Soul Treasures
Discovering the depths of our precious inner beauty through SoulCollage®
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KaleidoSoul's Members-Only Weekly Newsletter
Issue #9- May 29, 2006
Quotation of the Week
There is a rainbow in you stronger than steel. --- Megan Doherty
Inner Journeys
Integrating the Practice of SoulCollage® into Your Daily Life
Walking My Internal Red Carpet
 A while ago I came across an article in the Boston Globe about Jenifer Hoffman, a local woman who had just started a new company called Emotional Armor (see link below). Ms. Hoffman designs t-shirts with a difference- each one has an empowering message on it.
There are shirts for little girls that say affirmative things like: I Believe in Me, The Gift, I Am the Knight, and Princess: Not In Need of Rescue. Boys' shirts proclaim: I Can Do It, Ambassador of Peace, and The Power of One... to name a few. Some of the affirmations on the adult shirts are: Write Your Own Happy Ending, Forward Momentum, and Unwritten.
But my favorite of all favorites is the one that says Walking My Internal Red Carpet.
I absolutely adore the image of this "internal red carpet." I absolutely believe that every one of us should have easy and often access to it.
Imagine the possibilities! Go inside your imagination to a very special place, and lay the red carpet down yourself. Make sure it's long and clean and velvety soft. Then slip on your sexiest, most beautiful long dress. Don't forget the diamonds and sapphires for good measure! Now... it's time to walk that internal red carpet. Lined up on either side of it are all your most adoring fans (and face it, even if you're having a bad day, week, month, or year... you DO have a crowd of admirers who love to cheer you on). Visualize all of your Community members, those Committee parts who exist to help you, any Council Spirit Guides, and all of your animal Companions. Allow them all to be present for you. Walk this Internal Red Carpet alone, and bask in the joy and well-wishes of all of your supporters and devotees. Absorb their cheering, their words, their love.
Then take that admiration back with you into your "real" world. Allow those admirers and adoring fans to accompany you through your daily tasks, and see if your day takes on a whole new dimension.
Reflection/activity of the week: Who is cheering you on as you walk your own internal red carpet? Make a SoulCollage card for the part of you who enjoys this frenetic, pampered attention. Make a note of some of your inner admirers that you would like to create a SoulCollage card for.
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
Use an accordian style folder for organizing your unused images. These folders/envelopes come in many sizes and colors and are usually found in the office supply section of any store.
Question of the Week
Can I make two SoulCollage cards for the same person in my Community Suit?
Yes! This would be appropriate when you wanted to focus on a different quality or "voice" of one person or animal in your Community. For example, you could have a card for your mother, and a card for your father, plus a card for them as a couple/parenting team. You could have a card that represents your entire family, plus a card for each person in that family group. A friend of mine has a card to honor her husband, plus a card to honor her marriage, which also includes a picture of him.
Or you might make a card for a friend and then as the friendship grows and changes over the months/years you might decide to make another card for that same friend to honor the new place of your relationship.
As with all things SoulCollage, pretty much anything goes.... and your cards are limited only by your imagination!
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!
Toni Bailie
Paisley, Oregon
I've been an
Oregon
licensed massage therapist since 1994. For many years, I have been drawn to workshops and retreats that deepen my spiritual journey. I have kept a journal that is a log of that journey since I was a teenager. As an offshoot of my massage practice, I have facilitated one-day women's relaxation retreats.
In 2004, I was browsing through a bookstore in
Ashland
,
Oregon
, searching for ideas that would work at our upcoming retreat. I discovered Seena Frost's book on SoulCollage.
I was captivated by the process and began making cards. My husband, who also delights in soulful exploration, also began making a deck of cards. I introduced the women at our retreat to the process. In February 2005, my friend Charlene and I attended a SoulCollage Facilitator Workshop in
Santa Cruz
...we met Seena, Kylea and Varuna. What a powerful and deep weekend of sharing!
Charlene and I returned with a desire to form a women's sharing circle based on SoulCollage. We gathered five other women who had attended my women's retreat. I gave a four-hour introductory class and we all began making cards. We have been meeting once a month for over a year, and the sharing based on our cards has been so rich, meaningful and supportive for all of us.
I have facilitated introductory workshops in
Oregon
at
Salem
and
Bend
....also at the October conference of the Oregon State Massage Therapists Association at Breitenbush Hot Springs. I was invited to teach SoulCollage in 90-minute sessions for five weeks at the Matrix, an art therapy group comprised of mentally ill and developmentally disabled clients of the
Lake
County
Mental
Health
Center
. That was a wonderful experience for both me and the clients.
