Soul Treasures
Discovering the depths of our precious inner beauty through SoulCollage®
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KaleidoSoul's Members-Only Weekly Newsletter
Issue #2- April 10, 2006
Quotation of the Week
Saying no can
be the ultimate self-care.
---Claudia Black
Soul Wisdom
from Anne Marie Bennett
 I remember one time in my early 30's when I was having some, shall we say, "codependent issues" with my boyfriend. I had worked myself into an unhealthy state of isolation (although I couldn't see that then) and felt like I was drowning in this man's problems. He was living with me; I was supporting him. I pretty much had no life of my own.
I knew I needed help, so I drove three hours to spend the afternoon with my big brother, John, who was (is) a social worker and family therapist. After listening to me for over an hour, he did a strange thing. He asked me to stand up. Then he stood in front of me and told me to say "No" to him. And not just once, but many times, over and over. He encouraged me to get louder each time. He encouraged me to pretend he was my boyfriend as I said "no" to him again and again.
At first I couldn't do it! I collapsed into giggles on the sofa. But he kept encouraging me and pretty soon I was shouting angry NO's that could be heard on the other side of town. It was a clear moment of awakening for me. I had the option to say no to someone, to something that wasn't for my highest good. Up until that moment, I had no idea that this was a possibility. And after that, I actually was able to go back to my apartment and say to my boyfriend, "You need to find your own place to live." And he did! Which gave me back a piece of my self that I had forgotten existed.
I urge you to find a way to say "no" to something or someone this week. Perhaps there is someone who is infringing on your personal time. Maybe a job situation or relationship has become intolerable. There might be an inner voice who is berating you or judging you. I promise that when you say your "no" in a big way and really mean it, you will feel a wonderful, joyful YES bubbling up in your whole being. Because saying NO can be one of the most positive, healthy steps you can take.
Reflection activity of the week: Practice saying NO out loud when you are alone in your car. Scream it, chant it, sing it, quack it like a duck if you have to... but say it out loud over and over until you are comfortable with the feel of it on your lips. What do you need to say NO to in your life, in order to allow the YES to come through?
SoulCollage® Expressions
Idea of the Week
When doing your SoulCollage card interpretations, try holding your paper horizontally instead of vertically once in a while. Blank paper works best for this idea, so that you're not writing across vertical lines! I find that changing the paper like this really gives my imagination a much-needed jolt sometimes!
---From Cheryl in Illinois
We'd love to hear from you!
Question of the Week
I've made a beautiful SoulCollage® card, but I just don't know what it means! I've tried doing the I AM THE ONE WHO exercise with it but nothing comes to me. What should I do?
It might be a good idea to put it in your deck and forget about it for a while. I still have several cards like that! What I've found is that as the days and months go by, their meanings become clear to me one by one. I may read an article or a story, or hear a friend talking about a movie she just saw and suddenly I will see a connection to one of my cards. Then and only then will I begin working with it by doing the I Am The One Who exercise, or journaling with it.
Have a question about SoulCollage®
that you'd like answered?
Send your questions to members@KaleidoSoul.com.
We'll try to use your question (along with an answer, of course!) in an upcoming issue of Soul Treasures.
Soul Friends
The voice of a different Kindred Spirit each week!
Michelle Doucette Cunningham- Manchester, CT
I'm 39 years old, married, and the mother of a 6 year old daughter and two beagles. I started doing a little bit of other types of collage work (along the lines of Somerset Studio magazine) almost two years ago when I was suddenly laid off from a job I had at one time loved, kind of as a form of self-directed art therapy. I found SoulCollage when I stumbled across Seena Frost's book at my local library.
I had read Carolyn Myss' Sacred Contracts a few months before (which I also stumbled across fortuitously in my local library) and had started to think about my own inner archetypes, and was thrilled to see how neatly the SoulCollage process dovetailed with this exploration.
And now I'm hooked! I'm back to working full-time (and then some) outside the home and now try to squeeze in art work in tiny increments between all my other commitments. I love SoulCollage because it is spontaneous, intuitive and right-brained, and teaches me a lot about myself in a different way than I usually approach things.
SoulCollage has helped me the most by giving me images that go with the voices in my head, and helping me to identify them and dialogue with them. For example, I made an Inner Athlete card (although I've never been particularly athletic) that encourages me to get up and get moving-- so now when I hear my Inner Critic that tells me I'm too fat, I can answer that voice both visually and in words to counter her negative comments with a positive action, such as taking the dogs for a walk.
