True Storytelling

Whenever something significant happens to you, what do you do? Most of us want to tell someone the story!

We are storytelling beings, it is one of the unique traits that human beings have. Our ancestors have been telling stories since the dawn of time; stories of what happened today, what we learned, what it says about the world out there.

We are still storytelling beings, and we still need to tell stories. The therapeutic value of storytelling is well established nowadays, and many groups exist that use storytelling as a tool for dealing with addiction, loss, illness and other life-challenges. Telling your story to a group is a powerful way of validating your experience, and supporting your next steps.

But what about the magical experiences? What about those events in our lives that are precious to us, sacred even; the events that remind us that life is indeed a mystery and that the universe has our back? What would be the therapeutic value of telling such stories?

This is what True Storytelling is all about. We live in a very materialistic culture, where it’s considered acceptable to dismiss some of the most precious experiences as “make believe” and “wishful thinking”. As a result many of us might keep quiet about those precious moments.

But this silence drives our sacred nature underground, and we all suffer because of that. So True Storytelling could be seen as a therapeutic practice, but for people who suffer from living in an overly materialistic culture, and who thus devalue their own inner experiences, doubt the miracles that have happened in their lives and tend to feel alone thereby.

“It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be able to listen, really listen, to other people telling about precious moments in their lives. And to have the chance to tell about your own experiences and memories (only if you want to), with others listening to you too. It’s inspiring and entertaining and humbling, all at once.” Previous participant.

So, bring your miraculous stories, even the ones that baffle you. Bring your mysterious stories, and let’s all marvel at them. Bring the stories that you haven’t told as much as you’d like, perhaps because you were concerned people would make fun of them. Let’s affirm together the power and beauty of the inner life and those moments when something happens that’s just so weird, so wonderful, that it stays with us for years afterwards, waiting to be told.

Heard at previous True Storytelling evenings