SoulCollage is a powerful way to get in touch with my deep, inner self and explore the dimensions of my spiritual journey. I use it in my own spiritual practice, incorporating it into my ongoing journal. It's also a wonderful way to share with my husband, grandchildren (see above photo!) and close friends. I never thought I had artistic talent, but I have produced beautiful cards that amaze me.
SoulCollage cards have also helped me work through my feelings of loss and grief when my mother died and several close friends died. It is a wonderful tool for times of bereavement and transition.
If you are intrigued by the idea of self-discovery and growth through SoulCollage, sit down and begin. Once you begin making cards, you get captivated by the process. You can gain much from personal use of the cards, but I recommend forming a sharing group. This deepens your insights and doubles the magic of using the cards.
Here are 2 of my favorite SoulCollage® cards:
The Elder
Suit: Committee
I am the one who is feeling the loss of my mother, father, aunts and uncles. I miss them so much, especially the extended family gatherings. Now I am one of the elders, and I have my grandchildren looking to me to pass on the family heritage and the wisdom and love I have to share.
The Weaver
Suit: Council
I am the one who weaves the fabric of your life into a tapestry of beauty and meaning. All your struggles, joy and pain are part of your journey and you can trust that they are all part of the design.
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.
Remember, as a Kindred Spirit... everything is yours for half price in the Kindred Spirits E-Shop! Take a peek right now and treat yourself to something you've been wanting!
Did you miss last week's Community Suit: Power and Possibilities Tele-Class? Not to worry! We missed you too! Unfortunately, my home phone wasn't equipped for the recording it (but it will be next time!). However, when it was over, I voice-recorded all of the information and highlights for you. It begins with a special guided visualization and ends with a special anam cara blessing, and there's lots of great information in between! You can listen to this 38 minute recording here.
The next Members-Only Tele-Class is Tuesday June 13 @ 6:30 pm (EST)- please put the date on your calendar now. We'll be announcing the details in an upcoming Soul Treasures!
 Soul Nourishment
Books, music, movies & websites to support your inner work as you dive deeper into your soul....
Books:
Kaleidoscope: Artistic Techniques for the Creative Soul, by Elisabeth Keely Wilson. Subtitled An Inner Journey of Self-Expression, this book with beautiful glossy illustrations is full of imaginative ideas, inspiration and examples for expressing yourself with art.
HeartSteps: Prayers and Declarations for a Creative Life, by Julia Cameron. Affirmative readings on living creatively from the author of The Artist's Way. Each entry is short, powerful, practical, and inspirational. Booster shots of wisdom and authenticity!
Answered Prayers: Love Letters from the Divine, by Julia Cameron. I keep a copy of this small book on my altar and read an entry a few times a week. They are written as if directly to me from God, or Spirit, or whatever you call the Divine. Whichever one I randomly choose always seems to speak directly to my soul.
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!
The Book of Secrets, by Loreena McKennitt. If you've never heard McKennitt before, you should definitely give her a listen! These are soft, lyrical vocals with a melodic, Celtic flair.
Ancient Voices, by Ah Nee Mah. Mystical sound, Native American tone. Beautiful.
Movies:
Lovely and Amazing- starring Catherine Keener, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Mortimer, and Jake Gyllenhall (Brokeback Mountain). I've seen this twice now, and found it equally charming and quirky both times. It's the story of a mother with two grown daughters who has adopted a very young African-American girl. All (except perhaps the very young girl!) have their own insecurities and idiosyncracies (inherited from the mother!), and so it's partly a story of how these inner voices get in their way of living peaceful, happy lives. But it's ALSO the story of mothers and daughters who look upon each other as Lovely And Amazing. Much food for inner thought here! And some sweet inner smiles as well. May we ask all of our internal red carpet admirers to call out "You are lovely and amazing" to us every day!
Websites:
Emotional Armor- This is the t-shirt company mentioned in the Inner Journeys essay above. Note that there are also cool shirts for men, babies and young boys and girls. Another great thing about this business is that it is donating most of its net profits to start a cultural enrichment program for children so that the arts can be funded without an added expense to families. In addition, they help to fund a crisis center for abused women and children. Don't forget to scroll down and read the ABOUT US section of this website!
Affirmations for Women- abundant lists of affirmations for you to use in your own inner work. Why not use some of these for your Inner Red Carpet admirers to call out to you as you stride past them?
Isidore of Seville- over 1300 beautiful mermaid images for your SoulCollage cards!
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.
All rights reserved.
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