0609

Inner

Journeys

withAnne Marie

Bennett

Integratingthe Practice of SoulCollage® into Your Daily

Life

How Many Clouds Does It Take...

A few weeks ago my husband and I were fortunate to spend aweek inSedona,Arizona. Ah...it was wonderful! And while wewere there (on my birthday, no less), we took a Sunset Tour of theGrand Canyon, an experience I highly recommend.

We left our hotel around 11 a.m. and climbed into the vanwith our experienced, happy tour guide (Stevie B.) and began the ascent intothe mountains with 10 other passengers. Hetook us throughFlagstaffand we even stopped at an Indian Reservation for lunch. And later in the afternoon, as we wound ourway around the magnificent mystery that is theGrandCanyon, I noticed a lot of clouds setting in, and I notice my inner "Worrywart" starting to... well, worry.

"It's getting really cloudy," I said to Stevie atdinner. "What about the sunset?" I hadvisions of missing it altogether.

"Hey, the more cloudsthere are, the better the sunset is." And he smiled a wise little smile, as hecontinued eating his salmon.

Well, I must say, I was a bit doubtful. I mean, it was really, really cloudy. But he was absolutely right. It was the most glorious sunset I've everseen.

So how many clouds does it take tomake a beautiful sunset?

As many as Mother Earth provides on any particular day.

Reflection activity: Are there any metaphorical "clouds" inyour life right now? Doodle some cloudson a blank sheet of paper and name these clouds right now. Maybe it's an illness. Or a friendship that you need to let goof. Perhaps it's a lessening of faith, a temperamental teenager, or a difficult boss. Only you know what clouds are blocking the Sun in your own life. After you name these "clouds," remind yourself that there is light and color and beauty present even though you can't see it or believe it right now. Is a SoulCollage card on Faith in order this month?

Soul

Friends

TheVoice of a Different Kindred Spirit Each

Week

Anne L. Boedecker
Bow, New Hampshire

Namaste! I am a 57-year-old transpersonalpsychologist. I never thought of myself as an artist until I discovered the artand soul of collage. I went to my first expressive arts collage workshop inFebruary of 2005. It was an incredible experience - I had so much to"say" that I hadn't been able to express verbally, and finally found away to tap into and put that depth of experience onto paper.....I was hooked.

I bought Seena Frost's book andstarted experimenting with different size collages. I found Anne Marie'sweb-site and workshops, but it took until January of 2006 to get to one. SoonI was making SoulCollage cards like there was no tomorrow! I went to Anne Marie'sfirst SoulCollage Weekend Retreat that summer, and was inspired by the magicalpower of women coming together to create. I decided that I just had to go to aFacilitators Training with Seena, and made it out toCalifornia the summer of 2007.

Since then I've been to and co-facilitated several moreweekend retreats, led numerous workshops, and integrated SoulCollage into othertranspersonal work. I never cease to be amazed at the profound insights andcreative expressions that emerge whenever anyone delves into this uniqueprocess. Professionally this has opened up a whole new avenue for me that addsdepth and breadth to my counseling practice.

Personally, making the cards has been a joyfulhealing and soul-talking adventure! It allows me to express things I can't findwords for, and access parts of myself I'd long forgotten. And I like what comesout so much I'm even beginning to think of myself as an artist.

Please visit my website.

2 of my current favorite SoulCollage cards are:

Desert Mermaid
Suit: Council

I am yourMuse, your Creative Inspiration. I rise up unexpectedly, in the middle of thedesert, out of a Wellspring you didn't even know was there. I am the One whoshows you beauty in surprising places. I am the One who seduces you away fromyour work and into your studio. I bring you new life and sweet surrender to theunknown. I remind you to cherish the unexpected.

Dancer
Suit: Committee

I am the One who lives in my body. I am the Onewho stretches, and feels my muscles become long and lean. I am the one who loves massages! I am the Onewho loves to dance, to move to the music sensuously. I am graceful anduninhibited.

I bring you joy, freedom, and energy. Iremind you to take good care of your body, to enjoy its freedom of movementwhile you still can. I want you to always dance as if no one is watching.

SoulCollage

Expressions

Idea of the Week

What's Missing?

Spend sometime this week looking through all of the cards in your SoulCollageDeck. Do this prayerfully and quietly, in a sense of concentration. Notice if one of your cards feels incomplete to you now. Addan image or two to it if it feels right.

KindredSpirits Member News

Making the

Most of Your KaleidoSoul Membership

Keep track

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Spirits Home Page.

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Summer Soul Sisters Circles

What's a Summer Soul Sisters Circle?That's easy! It's a group of women SoulCollagers, just like you, with apassion for SoulCollage and a longing to connect with other sistersaround the world.

