Issue #198 - December 2021 |
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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. This column is all about presenting ways to get your soul singing with the deep, wide, wonder-full process that is SoulCollage®.
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Our Inner Parts Need to Feel Safe |
In order to get to the gift or the “positive intent” that one of these shadowed parts offers, we need to spend some actual time with it. We're not going to find the gift or the light in that shadowed part if we keep it at arm's length, or if we push it away. This part of the process is called “befriending.” And in order to befriend an inner part, it needs to feel safe with us. |
Recently, I read a wonderful novel, The Lion Is In by Delia Ephron. In the story, three women come upon a billiard hall in the desert. There's a lion in a cage inside. He's an old lion who has been kicked out of the circus, and the manager thinks the lion will draw a crowd to his business. However, he is so afraid of the lion that he doesn't know what to do with it.
One of the three women is very drawn to the energy of this lion, even though it seems sad and just mopes around. She eventually befriends it, and the way she does it has a lesson for us as we work toward befriending our own inner parts.
The process goes very slowly. She doesn't just charge up to him and expect to become friends all at once. First, there is the tedious process of making the lion feel safe with her. She begins by simply pulling up a chair and sitting in silence on the other side of the room with him, first for five minutes, then for longer amounts of time.
When I read this novel, it reminded me of a stray cat who appeared on our front porch during the summer of 2011. We had never seen him around before and he would run away if we came close to him. We named him Raj after my favorite character on The Big Bang Theory. I noticed that once we stopped trying to run after him, he kept coming back. He let us feed him and he liked sleeping on one of our comfy porch chairs.
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I wanted to pet him to show him that I loved him, so I got him to be comfortable with me by just standing a few feet away from him and talking to him softly. I had to do this every day for a couple of weeks. After that, I moved a little closer while talking to him; he just looked at me with his big green eyes. After a month or two of that, he let me pet him on the head for just one second, and then the next time a little bit longer. Eventually, he even let me stroke his back lightly once in a while.
My point is that in order to befriend one of your personal shadowed parts, you need to do it gently and slowly. If it's a part of you that's been out of balance for a really long time, you will need to get it to feel safe with you again. As my wise big brother John once said, “Trust comes from being shown consistency over time.”
Thich Nhat Hanh suggests a beautiful phrase that we can say to ourselves whenever we're feeling sad, angry, or out of balance in any way: Dear One, I am here for you. This is the kind of energy we want to project towards our own inner shadowed parts when they get in our way, or when we notice them taking up too much space in our minds and hearts. Dear one, I am here for you. Imagine how safe those parts will feel with us when we approach them this way!
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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. In 2005, she fell in love with SoulCollage® and was inspired to use her professional experience along with web 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, one adolescent feline, and a treasury of birds, squirrels and chipmunks who keep them hopping. Her other books about SoulCollage® are available here.
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Mothering Ourselves
with SoulCollage® Facilitator
Jennifer Boire from Canada
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Date: Thursday, December 9, 2021
Time: 4 pm Eastern
Easily Accessible from Anywhere in the World!
Only $10 for non-members
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Dear SoulCollage® Friends, I’m Marti Beddoe from Illinois, a SoulCollage® Facilitator, meditation teacher, spiritual guide, and writer. I welcome the opportunity to look deeply at how I have come to create inner safety. Dinah Craik’s poem defines Feeling Safe to me:
Oh, the Comfort
Oh, the comfort—
the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person—
having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words,
but pouring them all right out,
just as they are,
chaff and grain together;
certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them,
keep what is worth keeping,
and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.
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Craik cites the conditions of feeling safe: being in the faithful presence of One Who allows her to speak her truth; One Who allows her to pour out her thoughts and feelings; One Who helps her “get herself sorted,” as the British like to say.
When I was 14, transplanted from Virginia to Rhode Island, my first heart-friend appeared. Louise stepped up and befriended me in all my loneliness, social awkwardness, and cultural shell-shock. Weese honored my adolescent struggle to be authentic and my earnest search for the meaning of life. Fifty-nine years later, I continue to be grateful for her safe and faithful presence, her wise perspective and steadfast love. Our safe, intimate rapport set an enduring standard for all my friendships.
After living and working in dangerous places and staying too long in dangerous relationships, I have learned how to sniff out and flee danger. Whether it’s dangerous environments or toxic people, I understand there are conditions beyond my control. I run the other way as swiftly as possible! I do my best to trust my intuition and not to hand over my precious life energy to “ some mean fool or to let the living dead eat me up”, as D. H. Lawrence so eloquently states.
