Greetings, and welcome to Soul Songs, the official KaleidoSoul Newsletter, focusing on SoulCollage® ideas, resources and cards. Our intention is to fill each issue (and your life) with inspiration, soul-solace and delight.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any friends, colleagues, or family members who will enjoy it.
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Hi! I'm Anne Marie, the creator of KaleidoSoul.com, and a SoulCollage® Facilitator in Massachusetts and worldwide online. |
I am going to spend some time this month focusing on two quotes that relate to our theme of Celebration, and I encourage you to do the same. You might want to journal with each question yourself AND think how fun it would be to pose one of the questions to your deck, draw three cards randomly and let those three Neters help you dig a little deeper into the answers.
Gratitude celebrates life with a joyful "yes"
at every knot of the great network
in which everything is connected to everything.
~ Brother David Steindl-Rast
How does a steady gratitude practice bring about a feeling of celebration—of your life, or of life in general?
What can you do to recognize the fact that you are an integral part of this “great network” where you are connected to everyone and everything?
In what ways can I choose to celebrate life today?
The more you find broken,
the more you need to fix.
The more you find whole,
the more you need to celebrate.
~ Alan Cohen
Make a list of everything in your life (body, mind, spirit, friends, family, work . . . etc.) that is already whole. Focus on this wholeness instead of letting your mind wander toward what needs to be fixed.
Looking back over my life, when have you felt most whole/complete/nothing missing?
Consider making a SoulCollage® card for Wholeness (that’s mine, above) or Celebration (see many examples in the right hand column here.
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Anne Marie Bennett is a SoulCollage® Facilitator / Trainer, published author, website goddess, and two-time cancer survivor who was mentored directly by Seena Frost.Anne Marie lives in eastern Massachusetts with her middle-aged husband, one adolescent feline, and a treasury of birds, squirrels and chipmunks who keep them hopping. Her books about SoulCollage® are available here.
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90-minute SoulCollage® Zoom
with SoulCollage® Facilitator
Maryann Frantz from New Jersey
Date: Tuesday, July 25
Time: 4 pm Eastern
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FR*EE for our
Only $10 for non-members
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Celebration is a Choice
Hello friends, and welcome to summer! I am grateful to be joining you again through the written word, and our shared community of SoulCollagers. I am finding that the longer I write these contributions to Soul Songs, the more I encounter the Trickster archetype, and the wily ways in which our abundant Universe teaches us the lessons we need to learn. This is, after all, a major benefit to the practice of SoulCollage®, is it not? A portal into the mysterious threads that connect us to our Truest Self, and the winding road we must take to get there.
Take this month’s column, for example. As this issue is being released in July, my birthday month, I thought this would be a great opportunity to make cards related to the theme of Celebration, and to share a celebratory article with you. Then, as May rolled around and it was time to start writing, I found myself slipping into a sad space. Not a full-blown depressive episode, mind you, but a doldrum that I couldn’t shake, bringing with it loneliness and disgruntlement—a marked aversion to celebration.
“Bah humbug,” I thought, as the season of celebration approached. My younger daughter was graduating elementary school; my first born was having her milestone 25th birthday; the students in my year-long Reiki training were completing the program; and a whole slew of other upcoming celebrations were approaching. But I didn’t feel like celebrating, and I certainly didn’t feel inspired to write about it.
My work over the past two decades has firmly convinced me that joy and celebration are our birthright, are central to the whole and True Self that we really are. And yet at times they can feel miles away from us, rather than embedded in our spacious hearts where I know them to live. So . . .
How do we find our way back to joy and celebration when we feel mired in emotions that feel the opposite?
In these times, we can turn to our practices, including SoulCollage® and the origins of Reiki, that are specifically crafted to re-focus our attention on our center, and to clear away all that is in the way of our joyful Self.
That’s why I turned to my existing deck to ask for guidance back to my center. As is so often the case, the wisdom (and at time- scathing truth) my cards offered was spot-on, directed by our Trickster Universe to show me exactly the ways in which I was blocking my access to celebration. I believe there is wisdom here for our collective as well, and so I share below a condensed version of the narrative offered by the reading.
Please click/tap each image to see it full-size.
Inquiry: What is my pathway back to Celebration during this sadness?
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Perception (Companions, 6th Chakra)
I am one who holds limitless perspective, moving with swift purpose through the world of possibility. I ask: ‘How might you shift your current perspective of celebration to take in a wider view?’
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Laila (Community, my youngest daughter)
I am one who is growing into who I am, and fiercely protects what is emerging. As you shift your perspective, focus not on your sadness and resistance to celebration, but on the people you seek to celebrate. Let love and generosity lead you back to joy.
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Self-Reflection (Committee)
I am one who gazes with courage, curiosity, and compassion into my own depths, knowing that the true treasure is found within. Look past self-pity to the unmet needs and distractions keeping you stuck. Do the work you teach others to do, walk your talk.
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Compassionate Leader (Council)
I am one who inspires others and influences change through supportive loving action. I own my power as a change-maker, balanced by love & riding the wave of creativity. Understand that celebration happens because someone takes leadership, someone decides to step into the actions needed to recognize and honor the moment. Draw on your intellect and intuition and choose to take compassionate action despite the sadness. And then watch your whole being step into the flow. Remember that celebration is a choice.
