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. 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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Hi! I'm Anne Marie, the creator of KaleidoSoul.com, and a SoulCollage® Facilitator in Massachusetts and worldwide online.
I am on a personal writing retreat as we lay out this issue, so please enjoy Linda Woolfson’s column below as well as my archetypal card (Council Suit) for the idea of Marriage in the right hand column of SoulCollager’s cards!
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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 Facilitator
Tammy Stewart from Colorado
Date: Thursday,
April 13, 2023
Time: 1 pm Eastern
FR*EE for our
Only $10 for non-members
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I’m Linda Woolfson, MA, PhD, SoulCollage® Trainer & Facilitator, Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator, writer, translator and creativity catalyst. One of my favourite SoulCollage® activities is to experiment with different types of card-reading. I hope you enjoy immersing yourself in this special end-of-year Council reading!
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From Randomness into Relationship
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SoulCollage® is a precious resource for expanding and deepening the Indra’s Net of relationships which our deck reveals to us through time.
In 1624, the English poet and priest John Donne wrote some words which have resonated powerfully ever since, particularly in our own times:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
In reminding us that life is built entirely of relationships and that nothing exists in isolation, John Donne’s words come close to the core of SoulCollage®. Our magical process is all about what unfolds when we create relationships, delve into exploring them, and let our exploring lead us into revealing more relationships.
Collage is a fabulous medium for enhancing our awareness of the world of relationships we inhabit. We choose apparently random images and bring them into relationship each time we make a SoulCollage® card. This transformation of randomness into relationship happens at every stage and level of the SoulCollage® process, from creating a card, to starting to relate to it by asking it “Who are you?”, to finding a name for the card, to intuiting which suit it belongs in, to drawing the card in a reading, thereby generating more new and surprising relationships with the other cards drawn.
Each new SoulCollage® card becomes a fresh energy-source, a precious resource for expanding and deepening the intricate Indra’s Net of relationships which our SoulCollage® deck reveals to us through time. I love to branch out and explore in playful ways the mysterious webs of relationship hidden in our cards yet ready to show themselves whenever we activate the alchemy of reading them.
One of my favorite forms of playful relationship-spotting is a question-free card reading. Rather than drawing cards in relation to a question you’ve crafted, choose 2-4 card at random and ask them to tell you their story. As Terry Tempest Williams says in Pieces of White Shell:
Story is the umbilical cord that connects us to the past, present, and future. Story is a relationship between the teller and the listener, a responsibility . . . Story is an affirmation of our ties to one another.
These ties can take many different forms, as this question-free type of card reading can show you. To try this, lay out your 2-4 randomly-drawn cards without any gap between them, so that they touch each other. This invites the cards to show themselves as a continuum rather than as three separate images. Then simply ask them to tell you the story of how they relate to each other. Listen to what they tell you.
As an example, here’s a three-card question-free reading I did myself last week:
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The story my three cards told me was all about water – water and flow, forming and transforming, disappearing and re-emerging in unpredictable ways. The water first appears in card 1. It drips lusciously from the sloe-berries into the “cup” of the yellow flowers, as you can see in this close-up of part of the card:
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The water-drops told me that they went underground into the roots of the flowers, flowed across the soil beneath the card, and re-emerged in the form of the rainbow which shoots out from the hole in the tree at the bottom right-hand corner of card 1. This tree-hole happens to align perfectly in shape, color and texture with the rock in card 2, bottom left corner:
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Several rainbows radiate across card 2. We are the bridge-makers, uniting worlds as we appear, fade away and return. We are here to remind you that everything is connected – dynamically connected. Card 3 embodies the rainbows’ observation—everything is hyper-alive here. The ghost of a rainbow shimmers in the flying water between the frolicking bears, while the water-drops in card 1 re-appear as manic-looking stalagmites of water erupting from the stream where the bears are standing:
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In conclusion, the cards told me this: We are happy to have revealed to you the story of the three of us together, the three of us as one. Remember this: you can enjoy yourself in a similar way with any three or four cards in your deck. Romp! Play! Listen to our fables. Let us show you that as jewels on Indra’s Net, we weave a constant, eternal and infinite web of which every image and word is a part.
I hope that the stories you’ll hear from your cards will enrich your relationship with your SoulCollage® deck- and bring you unexpected entertainment too!
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Linda Woolfson, MA, PhD is a SoulCollage® Facilitator and Trainer, Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator, writer, translator, and creativity catalyst. She leads a dual-based life between the United Kingdom and Portugal, offering SoulCollage® and creativity workshops, SoulCollage® Trainings and retreats in both countries. She trained with Seena Frost as a SoulCollage® Facilitator in 2010 and has been a SoulCollage® Trainer since 2014. She loves delving into the depths of SoulCollage® and introducing others to this empowering process. To find out more about Linda’s SoulCollage® offerings, visit her website.
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Building a SoulCollage® Deck:
4 Suits + Transpersonal Cards
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May 10 -31, 2023
Four (2-hour) Zooms
Are you enjoying creating SoulCollage® cards but wondering if there's something beyond that?
Wondering about the four suits and what each one represents?
Wondering how to organize your cards and your journaling?
In need of a refresher course on any of these topics?
If so, this is the Zoom series for you!
Use your special coupon code to save $20.00
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Here are some of our readers' cards on the theme of Relationships.
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Sisters
Committee Suit
Catherine
South Korea
I am one who celebrates the bond between sisters through time. I am one who shares the same family and yet feels apart. I am one who holds firm despite the bitterness and colorful lightness. I am one who continues to learn through our differences and open to the evolution of our unique codes.
