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Inner Journeys

with Anne Marie Bennett

Integrating the Practice of SoulCollage® into Your Daily Life

Random Acts of Gratitude

This morning while leaving the gym, I was carrying my purse, gym bag, and several brochures I'd just picked up at the front desk. Heading towards the heavy glass front door, a small boy (about 5 years old) was following his mother on the way in.

At first he was just watching his mother. Then he noticed me, and I could see him calculating the fact that my arms were full. He paused in mid-step, backed up, and held the door open so I could walk through easily!

I wanted to sweep that little angel up in my arms right there and do a little happy dance, but of course I kept on my way. I did pause to thank him though... several times and with quite a bit of over-the-top enthusiasm. I felt myself walk more lightly all day, and every time I think of it, I smile out loud.

But now I'm thinking... has my mood been lightened because he held the door open for me? Or because I noticed his random act of kindness and offered gratitude in return for it?

Either way, I'm more on the lookout now for moments when I can offer gratitude into the universe. To say "thank you" to someone slowly and passionately, and really, really mean it. This is a gift, a blessing.

Reflection Activity: As you go about your week, make a point to say "thank you" out loud and consciously (not just in passing) to anyone who gifts you with a kindness. Notice how this feels. Do you have a card for the part of you who is grateful? Seena suggests that everyone have a card like this in their SoulCollage decks. Maybe you could make one this week.

Soul Friends

The Voice of a Different Kindred Spirit Each Week

Consu Tolosa
Portland, Oregon

Hi my name is Consu and I've been practicing SoulCollage since 2002. I was drawn to SoulCollage because of the beauty of the cards and the fun of the process. I really love to let the images guide me towards the creation of a new card.

I use the various parts of the process in many ways in my life. Looking for images in magazines is a fun distraction that I can do while relaxing after a long day. Assembling the cards is a satisfying process which involves my aesthetic sense and engages me in a delightful tactile experience. Using the cards for personal inquiry and exploration has been an invaluable tool of self-discovery and self-connection. Sharing the process with others has been an exercise in deepening of relationships and sharing of inner processes.

My suggestion for other kindred spirits practicing SoulCollage is to share your experience with others some of the time in order to enrich your relationships and strengthen bonds, but make sure you reserve some times to do it just with yourself.

I attended the very first SoulCollage Facilitator Training with Seena Frost in Santa Cruz. The whole experience was marvelous, full of process and creativity! If you have a chance to attend an upcoming Facilitator Training Weekend I would strongly recommend it. I am an art therapist and have used the process with clients to help them examine, explore, and process events and emotions. SoulCollage has become an important part of many of my client's healing journeys.

Here are two of Consu's favorite SoulCollage cards:

Curious Courage
Suit: Committee

I am one who:
   -- is willing to take risks
   -- revels in the new
   -- dares to get close to the unknown to have a closer look
   -- thinks outside the box

-- asks many questions

   -- likes to make friends with fear
   -- understands that it is all a matter of perspective and framing (if only I remembered this all of the time!)
   -- knows that things are sometimes not quite like they look at first glance, are worth a second look

The message that I have for you is: be curious and ask questions before you judge. Above all trust your intuition and have the courage to lovingly push yourself.

This is the very first card that I created. I had just arrived at the SoulCollage Facilitator's Training and felt a little shy in the huge circle. There was an impressive collection of images in the center of the room and as soon as I started looking around I found the main image in this card. I was instantly drawn to it and knew that it had something to say about me at that particular time. I was in transition and I felt a strange thrill to look into the mouth of the imposing dinosaur that was my future, much like the words that emerged through the "I am one" exercise. I knew that things would be okay and that I could trust the process. By the end of the weekend I felt completely comfortable and excited about what was to come in my life.

Balanced

Suit: Committee

I am one who:

-- listens intently

-- mirrors

-- holds on to reality & perspective

-- can tap into many resources

-- is both connected and separate

-- is the very same and yet unique

-- becomes the one you need to make it through

And the message that I have for you is: be genuine and present. Remember that in order to give to others you need to give to yourself.

This card is a part of a series of cards I recently worked on as I explored my professional identity and the role of my job in the context of the rest of my life. This series was instrumental in my process of deciding how to allocate my time in order to meet my various needs and those of others around me. I love the image of the woman and the surroundings that I created for her.

Please visit Consu's website at: http://www.artfulbalancepdx.com

SoulCollage Expressions

Idea of the Week

I use a Flash Drive to store backup images of my SoulCollage cards. It's smaller than a CD and holds more memory. ---from Kindred Spirit Cheryl in Illinois.

Kindred Spirits Member News

Making the Most of Your KaleidoSoul Membership

Keep track of all your Member Benefits on the
Kindred Spirits Home Page.

If you ever forget your password, please send a
reply email to this message.

Special Discount Item
Members Only!

Portable Affirmation Altars:
Remember Who You Are... Always

These beautiful altars are small, lightweight, colorful, unique, and inspiring! Best of all, they're affordable. AND... they're on sale one more day. Only $10.
This special discount ends tomorrow at midnight (November 27). More information on this Members-Only Page.

2008 Soul Colors Desk Calendars

"Wow! It's like a little bit of therapy that fits in the palm of your hand," said one enthusiastic buyer when she picked up one of these nifty little calendars, created specifically for our KaleidoSoul readers.

Each month features a full-color, vibrant mixed media collage by Anne Marie Bennett, along with a quotation carefully chosen to lift your spirits and remind you of your own soul's true colors. The calendar is spiral bound this year, so it's easier to manage, and is printed on heavy, glossy cardstock, similar to (and the same size as) postcards.