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How DO we find our way to fully embodied celebration when we are experiencing sadness, difficulty or distraction? We use honest self-inquiry to shift our perspective to focus on those we seek to celebrate, stepping into generosity and love. We remember that celebration is a choice requiring leadership, and that within our spheres of influence of any scale, we have the power and the capacity to step into the compassionate leadership that uplifts us all.
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Michaela Daystar trained as a SoulCollage® Facilitator in 2013 with Mariabruna Sirabella and Seena Frost, and has brought SoulCollage® into myriad spaces, from college classrooms to government agencies. She is trained in the Japanese origins of the system of Reiki through the International House of Reiki, and teaches all levels of Reiki at her wellness studio in Davis, California, as well as on-line. Visit Michaela at her website, HeartScapes.
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Save 75% on Kindle e-book: 6.99 $ 1.99
Save 25% on Paperback: 15.25 $11.11
SoulCollage® Topics Included in the Book:
Honoring Self
Honoring Others
Honoring Specific Neters
Honoring Our Naysayers/Shadowed Neters
Honoring Our Work with the Cards
Honoring Our Questions
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Here are some of our readers' cards on the theme of Celebrations. |
Summer Solstice Celebration
Council Suit
Dot
Pennsylvania
I am one who celebrates the Summer Solstice with joy and a dancing spirit. I am one who marks this, the longest day, with time outdoors and when the darkness comes, with candlelight to keep the light going longer. Halfway, once again to Winter Solstice, the Wheel of the Year keeps turning, reminding me to stay close to Mother Nature and to mark the seasons as they come and go. Light will wane, darkness waxes, and then they will reverse, and light will grow again.
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And Justice for All
Committee Suit
Natalie
Colorado
I am one who declares that all citizens deserve to live in a free country that promotes justice and civil rights for everyone. I am one who promotes true democracy in which all may register and vote easily.
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Celebration
Committee
Kelley
Texas
I am the one who longs to cut loose and drink from the fullness of life before all the birthdays go by!
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Owning It!
Committee Suit
Jeffy
Colorado
I Am One Who is dancing into my 70’s with a youthful spirit. I Am One Who is Owning It and celebrating my birthday embracing my roots and wings. I am secure in the present & ready for take-off.
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Banquet of Belonging
Council Suit
Jo
Australia
I am one who loves the colour, vibrancy and sense of community and sharing.
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Pop the Cork
Committee Suit
Dot
Pennsylvania
I am one who likes to pop the cork on some bubbly to celebrate special events and times. Perhaps the celebration brings a gift. I am one who likes to put my unique imprint on gifts and celebration! Come join the fun!
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Sweet Honey
in the Rock
Community Suit
Jeffy
Colorado
I Am One Who celebrates life with music and movement and the love of friendship. Together, with my Soul Sisters, we are empowered by uninhibited freedom and ancestral wisdom.
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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 Call (send us anything!)
September: Companions Suit
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Noteworthy resources for anyone interested in SoulCollage®
KaleidoSoul - Spinning the fragments of your world into wholeness and beauty through SoulCollage®.
Membership- Worldwide connections with SoulCollagers, plus 24/7 inspiration and ideas for card making and working with your cards!
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Creative Depth Training & Certification
with Cat Caracelo
Starts September 4, 2023
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This program is intentionally developed for life-long learners, seekers, deep thinkers, artists, healers, educators, guides and SoulCollagers. It is a Jungian-based depth training offering distinctive experiential learning that can build and hone your expertise to hold, guide, coach and serve others, while using transformative art, narrative coaching, and blended process.
The 12-month program is designed for you to align, shine, and experience your life with new perspective and potential. This is the right time to explore your sense of presence, to open into unrealized dreams, and determine your unique voice.
Creative Depth Coach Certification has been ICF Approved, offering a distinctive coaching approach, and a dynamic learning journey for facilitators, artists, practitioners and professionals.
extended payments, and added bonus materials.
Be sure to use your special coupon code when you register.
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MASSACHUSETTS
SoulCollage® Facilitator Training
Westfield, Massachusetts
October 25-29, 2023
Trainer: Isabel Phillps
Do you long to contribute to a greater sense of well-being in the world, by deepening your own practice and supporting the personal growth and self-discovery of others? If so, this troubled world needs you! By learning how to facilitate SoulCollage® in community, you can empower others to flourish into their full soul expression. For information about registration, costs and how to prepare for the Training, please visit this page for more information now.
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TEXAS
Art and Soul Equinox Retreat
Austin Hill Country, Texas
September 24-28, 2023
Facilitator: Cat Caracelo
Experience the pleasure of coming into a creative community as we explore and embrace joy in the journey. Feel the energy of renewal, expand your soul stories, experience creative curiosity and sacred play in the verdant landscape, where we celebrate the shifting energies of the Autumn Equinox. Gather with kindred women for an immersive and expanded experience. Explore creative play, expressive arts with SoulCollage® and more. Work with archetypal presence and elemental energies that will enliven your life and spark possibilities. Visit this page for lots more info now.
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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®,
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.
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All articles in SOUL SONGS are copyrighted 2023,
by Anne Marie Bennett, Cat Caracelo, Linda Woolfson,
Michaela Daystar, or Michele Manos.
Articles may be reprinted by permission only.
Image of singing birds Copyright: Kudryashka from Deposit Photos.
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