A few years ago, an important heart-friend “E” moved 1,700 miles away due to health and family issues. I was bereft when it became apparent that this radical change in her circumstances no longer allowed us to exchange the inexpressible comfort we had shared for decades. This loss forced me to (once again) look at the impermanent nature of life. On an intellectual level, I know All is Change. Yet my first impulse is to resist any change to the status quo. Ha!
In my grief over losing “E,” I realized I had to stop relying solely on external conditions to feel safe. I had to learn how to create an inner, inviolable safe space. I had to become that “inexpressible comfort” for myself! My safety had to become portable, internalized.
Internal safety begins with what is in my control—my own consciousness. Looking through my deck, I find these cards that show the skillful means I am cultivating in order to continue feeling safe.
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The Observer
First, there is the Committee Observer card. This Neter reminds me to witness the reality and to remove the blinders of my personality and my wishful thinking. It symbolizes the ability to observe and see clearly, without judging, my attachments and preferences. Seeing clearly brings the freedom to create my own happiness, to let go of what is making me suffer, to not be at the mercy of external conditions for comfort.
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Being Curious
Second, there is the practice of Being Curious in a friendly way. When I’m greeted harshly or when another betrays me or meets me with unkindness or indifference, the practice of Observing helps me to Become Curious about how external interactions may be mirroring my internal thoughts. I become curious about how I am regarding myself. My mantra is “Isn’t that interesting!” I explore what internal adjustments will bring me more safety, comfort, and happiness.
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Look for the Helpers
Third, my Look for the Helpers Neter helps me discern whether I am regarding myself with the same lovingkindness of those faithful friends. If not, how to adjust my self-regard? How can I become internally that faithful presence, that inexpressible comfort that Dinah Craik describes?
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Take out your deck, journal and pen.
- Find or make a Neter card for Feeling Safe.
- Find or make a Neter for the skills that could help you create internal safety.
- Find or make a Community suit card for the beings who bring you “Inexpressible Comfort.” Write a note of appreciation to one of those beings who has given you the precious gift of their loving, accepting presence.
“When you have enough understanding and compassion in you, then that amount of understanding and compassion will try to express itself in action. And your practice should help you to cultivate more understanding and compassion.”—Thich Nhat Hanh
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Saying Good-Bye
It has been an honor to serve as a Soul Songs guest columnist. As I wrote this, my last column for you, I felt a soul connection with each Kindred Spirit SoulCollager. Over the past four years, it has been a joy to look deeply and write about so many Neters. I look forward to absorbing the wisdom of future Soul Songs writers. I am grateful for the vast and deep resources the vibrant KaleidoSoul work brings to the global SoulCollage® community.
Most of all, I am grateful to Anne Marie for the inexpressible comfort of her compassionate friendship. Because of her, this moment of joy is possible. Okagesamade, Anne Marie Bennett.
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Since 2007, Marti Beddoe has been a SoulCollage® Facilitator and meditation teacher in the Kriya Yoga lineage. She is Founder of Designs for Peace, a service offering practices to support lives of Meaning, Joy, and Beauty. Her The Beauty Way of…” essays, consider the mysterious Beauty of various Neters. You may subscribe here at the bottom of this page. You'll receive a fr*ee Harmony Self-Assessment!
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Here are some of our readers' cards on the theme of Feeling Safe. |
I Am Home
Committee Suit
Francene
Connecticut
I am one who is safe, warm, seen and cared for. I am one who is happiest in the most intimate close relationships. I am one who can relax all my defenses and let myself just be. I am one who is loved.
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Angel Blessing
Council Suit
Dot
Pennsylvania
The Angel says to me in blessing:
You Are One Who is held in love by the Angel of Grace. You Are One Who lies safe in the everlasting arms of Love. You Are One Who can sleep soundly without a care in the world. You Are One Who is full of Original Blessing.
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Nest
Suit Unknown
Cate
Illinois
I am the one who reminds you that who you really are is safe now, always has been and always will be. I am the one who knows that you can always rest and relax in safety. I am the one who sees you embracing vulnerability and living and sharing a widely opened heart.
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Feeling Safe
Suit Unknown
Jennifer
Canada
I Am One Who feels safe, wrapped up in a bed of soft flowers. I am holding my teddy bear, source of great comfort and sucking my thumb. I Am One Who needs to feel safe to be well. (I find comfort within for my inner child when I look at this card.)
