Soul Treasures
Discovering the depths of our precious inner beauty through SoulCollage®
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KaleidoSoul's Members-Only Weekly Newsletter
Issue #26- September 25, 2006
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Quotation of the Week
Through the sacred art of pausing, we develop the capacity to stop hiding, to stop running away from our experience. We begin to trust in our natural intelligence, in our naturally wise heart, in our capacity to open to whatever arises. --- Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance
Inner Journeys
with Anne Marie Bennett
Integrating the Practice of SoulCollage® into Your Daily Life
The Art of the Pause
 As a self-professed self-help junkie, I've been to more than my share of lectures, workshops and retreats. I've learned oh-so-much about myself (among other things!) from the time I've spent in the presence of so many "gurus" of personal development and spiritual growth.
But the biggest lesson I ever learned while listening to someone else present a workshop was when the leader simply stopped talking for a minute and a half!
Yes, that's right. No words were involved in this Lesson of all Lessons.
A few years ago at Kripalu, I was participating in a session with Daniel Leven, who was leading a workshop on Body-Centered Expressive Therapy. About halfway through his presentation, someone asked a question.
Whatever she asked is long gone from my memory, but I will always remember how he responded to her question.
He simply stopped. He paused for a few seconds, looking down at the microphone he held in his hand. Then he said, "I'm sorry, I don't know exactly how to answer that. Give me a minute to get my thoughts together first." Then he set the microphone down on the floor, closed his eyes and proceeded to "think" for a full 90 seconds.
I had never seen anything like this before, and I was totally amazed. As the seconds slid by, I counted this one of the most awakening moments of my life.
What a relief, what a blessed relief! To not always have to have an answer. To be able to pause any time we need to, even if it doesn't seem "appropriate." I always thought that when someone asked me a question, I had to immediately spout forth some kind of an answer, or I would be taken less seriously. I always thought that not knowing the answer to a question was a marked sign of my own inadequacy and failure. But that day I learned otherwise.
In her book, Radical Acceptance, Tara Brach points out that Pausing is a sacred thing. She says that it is the very first step in our own ability to embrace our lives with loving acceptance (radical as that may be!). Through the sacred art of pausing, we develop the capacity to stop hiding, to stop running away from our experience. We begin to trust in our natural intelligence, in our naturally wise heart, in our capacity to open to whatever arises.
I believe that that is what Daniel Leven was doing that day as he paused so deeply before answering the question placed before him. He was trusting in his own innate wisdom to call forth an answer to the question. He was opening his soul to the possibility of discovering an answer- for us, and for himself.
Let us all remember that when we pause, even for a few moments, we are consciously placing our souls into their own graceful power. In this sacred pause, we are better able to hear all of the inner voices that go chattering on day after day, demanding our attention, draining our energy. And most importantly, when we pause, we allow time and space for Spirit to flow into and through us.
Reflection activity of the week: Consciously give
 yourself a few minutes to practice the art of the Pause this week. Try pausing for just a few seconds every time someone asks you a question. Maybe at night before you close your eyes for sleep... or before each meal.... or when you wash your face in the morning. Simply pause for a few minutes and acknowledge the fact that you are pausing, that you are resting in silence, that you are quietly entering your own inner world. Do you have any SoulCollage cards in your deck that speak to the part of you who enjoys pausing (or the part of you that doesn't?). Could you make one this week to honor that part?
SoulCollage Expressions
Idea of the Week
If you're using MS Windows, you can make your SoulCollage cards into a Slide Show Screensaver! Open the Control Panel and click on Display. Choose Screensaver from the top of the box. Open the dropbox in the middle of that screen and choose My Pictures Slideshow. Click on Apply, then click on OK. Voila! Any pictures that you have scanned or saved in my "My Pictures" file will now display as your screensaver of choice, like a slideshow! You can probably do this with an Apple management system as well. I love this because if I leave the room, when I come back there's usually a SoulCollage card (or a community member from my family/friends photo album) on the screen. Another way to access a random "reading!"
We'd love to hear from you!
Question of the Week
How can I do a reading with my cards if my deck is not complete?
Well, that depends on what you mean by "complete." When I look at my own deck, I don't see it as being finished even though there are more than 100 cards in it. This is because I will always be changing and growing, and so will my deck. When I ask a question of my deck, the answers come from the parts of my self, community and spirit world that I have created cards for at this time in my life. In that sense, the reading, as well as my deck, is always complete, at each moment in time.
Have a question about SoulCollage®
that you'd like answered?
Send your questions to members@KaleidoSoul.com.
We'll try to use your question
(along with an answer, of course!)
in an upcoming issue of Soul Treasures.
