Soul Treasures
Discovering the depths of our precious inner beauty through SoulCollage®
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KaleidoSoul's Members-Only Weekly Newsletter
Issue #8- May 22, 2006
Quotation of the Week
We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.
--- Thich Nhat Hanh
Inner Journeys
Integrating the Practice of SoulCollage® into Your Daily Life
True Community
 On Saturday I was fortunate and blessed to celebrate my 50th birthday, and to share that celebration with 40 friends and close family members at a festive fiesta/party at my house. It was a wonderful day, one that I will remember forever, because it was a definitive moment in my life. It was the day that I finally realized what Community really is.
There were people at my birthday party from all the different bits and pieces of my life. My oldest brother and his wife, my college roommate and her husband, SoulCollage friends, theatre friends, breast cancer survivor friends, Jeff's brother and his partner, a family I made friends with at a church I attended years ago, and some couples that Jeff and I are friends with.
At first it was really odd to me, seeing all of these people in my house at the same time. Odd, but not so odd, because the couples were in the dining room, and family members were in the kitchen, and my Soul Sisters were in the family room.... as happens at parties similar to this one.
But then my brother-in-law (who's an awesome cook!) brought out my birthday cake, complete with purple and turquoise colored sugar, rainbow candles, and bright, sizzling sparklers shooting out from the sides! Everyone gathered together in the dining room to sing Happy Birthday to me and to watch me blow out the candles.
And as they were singing to me, all of them, in one place, I was keenly aware of that one full, breathtaking moment. All of my Community gathered around me (well, okay, not all of them, but you get the idea!), singing to me, beaming at me with love and smiles that offered great competition to those lit sparklers on my cake.
This is the moment that I will take with me from my 50th birthday celebration. I will take it with me and treasure it forever with joy and gratitude. What better gift could I receive on this special occasion, than the gift of the presence of family and friends (and the occasional cat wandering through, looking for handouts!) all in one place at one time?
Reflection/activity of the week: Throw yourself a party where all the different people in your Community come together in one place. If you can't do that anytime soon, then try out this week's SoulCollage Card Challenge posted on the KaleidoSoul Inner Surprises Blog.
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
Did you know they make a special type of Mod Podge glue for paper only? Try it! It doesn't make the paper curl! It also makes a nice coating on top of the card so that all the pieces stay flat.
---from Cheryl in Illinois
Question of the Week
Is it okay to make a Community card for someone who has had a negative impact on my life?
That all depends on what you mean by "negative." If you mean that they helped you to grow somehow in spite of that darker energy, then by all means yes... make a card to honor them. If the part they played in your life did not serve you in some way, then I would think twice before I made a card for them. Seena says that the Community Suit is for those who "offer you the 'net' of their love and wisdom, and also 'net' you with their demands and challenges." (p. 23, SoulCollage).
Whenever I'm trying to decide about making a SoulCollage card for someone who "challenged" me in a relationship (whether intimate, working, or social), I ask myself this question: If I make a card for this person and then draw it in a future reading, will the "voice" of that card have something helpful to say to me? If I can imagine that it will, then I go ahead and make the card. If not, then I realize I'm not quite ready to make that card yet and I let it be.
Do you have a unique idea to share with others who are practicing SoulCollage,
or a question about SoulCollage®
that you'd like answered?
Send your ideas and 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!
Anne Boedecker
Concord, New Hampshire
Namaste! I am a 55-year-old transpersonal psychologist. I never thought of myself as an artist until I discovered collage. I went to my first expressive arts collage workshop in February of 2005. It was an incredible experience - I had so much to "say" that I hadn't been able to express verbally, and finally a way to tap into and put onto paper that depth of experience.....I was hooked.
I bought Seena Frost's book and started experimenting with different size collages. I found Anne-Marie's web-site and workshops last fall, but it took until January to get to one.
I've been making SoulCollage cards ever since - I think I have over 100 by now. Some I do the traditional way and some I do using the CollageMaker software program.
Making the cards has been a joyful healing and soul-talking adventure! It allows me to express things I can't find words for, and access parts of myself I'd long forgotten. And I like what comes out so much I'm even beginning to think of myself as an artist.
