Hi everyone! Collage, in some form, has been a part of my life since I was a child. When I kept creating collages into my late teens and early twenties, I started to wonder what all the images meant, and searched for a book that might shed some light on this. I looked into psychology and art therapy, but could never find something about collage. Then, in a bookstore in Worcester, the year that the first SoulCollage® book was published by Seena Frost (2001), I happened upon it in the metaphysical section. It was wrapped in plastic, and I wondered about what might be inside the pages. I took the chance that it might answer my questions and bought it “sight unseen.” Did it ever answer my questions and then some! I trained as a SoulCollage® Facilitator with Anne Marie in 2007 as traveling to California was not an option for me. Meeting Anne Marie and finding out about KaleidoSoul was amazing as we have been in touch since them! (Some readers may remember that I was a KaleidoSoul Assistant for a few years.)

In 2014, I graduated with my MSW, and I am now a licensed clinical social worker who not only finds personal and professional growth through SoulCollage® but also sees how the process informs Internal Family Systems (IFS) and makes all the “parts” of ourselves fleshed out so that we might better befriend them and learn the wisdom and strengths each has.

One card I want to share today is “Miss Perfect.” She is quite prim, isn’t she? As you can imagine, a part of yourself that is exacting can be quite demanding, direct, and well, at times a bit harsh! There is no room for error with her. Using IFS, I have come to appreciate Miss Perfect and see how she is just the person I want around when I am editing something. I would even call her when it comes to vacation planning and having exactly what we need. She has bandages, a tape measure, and an umbrella if needed! Miss Perfect used to rule things with a heavy hand and now that I’ve given her specific tasks that she enjoys, she is far more agreeable!

Prim as ever, she takes joy in her impeccable appearance while also making room for “life” to happen because she has fun tasks like planning parties and things like that where she uses her focus and skills to my benefit! She’s busy organizing and loves this task, so she has less time to devote to criticism. (It is a win for “both” of us!)

What I love about SoulCollage® is that the cast of characters can change over time. Miss Perfect is just one example. I also love that SoulCollage® is a freeing way to explore both positive qualities and those that are more difficult to reckon with at times. It embraces all of who we are and connects us to others as well as to themes over time through archetypal Neters that connect us across time.

My advice for anyone using SoulCollage® is to remember to work with your cards. I have had a history of making cards and not using them. Let them inspire you. Display them and enjoy them! My spouse made me a wooden card stand and this way I get to dialogue with my Neters often. I also enjoy Tarot for self-reflection and use the “I Am the One Who…” phrasing to speak from the images in Tarot, Oracle, and other cards as well.

One thing I also suggest is to “retire” cards if/when you want. I have given away cards and I have also removed the cellphone from them and then burned them ritually to let their energy be transformed and released. There is a lot of “advice” around keeping cards and not destroying them, yet I believe what you wish to do is what you should do around this. The act of letting go is just as powerful for me with cards as making them. I don’t regret a single one I’ve passed along or burned!

I’ll share another card in closing that I made as part of realizing a need to celebrate more in my life. Enjoy SoulCollage® and let it enrich your life and relationships with others as well as your relationship with yourself!

In this 3-month journey, Kata brings together SoulCollage®, art making, journaling, prompted inquiry, guided visualization, mindfulness exercises, and group coaching to support you wherever you are on your life's journey.

Do you have an online SoulCollage-focused event that you'd like to advertise here? Excellent idea! Soul Songs goes out to over 2200 avid SoulCollagers every month and Soul Treasures reaches 900+ paid subscribers who love SoulCollage®. Please send a reply to this email or use the Contact form on KaleidoSoul.com and we'll send you more info.

Take My Hand, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a searing and compassionate new novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible injustice done to her patients. Highly recommend. 

The Yellow Envelope, by Kim Dinan. One Gift, Three Rules, and a Life Changing Journey Around the World.  After Kim and her husband decide to quit their jobs to travel around the world, they're given a yellow envelope containing a check and instructions to give the money away. The only three rules for the envelope: Don't overthink it; share your experiences; don't feel pressured to give it all away. Through Ecuador, Nepal, and beyond, Kim and Brian face obstacles, including major challenges to their relationship. As she distributes the gift to people she encounters along the way she learns that money does not have a thing to do with the capacity to give, but that giving--of ourselves--is transformational.

The Archetypes Simplified, by J L Rodriguez. An Exploration of the Roles People Play. Imagine life is a stage and you are the actor trying out for different character roles. Each role has light (beneficial) attributes but also has dark (adverse) qualities, however, each role provides us with lessons to be learned - this is the world of the 'archetype'. These archetypes are universal character patterns that have existed throughout time and across cultures. We all adapt and display them, but the ones we exhibit can differ.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, featuring Keira Knightly, Steve Carrell. I love both of these actors and was delighted to see them together in this oddly funny, beautifully touching film.

Soul Treasures is brought to you by KaleidoSoul.com,

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 card maker's 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 of sharing the card maker's 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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