My President 2026:
Partswork, Self-Leadership & SoulCollage®
please note: this program has been cancelled due to under-subscription
Backstories...
[late October 2008]
I am part of a group of volunteers calling elderly Black voters in North Carolina. a woman picks up the phone.
“oh, honey, I’m so glad you called,” she says. “the Holy Spirit told me that Obama is already the President.”
[late October 2016]
my dogs and I are walking in the woods. with great authority, a voice tells me, “a woman is already the President.”
somehow I know it’s not about Hilary. I want it to be, but I know it’s not.
[late October 2017]
I dream Trump enters the kitchen of a city apartment where I am living. in one neat, powerful aikido spiral, I take him face-down to the ground and pin his arm behind his back. he surrenders. he was expecting this.
[late August 2023]
I dream I am in a TV studio talking with an anchorman who looks idealistic and committed, but maybe not very bright.
“you’re a little young, but on the other hand you’re not rotted out yet,” I tell him. “I’ll vote for you because you’re still honest.”
[October 2025]
I realize cultivating good leadership has never felt more important. I decide to update my 2023-2024 Already President course to meet the present moment.
I am part of a group of volunteers calling elderly Black voters in North Carolina. a woman picks up the phone.
“oh, honey, I’m so glad you called,” she says. “the Holy Spirit told me that Obama is already the President.”
[late October 2016]
my dogs and I are walking in the woods. with great authority, a voice tells me, “a woman is already the President.”
somehow I know it’s not about Hilary. I want it to be, but I know it’s not.
[late October 2017]
I dream Trump enters the kitchen of a city apartment where I am living. in one neat, powerful aikido spiral, I take him face-down to the ground and pin his arm behind his back. he surrenders. he was expecting this.
[late August 2023]
I dream I am in a TV studio talking with an anchorman who looks idealistic and committed, but maybe not very bright.
“you’re a little young, but on the other hand you’re not rotted out yet,” I tell him. “I’ll vote for you because you’re still honest.”
[October 2025]
I realize cultivating good leadership has never felt more important. I decide to update my 2023-2024 Already President course to meet the present moment.
Topics of inquiry
During eight sessions over four months, we'll explore:
SoulCollage® as a path for cultivating Self-leadership
inner and outer diversity in SoulCollage® and parts-work practice
leadership styles held by different parts / Neters
embodied sovereignty
leadership shadows and their manifestations in our lives and in the world
Self-leadership in politically challenging times
SoulCollage® as a path for cultivating Self-leadership
inner and outer diversity in SoulCollage® and parts-work practice
leadership styles held by different parts / Neters
embodied sovereignty
leadership shadows and their manifestations in our lives and in the world
Self-leadership in politically challenging times
Methods of inquiry
Each session will feature some combination of:
somatic meditation practice
SoulCollage® card-making
SoulCollage® card consultations
small-group sharings
intermodal expressive arts practice
systemicconstellations
journaling
ritual
somatic meditation practice
SoulCollage® card-making
SoulCollage® card consultations
small-group sharings
intermodal expressive arts practice
systemicconstellations
journaling
ritual
Already President Imaginary Q&A!!!
Imaginary Question #1:
I'm pretty over the President and all forms of external power, actually. Why would I want to engage with this material right now?
Sincere Answer:
Ram Dass once said, "My brother thinks he's Jesus. The problem is, he thinks he's the only one." What I'm proposing is that we are each already the President of ourselves. Simultaneously, we are each our own Charismatic Leader, Archbishop, Shaman Healer, Abdicated Queen, Challenger to the Throne, Fanatic Follower, Devotee, and Dissident. Somewhere inside each of us, it's likely there's a part that resonates with each and every style of leadership there may be in the world, and every way of reacting to it. So it's important to acknowledge those parts or ourselves. It's never been more important to cultivate the Self-Leadership that allows us to mediate between parts, de-polarize extremes, and feel confident in our connections with the living world.
Imaginary Question #2:
OK, maybe. But in that case, who's this Self that's supposed to lead?
Sincere Answer:
I'm so glad you asked that! The situation I described above sounds interesting, but it's also easy to see how it could be super-chaotic if these various parts and leadership styles didn't also have some central point of reference whom they respected as a mediator, coordinator, and comforter. The Self is the one who holds space for all the parts to feel safe, seen, and heard, so they can let go of their burdens and listen to one another, forming an effective and harmonious team.