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Relationship with Self
Committee Suit
Sharyn
Washington
I am 71 and still creating the relationship experience of self-love. I am exploring the internal and external myths I've heard and believed to my shame and sorrow. I am only now becoming comfortable with the whole concept of self-love and self-compassion. I am working on recognizing rose-colored glasses, accepting whatever I am today on this journey, and whatever I will be tomorrow. I am not a ragamuffin, nor am I a Barbie doll. I am me, and that is enough for this day.
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I-Thou Relationships
Council Suit
Dot
Pennsylvania
I am one who is inspired by Martin Buber’s notion of the holy hyphen between the I and the Thou in relationships. This is the unconditional love from the Divine to the Human. He also presented it as what the nature of our interpersonal relationships “should” be, recognizing the Divine in each other and the Divine moving between and among us.
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Walking with Friends
Committee Suit
Donna
Missouri
I am the one who has learned that the key to survival - especially when you’re in over your head - is to keep breathing and to walk with friends.
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Marriage
Council Suit
Anne Marie
Massachusetts
I am the one who represents the archetypal energy of Marriage with a capital M. I am the one who is all about physical, emotional and spiritual union. I am the one who guides and guards your marriage. I am the one who takes the power of Love and transforms it, through Time, into a committed relationship that is as healing and transformative as you choose to make it.
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Female Friendship
Committee Suit
Donna
Missouri
I am the one who has been blessed with wise women as companions; those who have seen it all, with eyes of love and without judgement and those who can still laugh at life absurdities while keeping their own council.
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The Mentor
Committee Suit
Michele
California
I am one who is honored to provide guidance and mentorship to those who seek it. They teach me so much!
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Tender Compassion
Community Suit
Dot
Pennsylvania
I am one who offers love and compassion in my relationships. My departed life partner, Kay, and I often held each other with such tenderness. When dementia diminished her ability to offer love, I was able to care for her through such love (and lots of support from others) until she passed.
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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:
May: The Moon/Night
June: Source, SoulEssence, Witness
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SoulCollage® for Animal Lovers
with Kimberly Lee
April 27, 2023
Animals bring out the best in us! Their therapeutic presence contributes to our well-being and can be empowering when we take a cue from how they navigate the world—through peaceful coexistence and a reliance on intuition and instinct. In this two-hour workshop, we’ll celebrate the animals in our lives through a variety of activities, combining images with thought-provoking journaling exercises, and guided meditation. We’ll explore the SoulCollage® Companions Suit, honoring animals who connect us to the wisdom of nature. Lots more info here.
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Goddesses of Self-Care Course
* Late Spring Session
with Stephanie Anderson Ladd
Starts April 28, 2023
Do you need help with self-care (aka soul-care)?
These goddesses are here to say, "Self-care is not selfish!"
In the final six-week course of this popular series, you will meet and work with seven goddesses who will guide you to explore these chapter topics from Stephanie Anderson Ladd's book, Goddesses of Self-Care: Hurt & Anger, Abundance & Work/Life Purpose, Health & Healing. You will have the opportunity to make SoulCollage® cards, answer journal prompts, and carry out other creative exercises, plus join in with other women in three Zoom gatherings. Lots more info here.
Come join the fun with a group of like-minded SoulCollagers & creatives!
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MASSACHUSETTS
SoulCollage® Facilitator Training
Westfield, Massachusetts
May 17-21, 2023
Facilitator: Isabel Phillps
Deadline to Register April 30. Empower others to grow and flourish into their full soul expression as a SoulCollage® Facilitator. All you need is a desire to deepen your own SoulCollage® practice and to share the process with the communities of your choice. If you have experienced the transformational power of SoulCollage® to unlock your wisdom and unleash your creativity, this troubled world needs you! Isabel trained as a SoulCollage® Facilitator in 2011 with Mariabruna Sirabella, and became a Trainer in 2019. She is also a Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness Meditation teacher, doing what she can to promote emotional resilience, connection, and spiritual community in our complicated, ramped-up world. Visit this page for lots more info now.
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OHIO
Re-Ignite Your Inner Spark!
A SoulCollage® Women’s Retreat
Dayton, Ohio
June 2 – 4, 2023
Facilitator: Pamela Hubbard, Barbara Miller
No matter where life is taking you right now, this retreat will help you move forward with purpose and joy. Maybe you’ve forgotten who you really are, or perhaps you’re re-imagining who you want to be as you go into a new phase. Maybe you want to explore how to share your passion with the world. This will be a weekend of SoulCollage® card-making, creativity, soul-touching reflection, playful exploration, and fun activities within the circle of positive, supportive women! Visit this page for lots more info now.
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ONTARIO, CANADA
SoulCollage® Facilitator Training
Ontario, Canada
August 9-13, 2023
Facilitator: Jennifer Boire, Kellie McComb
Do you love SoulCollage® and want to learn how to share it with others? Do you enjoy exploring your creative self with intuition, images and imagination? Then come train as a SoulCollage® Facilitator this summer at the Galilee Center, in Arnprior, Ontario, on the banks of the Ottawa River, west of Ottawa. The prerequisites are listed on my website. Early Bird Deadline April 30, 2023.
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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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Congratulations to
Pam McKenzie from Florida
Catherine Tornbom from Arizona
Constance Bovier from Texas
Congratulations, and enjoy your membership!!
Winners were chosen using the Random Number Generator at random.org.
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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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