To heal is to restore our memory of wholeness. --- Unknown 
 

The Forest or the Trees

Usually the only people who see my SoulCollage cards are those who attend my workshops, along with my monthly SoulCollage group. I look at and work with at least two of my cards almost daily, but something happened last week that made me realize that I've been looking at my cards, but I I haven't actually looked at my deck in a really long time.

My sister-in-law Jan was at our house for my husband's birthday party. She brought with her two French foreign exchange teachers who were staying with her that week. During the course of the evening, Jan mentioned to the teachers (Anne and Michelle) that they might be interested in my business. So I told them about SoulCollage. They were very interested, and kept asking questions, so I brought down my deck and set it on the coffee table in front of us.

More questions followed, of course, and we spent another hour and a half just talking about the process and the cards and the images on them. A few times during the conversation, Anne pointed a few things out to me that I'd never noticed before. "You have many strong, bold, colorful, vivid women in your deck," she said in her lovely lilting French accent.

"I do?" I said. She nodded vigorously and pointed quite a few out to me! I then showed her a few of my "darker" cards, and explained their shadowy side, but she insisted that even these dark cards were of strong, bold, and vivid women.

Then I showed her two new cards I'd just made the week before, both of them with the theme of aging gracefully. "Yes," she nodded. "It's interesting that both of the backgrounds are scenes of Africa."

"Really?" I said in total amazement, and squinted more closely at them. She was right! I hadn't even noticed!

"You also have lots of minority women- Asian, African-American, Native American... on your cards," she told me after several more minutes of animated conversation in French with Michelle (who did not speak English as well as Anne).

By this time I was incredulous and completely fascinated. I hadn't asked for this feedback, but it was thrilling to me nonetheless. It seems that I'd been focusing on the individual cards in my deck, but not really seeing its wholeness and totality, which also has something very special and important to tell me.

Reflection activity of the week: Spread all of your cards out on a big table, or the floor, or your bed. Look at your deck as a whole entity this week and ask what it (your deck as a whole) has to tell you about yourself. Don't forget to write your thoughts down. Please share them with us at the KaleidoSoul Community Group over at Yahoo if you like. Remember that you also are a whole being, not just one of your parts! 




SoulCollage Expressions

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Idea of the Week

Because one of the reasons we create our SoulCollage deck is to do readings, it helps to have a clean "backside" of the card so when you turn the cards over to randomly choose one, you can't see what you are choosing. HOWEVER, there is no "right way" and if you decide to do it that way, collaging both sides, you could store your cards in a box where they are standing upright, and you can choose randomly for readings this way without seeing what you are choosing.

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.

The voice of a different Kindred Spirit each week!

Varuna Sirabella
Santa Cruz, CA

My name is Mariabruna Sirabella, but many know me as Varuna. I live in the hills near Watsonville , in Santa Cruz County , California . I was born in Italy and came to the USA in my mid thirties.

I have been doing SoulCollage since 1996. When I announced my move to Santa Cruz County , an ex-teacher of mine in Sacramento- who was in Jean Houston's " Mystery School " at the same time as Seena was- highly recommended that I look her up. I did. So what led me to SoulCollage was one of those synchronicities that become so familiar the more one consults the SoulCollage deck.

I fell in love with the process half an hour after stepping into Seena's living room, where all the Neters met in those old days. I knew instantly that its visual and poetic invitation was to become a beloved 'container' where I could bring together the many strands of my internal and external life. A life that at times felt fragmented, spread as it is on three continents, and filled with many interests, stories and commitments, and a deep love for Art and for the Quest.

I am a very visual person, and the opportunity to journal in images, integrating colors, symbols and composition through collage was very inspiring and deeply satisfactory. I also realized SoulCollage's potential for therapeutic work with my clients (I am a licensed psychotherapist), some of whom are blocked in their creativity and are reluctant to approach the other expressive arts opportunities I offer. The power of images to reveal the unconscious cannot be overstressed, and it seldom fails to work its magic.

SoulCollage has become part of my daily life. I make and read cards, I teach workshops, I write about it, I use it with my clients and I share it with family and friends. I am deeply indebted and grateful to Seena for having brought SoulCollage to life. The one speck of beauty I'd like to mention is the gift SoulCollage offers to use creativity, playfulness and an easy access to the intuitive processes, for the journey of self-discovery, integration, and transformation.

My advice would be to remember that SoulCollage is a practice: get those scissors and glue out, make cards, and especially consult the deck as often as possible, better if daily. SoulCollage can appear deceptively simple; its depth is revealed only through practice. The intimacy with my cards has revealed that SoulCollage is a process willing to take me as far as I am willing to go.

My web site should be ready by the end of the month: www.sirarte.com .


