Soul Songs: Your SoulCollage NewsletterSoul Songs
Your SoulCollage® Newsletter

Enabling us to sing the songs
we were born to sing
through the practice
of SoulCollage®
Issue #86 August 2012 Theme: Doing Card Readings
Welcome!

Greetings, and welcome to Soul Songs, the official KaleidoSoul Newsletter, and the only monthly newsletter that focuses exclusively on SoulCollage® ideas, resources and artists.

Our intention is to fill each issue (and your life) with inspiration, soul-solace and delight. Whether you are new to SoulCollage®, or already immersed in the creation of your deck, Soul Songs is for you.

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any friends, colleagues, or family members who will enjoy it.

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Read back issues of Soul Songs on this KaleidoSoul page.

Soul Singing with Anne Marie
Anne Marie, the creator of KaleidoSoul.com
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.
  
OUR NEXT TELE-CLASS


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!

Visit this page for more info now.
Guest Columnist: Kat Kirby


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.
 

BLESSING BUNDLE WINNERS!
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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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
 

KaleidoSoul Notes
KaleidoSoul Notes

Noteworthy resources for anyone interested in SoulCollage®

Facilitator TrainingsFacilitator Trainings: Information about content and dates/locations of upcoming trainings of SoulCollage® Facilitators.


SoulCollage websiteSoulCollage 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®!
Upcoming SoulCollage® Retreats

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.

CONTACT US!

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.