| Soul Singing with Anne Marie |
Hi! I'm Anne Marie, the creator of KaleidoSoul.com,
and a SoulCollage® facilitator in
Massachusetts. If you're just starting to sing your
song with SoulCollage®, this column is especially
for you.
Stay Close
This summer we adopted a beautiful five year old yellow lab named Suzy. She's a feisty sweetheart who lives with exuberance and joy. Lots of energy. I tried taking her for walks but just couldn't control her. So we took her to a six-week training class at the local pet store.
The first commands we learned were "sit" and "stay." Then we worked our way up to "drop it" and "leave it" and "wait." After that, we graduated to walking with Suzy. I thought the command for keeping the dog beside me would be "heel." But instead, our trainer used the word "close" as in "stay close beside me."
The next weeks as I was taking Suzy for her daily walks, I found myself saying the command many, many times. It almost became a chant. If she pulled too much, or tried to stray:
Close, close, stay close, stay close. If she got sidetracked too long by a certain clump of grass:
Stay close, close, stay close.
After several days of this, the command Stay Close was so ingrained in me that I was hearing it in my sleep and in my dreams! And one day, when I was telling Suzy to
stay close, I had the distinct impression that Spirit was telling ME to
stay close as well.
It was right about that time that I was working with Catherine Anderson on the description of this month's tele-class
SoulCollage® As Prayer (see below). I was trying to decide what to write for this column on Prayer, and after chanting the "Stay Close" mantra several hundred times on my Suzy Walks, it became very clear to me that prayer simply is this: a way for us to
stay close to God (or whatever name you choose to give Source).
When I pray, it is simply a way to strengthen my relationship with Spirit (the name I choose to call God). If I stray too far from Spirit's path for me, prayer brings me back. If I get sidetracked by something that isn't good for me, prayer reminds me Who I am connected to.
In my life's journey, my knowledge and expression of prayer has taken many forms. I have been in church prayer groups where praying out loud was the main mode of expression. I have sung prayers and danced prayers. I have prayed silently. I have prayed while weeping and laughing. I have prayed with rosaries and mala beads and a prayer necklace I created myself. I have prayed simple prayers and complex prayers. I have prayed while walking a labyrinth and I have prayed in grand cathedrals. I have led prayers in an Episcopal church and I have been led in prayer by a Buddhist teacher. I have painted prayers and written prayers with words. Now I am beginning to learn to use SoulCollage® as a tool for prayer as well.
I hope you'll join Catherine Anderson and I on November 17 for our monthly KaleidoSoul tele-class,
SoulCollage® As Prayer (see below), where we'll explore this topic more fully and actually create some prayers with our own decks (and if you don't have a deck yet, just bring some images with you to the call).
And wherever you are in your own prayer life, I encourage you to see prayer as a way to "stay close" to Spirit (however you choose to call Spirit).
November KaleidoSoul Tele-class
SoulCollage® As Prayer
with Catherine Anderson
Tuesday November 17, 2009
7 pm – 8 pm (Eastern)
$10
FR*EE for Kindred Spirit Members
Click here for more details about the tele-class.
Anne Marie Bennett is a
freelance writer, self-taught artist, SoulCollage®
Facilitator and Facilitator Trainer who trained with Seena
Frost. Her background is elementary education, computer
software training, writing, and mixed media art. She
lives, laughs, writes, and sings (and makes her own
SoulCollage® cards!) in Beverly, MA. More of
Anne Marie's cards/interpretations are available on her
blog,
Inner Surprises.
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| Soul Symphonies with Karen |
My name is Karen Mann and I'm a SoulCollage®
facilitator from Melbourne, Australia. This column is for
those of you who have already made some cards & are
ready to discover the symphony of voices inside of you
and around you.
At the time of
publication, Karen was preparing for a trip to the States to attend the
Annual Facilitator's Conference. She'll be back as usual in next month's
issue.
Karen Mann is an artist, art teacher,
Lifestyle Coach, yoga and meditation teacher, and
SoulCollage®
facilitator. Karen has been working with SoulCollage®
cards for more than four years and facilitates a variety
of SoulCollage® Groups. Karen also runs
SoulCollage® Facilitator Training weekends.
Karen offers regular workshops in Melbourne and Geelong,
Australia, and is also available to travel to other
regions in Australia. For more information, or to
contact Karen, please visit her website, Flying Colours Creativity.
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CALENDARS:
The KaleidoSoul 2010 Desk Calendars are here!
Beautiful original collage art by Anne Marie Bennett.
Includes journaling questions on the flip side of each month.
Members: $12 each, 2/$20
Non-Members: $15 each, 2/$25
Not a Member yet? Click here
NEW THIS YEAR:
Save Money!
Purchase the calendar inserts without the plastic case.
Recycle your calendar case from 2009.
Click on the image above to purchase now.
Click here to purchase to access your member discount on the calendars.
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Soul Songs Back Issues - Read back
issues of Soul Songs on
this KaleidoSoul page. An excellent resource.
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®, please
visit her website.
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.
All articles in SOUL SONGS
are copyrighted 2009,
by Anne Marie Bennett and
Karen Mann.
Articles may be reprinted by
permission only.
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| KaleidoSoul Creations |
As promised, we are featuring SoulCollage® cards
from our readers in each issue.
Each card below is one SoulCollager's expression of Prayer.
Judy
Massachusetts
Prayers
I am the one who is lit by the
flame of divine love.
I am the one
who enters the depths of soul
and inner sight to see and feel and become
all that I seek.
I am one who yearns
for peace and joy, who bows my head
in humble emptiness, softens into
an expansion of time and space,
nothingness and fullness,
simplicity and blessed silence.
Rhoda
Washington
I am One Who reminds you to
return to the Sacred Word
when your mind wanders or
you get upset or lose your way.
My touch is as gentle as a feather,
reminding you of
your intention to be receptive,
your desire for attention of the heart,
and your ongoing consent to
the presence and action of God in your life.
Jo
Australia
Grace of Prayer
Council Suit
I am the One who is always here with you, pouring down my Grace upon you whenever you feel the need to connect with the Divine.
I am the One who knows that your moments of delight in music, art and poetry, and in being in Nature, are prayers from the deepest part of you to the Divine - I hear your prayers.
I see the pure child-like spirit in you who trusts that your prayers will be answered –
I am the One who answers all your prayers.
I am the same One who heard the prayers of The Ancient Ones who had a deep affinity for the Spirit of the land and who teach you to honor it.
Please feel free to submit one of your cards for
a future issue by sending a reply email to this
newsletter.
Future themes include:
Third Chakra Animals
Creative Muse
Fourth Chakra Animals
Community Suit: Siblings
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KaleidoSoul Notes
Noteworthy resources for anyone interested in
SoulCollage®
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SoulSongs
