Soul Songs: Your SoulCollage NewsletterSoulSongs
Your SoulCollage® Newsletter

Enabling us to sing the songs
we were born to sing
through the practice
of SoulCollage®
Issue #51   September, 2009 Theme:  Feeling Sexy
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.



You're As Sexy As You Think You Are

Let me be perfectly honest with you. I have been putting off writing this column for weeks now. Usually I am all about this column. Usually I sit down a few weeks ahead of time and the words simply flow from my mind to my fingers to the keyboard. This column is a bit different, I'm afraid.

And yes, I am the one who chooses the themes for these newsletter issues! But when I chose it several months ago, I wasn't really thinking about what I would actually write… I was thinking about how it seems to be a topic that could use a little SoulCollage® magic touch, especially in my own life.

A couple of years ago, I explored my sexuality within the safe practice of SoulCollage® by making and working with two cards: Sexual Re-Emergence and Low Libido. You can see both of these cards and read about how I worked with them on this page of my blog, Inner Surprises.

As for feeling sexy, I still haven't quite gotten there yet! My body, mind and spirit are still recovering from the after-effects of surgery, chemo, and radiation that I went through in 2002 for breast cancer. But yesterday I read something in Denise Linn's book, Secrets and Mysteries: The Glory and Pleasure of Being a Woman, that really resonated with me.

The author describes an acquaintance of hers who isn't especially attractive (pocked skin, drooping shoulders, walks with a limp) but who exudes a certain sexual radiance when she enters a room. She asked the woman if she knew why she had such a mesmerizing effect on people. Her response was, "I have a sense of my own style and my own presence. Even though I am insecure in many ways, I also know that I am a remarkable woman. Every woman has something about her that is amazing, but very few truly believe it. Even though I don't fit the normal view of beauty, I know I am desirable, radiant, and sensual. People are drawn to a woman who is comfortable with who she is."

That rang really true to my soul, and it is something that I am working towards in my own life. I believe that each of us really does have an inner committee part who is as sexy as Marilyn Monroe, or Jennifer Lopez (or whoever you consider sexy). My job is to coax her out of hiding in the shadows of my life. She has been on the fringes of my being for way too long.

Thank you to all of you who so generously shared your "feeling sexy" cards with us in this issue. Perhaps they will inspire all of us to claim and reclaim our own inner Sexy One, even if we have disconnected from her for whatever reasons.

Recommended Reading:

I Deserve Love, by Sondra Ray. Excellent book on working with simple affirmations to increase your own sexual self-esteem. Note that this link takes you to Amazon where you can purchase previously owned copies of the book a really big discounts.
 
Recommended Listening:

Choosing Me! Finding Comfort, Joy and Beauty in the Me I am Now, by Karen Caterson. Wonderful 15 minute mp3 download of a guided meditation in Karen's comforting, soothing voice.
 
 
Anne Marie Bennett is a freelance writer, self-taught artist, SoulCollage® Facilitator and Facilitator Trainer who trained with Seena Frost. Her background is elementary education, computer software training, writing, and mixed media art. She lives, laughs, writes, and sings (and makes her own SoulCollage® cards!) in Beverly, MA. More of Anne Marie's cards/interpretations are available on her blog, Inner Surprises.
 

 
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. 



Confidently Sexy?


When Anne Marie told me about the topic for this column I was a little dismayed and wrote back to her, saying I wasn't sure how much I could add to this topic as I wasn't feeling "very sexy" at the moment. After Anne Marie shared her column with me, it became clear that I was not the only one who isn't "feeling sexy" at the moment!

So I did some research. Here are some thoughts from others about what makes someone "sexy".
  • Any piece of clothing can be sexy with a quietly passionate woman inside it. — Anonymous
     
  • No matter what a woman looks like, if she's confident, she's sexy. — Paris Hilton
     
  • Do I consider myself sexy? I all depends on the way I'm feeling. When I'm happy inside, that's when I feel most sexy. —Anna Kournikova
     
  • A great figure or physique is nice, but it's self-confidence that makes someone really sexy. — Vivica Fox
     
  • I think people are sexy when they have a sense of humor, when they are smart, when they have some sense of style, when they are kind, when they express their own opinions, when they are creative, when they have character. — Suzanne Vega
These quotes define sexy as:
  • Being passionate
  • Having confidence (x2)
  • Being happy
  • Having a sense of humour
  • Being smart
  • Having a sense of style
  • Being kind
  • Expressing your own opinions
  • Being creative
  • Having character
Isn't it remarkable that being sexy isn't about external factors like having a perfect body or amazing clothes, and it isn't about pouting lips and long flowing hair? It's actually all about inner qualities that shine through from within.

