“I am bound to them, though I cannot look into their eyes or hear their voices. I honor their history. I cherish their lives. I will tell their story. I will remember them.”~ Author Unknown We carry the roots of who we are in the lineage of our family tree. We are blessed by the …Read More
Blog
#22: Life Changes (Raquel Austin)
Imagine a Jewish girl born in Columbia attending a Catholic school, nearly converting, running away to New York, then Chicago, then spending 20 years in Jamaica to start Negril Yoga Center, the first yoga center in Jamaica. Raquel Austin’s life story is full of twists and turns and plenty of life changes. She shares her …Read More
Tim Brown, Serious Play Conference
Creativity is stifled by the fear of judgment. We must go back to childhood playfulness in order to stimulate creativity. We need an environment of trust where we can play with ideas and feel free to make mistakes. In his TED talk at the Serious Play Conference (Yes, there is such a thing!), Tim Brown …Read More
“Sorrow Songs” become “Spirituals”
Originally called “Sorrow Songs,” they were composed by African slaves whose names we will never know. With hidden stories and meanings, what we call “Spirituals” today are songs of suffering, survival, and hope. How do we survive when the worst happens? Through these songs, faith was transmitted as the stories of the Bible became the …Read More
#21: The Story of HIV (Dr. Larry Friedman)
Time stood still. Even the air in the room refused to move, when Dr. Larry Friedman launched into a teaching story. As a resident doctor-in-training, we rotate through many different areas of medicine. Looking back at memorable moments during that time, the teachers that captivated me the most were the ones that told stories. In …Read More
Sacred Medicine Wheel – New Year’s Retreat
“Birth, Life, Death is a cycle, and they are all beautiful. You celebrate all of them.” ~ Cesar Milan The Native American teachings are connected to observation of the natural world. All over the natural world we see cycles. The cycle of the day and night. The cycle of the seasons. The cycle of life. …Read More
SLAM Storytelling comes to FGCU
The contestants are on stage pouring out their deeply personal moments to a riveted audience. The laughter roars. Touching moments move us. We are all connected by the intricate web the storyteller weaves in just five minutes. It’s a contest, and the winner goes home with the prize for the best story. The judges are …Read More
#20: Intuitive Reading (Jamie McCall)
If you are like me, fortune tellers are scary! Tapping into some secret knowledge, they make pronouncements about my future. It is as if they are taking away my free will and I no longer have any power to change my life. I am trapped in my life, rather than master of my life. In …Read More
Too good to be true
An unexpected email arrived in my inbox. “I would like you to perform at Oxford Storytelling Festival…” Wow! How did they find out about me? I’m a famous storyteller. I’ve been doing this for a while. Working hard on stories. This is so cool! Maybe they saw me perform at one of the festival new …Read More
#19: Heart Transplant (Sonja Greene-Smith)
“It is our stories that make us human.” In medical school, I learned all the technical details about heart transplant. I studied the medical criteria that makes you a candidate, the drugs required post-transplant, and the labs and physical symptoms to monitor. Yet, what I did not yet learn were the stories. Those stories came …Read More