| Soul
Singing with Anne Marie |
Hi!
I'm Anne Marie, the creator of KaleidoSoul.com, and a
SoulCollage® facilitator in Massachusetts. If you're
just starting to sing your song with SoulCollage®, this column is
especially for you.
Cycle of Seasons
Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.
--- Black Elk Oglala Sioux Holy Man
 Growing up in New England, I was always all about the seasons. Fall was my favorite, followed by spring. Winter and summer? Too extreme for me- too cold, too hot. I liked the milder, more forgiving times of year, the in-between times. In my twenties, I lived for several years in Virginia, and I missed the clear seasonal changes throughout the year. In Virginia the summers were way too long; the winters too short. Spring and autumn were beautiful, but not nearly as distinct as I'd come to love in New England.
I'm in my fifties now, back at home in New England, and find that autumn and spring are still my favorites. I continue to find the extreme heat of summer and the formidable chill of winter pretty darned uncomfortable. However, with the introduction of SoulCollage® and archetypes to my life, I am discovering that each season has something powerful and mystical to teach us, not only about Nature, but about our lives as well.
A few years ago, I was on the planning circle for one of our large SoulCollage® Facilitator Conferences. The theme was "Nurturing Our Souls Through Life's Seasons," and during our first planning call, we were asked to share with the group what Season we felt we were in in our own lives. That was the first time I was compelled to think of Spring-Summer-Autumn-Winter in terms of something other than weather! And to my surprise, my response was I am the one who is in the Summer of my life.
I was surprised, because up until then I had thought of the seasons of one's life as divided into decades, with spring being until age 20, summer until age 40, autumn until age 60 and winter- everything beyond that. According to that pattern, I would be in the autumn of my life. However, I began to think of what Autumn, as a season, as an archetype, really was all about. And I quickly decided that I was NOT in the autumn of my life, but rather summer: lush, bright, warm, bounteous, abundant summer.
And when our planning circle met, I was delighted to hear that the seasons of life we were each in had absolutely nothing to do with our ages!
Reflection Activity: Spend some time this month thinking about the seasons of your own life. How would you describe them in terms of life changes and patterns instead of weather? What season are you in right now? Maybe you're in a different season in a relationship with a partner than you are with yourself. Maybe your work life is in one season and your spiritual life is in a different season. Look for images this month that reflect a bounteous Summer season in your own life, either literal or metaphorical, past, present, or even future. Try making a SoulCollage® card for your Deck to honor the archetypal season of Summer.
Resources that have helped me see the beauty of the seasons in my own life:
Anne Marie Bennett is a writer, self-taught
artist, website goddess, cancer survivor, and SoulCollage®
Facilitator / Trainer who was mentored directly by Seena Frost. In
2005, she fell in love with SoulCollage® and was inspired to use
her professional experience along with Internet technology as a
means to serve the world by putting SoulCollage® "out there" in a
really big way with KaleidoSoul. Anne Marie lives in eastern
Massachusetts with her middle-aged husband, two elderly cats and
one youthful dog who keeps them all young. You can read more about
her on her website annemariebennett.com or on
her blogs Inner
Surprises, and Standing
Still.
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OUR NEXT TELE-CLASS |
60 minute SoulCollage® tele-class
with SoulCollage® Facilitator
Kayce Hughlett in California
Most people are familiar with the Inner Critic and those other inner voices that attempt to discourage us in life, but what about the flip side? Who shows up when you need that extra boost of encouragement toward the finish line? We'll gather together to discuss and experience this very real inner part, your own Inner Cheerleader, who might just need some coaxing out.
Easily Accessible from Anywhere in the World!
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| Guest
Column: Imelda Maguire |
Hello! I'm Imelda Maguire, SoulCollage® facilitator from Donegal, Ireland. Also a counselor and poet, my joy is in working with others in healing and creativity. This column is for those of you who have already made some cards & are ready to discover the symphony of voices inside of you and around you.
Summer
Summer – it might not be the topic you would expect someone from my part of the world (Ireland, known for its "soft" weather at all seasons) to know a lot about, but when Anne Marie listed the archetype of Summer as one of the forthcoming topics for Soul Songs, I felt immediately that I wanted to explore and share a little of how Summer manifests and speaks to me through my SoulCollage® cards.
In coming to write, I found myself detailing some of the words that I associate with summer – chanting words like
light, zenith, height, pollination..., looking to see where those become visible in images I choose, or in cards I have already made. I am aware of the stereotypical images of summer – beach umbrellas, ice-cream cones. I have snatches of "summer songs" in my mind – Remember the
Lazy, Hazy Crazy days of Summer? Or the Summer Breeze (that) makes me feel fine? Are they anywhere in your cards? Could they be?
Interestingly, when I turned to my deck, and began to turn over each card one by one, seeking those that speak to me of summer, few of those that called me are particularly light-filled, or depict height, though there is one image of a bee on a great big purple clematis flower, with a field of daisies in the background that could be late spring, but that also feels summery to me. This is it... the others that I selected, have the
feeling of summer, they have a feeling of wellbeing, of contentment; there is joy, abandon, and pleasure in the images they contain – and more images of children than of adults. They answer the question "What do I
feel and see in the light of summer?"
One of the cards I selected is actually the community card that honours my mother, and my mother was most definitely called by the archetype of summer. She loved to be outdoors, to play childrens' games, to swing on a swing, to make daisy-chains.
Another is a card I think of
as "Sisterhood" (see above), because the times I've always enjoyed best sharing with my sisters have been in summertime. Just looking at the bare legs in the air in this card makes me feel the essence of Summer all over - no matter what the weather is doing in "real" time!