On the back of each page are several Journaling Prompts as well as a few SoulCollage Suggestions, specially designed to help you bring the wisdom of the month's quotation into your daily life.

They make great gifts for people who don't practice SoulCollage too. Anyone who loves color and quotations and inner journeys will love this calendar.

For more information, and to read what previous Soul Colors buyers have said about their calendars, please visit this Members Only Page.

Note: These calendars are only $12 for Kindred Spirit Members, or $10 each if you buy more than one. Non-members are paying $15, so you save 20% as a Member.

Upcoming Tele-Playshops

December: Walking Toward Wisdom
with special guest Sharry Teague, SoulCollage Facilitator in Oregon

The Crone--who needs her? You do. Wherever your spot on the span (life span that is), the Crone has gifts to heap upon you. This tele-class can inspire you to connect with your Wise Woman within and learn how to avoid her darker aspects. She can be a bit wicked if not treated respectfully.

Date: Sunday December 2, 2007 - Only 6 more days!

Time: 7 p.m. East Coast Time

Please visit this KaleidoSoul page for the phone number & access code,
as well as exact times in other time zones.

Save the date now. All of our tele-playshops 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.

Upcoming SoulCollage Retreats

All Things Bright & Beautiful- April 10-13, 2008 in Essex, MA.
You asked for it, you got it! A three-night retreat focusing soul-ly on the SoulCollage Animal Companions Suit.

If you're longing to bring the wisdom of the Animals into your life in a creative, personal way within the safety of SoulCollage.... please join us!

There are only 9 spaces left, which means the Retreat is half full already. Wouldn't this be a perfect holiday gift for yourself and/or a friend?

Special for Members Only- you can pay in 5 smaller payments instead of all at once if you like. Also, your cost is $50 less than non-members are paying.

More details are on your Members Only Retreat Info Page .

Soul Nourishment

Resources to support your inner work
as you dive deeper into your beautiful soul

Books:

Ten Poems to Open Your Heart, by Roger Housden, who says Great poetry can alter the way we see ourselves. It can change the way we see the world. I never understood this exactly until I read his books! In this slim but powerful volume, Housden writes about ten beautiful poems by well-loved authors such as: Mary Oliver, Robert Bly, Rumi, Sharon Olds, and more. He lovingly discusses each poem and how it relates to our lives here and now. All of Housden's "Ten Poems to..." books are special and full of current wisdom.

The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, by L. Shlain. This book's intriguing thesis is that literacy changed the way people perceived the world, shifting the balance of power between men and women, Masculine and Feminine.

Eat Mangoes Naked, by SARK. Beautiful, warm, colorful, creative book that deals humorously with life's difficulties and people's "splendid imperfections."

Watercolor for the Artistically Undiscovered, by Thatcher Hurd & John Cassidy. Have you ever wanted to try watercolor, but just don't know where to begin? Then this one's for you! Playful exercises teach basic watercolor techniques and encourage you to explore this terrific medium. Also, you get to paint right in the book as most of the pages are watercolor paper! Also includes a palette of artist-quality watercolors. What could be better than that? (Makes a great gift for your inner creative child!)

Movies:

Cooking My Life- recommended by Kindred Spirit Sharry in Oregon. You can read her review on her blog, Embodied Aging.

Websites:

Women of Intention- Ordinary women making an extraordinary difference.

Ashes and Snow- Absolutely stunning art work by Gregory Colbert. Recommended by Kindred Spirit Bette in Nevada.

A Creative Woman- A yummy site full of wonderful info about Wonder~full Women's workshops, Really Restful Retreats, Gorgeous Groups, Audacious Art, Beautiful Business Ideas, Creative Kaizen Coaching, Magical Events, and they have a great Magical Monthly Museletter which I think you might like as well. Recommended by Kindred Spirit Barbara Ann in Oregon.

Innovation Network- Fun site! Even if you never go beyond the color first page, you can still learn a lot and be challenged creatively by moving your mouse over the various creativity blocks on the page.

More Resources

Ongoing resources that our Kindred Spirit Members find helpful

Inner Surprises Blog: Anne Marie's blog full of an intimate glimpse into her SoulCollage Deck. There also are bimonthly SoulCollage Challenges posted here. You can read past Challenges by clicking on "SoulCollage Challenges" in the right column.

Soul Songs, Your Fr*ee Monthly SoulCollage Newsletter: The November issue is all about Gratitude. You can also read all back issues at the link above. The topics are listed with each issue, so this is a guaranteed excellent resource for you as well!

KaleidoSoul Community Yahoo Group: This is a safe place where you can post your cards (if you want), ask your questions, and virtually "meet" other Kindred Spirits

Final Treasures

Soul Treasures is brought to you by KaleidoSoul, Spinning the fragments of your world into wholeness and beauty through SoulCollage.

^® cards are made either from one's own art or from images found in materials which have been bought by or given to the SoulCollage card maker.
These collaged cards are used only for the cardmaker's own inner exploration. SoulCollage cards are not sold, traded, bartered, or copied (except as a back-up for the cardmaker's own use) as is stated in the Principles of SoulCollage^®.
Where SoulCollage cards are available to be seen by others,
it is for the purposes either of demonstrating the SoulCollage process
or of sharing the cardmakers' inner process in the context of community.
SoulCollage^® is grateful to the artists and photographers
who make this deep awakening process possible
and in all ways SoulCollage^® seeks to be respectful of their rights.

Published by KaleidoSoul.com
and Anne Marie Bennett.
Please do not reproduce or forward this newsletter in any way.
Inner Journeys, copyright 2007, by Anne Marie Bennett.
All rights reserved.

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