Soul Singing with Anne Marie
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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.
Completely Random, Completely Divine
I've been practicing SoulCollage® for 7 years now, and
if there's only one piece of advice I would
give people for working with their Decks, it would
be this:
Use your cards to do Readings.
That is it, plain and simple. Reading your cards is
the deepest soul work you can do with SoulCollage®.
And you will be absolutely amazed at how the answers
are right there for you. Always!
One kind of Reading is a consistent practice called
Daily Readings. Or Every-Other-Daily Readings, as
the case may be! Go ahead and try it. Every day (or
every other day) this week, draw one or two cards
randomly from your Deck. Set them on your altar or
bureau or desk, and allow them to keep you company
throughout your day. Better yet, if you have 5
minutes, do a little journaling with each one. Just
a couple of I Am The One Who... sentences and
a couple of sentences that begin with "What I Have
To Say To You Today Is This..."
Here is an example of the
writing I did with my own Every-Other-Daily reading
about a year ago:
I closed my eyes and took a few quiet breaths. I
silenced the inner chatter and allowed myself to
attune to my cards. I asked "Who has something to
say to me today?" And then I waited for inner
guidance about which part of the Deck to choose
from.
The card I drew is pictured above. This is the card
that honors my 29 year old niece, Stephanie. We
share the same birth date, as well as the same
passion for theatre, books, writing and art. As soon
as I turned this card over, I took a sharp breath in
and felt tears starting in my eyes. Why? Because two
weeks before this reading, she had had a stroke
(yes, a stroke!) and was in the hospital, and
on a long road to recovery. She had been constantly
in my thoughts and prayers and dreams. And now,
here, suddenly, my SoulCollage® card for her was
resting in my hands as well. Coincidence? I think
not. I hadn't drawn her card in years in a
daily reading.
So here is the writing that I did with this card, and
it only took a few
minutes to do this. I say this to point out the fact
that some people think that they don't have time for
Daily (or Every-Other-Daily) Readings. But you do!
I am the one who is your niece. I am the one who
loves you and looks up to you and who shares many of
the same soul prints. I am the one who is creative
and colorful and who loves life passionately. What I
have to say to you today is this: I am deeply
connected to you. I am strong and vibrant and I will
be okay. I will be more than okay because of the
love and community of family and friends that
surrounds me with love. I am remembering those
months when you were going through your cancer
treatments in 2002, and I know that if you got
through all of that, that I can get through the
recovery that lies ahead for me. I am the one who
loves you so much.
See! It's really that simple. And that powerful. Doing
consistent readings like this is a beautiful way to
stay connected to yourself, your community of love,
and to the divine. There is nothing like it!
And now a word about the randomness of it all. It
would seem like there is no rhyme or reason to the
cards that you "randomly" draw every day (or every
OTHER day). But there is a sweet divinity to the
randomness. Why is it that I drew Stephanie's card
that day when it hadn't appeared in years? And
why is it that my beloved cat Scooter's card showed
up EVERY WEEK throughout the month before he
unexpectedly died? I am so grateful for that because
it made me pay more attention to him during those
weeks, and after he was gone I was so glad that I
had spent that extra time with him.
As one workshop participant said to me in awe and
wonder several years ago, "the cards we draw are
completely
random, but completely
divine at the same time."
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
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60 minute SoulCollage® tele-class
with SoulCollage® Facilitator/Trainer
Anne Marie Bennett from Massachusetts
Are you looking for a
bright new way to read from your SoulCollage® Deck?
You'll enjoy this class, where you'll be led, step
by step through this very special card reading
created by Kindred Spirit Dawn Zichko who lives in
New York. We'll begin with a brief discussion of the
Four Directions of the Medicine Wheel and what they
stand for, and how they apply to our reading.
Easily Accessible from Anywhere in the World!
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Guest Columnist: Kat Kirby
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I'm Kat Kirby, Art Therapist and SoulCollage® Facilitator and Trainer from Prescott, AZ.