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Unconditionally Loved
Committee
Michele
California
I am one who feels safe and loved, even when I'm being silly.
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Feeling Safe
Committee Suit
Dot
Pennsylvania
I am one who feels safe in my Small Group Ministry groups at UUCV (Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley, my faith community). I am one who feels safe in circles of women. I am one who feels safe in non-patriarchal circles of egalitarian energy. I am one who feels safer in circles than in hierarchies.
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Bear - My Protector
Suit Unknown
Raine
Australia
I am the one who fiercely protects you when the need arises. I live inside you and represent loyalty, wisdom and strength. In the past I have been sleeping an unending Winter's sleep and not heard your cries for help. But now I am awake and will be here for you always whenever you need me. My message for you is that you remember that you can be both fierce and generous at the same time and still be loved.
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Dad
Community Suit
Anne Marie
Massachusetts
I am the one who created a safe and loving childhood for my daughter. I am the one who held her when she cried and laughed with her when she was happy and answered every question she had as best as I could. I am the one who knew the power of unconditional love for creating safety.
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Resting Easy
Suit Unknown
Angelique
South Carolina
I am one who can rest easy knowing that I am safe. I am a protected child, well-guarded by trustworthy men. I am cute in my drawer!
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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:
January: Wisdom
February: Stillness
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Noteworthy resources for anyone interested in SoulCollage®
KaleidoSoul - Spinning the fragments of your world into wholeness and beauty through SoulCollage®.
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4-Week Online Series
with Anne Marie
Using SoulCollage®
to Help Heal Hurting Hearts
at the Holidays
The holidays can be a difficult time for anyone going through transition, grief, loss, or for those whose holidays are triggered by memories of past celebrations.
If you are feeling sad, overwhelmed, or simply out of touch with the “holiday spirit,” for whatever reason, please join a group of tender-hearted SoulCollagers for a unique online series of gatherings where we’ll use SoulCollage® card making, journaling and readings—along with EFT Tapping, guided imagery and deep listening within—in order to move through this holiday season with more comfort, ease, and possibility. Scholarships available!
Kindred Spirits Save 50%
Use your special coupon code!
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Sustaining Your SoulCollage® Practice
in Changing Times
with Facilitators Kat Kirby and Michele Manos
January 8-29, 2022.
As we re-emerge from our time in quarantine for much of the past 19 months, the idea of offering workshops in-person brings up much excitement as well as many questions. In this series, Michele and Kat will take you through all the considerations, the options and choices, and the challenges that may await you as you bring your workshops from online to in-person. Or, you may want to continue offering online events, or maybe a hybrid mix of the two. Join us for 4 weekly sessions in which we cover many important topics, including connection, community, practicalities, and more, as our world opens up and we can think about getting back to something resembling "the good old days."
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Save $10 - $53 *** Great gifts for YOU and others!
We've bundled up some of our fabulous KaleidoSoul SoulCollage® offerings into
a few nifty little (and big) packages designed specifically to save you money!
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The Great Big SoulCollage®
Goddess Gathering of 2022
8 Months * 9 Facilitators *
* 11 Goddesses *
Not Just for Women!
This all-new, totally-unique SoulCollage® Zoom series is for you if:
… you are curious about the Divine Feminine and how the wisdom of our 11 chosen goddesses might apply to your life.
… you want to feel more connected to your own feminine nature (we all have the Divine Feminine AND the Divine Masculine within us!).
… you are ready to learn, discover, and explore the depths of your own SoulCollage® deck.
Kindred Spirits Save 50%
Use the special Kindred Spirits payment button when you register.
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NEW MEXICO
Beyond the Surface Art Retreat
Taos, New Mexico
November 30 – December 4, 2022
Facilitator: Kat Kirby, Deborah Milosevich
We’ve opened a second retreat in Taos! If you’d love some dedicated creative time, with a group of like-hearted women, join us in the magical landscape of Taos. Creative expression is settling down with your Inner Child, allowing yourself to create without expectation or judgement. And maybe do a little holiday shopping while you’re there! We’ll be making hand-made journals, SoulCollage® cards, Spirit Wands, Santos, and other soul-nourishing projects. We’ll also have “open studio” space for you to experiment with abundant art materials. Discover your own expressive style; develop and enhance your creative process in guided studio sessions.
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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 2021,
by Anne Marie Bennett, Cat Caracelo, Linda Woolfson,
Marti Beddoe, or Michele Manos.
Articles may be reprinted by permission only.
Image of singing birds Copyright: Kudryashka from Deposit Photos.
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