Storytelling for Wholeness and Healing

I have known for sometime that telling the stories of our narrow spots is essential to healing. I recently had the opportunity to hear renowned storytellers Kevin Kling and Matthew Sanford in an informal conversation with Dr. Jon Hallberg. The event was sponsored by the Center for Spirituality & Healing as a Kick-off to the American Holistic Medical Association Conference in Minneapolis.

Not only was my belief in storytelling affirmed, the evening inspired me to focus on developing a workshop specifically aimed at empowering participants to tell their stories as a means of moving forward on the path of recovery from loss.
So the question is: If I host a workshop of this nature, would anyone come?

Here is what I propose:
The Heart of the Matter
Everything is held together with stories. That is all that is holding us together, stories and compassion. ~Barry Lopez
I and those who join me will be both storyteller and story listener. When we tell a personal story out loud, we discharge some of its danger, shining a light into a dark closet.
Setting Intention
The fact is that we human beings speak the same language. And the language that we speak is the language of storytelling. ~Harold Scheub
Narrative is an essential part of our human nature. We live it, hear it and create it each day. Stories connect us to others and help us process, heal, problem solve, express feelings, remember and celebrate.
There is a relationship between teller and listener. To enter a story is to make room for its teller. With someone to hear their stories, tellers know they are not alone and feel gratitude for being heard. As listeners to someone else’s stories, we realize that we can help just by listening, and being a witness. The listener confirms the worth of the teller by attending seriously to what he or she tells.
The Invitation
Bring your curiosity (a strong desire to know or learn), and spend a day on a journey of renewal, transformation and healing.
What we will create together
An opportunity for individual discovery and learning:
• to learn from other people’s stories,
• to awaken a spirit of possibility,
• to honor the grieving process,
• to gain perspective on perspective,
• to recognize the difference between “Yes and…” and “Yes, but…”
• to stay engaged in the process of being,
• to create a vocabulary for one’s own healing, renewal ,
• to examine and befriend the moment.
Stay tuned…