Stories

The beauty of extended families,tribes,communities offering the wisdom sharing tradition of the elders bestowing storytelling is a missing vital art needing it's restored value. The missing link is that we re-connect the art through the heart, respecting the experiences and lessons rather than being over-identified with the story. We must also appreciate that though our elders may have had different environments and circumstances the lessons remain valuable. When we can appreciate the art of storytelling acknowledging the wisdom rather than the knowledge we may receive the gifts of story. Our egoic need to possess identity rather than express it hinders the richness and depth of Story. Our egoic need of disregarding the value of the natural life cycle for the preference of youth to avoid the reality of temporary, loss, death limits the value in each stage that life offers. When we can appreciate the life journey and value the richness of the whole we can build bridges between our generations appreciating the contributions of each as necessary rather than separating and judging the value or disconnecting and segmenting and disrespecting.  By overemphasizing Story through the literal analysis of the left brain we disempower the depth of the lateral right brain, ego/heart, intellect/feeling,identity/experience,logical/imaginative,duality/wholeness.....

We can blend the Information Age with the Intuition Age respecting and valuing the benefits of both, exclusively inclusive. Our educational system with it's over identification (left brain) of knowledge seeking- information gathering (looking for the missing piece,not missing just in the unknown)has disconnected and dismissed the value of wisdom(right brain). We have decided to overindulge our teaching directed to obtaining more information and memorizing as a measure of learning and pushed back the reality that our whole brain operating children are processing data at unprecedented  speeds. Their brains are technologically overloaded and visually overstimulated and require balancing. They know they can receive information,or where to look if they want it, however, they don't know how to experience it. 

Education quotes by Albert Einstein
1. The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.
2. Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school
3. It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.

The art of storytelling is an Artform, a wholebrained experience. It does not comprise reading stories to our children. It engages them to experience the storyline. We can use the story (myth,parable,sacred texts....) as containers of expressions. The ability to turn information into experience. The ability to breath life into storyline, theatrical expressions allowing a fully engaged participation of the story and the disengagement from the story. Allowing for the experience and expression without the over-identification and loss. Bringing stories to life, appreciating it's contribution, letting go of the construct and re-building a new one, over and over. The fluidity of life's reality, rather than the rigidity of fragmented living.

Our lives are an art, a living story. Our ability to experience and re experience it's storyline's allowing expressions, experiences is our human gift. When we over-identify with a "character" role, identity as Who we are rather than how We Are Experienceing WHO WE ARE we lose the gift. Our stories can heal parts of us needing outlets of expression. Or Our are stories can entrap us in false identity. We can connect with the bigger part of Who We Are or we can be disconnected by the limited story of Who We have Forgotten We ARE.

We can re-define the value of stories and how we utilize them. The left brain analysis and dissection of stories has stripped the richness our stories offer us in self-knowledge without self-appreciation. We are not our stories, nor do we need to have an unhealthy relationship with our stories. We can use our stories or be used by them. Our value of story can be written with and through us slipping easily in and out of expressions, Dances with experiences or they can stagnate us from experiencing Who We Are. Can you value your stories or do you think you are only valuable in a particular story? Can you create your stories or will you be a creation of story? Stories are valuable, there is value in Story.