SoulCollage® Community Update
February 2020
SoulCollage® Evolving Book Study
Chapter 1 - What is SoulCollage®? 
by LeAnne Nesbitt


A woman walked up to me after the workshop with tears in her eyes, I often half-joke that I know it's been a good workshop if someone cries, and I can usually count on a few tears coming forth. The safe, gentle process of SoulCollage® has a way of sneaking up on a person. As we meet again those parts of ourselves that we've lost touch with or perhaps disowned, the reunion can be quite emotional.

Contemplative Artist
(Committee Suit)
by LeAnne Nesbitt

I Am One Who is inspired and healed in the process of making art .
Instant Artists

For this woman, it was meeting her inner artist for the first time that prompted the flow of tears. She said, "I never thought of myself as a creative person, much less artistic. My card is beautiful! I had no idea I could do something like this." I've heard many variations of this same sentiment over the years since I became a Facilitator.

In the opening paragraph of SoulCollage® Evolving, Seena Frost immediately challenges the reader to move past this first, common obstacle expressed by those who are new to SoulCollage®:

"Come, let us sit down together for an hour or so and each of us will create a collage! What? You are not an artist? Not true. Using the SoulCollage® process everyone becomes an instant artist, and we also become explorers of Soul." (p. 1)




My Introduction to SoulCollage®

When I first discovered SoulCollage® in 2012, I had long been exploring personal creativity through writing and photography and made the connection between art-making and soul work.

"Art-making is a contemplative practice that affects us internally, through our thoughts and emotions, as well as externally, through the creation of object and images that can serve as sources of inspiration and healing." ( https://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/tree/contemplativeart)

At the time, I was deep in the throes of my personal mid-life crisis and dark night of the soul. Steeped in grief over the loss of some of my most cherished dreams, looking at a life that was nothing at all like I'd imagined it would be, and with the future looking dim and uncertain, the method found me when I needed it the most.

I intuited that it was time to recover something that I'd lost in service to building a life that no longer seemed to fit. This turning inward led me to sign up for a free journal writing group at the local library. My instructor also happened to be a SoulCollage® Facilitator, and she invited me to a "Playshop" she was hosting.

She had me at the word SoulCollage®! When Seena Frost first conceived the idea in the late 1980s (p. 4), she initially dubbed it "the Neter Card process." Later the name SoulCollage® was chosen as more relatable and inviting. This turned out to be a brilliant decision. I find people are drawn to the process, as I was, by the mere mention of the name.

Little did I know that I was embarking on a journey of self-discovery that changed my life in myriad ways and brought me into a community of kindred spirits who inspire me every step of the way.



Creative Potential 
(Committee Suit) 
by LeAnne Nesbitt 

I Am One Who  is pregnant with creative inspiration and ready to bring my new life into being.
Start Right Where You Are

To truly answer the question, "What is SoulCollage®?" one must experience it. Getting started is easy with just brief instructions, a few basic materials, and a little bit of time. I'm consistently amazed at how even the shortest introductory workshops can impact participants in profound and memorable ways.

You don't need to know much about SoulCollage® to create your first card. Seena gives us the recipe in Chapter 1. Just three readily accessible ingredients - Images, Intuition, and Imagination - are all you need to get started (p. 1).

For those who continue to explore on their own, taking workshops, and perhaps even training as a Facilitator, SoulCollage® offers a path to self-discovery, personal growth, and a reliable source of guidance for a lifetime. 

As Seena writes, "The longer you work with the images, the more power they have to reveal and change patterns in your life." (p. 2)



Wounded Healer 
(Council Suit)
by LeAnne Nesbitt

I Am One Who i s not afraid to my scars as I move toward the healing light of self-knowledge. 

By compassionately tending my own wounds, fully committing to my own healing journey and sharing what I've learned, I participate in the healing of the world. 
The Call to Individuate

My first SoulCollage® card, which I entitled Wounded Healer, turned out to be representative of Larger Story energies. 