Soul Friends
The voice of a different Kindred Spirit each week!
Cheryl Finley
Chicago, IL
I was introduced to SoulCollage in late summer of 2005 at the Creativity Portal website, when I read Anne Marie's article: "Fall in Love With Yourself With SoulCollage." Well who could resist a headline like that! I was immediately fascinated! The card that accompanied the article also intrigued me. I didn't know that collage could be so beautiful. Then there was the refreshing, beautiful, creative KaleidoSoul website. I knew I wanted to be a part of this! I immediately began collecting images. I even found an image that I saved from six years ago, long before I heard of SoulCollage. I remember looking at the image and thinking "yep, this is exactly how I feel sometimes," so I saved it not knowing what I'd do with it. Time revealed why I saved it. I love it when I heed my intuition...it reaps bountiful rewards!
I made my first card in April 2006, when after an exhausting day at work I decided to "read a few pages" of Anne Marie's e-Workshop. I thought I would simply read a few pages to relax, but my soul had a different agenda! The e-Workshop pulled me in and wouldn't let me go! I actually "did" the entire e-workshop that night...including the dancing breaks! - and my first card, Layla, was born. After I completed the interpretation I knew I was on to something wonderful. My sense of well-being soared, and I intuitively knew that SoulCollage would help address my inner-voices and allow me to better enjoy the creative process of designing and making my brand of beaded jewelry. I felt clearer, and calm. And I will never forget this: the next morning, and for three mornings thereafter, I awakened to the sound of silence in my head! It was like nothing I'd ever experienced. I was hooked! Since then I've made about 17 cards and have interpreted about half of them.
I love that SoulCollage is fun, artful, powerfully-creative and soul-revealing. I've been in love with the creative process ever since I can remember. I love how unpredictable it can be, actually that's my favorite part! SoulCollage has that element naturally. It also adds yet another way for me to witness my process. I get to discover and acknowledge all of my inner-parts and voices by letting them have their say; as well as honor and celebrate the people in my life, learn about animal companions, and contemplate the mysterious and powerful archetypes that are so much a part of the soul's DNA. Equally...I'm ever-aware that I'm abundantly blessed to be a part of the KaleidoSoul Yahoo Community. I sense that an incredible, larger Presence resides in that space that is the Yahoo Group. I believe "It" holds the sacred space for our work, and bestows "Its" greater intention for the Soul Treasures that we're all unearthing.
I look forward to working more in depth with my cards on a regular basis, and trying various methods suggested in the book and on the KaleidoSoul website; as well as doing some of the weekly challenges posted on the Inner Surprisess Blog. I'm excited to discover what works for me, and how it works at a given time; again, witnessing the process. I look forward to more trips and retreats to meeting more KaleidoSouls. And...I'm very excited about attending the SoulCollage Facilitators' Training in February 2007! I can't wait to experience SoulCollage from the creator of the process, Seena Frost, and to meet other facilitators-in-training. I'm thrilled that I'll be showing fellow-travelers in my corner of the world how to "Fall in Love with Themselves"...through Soul Collage." Blessings truly do abound!
About Cheryl:
Cheryl Finley is an all-around Creative-Enthusiast. She works her full-time day-job, and decisively (although challenging at times) weaves her creative passions into the canvas of her life. When she's not day-jobbing, she spends time in her Magical Mango Studio creating SoulCollage cards, blogging, writing, and fondling and coaxing various textures, colors and sizes of beads into unpredictable, colorful, and eclectic jewelry creations for her business, Tactile Passions Handcrafted Jewelry. She takes creative pauses by relishing her muse walks, imbibing Red Zinger tea, reading, conversing with friends as well as her orange tiger-kitty, Ike; and of course...looking through magazines!
Cheryl's SoulCollage Card Gallery: http://www.acapellasoul.blogspot.com/
Cheryl's SoulCollage Journal: http://acapellasouljourney.blogspot.com/
You can read about Cheryl's Jewel's of the Heart project, created in 2004; where she creates beautiful earrings and gifts them to breast cancer patients, as well as facilitating self-nurturing and creative workshops for the patients a few times a year. She's named in this article as Cheryl "Goggins". There's a blurb at the top, and her extended story toward the bottom; as well as two other great stories! http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=News&id=2114582
More about Cheryl:
Cheryl is also a Certified Empowerment Coach, a Muse Facilitator, and a Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach*. Her business My Joy For Life, Inc. personifies her passion for "Inspiring Joy Through Creativity & Play". Cheryl combines her experience as an empowerment coach with her Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching (KMCC) experience and education to coach those who want creativity to be a greater part of their life, as well as those who want to discover their creative passion. KMCC deals compassionately with an array of creative blocks such as: fear, procrastination, perfectionism, overwhelm, and comparison to name a few. "And we all have them at some time or another," says Cheryl. She uses fun, creative and interactive tools from her Creativity Coaching Toy Box. These toyish-tools include: small gentle steps, guided imagery, writing, art-making, games and other fun stuff.