When I look at this list, I would say that I possess most of these characteristics, except at times I lack confidence. Interestingly, the card in my SoulCollage® deck I immediately thought about when this topic was mentioned was my "Female Confidence" card. It seems that subconsciously, I already was aware of the missing ingredient.

Part of the message that my "Female Confidence" card shares with me is:

I am the one who is confident and free. I am comfortable in my own skin and happy being me. The advice I give you about feeling sexy is believe in yourself and allow yourself to show others just how great you are. Self-doubt and worrying about what others think of you is not sexy. Trusting that you are "good enough" and sharing your strengths & gifts with the world is sexy. You don't have to TRY to be sexy- just be your true self and allow your unique gifts to show, and you will BE sexy.

So I'm off to be my authentic self, and to let others see the real me which I will share with confidence. As I practice this, and become more confident, I trust I will appear more sexy to others and feel more sexy myself. I will stop stressing about not having the "perfect" body, and start working on my self esteem and confidence. I will be confident and sexy because I am confident and sexy!


Karen Mann is an artist, art teacher, Lifestyle Coach, yoga and meditation teacher, and SoulCollage® facilitator. Karen has been working with SoulCollage® cards for more than four years and facilitates a variety of SoulCollage® Groups. Karen also runs SoulCollage® Facilitator Training weekends. Karen offers regular workshops in Melbourne and Geelong, Australia, and is also available to travel to other regions in Australia. For more information, or to contact Karen, please visit her website, Flying Colours Creativity.

Follow us on Tw itter!

  
Friend us on Facebook!

 

KaleidoSoul Creations

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

Each card below is one SoulCollager's expression of Feeling Sexy.
 
   

Rebirth of Inner Venus
Judy
Massachusetts

I am one who has broken through the chains that held me back from love and closeness and sensuality. I am one who births a new unfolding to allow my heart to be struck by cupid's arrow, my body to be seen and felt, my soul to be merged with another. I am the one who now sees the naked truth and will not hold back my dreams of knowing the ecstasy of lovers' union.



Feeling Sexy
Mirabai
California/Italy

I am the one who is feeling sexy. I love to be playful, even on the washing machine. I am the one who loves to look eye-to-eye with the man while lovemaking. I like to play twister with my lover. I am the one who is a sexy desired woman.



Sensuality and Healing - Aphrodite
Kara
Washington

I am One Who reminds you of your beauty, your sensuality, and the healing that occurs when you walk in the world, knowing who you really are. I am Aphrodite, goddess of love, keeper of your innermost heart and deepest passions.



The One Who Likes to Wear Leopard Print
Heather
British Columbia, Canada

I Am One Who feels delightfully naughty and playful when I wear leopard print, even when it's mostly for campy fun. I Am One who feels more bold and attention-getting in leopard print.


To see some more "Feeling Sexy" SoulCollage® cards from our readers please visit this KaleidoSoul page now.
 
 

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

Future themes include:

Second Chakra Animals
Prayer
Third Chakra Animals
Creative Muse
 
 
 

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®.


Tele-Classes - These are fun, interactive tele-classes that are easily accessed from anywhere in the world. 
 
This month's tele-class is:
Movement and SoulCollage®: Blossoming Your Inner Dancer
Lisa Thornbury-Clark
SoulCollage® Facilitator in Ohio.
  There are more details on this KaleidoSoul page.


Kindred Spirits Join our fast-growing worldwide membership of people who put the "soul" in SoulCollage®! Receive a weekly newsletter all about SoulCollage®, advance notice of new SoulCollage® materials, half- price discounts on all e-courses and e-books in the KaleidoSoul Shop And more!

Join Kindred Spirits
 

 
Soul Songs Back Issues - Read back issues of Soul Songs on this KaleidoSoul page. An excellent resource. 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 2009,
by Anne Marie Bennett and Karen Mann.
Articles may be reprinted by permission only.