Here are 2 of my favorite SoulCollage® cards:

The Pilgrim
Suit- Committee/Council

My Female Ancestors
Suit- Community

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


Did you receive the special notice last week about the 2007 KaleidoSoul Desk Calendars? They're beautiful, they're here, and they are yours for 20% off! Plus, you could win a Lifetime Kindred Spirits Membership, just for ordering! Details here.

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 all-new, all-improved, easy to use Kindred Spirits Shop is 50% off! 

The Embracing Your Shadow recording (with special guest Seena Frost!) in your Members Only Audio Library will only be available until December 1, and non-members do not have access to it, so listen to it soon! The inside scoop is that Seena is in the process of creating a CD on The Shadow for her publisher and it will be released for purchase in the next several months.


Upcoming Tele-Playshops (FR*EE for Members!):
Save the dates now. We'll give you the phone number to call and the access code in the issue before each play-shop.

Getting To Know You:
You & Your Committee Members
TODAY!!!
Monday November 13 @ 6 pm Eastern,
5 pm Central, 3 pm Pacific, 1 pm Hawaiian,
11 p.m. in Europe, and Tuesday 10 a.m. in Australia.
Click here to find out the number to call and
what to bring with you!

Light Up Your Holidays With SoulCollage
Tuesday December 5 @ 8:00 pm Eastern, 7:00 pm Central, 5:00 pm Pacific, 3:00 pm Hawaiian, Wednesday 1 a.m. in Europe, and Wednesday 12 noon in Australia.
More details.


Creating Inner Sanctuary
with SoulCollage
Retreat

May 4-6, 2007
Essex, MA

Join us for three days of creativity, community, and renewal as we explore the depths of SoulCollage at this beautiful retreat center located in the lush forest of Essex County, near the ocean. There will be lots of time for card making, sharing our cards and stories, and readings with our decks.

Only two weeks left....
Early Twirly Deadline:
November 30 for big savings!

Also, as of December 1, the price will go up by $50.

Special Bonus: If you sign up by November 30, you'll receive a 2007 KaleidoSoul Desk Calendar, plus a 6-pack of Anne Marie's beautiful handmade note cards, perfect for thank you notes and birthday greetings. A $25 value, yours just for registering early-twirly!

Spread out the cost with 6 inexpensive monthly payments!
For more details about the Retreat, the Essex Conference Retreat Center, and registration, please
click here now.

Soul Nourishment

Books, movies, music, & websites to support your inner work as you dive deeper into your soul....


Books:

Art Is a Way of Knowing, by Pat B.Allen. This book shines a light onto the often neglected path of art as a process. It also gives you concrete, practical steps in finding an art space to call your own, working with materials and project suggestions. There are sections on painting, drawing and color, but they don't focus on art theory. They center more on how to gently get to know your self throughout the process of creating art. Since this is what SoulCollage is all about, it is highly recommended for all of us!

The Elegant Gathering of White Snows, by Kris Radish. This is the third novel I've recommended by the same author, and I'm totally NOT going to apologize! I'll say it again: I love her books for the way she writes about women and the friendships among women. This story is about a group of 8 women who decide they've "had enough" of living the same old way every day, and just go out the door and begin a long walk that will change their lives, as well as the lives of many women they don't know. If you love books about the intricacies of womens' lives and loves, hearts and souls, you will love this book!

Comfort Secrets for Busy Women , by Jennifer Louden. This book offers priceless advice and encouragement for embracing a creative life, no matter how busy we are. Louden presents a series of nurturing essays accompanied by spirit-awakening questions that really helped me get to the core of my individual path. You can get more comfort secrets at Jennifer's website.

Music:

Take a look at over 500 CD's that are only $5... (when you buy three diffeent titles). Click on NEW AGE and you'll find over 500 cd's that are perfect as background music for your SoulCollage practice (finding images and/or making cards/doing readings). Categories include: New Age, meditation, healing, environmental, Celtic, and ambient. Stock up now and give for holiday gifts too! You can listen to samples before you buy, so turn up your speakers and get comfy. The shipping cost is very reasonable too! When was the last time you bought 3 cd's for only $15?

Movies:

Runaway Bride, starring Julia Roberts, Richard Gere. I watch this DVD whenever I need to be reminded that being in a healthy, loving relationship is only possible when each person is grounded in their own uniqueness. If you've not seen it....it's funny, with light and weight in all the right places. The reason Julia Roberts' character has run away from so many weddings is simple: she doesn't know who she is. Watch what happens when she finds out!


Websites:

From the Soul- Cool blog by SoulCollage artist Patricia Stewart

Creative Spirits Network- Lots of great resources/links to creative sites that encourage networking.

Spinning the fragments of your world
into wholeness and beauty
through SoulCollage®