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Quotation of the Week
Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something.
It's our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit. ~ Mary Lou Retton   Inner Journeys with Anne Marie Bennett Integrating the Practice of SoulCollage Into Our Daily Lives Note: At the time of publication, I was busy with preparations for Christmas and my granddaughter's second birthday party, so I humbly apologize for not creating a "new" essay for you this week. I hope you enjoy it. This is one that was originally in the December 26, 2006 issue of Soul Treasures. I hope you enjoy it. ReGifting: ReVisited  Okay,
let's all just admit it right now. ReGifting is something we all do. I've done
it, and you probably have too. Candles, potholders, certain books or cd's that
just aren't "us." A box of chocolates when you're cutting down on sugar. We
receive something we really don't like or want, and we put it in the closet (or
the cupboard or the attic) and then when we need a gift for someone and don't
know what to give them, voila! An entire shelf of goodies to choose from (except
in my house, the candy wouldn't still be on that shelf!).I didn't grow up with the ReGifting process... I've only come to find its value as an adult. The first time I tried it, I was nervous and worried that someone would discover what I'd done. A well-meaning friend had given me a stone statue of several cats standing (!) in a circle for my birthday. She knew I liked cats and I suppose she figured anything to do with cats would make me happy. Wrong! So several months later, I carefully wrapped it back up and set it under the tree at our annual office party Yankee Swap. If you've never attended one of these, I'll tell you it's great fun, involving choosing gifts and then actually taking gifts away from other people (if you want to) as part of the game. To my happy surprise, one of my coworkers "stole" the cat statue from another person because he loved it so much. So I'm comfortable now with the idea of ReGifting (as long as I don't mistakenly give it back to the person who gave it to me!). And I want to suggest yet another way to look at it, especially at this time of year when giving and gifts are in the air and everywhere: What if we ReGift others with some of the inner gifts that others give to us? For instance, I receive generosity and affection in abundance from my husband Jeff. I could pass that gift of generosity on to everyone who crosses my path. My friend David gifts me with a genuine passion and childlike excitement for Christmas. I can absorb that enthusiasm and then regift it to the clerk in the corner drugstore who looks like she's having a bad day. My brother John gifts me with a listening ear when I need to talk about a problem that's weighing heavy on my mind. I can accept his gift and at the same time pass it on the next time a friend comes to me with a heavy heart and a story to share. So ReGifting doesn't always have to be about presents that we don't like. It can mean simply being aware of the gifts others give us (the unwrapped kind) and then consciously passing them on to others who also have need of them. Reflection Activities: Make a list of some of your family members and friends (including pets, of course!) and the inner gifts that they give to you. This week as you go about your daily busy-ness, make a conscious effort to pass on at least two of these gifts to someone who crosses your path. Make a note of how this affects the creation of your SoulCollage Community Suit cards.
 Kindred
Spirits Member NewsMaking the Most of Your KaleidoSoul Membership It's really easy to get to your Members' Home Page: 1. Go to KaleidoSoul.com and click on the "Members Log In Here" Logo on the left, under the lavender menu buttons. 2. Type in your Member's Password and press the Enter Key. 3. If you've forgotten your Members' Password, please send a reply to this email and request that we re-send it to you. 4. Voila! You're on your Kindred Spirits Home Page! From here, you can access the Discount Shop, The Audio Library, all back issues of Soul Treasures and everything else. Last 3 days to Save!
All savings expire December 31, 2008... but quantities are limited, so order early! Our Next Tele-Class Enriching Your SoulCollage® Practice with Ritual in the New Year Presented by Jeanne Marie Merkel, M.Div.  SoulCollage
and Ritual are natural partners. In this tele-class we will explore ways we
can enrich and deepen our SoulCollage practice through ritual. We'll begin
with an experiential introduction to ritual - what it is, and how it can
help us cross into a deeper mode of awareness and embody our intentions.