Imaginary Question #3:
Is SoulCollage® sort of like tarot or oracle cards?
Sincere Answer:
Sort of, if you can imagine a really straightforward yet mysterious process for generating and consulting your own deck of cards, with no set inventory or imagery. In a SoulCollage® deck, there's room for your grandmother's house, the Ground of Being, your best friend, your sword-wielding Amazon part, and sacred animal energy. There's room for chance, intention, intuition, and deep knowing.
Imaginary Question #4:
There's some stuff I know I want help with. Can this group help me sort that out?
Sincere Answer:
My President 2026 isn't a therapy group or a support group. If either of those are what you need, good for you! You're brave and honest to know this, and I wish you good luck in your search. However - if what you are looking for is a process for listening deeply to your own intuition, in the company of other humans, then this course could be a good place to show up. You will learn tools that you can choose to implement and expand on, long after the course is over.
Imaginary Question #5:
What if I'm worried that some parts of me are kind of scary?
Sincere Answer:
Everyone has parts that can seem wild, extreme, irascible, impulsive, or unpredictable, and that's ok. My President 2026 sessions will be carefully facilitated to play within bounds of safety, good orientation, clear boundaries, and confidentiality. Welcome aboard!
Details & Logistics
Schedule:
My President 2026 will convene on the following days / times:
October 23
November 6
November 20
December 4
December 18
January 8
January 22
February 5
....from 4-6PM Eastern Time, via Zoom
Prerequisites & Caveats (please read carefully):
My President 2026 will convene on the following days / times:
October 23
November 6
November 20
December 4
December 18
January 8
January 22
February 5
....from 4-6PM Eastern Time, via Zoom
Prerequisites & Caveats (please read carefully):
- By our first meeting on 10/23, all participants will have a working understanding of the SoulCollage® process and some familiarity with the Suits of a SoulCollage® deck. Here's a free intro course you can take online if you've never done SoulCollage® before.
- My President 2026 is NOT a therapy group. Before signing up, participants are invited to assess their readiness for sometimes challenging self-honesty and life-inventory. If you're having a really hard time in your life right now (and so many of us are) this may not be the best fit for you. If you're in therapy, you may plan to share some of what this course brings up for you with your therapist.
- If you have questions about signing up. please feel free to contact the facilitator.
- By our first session on October 23, participants will need to have their card-making materials ready to go (see below).
- Once our group is constellated, new members will not join. Participants should plan to join in all sessions.
Suggested Readings & Media:
Seena Frost, SoulCollage® Evolving
Dominique Christina, This is Woman's Work
Richard S. Schwartz, No Bad Parts
Manfred F.R. Kets De Vries, Eight Archetypes of Leadership
Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run with the Wolves
Kim Stanley Robinson, The Ministry for the Future
Lauren Groff, Matrix
Becket Films, The Seeds of Vandana Shiva
Materials:
The SoulCollage® website offers prepackaged cards, sleeves, viewfinder frames, and scissors for making cards.
You can also freestyle your materials using the information below:
Tech Requirements:
You'll need access to a device with a webcam and fast internet to participate.
You'll also need to make sure you have the most recent version of Zoom downloaded on your device.
Cost:
This course is offered on a radical sliding scale:
Unless you have made other arrangements with me, payment (if applicable) is due before our first session.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Payment:
Seena Frost, SoulCollage® Evolving
Dominique Christina, This is Woman's Work
Richard S. Schwartz, No Bad Parts
Manfred F.R. Kets De Vries, Eight Archetypes of Leadership
Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run with the Wolves
Kim Stanley Robinson, The Ministry for the Future
Lauren Groff, Matrix
Becket Films, The Seeds of Vandana Shiva
Materials:
The SoulCollage® website offers prepackaged cards, sleeves, viewfinder frames, and scissors for making cards.
You can also freestyle your materials using the information below:
- Card stock/mat board/cereal boxes/other packaging, cut to a consistent size. 5x8" is a standard SoulCollage® size. You can also choose another size that feels good in your hands and gives you room to collage elements together. You'll need about 20 pieces, maybe more, maybe less.
