What is an invocation? In its simplest form, it’s a request or a “calling in” of a desired outcome. How do you “call in” what you want in 2025? We all have a longing for something – for change, for love, for connection, for transformation, for success, for better health – but finding ways to …Read More
Blog
Physician-Educator-Storyteller
In the reflective space between the old year and the new, I found three words to describe myself. It was 2018. I did not yet know how these words fit together; I just knew that they were potent. I would become a Physician-Educator-Storyteller. I bandaged the words together to create a new vision. I changed …Read More
Release and Renewal Retreat ~ Creating a Powerful Invocation
Join us this year and let us guide you in crafting a prayer and distilling it to its essence – as an invocation that will guide and inspire you in the new year – towards manifesting your soul’s dreams. Dr. Joel Ying and Suzanne Scurlock have been co-teaching the Release & Renewal Workshop for over …Read More
How I created my own MFA in Storytelling
A “Master of Fine Arts” degree or MFA is a graduate degree designed to deepen a student’s understanding and skills in a specific artistic field, such as creative writing, visual arts, or performing arts. With this degree, most will pursue a career in the creative arts or teaching. When I decided to become an oral …Read More
FGCU Sidewalk Talk – A Story Listening Event produced by Dr. Joel Ying
“Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health. Our relationships are a source of healing and well-being hiding in plain sight – one that can help us live healthier, more fulfilled, and more productive lives,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. “Given the significant health …Read More
Council Lodge ~ Sedona, Arizona
“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche As I climb out of the valley and reach the top of these red rocks in Sedona, Arizona, a spectacular vista opens up. Behind me is …Read More
We Wear the Mask ~ Paul Lawrence Dunbar
We Wear the Mask~ by Paul Lawrence Dunbar We wear the mask that grins and lies,It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—This debt we pay to human guile;With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,And mouth with myriad subtleties. Why should the world be over-wise,In counting all our tears and sighs?Nay, let them only see …Read More
Story: The Intensive Care Unit ~ Dr. Joel Ying
In this story, I explore the memories of a doctor-in-training as a resident in the hospital. My memories of the intensive care unit (ICU) are filled with the intense emotion that colors the space between life and death. With these critically ill patients, we sit with them on the brink of death and the edge …Read More
Oral Storytelling Performance: Creative Writing, Public Speaking, and Theater
Storytelling in the oral tradition begins with a story idea that we craft into a story. Today, with the focus on the written word, we call this crafting process “writing.” Whether it begins on paper or not, the story crafting process begins with the “creative writing” process. This “writing” process might begin simply with imagination, …Read More
You deserve this! ~ Make your bed
I make my bed every morning. Sometimes a simple act can ripple through your day. Sometimes a well-placed word can change your life. I don’t remember the name of the motivational speaker that came to my middle school auditorium decades ago. I don’t even remember the topic of his speech. I only remember his answer …Read More