Soul Treasures Discovering the depths of our precious inner beauty through SoulCollage®   KaleidoSoul's Members-Only Weekly Newsletter Issue #11- June 12, 2006 Special Note: This is not a free newsletter. If someone forwarded this issue to you, please consider subscribing yourself by clicking here.   Quotation of the Week Life is verdant and generous despite times of drought, doubt and despair. New beginnings are subtle and in my pain and impatience I can often overlook the shoots of fresh growth tenaciously winning through even in difficult times. ---Julia Cameron, Transitions Inner Journeys Integrating the Practice of SoulCollage® into Your Daily Life Just Plop 'Em In Ever hear the expression rain rain go away, come again another day? Well, it took on new meaning here in Massachusetts last month when it rained for ten days straight! We had a few days respite, and then we got some more! I was at the dentist's office a few days after the second deluge and overheard the receptionist talking with another patient about gardening. "I wish the sun would come out," the patient half-groaned. "I've got so many plants just sitting on my porch, waiting to go in the ground." "Don't worry about it," said the receptionist. "The ground is perfect for planting right now. All you hafta do is dig a hole and plop 'em in!" We all laughed, but she was absolutely right. Even I (the only one in my family born without the proverbial green thumb) was able to quickly and easily "plop" in some perennials that week. Why? Because the soil was so soft, so prepared, so ready. Soft, prepared, and made ready by many, many dark and dreary, rainy days. I was acutely aware of the darkness of those days because during that time, I was struggling with my own sadness and grief over the loss of our beloved cat, Scooter. Some days it felt like my tears would go on forever too, but I allowed myself those tears, and I allowed the darkness that comes with such sadness. And if so much rain makes the soil fertile and easy for planting, then it follows that so much sorrow and grief can make the ground of our souls lush and ready for new seeds. This is a Council card that I made several months ago. I call her The Cosmic Gardener. I am the one who tends to all growing things. I am the one who kneels in prayer and gratitude as I watch things and people grow. I am the one who shelters growing things in the light. I give you as much inner growth as your mind and soul and body are ready for. I give you strength in your growth, gratitude for your growth, peace and light in your growth. I made her months before we got hit with all that rain, weeks and weeks before my heart was deluged with so much sorrow, but her lessons are coming clear to me more and more, now that the sun is back to shining on a regular basis again (on the land and in my soul). Reflection/activity of the week: Think back to a time in your life when your own heart and soul were flooded with sadness for what felt like too many days. Did you allow yourself the rainy season? If not, why not? And looking at your life now, can you see any new seeds that flourished in the aftermath of that soul rain? Make a SoulCollage card for your own Cosmic Gardener. Or perhaps you have a strong Committee Gardener (green thumb and all!) that you would like to honor with a card. Maybe you could make a card for another part of your life that involves growth in some way (the stages of a child's growth, the part of you who encourages others to grow...). Let the creativity flow! 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 Try aromatherapy while you are creating your cards and see if it makes a difference in your mood. Place a few drops of an essential oil in a ceramic or electric diffuser, and allow the scent to flow around you while you create. Some scents used for brightening and awakening energy, and helping us to center are: lemon, frankincense, orange, rose, and rosemary. To see a list of essential oils and their healing qualities, click here. Question of the Week Can I make a SoulCollage® Committee card that has more than one voice or energy on it? It's usually best to make one card for each voice. It is easier to work with the cards this way, and in this way each voice is honored. For instance, you might be exploring the part of you that is lazy and loves to sit around eating cheetos and watching old movies on tv. You also know that this isn't good for you to be doing all of the time, and recognize that there's a voice connected to that one who would rather get up off the couch and go out for a walk or plant flowers in the garden. In this case, it would be best if you made a card for the couch potato voice AND a card for the get-up-and-take-care-of-yourself voice, instead of putting both of them on one card. 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! Catherine Anderson Charlotte, North Carolina I have been drawn to collage and images since I was a teenager, and have always collected images from magazines and books and stored them away in boxes. As a teenager I used to paste them into books and match them up with poetry. I always felt that the images conveyed more to me than the words. But after finishing school (and influenced by the need to be practical) I qualified as an attorney and practiced law for 14 years. At this stage I lived in South Africa , where I was born in 1960. I moved to the United States in 1997 with my husband and two children, which was the perfect opportunity to start my life afresh. I did this by venturing into the world of photography and buying a photography franchise specializing in youth sports photography. When I look back, I think the only reason I did this was so that I could acquire the fancy camera equipment which I could never have justified if I was only "playing" at being a photographer. After all these detours, I am eventually moving into my true passion, which is creative photography and using my images to create collages. SoulCollage appeals to that part of me that is still a child. I love cutting the images out with scissors, gluing them on to the backgrounds and the serendipity of finding an image that speaks to me. The collages I create with my photography are done on the computer and don't fill my love of touching the paper and being part of the process in the way that SoulCollage does. SoulCollage is so much about discovering myself as well. I find that often I find reassurance or an answer to a concern by taking out my box of images and making a SoulCollage card. When I am feeling agitated, I find I can calm down by taking out my box of images and making a card. There is always something I learn about myself when I do this. I discovered Seena's book on SoulCollage while looking for books on collage on amazon.com. The word "Soul" drew me immediately as it is a word that resonates with me. I bought the book and poured through it, loving the concept. But I found it difficult to put a card together on my own. I was too concerned about whether