An image titled "The First Gate," subtitled "The First Gate to Grief: Everything We Love, We Will Lose." The image features a slightly blurred image of a wooden and metal park bench in a misty outdoor setting with fallen leaves. In the bottom right corner is a circular logo depicting a tree with colorful leaves rooted in swirling blue and green elements. The logo subtly portrays three human stick-figures with outstretched arms making up the tree, which are emerging from the pages of a stylized open book. The author's name, Francis Weller, and the book title, "The Wild Edge of Sorrow," are also visible.

"Grief is one of the voices of the soul, asking us to face life's most difficult but essential teaching: everything is a gift, and nothing lasts." F. Weller

Come walk with me on this path, in which we can support each other in our pain as we discover the gifts that grief brings. #storytelling

An old woman with Day of the Dead-style face paint and attire, including a black lace hat with flowers, is the focus of a close-up shot. Her face is painted with skull-like features, and she wears a purple and black striped outfit. A blurred figure is visible in the background.

Sooner or later, we all dance with Mother Death.
Learn more, and lose your fear.

The story is in my book, storiesoftheheartbook.com

#storytelling #healing #deathdoula #transformation

Whether you are facing your own fragility, that of a loved one, or that of a society, we must be invigorated and comforted by the traditional view: we work for seven generations to follow, and are the product of seven generations before.

#healingpowerofstories
#storytelling
#transformation

Would you like to hear more about my storytelling trip to Marrakech? Read my overview here:

preview.mailerlite.io/preview/1361...

and sign up for my list here:

transformationalstorytelling.org/contact/

#storytelling #healing #Marrakech #Festival

What we do - and especially the stories we tell - matters more than we can know.

#healing #storytelling

We cannot solve this as warring tribes. We must be brave and speak our loving concerns, in order to create a new, truly diverse community.

#storytelling #healing #spiritualstorytelling

For me, it is time to return to the gratitude for all that the world has given us, and feel the love it inspires. And then to share this gratitude and love... especially with the children.
#storytelling #gratitude #spiritualhealing

Excited! I'm returning to my workshop programs, and have several to announce: Legacy Storytelling (one for US, one for Asia/Pacific), The Golem, and Stories of the Heart. Please visit transformationalstorytelling.org/events/ Also, I have new openings in my spiritual growth practice. Contact me.

All this, plus: Stories are the neurotransmitters of this wonderful social brain... 💜

StoriesOfTheHeartBook.com

#HealingThroughStories
#StorytellingForChange
#TransformativeStories
#NarrativeHealing
#PowerOfStories

Values are created and expressed in #stories

TransformationalStorytelling.org

A vibrant poster advertising the 3rd Marrakech International Storytelling Festival. The poster features a female storyteller, "Bahja," wearing a red and white headscarf and a flowing green dress, captivating an audience with her performance. Ornate Moroccan architecture frames the scene, with lanterns hanging overhead. The poster announces the festival dates as January 19-26, 2025, and highlights the theme "Joyful & Healing Stories." It also notes the event is free for all and held under the patronage of King Mohammed VI.

Finally! Off to #Marrakech and the Third International Storytelling Festival! 200 workshops .. 100 Storytellers .. 24h telling in the square .. 40 schools .. the gathering of a huge storytelling family!!!

I'll be co-leading 4 workshops and meeting old & new friends. Bahja - Joy and Healing!

A quote graphic with a white background. The quote, in black text, reads: "If you can attain a high enough degree of gratefulness, you can change ordinary things into Medicine." Below the quote, in smaller red text, is the following attribution: "Big Medicine From Six Nations - Ted C. Williams and Debra Roberts". On the right side of the graphic is the partial cover of a book, showing the title "Ted Williams Big Medicine" in white text against a dark, somewhat abstract background featuring a skeletal figure.

