Soul Treasures
Discovering the depths of our precious inner beauty through SoulCollage®
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KaleidoSoul's Members-Only Weekly Newsletter
Issue #7- May 15, 2006
Quotation of the Week
Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are only princesses waiting for us to act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love. ---Rilke
Soul Wisdom
Integrating the Practice of SoulCollage® into Your Daily Life
Another Way of Seeing
 I went with my husband and some friends last weekend to see the Broadway musical Wicked, on its national tour stop in Boston. Based in part on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked tells the true story of the Wicked Witch in the beloved children's story, The Wizard of Oz.
I won't tell you everything because I don't want to spoil any surprises for you, but I will say this: in the beginning, the Wicked Witch (Elphaba) wasn't wicked. She happened to be born green, a source of shame to her otherwise "normal" family. She had no friends, until she went away to college and met Glinda (who, as you know, turned out to be the "good" witch).
Elphaba was actually kind, intelligent and compassionate. There was quite a lot that happened to make her appear so "wicked." In fact, even in her most "wicked" moments, the audience knows that she isn't wicked at all... it's just a matter of who has told what stories about her, it's just a matter of how she's being perceived that gives her the label "wicked."
At one point, she and a fellow classmate (Fiero) are falling in love. He tells her she is beautiful.
"No, I'm not beautiful. You're lying." she replies, looking away from him.
"It's not lying," Fiero replies passionately. "It's another way of seeing."
And that is the essence of the story. Another way of seeing. Fiero had taken the time to really see Elphaba, to look beneath the green skin, to touch the truer beauty that lay beneath.
This is the essence of our own inner lives as well. Another way of seeing the dark, "wicked" parts of our own personalities, another way of seeing what we have until now perceived as dragons. As Rilke says in the quotation above, with courage and love we can now see those "dragons" as hurt beings in need of our tender loving care. It just takes a bit of time, a lot of curiosity and... another way of seeing.
So.... if you have an inner "wicked witch," don't try to melt her with your shame and self-judgement. Invite her to tell you her story. Listen to her as she tells you how she got to be so "wicked." Try, if just for a moment, to see her in another way, a kinder way. You just might discover that she's not as wicked as you thought. You just might find her beautiful too.
Reflection activity of the week: Create a SoulCollage card for your own inner wicked witch, or whatever you call her (or him). Mine is Ethel, my inner critic (see card to right). After your initial interpretation, trying asking the image on the card some other questions, like: What are you most afraid of?
If you already have a card for this part of you, spend some time this week dialoguing with it. Pay attention to when and where in your life this voice blocks you from being your brightest self. If you like, share your card and discoveries with us at the KaleidoSoul Community Group.
Anne Marie Bennett is a freelance writer, SoulCollage® facilitator, and self-taught artist who enjoys playing with all forms of color and words. She has a BS degree in Education from Southern Connecticut State University and has taught children, teens and adults throughout the East Coast. She is a breast cancer survivor and feels closest to her own soul when she is writing, creating art, teaching, and sharing the gift of SoulCollage with others. Anne Marie lives, writes, laughs, sings (and creates her own SoulCollage cards!) in Beverly, Massachusetts.
SoulCollage® Expressions
Idea of the Week
Be ever on the lookout for unique containers to hold your SoulCollage deck. You can find some beautiful but inexpensive boxes in the home departments of stores like WalMart, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Building 19, and more. Or try gardening shops and gift shops. At home, I store my deck in my grandmother's old sewing basket. It's rectangular, and just wide enough to hold two rows of my cards standing upright. I keep the lid open, with my Source Card right in the middle of it at all times! I also have a "traveling deck" (since I do so many workshops) which I keep in a dark green box shaped like a treasure chest which is painted with butterflies and leaves. I tell my workshop participants that it is a constant reminder to me of the many "inner treasures" in my soul.
Want to share a unique SoulCollage® idea with us?
Send all your cool ideas to members@KaleidoSoul.com.
We'd love to hear from you!
Question of the Week
Do I have to be a trained facilitator to introduce my friends to SoulCollage?
You don't have to be a trained SoulCollage facilitator to practice SoulCollage with your friends. It is important, though, that you always refer to Seena Frost as the originator of the process. I would also strongly suggest that you purchase and read Seena's book before sharing SoulCollage with your friends.
Here are the exact words from Seena's website (www.soulcollage.com) regarding this issue:
We ask that people only use the phrases "SoulCollage facilitator" or "SoulCollage Group" if they have been trained by Seena Frost, author of SoulCollage. Others may say in their advertising that they will be working in the group using the process of SoulCollage® as described in Seena B. Frost's book, "SoulCollage". It seems a small distinction, but it is important to us to use the trademark in certain ways that will gradually become recognizable to people as the work spreads.