I was doing it the "right" way, whether the size was okay, and whether I was using too many or too few images in my collages! I desperately wanted to make these cards but didn't really know where to start (the perfectionist part of me not wanting to make a mistake!) so when I saw that Seena had a workshop in San Jose in June 2004 I knew I had to attend. I learnt so much and loved every moment. The biggest lesson was that there was no one perfect way of making the cards! I saw what other people had made and realized that each card is unique and that I must trust myself and do what feels right. This is probably the best advice I can pass on to others - trust your own unique way of making your own set of SoulCollage cards. I came home from the workshop and gathered a group of friends in my house every week and shared what I had learnt with them. This showed me how powerful Soulcollage could be. I try to return to my old home of South Africa every summer and I offered to teach SoulCollage at the Buddist Retreat Center in the Ixopo Valley of KwaZulu-Natal in 2005. The workshop was wonderful and I am excited to hear that some of the participants are still getting together regularly to play with their SoulCollage cards. It meant a lot to be able to introduce SoulCollage to South Africa . Sometimes I will be paging through a magazine and see an image that I am drawn to, even when I am not looking for SoulCollage images (of course I also have big boxes full of images). It is as if the image finds me, because after tearing it out it goes onto one of the big piles of "stuff" - paper, mail, photos, and so on, that are always accumulating around the house. Things often get lost in these piles, but somehow the special images that have found me stay on the top. This happened last August when I was getting ready to send my oldest child off to college. I was really nervous and worried about sending him off. This picture of a little girl with an umbrella found me, and then another image found me and before I knew it I had this card made (see below). When I sat down with it I realized that it was all about letting my child walk out into the world trusting that the universe would take care of him. It was as if the universe was trying to reassure me. I have a picture of this card with my "I am the one" statement below. I love spending time in my "studio" playing with my art supplies, making collages - digital and with old found objects, collecting old things, and especially old photographs. After participating in many "fatbook" groups (fatbooks are collaborative small books of art) and Artist Trading card swaps, I have formed a Photo Art Journal yahoo group so that members can share their photographs which are bound into a little themed book. I have created my own website and included bits of everything I love to do on the website which is www.catherineandersonstudio.com. 2 of my SoulCollage cards that mean the most to me are: Safe in This World Suit: Committee I am the one who walks confidently out into the world feeling protected and safe. I am the one who looks into the future and knows that there is a place for me. I am the one who is safely and securely held by an unknown creator. I kept this card displayed on my desk for the first couple of weeks of my son's absence from home, and it had the magical effect of allowing me to be calm and not worry about him in his new life as a college student. Unlocking My Authentic Self Suit: Committee   This card is about allowing myself to be who I am and not falling into mass media mode. I am the one who has been locked into ways of thinking. I am the one who is allowing myself the freedom to swing free of accepted ways of thinking. I am the one who wants to be free. This was another card that just made itself. The images asked to be placed together, and the message came at a time I needed to know it was okay to follow "the road less taken". In fact, if I didn't I would have lost who I really was. 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. And remember, as a Kindred Spirit... everything in the Kindred Spirits Shop is 50% off! The next Members-Only tele-class is TOMORROW!! Tuesday June 13 @ 6:30 pm (EST) This month the topic is Freeing Your Imagination With SoulCollage. We'll be exploring and experiencing how the use of guided imagery can help us go deeper into the SoulCollage process of both making and interpreting the cards. As always, we'll be recording this class so if you can't join us, you can listen to it later in the Audio Library. Directions for participating: phone number to call: 641-696-4444 access code: 63178 It's as simple as that! You will then be connected with the rest of us. This is your opportunity to connect with other SoulCollage Kindred Spirits, while getting some valuable relaxation time, and ideas for your deck. No one is required to do anything but listen, but there will be plenty of time for sharing and asking questions. IMPORTANT: Click here for a list of what to bring to the class!      Soul Nourishment  Books, music, movies & websites to support your inner work as you dive deeper into your soul.... Books: Life Lessons by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, and David Kessler. Two experts on death and dying teach us about the mysteries of life and living. Topics include: authenticity, love, relationships, loss, power, guilt, time, fear, anger, play, patience, surrender, forgiveness and happiness. Much wisdom to savor and apply here. Something More: Excavating Your Authentic Self, by Sarah ban Breathnach. I found this book to be full of immediate wisdom and practical knowledge for getting to the heart of who I really and truly am. Explores how we can get to know our most precious selves through feelings, relationships, and time alone.   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! Novus Magnificat:Through the Stargate, by Constance Demby. I was first introduced to this music 20 years ago by an Episcopal Priest who taught his parishioners yoga. It is sublime, mysterious, and ethereal. Return to Pooh Corner, by Kenny Loggins. An album for every child within you! Movies: The Crossing Guard- starring Jack Nicholson, Angelica Huston, David Morse, and Robin Wright Penn. A fascinating and dramatic portrayal of some profound inner growth. Websites: Beliefnet- advertises itself as "a spiritual approach to your daily health and happiness." Much to see, do and explore here. Photos of the Year- a beautiful selection of award-winning photographs. I find the flying owl simply stunning and am waiting to discover which SoulCollage card it belongs on! Would you like to share your favorite books, movies, music, and websites? Please send an email to members@kaleidosoul.com. We'd love to hear from YOU! Brought to you by KaleidoSoul 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. Inner Journeys, copyright 2006, Anne Marie Bennett All rights reserved. To give us feedback, we invite you to send a reply email to this newsletter.