Positive change, whether toward health, happiness or abundance, comes not from therapy, but from emerging into a new context. One of the best ways to create a new context is to envision it through collage and journaling. As you find images which elicit the feeling of "yes, that's it," cut them out and arrange them on paper, your soul is giving you specific instructions of how to achieve your dream.

      The soul responds to images. Commands and pleading are not its language. Though there is a time for acts of will, first the soul needs an invitation. It must see where you intend to go. In the same way that you would "paint a pretty picture" of wherever you want a child to go so that she feels safe and encouraged and excited to arrive at the destination, your soul needs to have you depict the very best future you have in mind for yourself. Thus, assured that you have your highest interests at heart, your soul will cooperate. The "two of you" will begin to work in harmony. Your soul will begin leading you to complementary images and experiences that will further define your path and reveal how what may have seemed impossible to begin with seems more doable every day.

     Whether you are trying to work into a great new career or bring in a true love relationship or just change an everyday habit, you and your soul need images of the course you might travel. Rather than being a blind consumer of commercial dreams, you are now charting a course of your own making. This course is the Shamanic Journey. You create a way, through collage and journaling, that appears to move around obstacles, bypass old, familiar pitfalls and steer you up the steep, mountain path without harm.

     I will provide instructions on how to make a handmade journal using your special fabric, colors, ribbon and embellishments. You will then collage and write according to the general outline I provide. You then send me a color copy of your collaged pages or the journal itself and I will respond with insights and guidance to help you achieve your goals. My input may take the form of a phone call, writing, collage, a tape or all of the above. I will call my Spiritual Guides to assist us throughout the process as well as bring my thirty years of experience working with women's spiritual emergence to your situation.

      We will exchange information once a month for nine months in this Shamanic Journaling process, the length of time it takes to gestate and give birth to a new self. During that time you will come to know your soul more intimately, gather personal power and realize your capacity to create the life you love. Your handmade journal, now filled with soulful writing and embellishments, will be a consistent reminder of your strengths and purpose as well as a keepsake of this precious time of transcendence.

     To see suggested topics for your journal's focus, click here:

To begin this magical journey now, call Carol at 812-988-0873 or carolbridgesfengshui@hotmail.com. Tuition for Shamanic Journal Mentoring is $900 if paid in full in advance or $200 deposit and $150 for seven months ($1050 total).