by Sharon Mathis. As a teller of healing stories, I know that a story invites the listener into suspended time, a landscape of possibilities where even the lies are true. Story creates a vessel big enough for the whole person, with delights for ears, intrigue for the brain, safe places for the heart, and spaces […]
Stories Transforming the Teller: Sacred Theatre Details »
Compiled by Cristy West. Cristy West: I thought it might be interesting to consider what we mean when we talk “transformation” in the context of story. How are we hoping to transform our own lives? What sorts of transformative goals do we have for those we work with? What do we mean when we speak
Story and Transformation: A discussion from the HSA list serve Details »
by Dr. Brian W. Sturm & Dr. William A. Sturm. There was once a stonecutter who wanted to be the most powerful being in the world. As he was working, the king rode by, and the stonecutter wished to be that king . . . and so it was. He felt powerful as King, very
Growing Through Enchantment Details »
by Sunwolf, Ph.D. At nightfall the cuckolded and damaged king ordered another maiden and her slave brought to his chambers and took his pleasure. As the night wore on the slave spoke，”Mistress if you are not sleepy tell us one of your lovely little tales to while away the night before I must bid you
Grief Tales: The Therapeutic Power of Folktales to Heal Bereavement and Loss Details »
by Diane Rooks. “Remember the children,” Matt Heavilin wrote, as he autographed the book for me that he and his mother coauthored. Their book, Grief is a Family Affair, offers many examples of how children are often the forgotten grievers following the death of a family member. Not only do most people think children can
Children: the Forgotten Grievers Details »
A Tlingit Tale Retold by Cristy West. In the Queen Charlotte Islands there was a young chief whose wife fell sick and died shortly after their marriage. The young chief was deeply saddened. No one could console him. Then a wood carver from that village came to the chief and offered to carve an image
The Woodcarver’s Gift Details »
by Fran Yardley. Over the past ten years, I have been following the path of working with healing story often. At first, I wasn’t sure how this would manifest. The 22 years of experience I have had working as a storyteller has taught me that usually, we do not choose our stories; they choose us.
Mourning into Daylight: The Place of Story in a Bereavement Group Details »
by Wendy Welch and Jack Beck. StUn (Storytelling Unplugged) is a Scottish non-profit organization, set up in 2000, whose members are tellers, singers, musicians and artists using their skills as practical problem-solving tools with people of all ages and abilities and in all kinds of settings. Prior to the establishment of StUn virtually all of
Storytelling Unplugged Details »
by Tuly Flint. “Go away!” he screamed. “You are being a bad boy! You won’t get any present from me with this crying!” As I entered his room, I was barraged with shrieks from “S,” a four-and-a-half-year-old boy staying in our children’s oncology department. I work as both a social worker and performing storyteller in
Fight or Flight Into Health: “S” and Cancer Details »
By Chris King. When presenting my “How to Tell Personal Stories”workshop at a 1993 Ohio storytelling conference, I shared the story of my son’s bout with cancer in 1989 for the first time in front of a live audience. Finally, I could tell it with the truth and drama it possessed. Why for the first
The Everlasting Healing Power of a Story Details »