- Glue stick or refillable gluestick or zero plastic fancy italian paste
- Scissors with a good, pointed tip
- Old magazines and books for collaging. Good sources for these are the recycling center, your public library giveaway shelf, out-of-date periodical bookstore discards, and de-cluttering neighbors
- You may wish to have printed images of loved ones & benefactors (human, animal, mythical). You may wish to look through the photographs on your phone / computer, and either print them yourself or have them printed in SoulCollage®-friendly 5x7" format.
- You may be drawn to create cards that incorporate stitching, textiles, painting, drawing, and other colored materials. All of this is most welcome. Let your intuition guide you.
- A notebook (or the Notes app on your phone), loose paper for letting cards speak, and a pen. Print-shop offcuts are ideal for your loose paper - they're small and free, and you're keeping them out of the waste-stream
- If you like, you can buy clear plastic sleeves for your cards. This makes them easier to shuffle and protects them.
- If you like, you can prepare backing papers for your cards, to unify them as a deck and/or to identify your Suits. For supply purposes this means you might like to have some decorative / wrapping papers cut to the same size as your cards.
Tech Requirements:
You'll need access to a device with a webcam and fast internet to participate.
You'll also need to make sure you have the most recent version of Zoom downloaded on your device.
Cost:
This course is offered on a radical sliding scale:
- $0 if you are in the midst of serious financial challenges and still have the wherewithal to participate completely in this course (well done!)
- $800 if you are feeling flush and want to support me in offering this work for all participants, regardless of their ability to pay (thank you!)
- ...or anything in between (tell me!)
Unless you have made other arrangements with me, payment (if applicable) is due before our first session.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Payment:
- Venmo @Julie-Puttgen
- Mail a check to: Julie Püttgen // 11 Bank Street #302 // Lebanon NH 03766
Facilitator
Julie Püttgen, LCMHC, REAT, SEP, MFA, SoulCollage® Facilitator (she/her)
I'm thrilled to be offering My President 2026 as path of reflection in the closing months of 2025, as a bridge into 2026. You may have heard? There's a bit of a crisis of leadership afoot in the United States. Building Self-Leadership in a diverse internal and external community feels like absolutely necessary practice, now more than ever.
I've been working with SoulCollage® since 2019 and became a Facilitator in June 2020. Then, in 2024 I trained as a Family and Systems Constellations facilitator. In my experience, interweaving SoulCollage®, Internal Family Systems, and Constellations offers fertile, creative, compassionate tools for approaching, naming, and being present with our human experiences and the worlds we inhabit.
I show up in the world as an artist, writer, mover, and psychotherapist. A committed meditator since 1995 and former Buddhist nun, I have been making, exploring, and teaching at the intersections of art (creativity) and dharma (ethics, wisdom, and applied insight) for many years in academic, retreat, arts, religious, and community contexts. With my friend and colleague Julie Stuart I offer Weaving Wisdom Workshops - intermodal dance/regalia/SoulCollage/Constellations extravaganzas. I create regalia from found garments for the performance of emergent rituals.
And I am in private practice as a somatic and expressive arts therapist in Lebanon, NH.
I'm thrilled to be offering My President 2026 as path of reflection in the closing months of 2025, as a bridge into 2026. You may have heard? There's a bit of a crisis of leadership afoot in the United States. Building Self-Leadership in a diverse internal and external community feels like absolutely necessary practice, now more than ever.
I've been working with SoulCollage® since 2019 and became a Facilitator in June 2020. Then, in 2024 I trained as a Family and Systems Constellations facilitator. In my experience, interweaving SoulCollage®, Internal Family Systems, and Constellations offers fertile, creative, compassionate tools for approaching, naming, and being present with our human experiences and the worlds we inhabit.
I show up in the world as an artist, writer, mover, and psychotherapist. A committed meditator since 1995 and former Buddhist nun, I have been making, exploring, and teaching at the intersections of art (creativity) and dharma (ethics, wisdom, and applied insight) for many years in academic, retreat, arts, religious, and community contexts. With my friend and colleague Julie Stuart I offer Weaving Wisdom Workshops - intermodal dance/regalia/SoulCollage/Constellations extravaganzas. I create regalia from found garments for the performance of emergent rituals.
And I am in private practice as a somatic and expressive arts therapist in Lebanon, NH.
photo credit: Rainy Lynn
Questions?
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image copyright Julie Püttgen
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