What will our Summer Soul Sisters Circlesbe doing? We'll be gathering via tele-calls 5 times throughout thissummer. Our tele-calls will cover a variety of SoulCollage topics, andwill be lightly facilitated by Anne Marie Bennett. Consider each one tobe an open forum for sharing ideas, SoulCollage cards and wisdom. Eachcircle will also do at least one card reading during our time together.

These special, unique Soul Sisters Circles are for Kindred Spirits Members only. Each Circle will be limited to 10 Soul Sisters, so claim your space as soon as you can.

There is more information on this KaleidoSoul page. .

Upcoming Tele-Classes

Accepting Our
Bodacious Bodies

presented by Anne Marie Bennett,
SoulCollage Facilitator in Massachusetts

Imagine standing in front of a mirror and saying this:
My body is noteworthy. My body is remarkable. My body is outstanding. And not only saying it, but believing it!

The dictionary describes the word bodacious (inpart) as: noteworthy, remarkable, outstanding. So I'm wondering... whatwould happen to our lives if each and every one of us described our ownbodies in this way?

Please join us for a practical yet livelydiscussion on how we can more fully embrace our beautiful bodies-exactly as they are, right here and now... using the practice ofSoulCollage, and our own innate wisdom.

If you have some cards that reflect your own bodacious bod, please bring them with you to the call (my own is above).

Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Time:
8:00 pm Eastern, 7:00 pm Central, 6:00 pm Mountain,
5:00 pm Pacific, 2:00 pm Hawaiian,
Wednesday 1 a.m.. in London,
Wednesday 2 a.m. in Rome, Wednesday 10 a.m. in Melbourne Australia
and Wednesday 12 noon in New Zealand

Save the date now. All of our tele-classes are FR*EE for members, always! And remember, don't worry if you can't attend...
we'll be recording them and you can listen to them anytime in your
Member's Only Audio Library.
We will give you the phone number and access code
to call in that week's issue of Soul Treasures.

SoulNourishment

Resourcesto support your inner work
as you dive deeper

into your beautiful soul

Books:

Kindred Spirits,by Allen M. Schoen. Subtitle: How the remarkable bond between humans and animalscan change the way we live. Oh, Iloved this beautiful book! Sprinkledthroughout with stories from Schoen's own personal life and career, it simplyreverberates with his passion for animals. If you've ever felt connected to a pet in any way, shape or form, youwill love this book. Pure joy, and lotsof hope and positive energy abound here as well.

The

LastBeachBungalow, by Jennie Nash. Awonderful novel about a real woman with real thoughts and feelings. I devouredit in one long sitting! If you've everbeen in a relationship where you've wanted something more, or if you want toread a novel that captures the essence of what "home" is all about, then you'lllove this book and you'll probably relate to April, the main character, who isfeeling restless at the time of her five year cancer-free anniversary. This is Nash's first novel, and I only hopethere will be many more.

Kuan Yin:Accessing the Power of the Divine Feminine, by Daniela Schenker. A wonderful resource for connecting to KuanYin, the goddess of compassion, through art, story and your own spiritualpractice. Let Kuan Yin be your guide asyou welcome her gifts of compassion and healing into your life.

Big Green Purse:Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World, by DianeMacEachern. This book is especiallywritten for women who want to clean up our planet. If we harness "the power of our purses," andspend our money on commodities that have the greatest environmental benefit, wecan create a cleaner, greener world.

After the Ecstasy,the Laundry, by Jack Kornfield. What happens after enlightenment? What happens when you return from afew days (or an hour) of solitude and retreat? After the honeymoon comes the marriage, and after a joyful clifftopexperience, we have to go back to our everyday life. This book shows us how,and beautifully.

Movies:

Sister Act,featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith. Thiscomedy film teaches us about the value of enthusiasm. At the heart of the filmis the enthusiastic one, Deloris, a lounge singer in

Reno. After she witnesses a murder, the police decide to hide her in aconvent. She has trouble adjusting tolife there until she is asked to direct the choir. With inspired creativity, she translates thepop songs "My Guy" and "I Will Follow Him" into snappy devotional anthems. The nuns respond with their own zest for lifeand soon the choir is packing audiences into their inner city church. Delorisembodies enthusiasm, and it is catching. ---from Spiritual Rx,Prescriptions for Living a Meaningful Life, by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Websites:

Poetry Chaikhana-Sacred poetry from around the world. An incredible database. Find the"Poetry by..." phrase under each poet's short biography.

Where Angels Dwell- Beautiful art by American artist Ann Lee Rothan

Comfort Queen- Pop on over to the colorful, creative siteof best-selling author Jennifer Louden. You will indeed be comforted by the wide array of tools andresources for anyone interested in self-care of the sweetest kind.

Mandala Oasis-Here's an exciting new Yahoo Community focused entirely on theintuitive art of making your own mandalas, which is as easy as drawinga circle and coloring it in. From our own Kindred Spirit Cheryl in Illinois.