I work with people in
recovery from addictions and eating disorders, and
share my passion for SoulCollage® wherever and
whenever I can. I am excited to be writing for Soul
Songs, and hope you find that my words inspire you
to create a new card or two!
Doing Readings with your SoulCollage®
Cards
Once you create your SoulCollage® cards, what do you
do with them?
If you ask 10 people, you will get 10 different
answers, because using the cards you create is a
very personal endeavor.
However, I think everyone would agree that using the
cards for readings is a wonderful way to meditate,
seek guidance and understand yourself a little
better.
SoulCollage® Facilitator and Trainer in Portland OR,
Suzie Wolfer, probably had no idea she would be
quoted so often when she remarked, "Making
SoulCollage® cards and not using them for readings
is like cooking a beautiful meal and not eating it!"
(or something close to that!)
There are many different ways to do readings, and if
you are new to the process, here are a few
suggestions:
1) The most simple process is to draw one card each
day and focus on its energy. Let it be your guide
for the day.
2) Use the cards for meditation. Draw 2 cards each
morning. Seena Frost, founder of SoulCollage®, draws
2 cards as part of her morning ritual; one from her
Community suit and one other card. She will contact
the person if she can, and the other card becomes
her focus or mantra for the day.
3) Draw 3 cards. These can represent the past,
present and future, or perhaps other things, such as
"What will help you/What will hinder you/ What is
your unrealized potential" or "What you aspire
to/What is in the way/How you can overcome this and
achieve your aspiration" or "You/your current
path/your potential". As you can see, it really can
be limitless, and you are allowed to create your own
rituals.
4) Draw one card. This card generates the question.
Draw another one or two cards. These will provide
insight or some sort of answer to the first card.
5) (My personal favorite). Craft a well-worded
question about something that is on your mind,
something you would like help with. Be sure you are
really asking what you want to ask. Sometimes your
original question will morph into a totally new one
if you sit with it. Try to make it an "open
question", meaning you can't answer with a simple
yes or no. Start with the phrase "Which cards have
something to say to me about...." or "What can the
cards tell me about....". Turn your cards face down,
close your eyes and choose 4 cards, putting them
carefully in order. Or keep your eyes open and
choose one card from each suit (because of course
you have put all your cards into suits and have
beautiful backings on them!) Ask your question; turn
over the first card, and journal about whatever
comes to mind. Stay with the card as long as it
feels right, then take a deep breath, ask the
question again, and turn the next card over. The
picture with this article shows one of my 4-card
spreads, which provided brilliant guidance for me at
that time.
6) No question? Ask "Which Neters have something to
say to me today?" or "Which cards want to be
acknowledged?" Choose 3 or 4 cards and see what
comes up. Keep your journal handy, as you might be
surprised at what shows up, and will want to record
it.
7) Borrow card spreads from other practices, such
as the Five Card Spread in Tarot, in which the
placement of each card holds meaning referring to
the past, present, unconscious influences, advice
and outcome; or the Horseshoe spread to provide
guidance. Card readings with the Tarot deck often
predict the future or give you an answer to a yes or
no question. However, you can change the way it's
done to suit your needs and to keep the SoulCollage®
process pure.
I often do a reading before I travel, before a
workshop or retreat, before a Training, and to bring
about some understanding if something is bothering
me. I know some people do readings daily or even
weekly, and if that works for you, that is great.
Another wonderful way to work with readings is to
form a Reading group that meets monthly. Choose your
group carefully, as you want to create a safe space
to delve into your cards in the presence of others,
and once you do, you'll love the amazing feeling
of being witnessed as you learn about one another
through your cards.
Find a way to work with your cards that honors your
schedule, your own needs, and you will find it much
easier to continue that to set up an unrealistic
expectation for yourself.
These will probably get you started in a new ritual
for your self-care and your well-being. I know there
are facilitators in our community who have crafted
many other ways of reading cards, and I hope they
will let us all know how they like to do readings.