Then we'll look at how the SoulCollage Neters (Presences) come to us as
sacred guests and how we can welcome them. And we'll share ideas for New
Year's and seasonal SoulCollage rituals - Bring your own stories and
experiences!I would invite you to set up a small sacred space near your telephone before you call. Place on a special cloth: a candle (don't light it yet), matches, one SoulCollage card or image that calls you, and any other object you feel drawn to place on the altar. Set your space with intention, center yourself, and then pick up the phone to join the class! (If for any reason you are unable to do this - don't worry - you'll have the opportunity to visualize the space you would have created!) Jeanne Marie Merkel is a Ritual Artist, SoulCollage Facilitator, and Spiritual Counselor who lives in the coastal woodlands of eastern Long Island, NY. She received a Master of Divinity Degree in Psychology and Religion from Union Theological Seminary (NYC), where she studied Christian and Buddhist Contemplative Traditions, Jungian Psychology, the Spiritual Aspects of Trauma and Depression, Movement as Meditation, and the integration of spiritual practice, creativity, community and nature in healing. Jeanne Marie is also a student of indigenous wisdom and an apprentice in the healing and ceremonial traditions of Peru . She is director of the Anam Cara Spiritual Visioning Network, and conducts Rites of Passage. She can be reached through www.anamcaracenter.net. Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009 Phone number to call: 1-218-936-4700 Access code: 83167 Time: 4:00 pm Eastern, 3:00 pm Central, 2:00 pm Mountain, 1:00 pm Pacific, 11 a.m. Hawaiian, 9 pm London, 10 pm Rome, Monday 8 a.m. in Melbourne, Australia and Monday 10 a.m. in New Zealand Save the date now. All of 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. Upcoming
Tele-Classes and Presenters:
January 27, 2009 (Tuesday, 8 pm Eastern time) -Eckhart Tolle, SoulCollage® and the Source, with Fran Cherlow, SoulCollage Facilitator in California. We'll take an inspired look at the transpersonal nature of SoulCollage and the bookA New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, focusing on how we embody this understanding in our lives. Tolle says that consciousness (or the "I Am" experience) is in the background of our lives. What tools can we develop to build this awareness into our everyday lives and what relationship does it have with SoulCollage? Please bring your own questions and musing for this abundant discussion.Suggested handouts to read before the class. These include Quotations from the book A New Earth, reflection questions, and a chart that compares and contrasts concepts between SoulCollage and A New Earth. NOTE: It is NOT necessary to read the book, A New Earth, before attending this tele-class. February 2009 - How To Lead a SoulCollage Group if You're Not a Facilitator, with Imelda Maguire, SoulCollage Facilitator in Ireland. Looking for ideas on how to lead a SoulCollage group, whether or not you're a trained Facilitator? Imelda will share her years of experience leading SoulCollage. Please join us and share your own ideas too, or just hang out and listen. March 2009 - The Voices of Our Addictions: Transformation Through SoulCollage, with Kat Kirby, SoulCollage Facilitator and Art Therapist in San Diego. Shopping, food, Internet use, other people, drugs, alcohol... These are all things that serve us for a time, take away our pain, but no longer work for us. We'll use this hour together to talk about ways we can use SoulCollage to remind us of our authentic self, thereby freeing ourselves of our addictions and finding our way back to health. Kindred Spirits SoulCollage Retreat  Come
As You Are:Nurturing Self-Acceptance with SoulCollage, A Weekend Retreat June 25-28, 2009 Rolling Ridge Retreat Center Andover, Massachusetts There are only 5 spaces left.... is one of them for you? Note: As a special Holiday Gift to all of you, we're leaving the Early Bird prices in place for just a little while longer. Sign up now and save $100... also pay in several smaller monthly payments, so it's affordable for one and all!! Everything you need to know is on this KaleidoSoul page. New England SoulCollage Facilitator Training  April17-19,
2009 in Litchfield, Connecticut. If you've been longing to take your
SoulCollage practice out into the world by becoming an "official" Facilitator,
then please join us for a beautiful spring weekend at
Wisdom House. There's more information
on this KaleidoSoul page. 4 month payment plan available... just make your first payment before January 10 | |||||||||
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SoulCollage
Expressions
featuring
John Travolta. George is a big-hearted auto mechanic who is knocked over by a
flash from the sky on his 37th birthday. Suddenly he can't sleep at night, he
has telekinetic powers, he can read four books a day, and he is able to sense
pre-earthquake activity. Georges' transformation into a wunderkind confounds and
amazes his friends and new lover. But even more astonishing is the way he is
revealed to be a deeply spiritual man who demonstrates selfless love, sees
clearly, serves others, and honors the connections between all things. --- from
Spiritual Rx, Prescriptions for Living a Meaningful Life, by Frederic and Mary
Ann Brussat 
,
by Lindsay Whiting. This gorgeous book reveals the candid and often profound
thoughts of ten artists as they explore the rich and diverse ways in which the
practice of collage cultivates their creativity, engages their own spirituality.
A must-have for anyone serious about collage (that's us!). Includes lots and
lots of beautiful full-color collage images. Very inspirational for anyone doing
SoulCollage work.
,
by Roland Merullo. The perfect novel to begin a new year. This one is by the
author of 
which I wrote about in another issue. American Savior operates from a creative,
spiritual "what if" premise that I found engaging and intriguing: What if Jesus
came back to earth and ran for President of the United States? What if Jesus was
alarmed at how our country has lost its spiritual footing and become dismayed at
how his own teachings have been distorted? What would happen? How would the
media react? How would we react? Told from the first person point of view of a
television reporter who is chosen as Jesus' Chief of Security, this book is one
that I will want to sink into and savor more than once. I found it humorous at
times, moving at others, and altogether a very fine blessing.
,
by Irene Lamberti, D.C. Subtitle: Moving Meditations for Peace, Insight, and
Personal Power. Contains photos with easy-to-follow, step-by-step movements that
illustrate an exciting new kind of mind-body practice: moving meditations that
give added physical power to our prayers. The author is a chiropractor and a
teacher of workshops on embodied prayer. She draws on ancient, universal
principles of sacred dance to create exercises that promote awareness and divine
connections.