Alchemy of the Soul
Thursday, December 9
Featuring special guest Earl Storm,
SoulCollage® Facilitator and Wizard of All Things Creative in California. 

Time:
7:00 pm Eastern, 6:00 pm Central,
5:00 pm Mountain, 4:00 pm Pacific,
2:00 pm Hawaiian, midnight in London,
Friday 11:00 am. in Melbourne Australia
and Friday 1:00 pm in New Zealand

Please visit this page now for more information.
 

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. 




Many Ways of Being Creative

Over the years I have heard so many people say "I'm not very creative" or "I wish I was more creative," especially when they have been to my house and seen my artwork or heard that I studied visual art at university. These people think of being creative as being able to paint or draw or do handcrafts. I like to challenge people when they make such statements and encourage them to start thinking more broadly about their definition of creativity.

  

Dictionary.com defines creativity as: the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.

I believe that all of us are creative in different areas of our lives. Think about the ways you transcend traditional ideas, rules and patterns in your own life:

• Do you alter recipes or even make them up as you cook?
• Do you enjoy spending time designing a garden that is delightful?
• Do you like decorating your house, combining fabrics, colors and textures that are pleasing?
• Do you find developing databases something that is easy and fun?
• Do you enjoy making up stories to entertain your children or grandchildren?
• Do you keep a blog, sharing your unique thoughts, ideas and experiences?
• Do you like doing people's makeup and hair?
• Do you enjoy knitting beautiful scarves and garments, using your own choice of wool?
• Do you like creating policies and procedures in the workplace?
• Do you love creating perfect events- putting a lot of thought and imagination into throwing the perfect party to celebrate special events in the lives of people you care for?

All of these and many more are creative pursuits. In each of these activities you are taking an idea and shaping it to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, and interpretations.

The way that creativity plays out in my SoulCollage® deck is that I have the "Creator" archetype as part of my Council Suit. It says I am the one who loves to try new things, invent new methods and birth new ideas. My creative energy can feel magic, as if I am producing something from thin air.

My Creator archetype works very closely with her ‘sister' archetype, the Pattern Maker. This Council Neter says: I am the one who takes a bit from here and a bit from there, and puts it together to make a new version of the truth. Everything I experience, gets mixed together, shuffled and reassembled, to create my new understanding of what is."

The creative action of these two archetypes is then seen through a variety of different Committee Members who partake in creative pursuits in my life. These Committee Neters include the artist, the writer, and the administrator (who creates systems and procedures), as well as the home decorator, the cook, the event manager, and the teacher (who designs creative lesson plans and activities).

I believe that everyone is creative, in different aspects in their life. Your creativity may not be in an area that is traditionally seen to be ‘artistic' or ‘creative' but if you allow yourself to think about the things you love to do, I am sure you will find that there is an element of creativity involved. Mary Lou Cook says "Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun."  This quote reminds me of my "Creative Abandon" SoulCollage® card (see above) which encourages me to follow Mary Lou Cook's advice: take risks, have fun and break rules!

I encourage you to try it too. Go on... have you expressed your creativity today?  

 
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.
 

Artistic Child
Judy
Massachusetts

I am the one who loves colors and shapes and dreams up ways to let out the child inside me who never holds back. I am the child who scribbles her way toward play and wisdom, silliness and purpose, motion and meaning. I am one who begins with one small yellow crayon to discover the stars.

 

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SoulCollage website - Seena Frost created the process of SoulCollage®, and this is her website.


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