Click here for information on upcoming SoulCollage facilitator trainings.
Do you have a question about SoulCollage®
that you'd like answered?
Send your questions to members@KaleidoSoul.com.
We'll try to use your question
in an upcoming issue of Soul Treasures.
Soul Friends
The voice of a different Kindred Spirit each week!
Kathy Tagudin-
Winter Park, Florida
I began doing SoulCollage last February after completing my training to be a Creative Life Coach. Being an artist, I was instantly drawn to the process and wanted to "try it out" on myself before introducing it to clients.
From the moment I made my first card, I was hooked. To this day, I can't believe how cathartic the process can be and what a great tool it is for helping people access their emotions.
Although I love everything about SoulCollage (the art, the glue, the journaling), my favorite part is that it allows me to "make sense of the world inside myself." Right now, I'm in the process of losing a friend to cancer, and SoulCollage allows me to express myself- often before I know I need to.
If you are new to SoulCollage, enjoy the process and have fun. As with anything in life, it's amazing what can happen if you are willing. So have faith, be open, and own your greatness.
Please visit Kathy's website here.
Here are 2 of my favorite SoulCollage® cards:
My Inner Worrier
Suit: Committee
I am the one who searches for answers. I feel stressed by the pressure to figure it all out and I worry about everything, including the fact that I worry too much. No matter how much I search, I can't find what I'm looking for.
Divine Inspiration
Suit: Council
I am the one who puts the gleam in your eye. I allow you to weave thoughts, ideas, and concepts together. I allow you to touch people in ways that are unimaginable. I am the meaning. I am the magic. I surround you-- always.
Would you like 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
The next Members-Only tele-class is this week.... Thursday May 18 @ 7:30 pm (EST)- please join us for a one hour teleclass on Creating Community Cards for Your SoulCollage Deck. Directions for participating: call 319-632-1100. You will be asked for an access code, which is: 131107. It's as simple as that! You will then be connected with the rest of us. This is your opportunity to learn more about the power and possibilities of the Community Suit of your deck. We'll spend a few minutes introducing ourselves, then I'll lead a short meditation on the idea of Community. Next we'll talk about the various kinds of Community Suit cards you can create for your deck. Plus there'll be time for questions as well as plenty of time for idea sharing.
Looking for ways to integrate all of your inner voices? Try the new e-book Come Home To YourSelf Through SoulCollage® in the Members-Only KaleidoSoul Shop. And remember, as a Kindred Spirit... everything there is yours for half price!
 Soul Nourishment
Books, music, movies & websites to support your inner work as you dive deeper into your soul....
Books:
Embracing Your Inner Critic- by Hal Stone. My therapist told me about this book, and it has made a huge difference in helping me to accept "Ethel" my own inner critic (see her SoulCollage card in my column, above). Lots of practical examples and exercises for opening dialog with our inner critics and understanding why they are the way they are.
Taming Your Gremlin- by Richard D. Carson. Wicked witch, inner critic, gremlin... whatever you decide to call it, we all live with this inner voice every day. This creative book (great illustrations!) also shows us how to talk with and understand that part of us which so many of us detest.
Collage With Color- by Jane Davies. Nothing to do with the wicked witch here, but plenty to please your inner artist and playful child! Lots of easy, fun ideas for gorgeous projects. Beautiful photos and simple instructions. Make beautiful backgrounds for your SoulCollage cards too!
Music to SoulCollage with:
Click on the links here and you'll be guided to a page where you can hear a sample of the music!
Wicked: Broadway Musical Soundtrack- even if you don't buy it, click on this link to see the show's logo... and notice how the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch melt right into one another. And the music is wonderful... you don't need to see the show to enjoy this one!
The Essence- by Deva Premal. I first heard her music at a Kripalu retreat. Soothing chants, peaceful, meditative.
Movies:
Crash- starring Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock. The first few scenes are hard to get through because of the rampant evil/wickedness they portray... but the movie is worth it. An excellent portrayal (among other things) of how light and shadow lives in all of us simultaneously.
Websites:
PostSecret- The creator of this popular blog invites readers to express their deepest, darkest secrets on a postcard and mail it in. You can read these "wicked" secrets here. Take a look and see if any remind you of any of your own inner voices.
Self Esteem for Women- Lift your spirits, touch the sky... is the tagline for this site. Take their quiz and see how high your self-esteem is. See if your score goes up after you practice SoulCollage for several months!
All Books For Less- The title says it all here... all the books really are for less, MUCH less. No minimum order either! Search by title, keyword, subject, or your favorite author.
Would you like to share your favorite books, music,
movies and websites
with other KaleidoSoul Kindred Spirits?
Send them to members@kaleidosoul.com.
We'd love to hear from YOU!
Spinning the fragments of your world
into wholeness and beauty
through SoulCollage®
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.
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