I just started reading "Women Who Run with the Wolves" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. http://www.clarissapinkolaestes.com/women_who_run_with_the_wolves__myths_and_stories_of_the_wild_woman_archetype_101250.htm I am blown away by her ability to both tell a story and then break it down to its psycho-social-spiritual components in a way that leads to the reader (listener) to have a greater view of themselves.
It reminds me of "The Power of Myth" by Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Myth both a book and a PBS series.
I love how many traditional medicines and indigenous cultures make use of telling a story to help and individual or group heal. Ultimately we are all telling a story. Our life is a story and we also tell ourselves a story in our heads that shapes reality based on how we act out our core beliefs.
I once asked a shaman a question about relationships (close friends are laughing) that I was struggling with, she paused and smiled, an then launched into an animated version of a traditional Inuit story called "Skeleton woman"http://www.redkite-animation.com/index.php?page=skeleton-women The story so captured the essence of the psychological drama, that I was floored by the ability to capture this and to heal the part that my own mind could not see within myself. That is the safety and genius of a story, as it manages to sidestep the Ego's defenses and implant a greater consciousness that normally the Ego would put up many defenses to... After all, it is only a story and what could this possibly have to do with me:) Perhaps everything. Now when I patient or couple comes to me in my office asking me a question about relationships, I can't help but pause, get a slight smile, and then launch into a rendition of "Skeleton Women" knowing that they will leave with a smile on their face and the knowledge that this beautiful oral tradition will continue to get passed down for it still contains the capacity to heal.
It reminds me of "The Power of Myth" by Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Myth both a book and a PBS series.
I love how many traditional medicines and indigenous cultures make use of telling a story to help and individual or group heal. Ultimately we are all telling a story. Our life is a story and we also tell ourselves a story in our heads that shapes reality based on how we act out our core beliefs.
I once asked a shaman a question about relationships (close friends are laughing) that I was struggling with, she paused and smiled, an then launched into an animated version of a traditional Inuit story called "Skeleton woman"http://www.redkite-animation.com/index.php?page=skeleton-women The story so captured the essence of the psychological drama, that I was floored by the ability to capture this and to heal the part that my own mind could not see within myself. That is the safety and genius of a story, as it manages to sidestep the Ego's defenses and implant a greater consciousness that normally the Ego would put up many defenses to... After all, it is only a story and what could this possibly have to do with me:) Perhaps everything. Now when I patient or couple comes to me in my office asking me a question about relationships, I can't help but pause, get a slight smile, and then launch into a rendition of "Skeleton Women" knowing that they will leave with a smile on their face and the knowledge that this beautiful oral tradition will continue to get passed down for it still contains the capacity to heal.