Inner Journeys
       with Anne Marie Bennett

Integrating the Practice of SoulCollage Into Our Daily Lives




Note: At the time of publication, I was in preparation for the Maryland Facilitator Training with Seena Frost, so I humbly apologize for not creating a "new " essay for you here.  This is one that was originally in the March 26, 2007 issue of Soul Treasures.

I first heard the abovequote from a yoga teacher years ago in reference to one's yoga practice,but until recently I'd never thought of it in terms of my SoulCollage®  practice.

At the end of my SoulCollage® workshops, Iusually invite participants to share, if they choose, a few words aboutwhat they are taking with them from the experience.  Usually they talkabout how centered they feel after finding images and making cards, or how muchfun it was to play like a child again with glue and scissors and colorfulpictures.

One woman, though, responded differently to the question, and her comments mademe look at SoulCollage® very differently.  What she said went somethinglike this: Well, I've been sitting here for two hours and I've startedthree cards but I haven't finished any of them.  I'vebeen really enjoying looking through the magazines and ripping outpictures. I have all these nice little piles of images all over the table andyet I can't seem to decide which ones should go on which card.  But youknow what?  I just realized something.  This is exactly the samething that is happening in my life right now.  There's a lot going on, alot of decisions I have to make and yet I can't seem to make any of thosedecisions.  I'm hung up on gathering the facts and kindof stuck in thatplace of having to decide but not wanting to decide.

Everyone around the table really identified with what she was saying. Not because they were stuck making decisions in their lives, but because theysuddenly saw the process of SoulCollage® as a mirror that had lots ofinformation to give them about themselves.

Think about it for a moment.  We all know that there is no "rightway" to "do" SoulCollage® . The only way is your wayand that way will change over time.  But look at how you've beenapproaching the process these last few weeks.  Have you been diving rightin and getting your hands dirty?  Have you been avoiding it?  By theway, avoiding something is very different from simply choosing notto do something.   Do you have stacks of images lined up butcan't seem to get started on a card?   Are you making cardsintentionally but can't seem to make one intuitively (or vice versa)? Have you been making lots of cards but then putting them aside because you'renot comfortable getting to know them more deeply? 

There are a million scenarios of how you can approach this process.  Morethan a million, I suppose.  But the important thing is to look at yourown process at this moment in time and take note of what this issaying about other areas of your life.  Not to judge (I repeat, andhighlight: not to judge!!!)...but simply to become more aware of who we are and of what's going on inside ofus.

The woman at my workshop told me later that because she noticed what she wasdoing with the stacks of images, it freed her up somehow to actually make a fewof the decisions in her life that needed to be made.  And she would neverhave been aware of what she was doing if it hadn't been for herself-observations during SoulCollage®.  

Reflection activities of the week: Take a look at how you've been approaching SoulCollage®in the last month or so.  Look at any thoughts or feelings that areconnected with what you've been doing and how you've been doingit.  Remember, this isn't about judging yourself.  Do not invite yourInner Critic into this space of observation.  You may become aware ofanother inner voice or two.  You might notice any number of things! Simply pay attention to your awarenesses.  Journal or collagewhatever you are discovering.  You don't have to changeanything.  The awareness is enough.

Soul Friends
    The Voice of a Different Kindred Spirit Each Week


Jill Seiler-Moon
Medfield, Massachusetts

Now I will be facilitatingmy first workshop at my church in November, helping others learn this beautifulinner process while at the same time building community.  As an Occupational Therapy practitioner, Iwill be using the SoulCollage process with elders and their caregivers in anursing home setting struggling with dementia diagnoses.  Images play a powerful part in their lives byhelping to elicit storytelling, emotional response, and connections to the past.  

The SoulCollage process helps us to build positive and powerful healing relationships that
compliment each of our lives as care providers and receivers...we find ourselves uniquely closer and more alive.

Here are 2 of mycurrent favorite SoulCollage® cards:

My Beautiful Daughter
Suit- Community

Source Card
 

SoulCollage Expressions
  Ideas and Challenges to Spice Up Your SoulCollage Practice


Idea of the Week

Choosea SoulCollage card at random and invite it to dance with you for five minutes.Move into its body and dance with yourself. What do you notice?

Kindred Spirits Member News
     Making the Most of Your KaleidoSoul Membership

Witness and SoulEssence Cards:
Unraveling the Mystery
with
Mariabruna Sirabella,
SoulCollage Facilitator in California

Two of the often misunderstood and under-appreciated cards in the SoulCollage Deck are the transpersonal cards: Witness and SoulEssence.  This evening, Mariabruna will help us to decipher and live with the Mystery of these two very special cards.  If you are curious about the meaning of these cards, or why they don't "have voices," or how to go about making them and using them in your deck, this is the class for you!



Note: The card above is Anne Marie's Transpersonal Witness Card.  You can see Mariabruna's Source, Witness and SoulEssence Cards (along with many others) on her website, Sirarte.

Mariabruna Sirabella, MS, LMFT, has a Laurea inCommunication and Performing Arts from Bologna University, Italy and a Masterin Counseling from CSUS,California.In her first career as a researcher in Theater Anthropology, she spent manyyears in the tribal areas ofSouthern Indiastudying eastern spirituality, traditional theater, tribal rituals, and healingtrance dances. Mariabruna has a holistic psychotherapy practice inWatsonville,California,is Adjunct Faculty atJFK University,CA, and is a SoulCollage®Facilitator and Trainer. She teaches internationally in English, Italian andSpanish.  You can read the rest of Mariabruna's bio on this page.

Save the datenow.

Allof our tele-classes are FR*EE for members, always!
And remember, don't worry if you can't attend...
we'll be recording it and you can listen to it 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.

December 16, 2008 (Tuesday, 8 pm EST) Eckhart Tolle's A NewEarth and SoulCollage, with FranCherlow.

New England SoulCollage Facilitator Training

April17-19, 2009 inLitchfield,Connecticut. Ifyou've been longing to take your SoulCollage practice out into the world bybecoming an "official" Facilitator, then please join us for abeautiful spring weekend at Wisdom House.  There's more information onthis KaleidoSoul page .