If you are seeking to re-invigorate your creativity and experience the joy that creativity brings, Cheryl would love to work with you. She's passionate about creativity coaching, and understands the nature of the non-linear creative process. Cheryl can acquaint you with the KMCC and together you can decide if it's right for you. *Now is an especially good time for prospective clients since lower, promotional fees are in place during the final installation of her KMCC certification. References and testimonials are available upon request.
For more about Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching click here: http://themuseisin.com/coaching.html
You can contact Cheryl at: cheryls_world608@yahoo.com
Here are 2 of my favorite SoulCollage® cards:
 Immersed in Creativity
Suit- Council
I am the one who is immersed in the Galaxy of Creativity. I am the one who floods you with a sea of creative ideas & inspiration. I am the who lets them takes flight.
I am the One who keeps you up at night, creating.
I am the one who delights in the creative process.
Creativity Held Captive
Suit- Committee
I am the one who yearns to create, yet I tie my own hands with thoughts that analyze, paralyze, and criticize. I am the one who's not enough. I am the one who's anxious and thinks too much. I am the one who desperately craves balance between my creative and analytical mind. I am the one who pines to being free, and create with abandon.
Want 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 (e-books, e-courses...etc) in the Kindred Spirits Shop is 50% off!
Don't forget to take a look around your Members-Only Audio Library, which is a treasure trove of SoulCollage information and ideas. There's no charge for these for members, EVER!
NEXT TELE-PLAYSHOP.......
Embracing Our Shadows....
with very special guest Seena Frost!
No charge for members (that's YOU!). Save the date now!
Wednesday October 18 at:
5 pm Eastern, 4:00 pm Central, 2:00 pm Pacific, 11:00 a.m. Hawaiian,
10 p.m. in Europe, and Thursday 7 a.m. in
Australia
.
This informative, insightful tele-playshop
 (not quite a class, not quite a workshop!) will gently tackle a sometimes challenging subject- our shadow sides. Special guest Seena Frost, creator of SoulCollage, will lend us her wisdom and insight on this fascinating topic. We will talk about the shadow sides of our SoulCollage cards. There will be lots of time for asking questions!
The phone number to call will be posted in the October 16 issue of Soul Treasures.
 Soul Nourishment
Books, movies, music, & websites to support your inner work as you dive deeper into your soul....
Books:
Full Catastrophe Living, by Jon Kabat-Zinn. This is one of my favorite books on meditation. Important writings on the necessity of slowing down, of practicing mindfulness, and ideas for how to be in the present moment more easily and more often.
Go In and In: Poems From the Heart of Yoga, by Danna Faulds. Beautiful poems that I love to read during my own moments of quiet time.
The Pull of the Moon, by Elizabeth Berg. This novel tells the story of a woman pauses her ordinary life to take a car trip with no destination in mind, in order to discover who she is.
Music:
Liquid Mind III- Balance, by Chuck Wild. Comforting, slow-moving music with many open inviting spaces. I especially love the first piece, Lullaby for Grownups.
Movies:
The Doctor, starring William Hurt, Christine Lahti, Elizabeth Perkins, Mandy Patinkin. William Hurt plays a well-known surgeon who is suddenly diagnosed with throat cancer. He puts his life "on pause" in order to deal with the necessary surgery. In the course of this temporary halt to his busi-ness, he discovers something immensely important about his life and the medical profession that changes the course of his career. I love this movie because it's based on a true story, and because it's basically the story of a person discovering who he really is. And... if you've ever been in a hospital and treated like a thing instead of a person, you'll love it!
Websites:
Seena Frost Interview on Hearts Art Radio. If you haven't heard this yet, you'll want to pause your busy schedule sometime soon to listen.
Listen for Joy - Art Prints by Melanie Weidner. Pause for a moment ...let the beauty of this artist's work sink into your being, and let it inform your own SoulCollage work.
Inject your Creative Pauses with an
Artella E-workshop!
You'll find an awesome variety here... something for everyone, including YOU! Here are a few that I have tried and loved:
The Gratitude Garland,
Accounting Your Blessings,
Creative Manifestival,
Red Chair Recordings, and
World of Pretend. See which one is right for you, and go play!
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
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