A Facilitator's Journey to SoulCollage®

By

Paula DuVander PsyD., LMFT

SoulCollage® Facilitator

I never set out to become a SoulCollage® Facilitator. In 2008 I was feeling uneasy in my life and was grieving a significant loss. I was searching for something to help me heal my heart. One day while surfing the Internet way too long, I stumbled onto the SoulCollage® website. I sat there for quite awhile looking at the display of different cards. I enlarged them and found myself drawn deeply into some of the images. How surprising it was that just looking at these images brought up different feelings in me so spontaneously. Each card was so beautifully put together that I was certain I could never create one with the symmetry and beauty I saw before me. Over the next days, the cards kept reappearing in my mind. I knew wanted to try and make one. Being so unsure of myself, it took awhile to create that first card. Then, success at last! However, my critical self spoke up, "This card isn't like the ones on the website!" I put it in my desk drawer. Still I was intrigued, and I knew it was time to "take a class!" I found the Facilitator Training on the website and it was just 2.5 hours from my home. Honestly, I didn't catch the "Facilitator" part, I just wanted to learn to make my own SoulCollage® deck of cards.

I bought the book SoulCollage® Evolving, and listened to the CDs before the Training. Things were getting more interesting by the moment, and I was very excited to get to there.

I Am One Who Always Knows Best

I brought my one card with me being certain I wouldn't share with anyone. It was a bit scary as I didn't know anyone, I didn't really know much about SoulCollage® and I had only created one card. The closer I got to the Training, the more nervous I became. Familiar feelings surfaced as my ever-present "critical mother" voice was chattering all the way. By the time I arrived, I was convinced I had made an error of judgement.

I was completely unprepared for what happened next. Two situations were occurring at the same time. First, as I walked into the registration area, there was lovely music playing with people milling around. They were talking, laughing and sharing cards they had made or shifting through images on a large table. At the registration table, I was warmly greeted and welcomed into the community. From that moment and throughout the training I felt as if I was held in love and light. I didn't expect so much loving attention. Could my coming here really have been an error in judgment?

It was the next morning, when we began card making that my "critical voice" showed up again. This time she brought along some friends: "Shy Girl self, I'm Not an Artist Self," to name a couple. This could become a difficult day. Instead, a surprising thing began to

I Am One Hiding, you can't see me

I happen that morning and grew stronger the rest of the weekend as we created and gave voices to our cards. It was so interesting to let the magazine images catch my eye as well as to cut, glue and paste with no plan in mind. Then to sit with this completed card and feel the spontaneous emotions bubbling up was amazing. We spoke from the images in the card by saying...."I Am One Who..." I noticed some of the different parts of me that were clambering in my head to be heard began to quiet themselves as I spoke from inside the images on the card. I began to see each card as a representation of the various parts of my persona. By giving a voice to the image on the card that I was actually honoring and accepting parts of myself too long ignored.

The weekend flew by, and in the end I was an actual SoulCollage® Facilitator! Ok now what? I admit to being fearful that I could use this process in any other way than my personal use, which was such a wonderful and rich experience. When I returned home, I shared all of the experience with my good friend Amy. She was actually the catalyst in collecting six of our friends who were willing to be practiced on. Here it is five years later, and SoulCollage® is such an integral part of the fabric of my daily life. I can't imagine life without it. Amy and I have been facilitating monthly workshops and daylong retreats since 2008. I've facilitated workshops in spiritual settings, with military families, as team building for business, as well as with my own private practice clients. My engineer husband has even been known to attend a workshop, and has his own cards displayed on his desk.

I've often thought about the Facilitator Training workshop, and I have tried to articulate just

Me and Seena

how powerful an experience it was. What I can say today is there are two things that stand out for me. First, the SoulCollage® process gave me creative way to explore and listen to myself in a deep and truthful way. Secondly, sharing the "I Am One Who..." in a community is powerful. To bear witness to another person's authentic self is a rare gift. In our normal interactions in the world we don't often have the luxury to show our inner selves. Imagine how life would be different if we routinely greeted one another by saying, "I Am One Who feels joy in my heart to see you; or I Am One Who feels fearful that I am not going to succeed at being a good parent." When I became a SoulCollage® Facilitator I found the opportunity to do just that with each group experience.

The final outcome of Training, to me, is less important than the experience of being in the training. I didn't actually plan on becoming a Facilitator at first; that was a lovely unexpected result for me. Whether or not you choose to Facilitate groups or use SoulCollage® solely for your personal exploration, there is so much richness and deep learning that comes from being in a group of like minded people, creating cards and expressing your authentic self. What could be better than that?

Paula DuVander PsyD., LMFT is a Marriage Family Therapist in Northern California working with couples, children and groups. Her passion is helping women to embrace their gifts and to consciously live the third act of life. Paula has been Facilitating SoulCollage® workshops since 2008.  www.counselingcentersantarosa.com 

 The Transpersonal Cards in SoulCollage® - Witness 

A 2-minute video - Seena Frost talks about the Transpersonal Card -Witness Produced by Sue Gelber, SoulCollage® Facilitator

 Click here to find a SoulCollage® Workshop near you!

Dates: June 15, June 29 and July 13, 2013
Time: Saturdays,1-2:30 pm Pacific Time
Cost: $99
CEUs: 4.5 CEUs - 3-Part Course - Recordings of all sessions are sent to participants  

Presenter:  Audrey Chowdhury M.S.ATR_BC

Description:    One of my very first SoulCollage® cards was of a part of me called, "The Seeker". This was no doubt the one who insisted that I go to California to be trained as SoulCollage® facilitator in 2005. I am one who is always looking for ways to connect with Spirit, and constantly asking for divine guidance. In fact, I am one who often asks Spirit to send me very clear, concise directions. My spiritual journey has lead me to several beautiful paths, beginning with the Twelve Steps of Al Anon, to metaphysical teachings, Buddhist study groups, transformational healing practices, energy healing, and sound healing. I have taken my SoulCollage® deck to gatherings of spiritual seekers of many different perspectives and have found that regardless of the focus of the group, SoulCollage® always fits perfectly as a way to find the inner knowing that connects us to the Divine.

Through my years of teaching and practicing SoulCollage®, I have learned that the way to truly knowing, and trusting, Spirit's guidance can be found by creating and consulting SoulCollage® cards. I have found that the structure of the suits is the simplest and most meaningful way to understand the phrase,: "We are spiritual beings having a human experience." (by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin)

Chaplains, spiritual directors, Bible study leaders, theologians and seekers from all perspectives will enjoy exploring the possibilities of using SoulCollage® as a spiritual practice. We will discuss how the many levels of the practice: from creating the cards, to speaking from them, consulting them for guidance, and placing them in suits are each a form of spiritual practice. We will explore how the various aspects of the process can be brought into spiritual settings as appropriate, and how they can be adapted to the particular beliefs of a system. Click to Find Out More or Register.

 Audrey Chowdhury is an art therapist from Madison, WI, USA. She  is a SoulCollage® Facilitator and Trainer, and has been trained in soul-based psychology, Integrative Breathwork and sound healing. She has a private art therapy practice and teaches workshops throughout the Midwest and beyond. She is the author of the CDs, SoulCollage® in Spiritual Settings, Giving Voice to Your SoulCollage® Cards, and  Discovering the Suits in your SoulCollage® Deck, all published by Hanford Mead Publishers.