Pictures are worth a thousand words

It’s not just a cliche. Images are powerful. They conjure up feelings, memories, ideas. They tell stories. They stand for something.

A brandmark or logo expresses the identity of a business that is easily recognized without using words. Businesses spend a ton of money developing their brand identity, not that we need the business world’s affirmation of the power of images. We already know it. We know it in our soul.

“The soul never thinks without a picture.” -Aristotle

We use not just our brains, but our souls, to make connections with the world around us. The image I’ve used to represent SoulFully You, a SoulCollage® card, tells a story about me, what I’m into and why I started SoulFully You, a website and the name of SoulCollage® retreats that I lead. I didn’t start out making a personal brandmark (actually I was designing a new laptop skin and started playing around with some of my favorite images), but it ended up coming together to be a visual representation of my spiritual journey.

In 2002, I listened to the little voice inside that said I needed quiet, empty time, and I went away for a long, silent weekend retreat. The central image in my card, St. Benedict Center, is the retreat center in Schuyler, Nebraska that gave me an oasis of peace in a busy life. One of my favorite places in the world, St. Benedict Center has played an important role in healing old wounds and in my spiritual (trans)formation.

Butterflies, according to many cultural myths, symbolize transformation, rebirth and growth, joy and the realm of the soul. For me this means becoming more of who I was created to be, living an authentic life and sharing my passion for creativity and spirituality. When our light is ignited, represented by the candle, it cannot NOT be shared.

One of the finishing touches I placed on the card is the illuminated labyrinth. I love labyrinths…such a powerful metaphor for our inner journey. When walking a labyrinth one often feels they are lost, that progress is not being made getting to the center, but, inevitably, one ultimately arrives.

Pleased with my new laptop skin/SoulCollage® card, I posted it on my Facebook page. A German friend recognized the labyrinth from Münsterschwarzach Abbey in Germany, the motherhouse of Christ the King monastery and St. Benedict Center. The serendipitous selection of this specific labyrinth, that I had unknowingly placed, was a grace-filled moment for me.

Since making this card, I have had the privilege of visiting the Abbey in Germany on pilgrimage twice. Walking the labyrinth was a bookend experience for my SoulCollage® card titled SoulFully You.