So... to explore where the archetype of summer is in your deck, perhaps you would like to browse your cards, or your stash of images with thoughts such as these drifting like dandelion-fluff in your mind...
- In summer, I am...
- In summer, I can be...
- When a relationship is in summer, it...
- When it is summer in my work, it...
- My heart is in summer when...
- Summer speaks to me through...
- What do I see now that I did not see in spring, when my energy was different?
- What can I carry through from summer to the coming autumn, the winter?
- What ideas or creations have been pollinated, ready to grow and bear fruit?
Is there a card, group of cards, or bundle of images that come together to form your "summer SoulCollage?" Spend some time with them, journal what message Summer has for you, make a new card, speak or write some "I am one who..." statements, even from an existing card that you have not thought of as a summer-card, but now look at it in the light of summer.
Another card that whispers "summer" to me is in the right hand column of this issue.
May you all have a blessed and light-filled summer, (and to our friends who are having winter right now... may summer's light come into your home through the gifts of your SoulCollage® process!)
Imelda Maguire is a SoulCollage® facilitator from Donegal, Ireland. A counsellor, poet, Bach Flower Remedy practitioner, and creative-writing facilitator, her joy is in working with others, in witnessing a-ha moments and experiences of healing. She has been sharing SoulCollage® with groups since 2003, when she first discovered the process, and delights in others' excitement on meeting their Neters for the first time.
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JOIN MEMBERSHIP- WIN A BLESSING BUNDLE! |
 Join the affordable and inspiring
Kindred Spirits Membership
anytime in July 2012
and you'll have a chance to win
one of two Blessing Bundles,
each worth over $100!
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| KaleidoSoul Creations |
As promised, we are featuring
SoulCollage® cards from our readers in each issue.
Each card below is a card that represents Summer from one SoulCollager's Deck.
Aphrodite
Council Suit
Linda
I am the one who celebrates heaven on earth through my senses – the cool, clear touch of sea-water on my receptive skin, the wafting breeze stroking my temples as she lilts by, the creamy caress of fine fabrics and the sharp pleasure of red seeds' abundance.
I experience directly and without shame the sacred closeness of body to soul.
Summer Solstice
Council Suit
Dot
Pennsylvania
I am the one who stands at the start of summer,
marking the longest day of the year.
I invite sheer reverie:
dancing ‘round the fire of
light
burning brightly through first summer night
in celebration and anticipation of vacation
yet to be.
Come, dance with me in summer solstice reverie.
Child of Summer
Council Suit
Imelda
Ireland
I am the Child of Summer.
I am one who is free and happy to run into the world, to follow my curiosity.
I am one who glories in the feeling of running in fields of gold.
I am one who is showered with the light of summer.
I am one who hears Mother Nature's call and follows her in delight.
Summer
Council Suit
Anne Marie
Massachusetts
I am the one who is standing behind lush greenery.
I am the one in full bloom.
I am the one who is framed by greens that are moist with raindrops.
I am the one in the full surge of growth.
I am the one who is Summer- warmth, sun, openness and growth.
I am the one who is secure and serene and strong.
I am the one who is rising up out of the growth.
I am the one who is smiling because I am right where I need to be.
I am the one who is vibrant and full of life.
Please feel free to submit one of your cards for a
future issue by sending a reply email to this
newsletter.
Future themes include:
August - Open Gallery
(send us anything!)
September -
Sadness/Loss
October - Seasons: Autumn
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KaleidoSoul Notes
Noteworthy
resources for anyone interested in SoulCollage®
 Facilitator
Trainings: Information about content and
dates/locations of upcoming trainings of SoulCollage®
Facilitators.
SoulCollage
website - Seena Frost created the process of
SoulCollage®, and this is her website.
KaleidoSoul -
Spinning the fragments of your world into wholeness and beauty
through SoulCollage®.
Kindred
Spirits Join our fast-growing worldwide
membership of people who put the "soul" in SoulCollage®!
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| Online Workshop |
REGISTRATION ENDS
THIS SUNDAY
Facilitated by:
Anne Marie Bennett
July 15 * July 29 * August 5
If you've made some "darker" cards
and have been avoiding working with them,
this class will show you compassionate, gentle, safe ways
to explore these shadowy parts of yourself.
What better way to do this
than in the beautiful light of the SoulCollage® process!
Full investment: $67
Kindred Spirits save $15
Visit this page for more info now.
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| Upcoming SoulCollage® Retreats |
WISCONSIN
Finding Your Inner Compass with SoulCollage®
Willard,
Wisconsin
July 27-29, 2012
Facilitator: Audrey
Chowdhury
Are you feeling
lost during these times of great transition? If so, this is your
chance to stop, reflect, and recover your inner wisdom. This
retreat is designed to help you reconnect with your heart's desire.
You will have the opportunity to:
- journey through the realm
of the soul through musical soul journeying,
- create SoulCollage®
cards
- make mandalas (circle
drawings using pastels)
- share with kindred
spirits
- consult with Audrey
individually
- walk in the beautiful
wooded grounds
- eat delicious, organic,
nutritious meals
- meditate in the exquisite
chapel
Registration
Info Here
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CONTACT US!
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Soul Songs
Back Issues - Read back issues of Soul Songs on
this
KaleidoSoul page.
Just look for whatever SoulCollage® topic you are interested
in,
and read to your heart's content!
SoulCollage® is a trademarked process created by
Seena B. Frost.
For more information about Seena and the origins of SoulCollage®,
please visit her
website.
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
cardmakers 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.
All articles in SOUL SONGS are copyrighted
2012,
by Anne Marie Bennett and
Cat Caracelo, Imelda Maguire,
Kat Kirby, or Catherine Anderson.
Articles may be reprinted by permission only.
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Soul Songs