These are, as Seena explains, "energies that have chosen to work in you, and who are guiding, nudging you ... even dragging you along your path ... -- the universal, eternal and invisible ones who weave your local story into the Larger Story of all creation" (p. 3).

Following C.G. Jung, Seena named these energies "archetypes." The Wounded Healer archetype is one specifically identified by Jung to explain how a personal wounding is often a factor behind an analyst's choice of career.

At the time I made this card, I'd been exposed to Jungian thought through my favorite self-help authors, but didn't begin to explore his theories in depth until two years later when I began my studies in Spiritual Direction, and subsequently Dream Work, at the Haden Institute. Looking back, I can see how my own wounding might have informed my decision to pursue vocational training to companion other seekers in service to their healing and wholeness.

My Wounded Healer not only illumined that aspect of self for me, she was also leading me towards my personal journey of individuation. As Jung's close colleague Marie-Louise von Franz wrote, "The process of individuation, of becoming whole, generally begins with a wounding of the personality and the suffering that accompanies it.  This initial shock amounts to a sort of 'call,' although it is not often recognized as such." (C. G. Jung, J. Henderson, M.-L. von Franz, A. Jaffé, J. Jacobi, Man and His Symbols (New York: Doubleday, 1964), p.166).

Thus, my first SoulCollage® card has been my companion and guide for the past eight years as I deepened my practice and discovered many of the parts that make up the whole of who I am. Without a doubt, there are still many yet to be revealed and healed. Individuation is, after all, a lifelong journey -- one which was assisted immeasurably by my own asking of the simple question posed in this chapter: "What is SoulCollage®?"


LeAnne Nesbitt is a SoulCollage® Facilitator from Nashville, Tennessee and holds certificates in Spiritual Direction and Dream Work from the Haden Institute. She believes in the healing power of images and metaphor and uses dream work, poetry, and a variety of intuitive creative practices to help others connect to inner divine wisdom. LeAnne also serves the SoulCollage® community as Editor-in-Chief of the Neter Letter and SoulCollage® Community Update newsletters, and Soul-cial Media™ Coordinator.




Store your cards, share your cards and do readings anywhere! This is a powerful program designed to facilitate your personal practice of SoulCollage®.

Add this delightful charm to your keychain or handbag or as a zipper pull. It's the SoulCollage® card circle logo in smooth-finish epoxy on a 1 1/4 inch metallic disc. Includes the lobster claw fastener for easy attachment, or remove the claw and fasten directly to a keychain using the snap ring.

From the SCU Archives
Read A Soulful Synchronicity by Jennie Oppenheimer from the September 2016 SoulCollage ® Community Update Newsletter 

"When the idea of synchronicity enters SoulCollage® circles, many of us nod and smile knowingly. For me, it has become so commonplace that I no longer bat an eyelash when those strikingly meaningful coincidences show up, but welcome synchronicity warmly like an old friend. It was one such experience that led me to SoulCollage® in the first place."    read more...
Get Ready For the Facilitator Training
Check Out These Two Free Online Events!

Robert Moss can help you open your understanding of how to engage dreaming as an authentic and relevant spiritual practice; a practice that can connect you with the fascinating and multi-dimensional truth of who you are!

Choose your preferred day and time to watch this FREE Virtual Workshop on this page.



Stan Grof is presenting a fascinating FREE online event: Discovering the Psychology of the Future: New Approaches for Self-exploration & Healing. 

"Open to new insights in psychology and spirituality that are profoundly effective in creating lasting healing and growth for yourself and others."

if a Training is listed as " FULL", please connect with the Trainer to  be put on  
the waiting list for a particular Training or a mailing list for future Trainings.
  