For those who are new to SoulCollage, I would encourage you to never dismiss an image that you have a strong emotion toward, even if you think it's ugly or disturbing. Some of my most useful cards have come from using images that I don't especially like, but that evoked a strong negative reaction from me, like my "Saboteur" (see below). It came from a large poster, but I cut out the eyes which seemed to haunt me. In writing about this card I have found some of the reasons why I sometimes sabotage my own efforts to make my life better, and it has helped me to continue on with my life- improvement efforts when I hear his voice in my head and would have otherwise stopped myself.
I have started posting my cards on a blog, Soul Sister Studio, inspired by my compatriots on the KaleidoSoul Community Yahoo group who have done so already. I use it mainly as a way to keep all my SoulCollage cards and links in one place. I would love to link to other websites and blogs about SoulCollage, so let me know it I've missed any!
2 of my favorite SoulCollage® cards:
 Pattern-Keeper
Council Suit
I am the one who watches the crystal in the center. I am the guardian of the circle, the shaman who makes sure that everything remains aligned. I know the spiral- in and out- through the rocks, through the impermanence of the sand to the crystal at the inner core. I am the force that keeps the fire all through the night, protecting life from the middle of the desert.
I give you ability to focus and concentrate on your inner spiritual core, watching over you through the night, keeping what's holy alive. I provide the wisdom at the end of the day, acknowledging that every dusk precedes a dawn.
I want you to focus on what's important and guard what's holy.
Saboteur
Council Suit
I am the one who undermines your plans and good intentions. I sabotage your health, your success, your relationships. I'm the one who keeps you from following your intuition. No tricks are too dirty for me, too underhanded. I provide the antithesis to allow you to value your still, small voice inside-- without the dark there is no light.
I want you to forget your power, or to misuse it, to live in the fog of materialism and guilt and overeating.
Want to share your SoulCollage story and cards with other
KaleidoSoul Kindred Spirits?
Send them to members@kaleidosoul.com.
We'd love to hear from YOU!
Kindred Spirits Member News
Making the most of your KaleidoSoul Membership
Thursday April 20 @ 8:30 pm (EST)- join us for a one hour teleclass on Making SoulCollage Cards Intuitively. We'll talk about ways to bring intuition into your everyday life as well as to the SoulCollage process. To sign up, send a BLANK email to soulcollage@aweber.com.
There are several e-books and one e-course in the Members-Only KaleidoSoul Shop. Take a look and see what's new! And don't forget, as a member, all of the items are HALF PRICE!
And check out all of your member benefits on the Kindred Spirits Home Page.
 Soul Nourishment
Books, movies & websites to support your inner work as you dive deeper into your soul....
Books:
Saying No: A User's Manual- by Karen Bading. This is a very small book with a very big message! WIth pages for journaling, sketching, and reflection, it lives up to its title, and then some. All about giving yourself permission to draw boundaries, to say no to anything that stops you from being your authentic self.
Stop Being Mean To Yourself: A Story About Finding the True Meaning of Self-Love- by Melody Beattie. This book had a powerful impact on me in the 90's when it was published. It's part travel adventure (Northern Africa) and part spiritual quest. Very powerful, real, honest writing.
I Am A Woman Finding My Voice- by Janet Quinn.
This is still one of my favorite books and I take it off the shelf when I need a reminder of who I am, and how I am connected to other women. Contains over 100 (1-2 page) short essays which celebrate the blessings of being a woman. Examples of essay titles: I am a woman saying no.... I am a woman saying yes... I am a woman forgiving myself... I am a woman who sleeps alone... I am a woman choosing bliss... I am a woman owning my fears... You just might get some more ideas for parts of yourself to honor with SoulCollage cards in this book!
Movies:
Miss Firecracker- starring Holly Hunter and Tim Robbins. This warm, witty, sometimes-funny, sometimes-sad film is about people who choose to say "no" to living the life that everyone thinks they "should" lead. The two leads play people who really deeply know who they are, in spite of how others see them.
Websites:
The School of the Seasons - open to anyone who is weary of the frantic pace of modern life, who wants to slow down, connect with the natural world, and live a life filled with heart and meaning. Each season has its own flavor, captured in the folklore of seasonal holidays, preserved in rituals and recipes, ceremonies and songs.
Melissa Harris Creatrix- awesome images of women for your SoulCollage cards
The Spirited Woman - is fun, vibrant, joyful, and believes in her own "enoughness." This site is all about Spirited Women. Why not visit, surf around, and then make a SoulCollage card to honor your spirited woman?
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Published by KaleidoSoul.com and Anne Marie Bennett.
Please do not reproduce or forward this newsletter in any way.
Soul Wisdom from Anne Marie Bennett - copyright 2006. All rights reserved.
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