Please visit my website.
Here are 2 of my favorite SoulCollage® cards:
The Great Mother
Suit: Council
I am the One who holds all in my loving arms. I am Mother to the world, caring for all of life. I am the Universal Mother who guides and cares for all mothers. I bring you strong soft warm maternal feelings, the urge to nurture that you feel in the core of your being. I remind you to relax and let yourself emanate warmth and love. I remind you to relax and let yourself feel nurtured.
Desert Mermaid
Suit: Council
I am your Muse, your Creative Inspiration. I rise up unexpectedly, in the middle of the desert, out of a Wellspring you didn't even know was there. I am the One who shows you beauty in surprising places. I am the One who seduces you away from your work and into your studio. I bring you new life and sweet surrender to the unknown. I remind you to cherish the unexpected.
You might also enjoy browsing through Anne's Photo Album
at the KaleidoSoul Community Group over at Yahoo.
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
Making the most of your KaleidoSoul Membership
Keep track of all of your member benefits on the Kindred Spirits Home Page.
If you're having trouble viewing the Home Page in the above link, try this Text-Only Kindred Spirits Home Page.
 Looking for help with figuring out what your SoulCollage cards mean? Try the new e-book How To Interpret Your SoulCollage® Cards in the Members-Only KaleidoSoul Shop.
And remember, as a Kindred Spirit... everything there is yours for half price!
The next Members-Only tele-class has been rescheduled to this Thursday May 25 @ 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 other aspects of the Community Suit. Plus there'll be time for questions as well as plenty of time for idea sharing.
IMPORTANT: Click here for a list of what to bring to the class!
Please note: sometime today I'll be sending out another email invitation to join this class (for $10.00) to everyone on the Soul Songs list. Please disregard that invitation.... because YOU are coming and paying NOTHING !!!
 Soul Nourishment
Books, music, movies & websites to support your inner work as you dive deeper into your soul....
Books:
The Heart of the Soul- by Gary Zukav. I'm reading this one now and finding it immensely helpful. It's all about emotional awareness- being aware of your feelings every moment (which in actuality is a bit harder than it sounds!). But there's wisdom in this process, and it's helping me to slow down and really hear all those "inner voices.
Snow Melting in a Silver Bowl- a Book of Active Meditations, by Nancy Brady Cunningham and Denise Geddes. Simple ceremonies and peaceful meditations, combined with lovely black and white photographs make this book a must-have to help you make every day sacred.
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!
Once In A Red Moon- by Secret Garden. A friend of mine sent me this for my birthday a few years ago. I had never heard of them, but now I'm addicted! Here's the official description: The duo of Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry and pianist-composer Rolf Lovland refine their specialty of making classical/contemporary/Celtic mini-epics in small orchestral and choral settings. Moreover, each piece elicits reflection, celebration, or atonement with the divine.
Dream Palace: Troika II- by David Arkenstone. I'm listening to this CD as I write this (found it in the library!), and am finding it soothing, mystical, and heavenly. Great idea to write your card interpretations with this in the background (or in your ears!).
Movies:
The Ice Princess- a sweet story that goes a bit deeper than you might think at first look. It's about a high school senior with a gift for mathematics, whose real passion is ice skating. It's also about how she finds a way to follow her passion, even when everyone and everything around her is urging her to go in the other direction. Watch this with a friend and a bowl of popcorn.... and ask yourselves, "What is my passion, and am I really doing everything I can to follow it?"
Websites:
Ten Two Studios- great images on this site, as well as some articles on altered books, art dolls, background techniques, and more.
Tera's Wish- Whether your goal is to be a better artist or a better person, there are certain characteristics that you must cultivate. Among them: integrity, honesty, and a loving spirit towards others. Without them, you can achieve success, but you cannot achieve happiness or greatness. The articles here are about cultivating these characteristics and advice on how to cope with others who do not have them.
You Are Beautiful...Pass It On- Send for a pack of stickers that say YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL on them, and stick them anywhere and everywhere! An awesome idea, and you can be a part of passing on the idea of inner beauty.
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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