February 27-March 1, 2020  -  Colleen Haggerty
USA Washington (Bellingham) in English THIS TRAINING IS FULL. EMAIL FOR WAITING LIST
March 5-8, 2020  - Catherine Anderson 
USA  North Carolina ( St Francis Springs, Stoneville   in English   INFO & REGISTRATION
March 6-10, 2020 Marcia Chadly
USA Colorado (Arvada) Creative Life Center in English - INFO & REGISTRATION 
March 19-22, 2020- Maria Odette Maciel e Cristina Lopes
BRAZIL Pernambuco in Portuguese - INFO & REGISTRATION
March 26-29, 2020- Chantel Zimmerman
USA Los Angeles in English - INFO & REGISTRATION
March 26-29, 2020- Linda Woolfson
UNITED KINGDOM Surrey (Lingfield) in English - INFO & REGISTRATION
April 1-5, 2020 - Mariabruna Sirabella, LMFT 
USA California (San Rafael) Santa Sabina in English  INFO & REGISTRATION
April 17-20, 2020 - Kellie McComb
CANADA Ontario (Guelph) in English  EMAIL for INFO & REGISTRATION
April 19-22, 2020 - Kat Kirby, M.Ed., ATR-BC 
USA California (Los Angeles) Hilton LAX in English  INFO & REGISTRATION
May 3-6, 2020 -  Michal Shoham Shaviv
ISRAEL Tel Aviv , in Hebrew   EMAIL for INFO & REGISTRATION
May 8-12, 2020 -  M ariabruna Sirabella, LMFT 
ITALY Montegrotto  Terme (PD), i n Italiano -  INFO & REGISTRATION
May 9-12, 2020 -  Lucy Schaaphok 
THE NETHERLANDS ( Groesbeek ) in Dutch - INFO & REGISTRATION
May 14-17, 2020 - Lisa M. Miller
USA Kentucky, (Lexington) in English INFO & REGISTRATION 
May 27-31, 2020 - Jennifer Boire 
CANADA Ontario, Arnprior (Galilee Center) in English INFO & REGISTRATION 
May 27-31, 2020 - Fabiana Geraldi
BRAZIL Rio de Janeiro (Itaipava) in Portuguese INFO & REGISTRATION 
USA New Jersey (Lanoka Harbor) Murray Grove Retreat Center  in English -  INFO & REGISTRATION  
July 17-21, 2020   Marcia Chadly
USA   Colorado  (Westminster) Creative Life Center  in English  -  INFO & REGISTRATION
July 23-26, 2020   Catherine Anderson
USA   North Carolina  (St Francis Springs, Stoneville) in English  -  INFO & REGISTRATION
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*No degrees or certificates are required to attend the SoulCollage® Training. The purpose of the Training is to prepare people to share SoulCollage® with others. The pre-requisites for the SoulCollage® Facilitator Training are your own active practice of SoulCollage® and your enthusiasm for sharing it with others, as well as taking at least one introductory SoulCollage® course, reading SoulCollage® Evolving by Seena B. Frost and listening to her CDs: Introduction to SoulCollage® and  Facilitating SoulCollage® in Groups.

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INFORMATION FOR THERAPISTS

CEs (up to 24) may be available
 for the SoulCollage® Facilitator Training 

Information on SoulCollage® as a therapeutic method:


Some SoulCollage® Facilitator Training events may be able to award CEs to LMFTs, MSWs, LPCs, nurses and psychologists  in many states (but if so, only by pre-arrangement with your SoulCollage® Trainer.) Please inquire about the availability of CEs for a particular Training or a particular license or a particular state by writing to your Trainer. Most Trainings offer them, but not all.
Before attending a Training, we want you to read SoulCollage® Evolving by Seena B. Frost, to have a SoulCollage® basic workshop experience with a trained SoulCollage® Facilitator or listen to a recorded class  Fundamentals of SoulCollage®, make some cards, do the exercise, " I Am One Who...", with your cards and do some SoulCollage® Readings, letting your cards answer at least one of your questions.
© 2006-2020 by SoulCollage Inc.

SoulCollage Inc., PO Box 8051, Santa Cruz, CA 95045
Editor-in-Chief: LeAnne Nesbitt
Associate Editor: Katherine L. Ziegler


The opinions expressed in the SoulCollage® Community Update are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent SoulCollage Inc. Authors retain the copyright to their individual articles. Please send feedback and questions to info@soulcollage.com.