Please try out some of these different ways of doing
readings, and let me know how it goes! And always
remember to "trust the process."
Kat Kirby is a Registered Art Therapist,
SoulCollage® Facilitator and Trainer. She leads
creative workshops and retreats throughout the US
and abroad. Kat has been working with SoulCollage®
since 2006 and believes strongly in the healing
power of the arts. For more information about Kat's
SoulCollage® workshops, trainings, and retreats,
please visit her website,
2 Kat Studios.
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BLESSING BUNDLE WINNERS!
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Congratulations to Our Winners!
Natalie Olivas of California and
Carol Davis of New Hampshire each won a Blessing
Bundle of SoulCollage® supplies for
joining
Kindred Spirits in July.
Congratulations, and enjoy your membership!
Winners were chosen using the Random Number
Generator at random.org.
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FEATURED PRODUCT
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Click image above for the KaleidoSoul Shop.
Use Coupon Code STOCKUP on checkout screen.
Save 25% on all quantities
of precut 5x8 mats
for your card making pleasure!
Expires August 15, 2012
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KaleidoSoul Creations
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As promised, we are
featuring SoulCollage® cards from our readers in
each issue.
This month we did an Open Call for cards, and below
are the first six we received. Thank you to all who
shared!
Evocateur
Council Suit
Rhoda
Washington
Speak, Oh Frozen Voice, I beseech you!
Allow the light of the sun to fill you with
radiance.
Open your mouth and let Spirit speak through you.
Share with us your truth and wisdom.
Let us hear your holy words.
Open Door
Committee Suit
Nancy
New Jersey
I am the one who dances by the firelight, winding
my own purple labyrinth, dressed to the nines as I
deserve to be.
I am the one who has lush green for my dance floor
and rushing water for my orchestra.
Folly
Committee Suit
Linda
Florida
I am one who chases butterflies.
I like a good adventure, yet sometimes get myself
into situations which are harder than I anticipated.
As I go about my trek through this garden place, I
am ever mindful of my higher aspirations, as well as
the treacherous impediments that seek to devour me.
I am one who longs for home and to be the greatest
expression of "Who I Really Am."
Leo the Protector
Companions Suit
Deb
Virginia
I am the one who protects and transcends.
I am filled with the light and power of Spirit, and
I share it freely with those in need - even when the
one who needs it most is ME.
The power is within - there for the asking. There
for the using.
There for me to share. I am the one who can recline
regally and allow the small irritants of life to
pass by, unnoticed.
I am the one who is at the ready, should the need
for strength, speed and cunning arise.
Survivor
Suit Unknown
Maria
Brazil
I am the one who sees like a child, and always
finds a reason for a smile.
I am the one who sees people working hard to
survive who have no time to look inside
themselves.
I am the one who is blessed for having everything
that money can't buy.
I am the one who keeps spreading good seeds as
much as I can.
Bridges
Committee Suit
Cheryl
Illinois
I am one who has chained the bridge to the
past; the past that has held me hostage.
I am one who no longer sees the mirror's
rear-view.
I am one who has crossed over the bridge of the
past, and enters into the fresh, vivid aliveness
of today.
I am one who knows the importance of mirror-work,
to see and nurture my self.
Please feel free to submit one of your
cards for a future issue by sending a reply
email to this newsletter.
Future themes include:
Sadness
Seasons: Autumn
Forgiveness
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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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Upcoming SoulCollage® Retreats
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WISCONSIN
Cowgirls with Crayons West
Chester, Pennsylvania September
7-9, 2012
Facilitator: Kat Kirby, Jill Badonsky
Connect with your inner cowgirl! Join
SoulCollage® Facilitators Jill Badonsky and Kat
Kirby for a weekend of exploration and enjoyment
of SoulCollage®, creative writing, fabulous
journal prompts and more (maybe even some line
dancing!)
Email Kat Kirby for
more information.
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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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