Facilitator: Audrey Chowdhury, MS, ATR-BC


Are you longing to reconnect with the part of you that knows the power of creativity to heal? Would you like the opportunity to spend a weekend immersed in the SoulCollage® process? This is your opportunity to allow your inner healer to work some magic on you. Art therapist, Audrey Chowdhury will gently guide you through this journey into inspired card creation and sharing. Guided imagery and musical soul-journeying will be offered to help transport you to a healing place within. Relax and refresh your creative spirit at The Christine Center, a beautiful wooded retreat center in northern Wisconsin.

Registration info here.



NEW MEXICO
 

SoulCollage® at Ghost Ranch
Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico
October 2-8, 2011
Facilitator: Kat Kirby


Immerse yourself in the soul-satisfying process of SoulCollage® for a wonderful week in the beautiful landscape of northern New Mexico. This is Georgia O'Keeffe country, where she lived and painted. Discover your soul's true voice as you enter the beautiful world of imagery and intuition. You will learn how you can consult your cards for self-exploration and understanding. The SoulCollage® process recognizes the One-ness of our existence as well as the Many parts of ourselves. This workshop is perfect for beginners and for those who have already started their SoulCollage® journey. Kat Kirby, Registered Art Therapist, SoulCollage® Facilitator and Trainer, and workshop leader from San Diego, will be your guide.

Registration Info Here

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 2011,
by Anne Marie Bennett and Karen Mann.
Articles may be reprinted by permission only.