Gratefulness has amazing power. Practice it, invite it in, offer it. Greet everyone with it. #StorytellingForChange #CulturalHealingStories #HealingThroughStories
storiesoftheheartbook.com

The graphic displays a book cover with the title "The Wounded Storyteller" by Arthur W. Frank. The cover features an image of a person's back with a white strip across it, possibly symbolizing a wound or a bandage. A quote is superimposed on the graphic: "The wounded storyteller, ending silences, speaking truths, creating communities, becomes the wounded healer." The quote is attributed to "The Wounded Storyteller" and Arthur W. Frank.

This is a rich book, with more than one point to make. Amongst them, it suggests that once labeled "wounded," we carry that label forever. Let's change it to "transforming!" storiesoftheheartbook.com #storyteller #healing #transformation

Bahja!!! Leaving for Marrakech soon to be a part of the 3rd International Storytelling Fest! Joy and Healing!

The book cover for "Being With Dying" by Joan Halifax, with a foreword by Ira Byock. The cover features a sunset over water. A quote to the left of the cover reads, "He slipped beneath the wave of life and dove out of sight."

"He slipped beneath the wave of life and dove out of sight." -- Joan Halifax, "Being with Dying." Be gentle with yourself in your grief. Comfort yourself and others who are grieving with stories: storiesoftheheartbook.com

The world of oral storytelling... and when it's transformational storytelling, welcome to Class V rapids... :)

A person of ambiguous gender is seen from behind, wearing a tattered and soiled coat with visible holes and frayed edges. The person stands in a desolate landscape of muddy ground, puddles, and an overcast sky, evoking a somber and reflective atmosphere. Overlaid on the image is a quote by Alan Morinis in white text on a green semi-transparent background: "When our eyes focus only on the soiled garment, ignoring the divinely inspired being within, there really isn’t anything much to honor." The name "Alan Morinis" appears in blue beneath the quote, accompanied by a small logo of Transformational Storytelling.

What story does this evoke for you? Who is this character? What is the story of their coat?

#PowerOfStories #HealingThroughStories #ResilientNarratives #StorytellingCommunity

A watercolor graphic featuring an abstract composition with flowing, organic shapes in shades of blue, green, and brown, creating a serene and layered visual effect. Overlaid on the design is a quote in black text that reads: "It is best not even to hint at the mysteries contained in stories, for when something is completely hidden, it can accomplish the most." Below the quote, the attribution reads "R. Nachman." The bottom-right corner includes a small abstract logo of an open book with a leaf and a figure rising from it, symbolizing growth and knowledge, the logo of Transformational Storytelling.

It is best not even to hint at the mysteries contained in stories, for when something is completely hidden, it can accomplish the most. - R. Nachman.

#PowerOfStories #TransformativeStories #EmotionalHealingStories

storiesoftheheartbook.com

An abstract watercolor background featuring flowing, interconnected shapes in nature-inspired hues of blue, green, and brown. The design includes a soft, lighter center that gradually transitions to deeper tones around the edges. Overlaid on the lighter center is the quote, "That which appears to be competition is cooperation at a higher level," with emphasis on the words "competition" and "cooperation" in bold. The attribution, "R & D Becvar," is curved and positioned near the bottom right. The overall aesthetic is fluid and harmonious, evoking a sense of balance and unity.

The beauty of nature is that there is no goodness, truth, and beauty. Nature is all of these without conscious effort. Indeed, *that which appears to be competition is cooperation at a higher level.* (Becvar, Dorothy & Raphael)

#LeadershipThroughNarratives #PowerOfStories #ResilientNarratives

... if you let it.

... if you let it.

*Healing* often involves changing expectations for what is possible, *changing the story* people have about their pain, which, in the process, increases resiliency, adaptability, and sometimes leads to *transformation.* L. Mehl-Madrona.
#HealingThroughStories #PowerOfStories

I will never, ever get over this.

The Life of Death YouTube video by Marsha Onderstijn

A beautiful short: The Life of Death
5 minutes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofnC...

A colorful watercolor illustration features a radiant sun with golden and orange rays spreading across the left side, blending into a lush, green forest with tall pine and leafy trees. On the right side, vibrant shades of blue and green depict a serene sky with swirling clouds and more trees. In the foreground, a yellow text box contains a quote by Hafiz: "And still, after all this time, the Sun has never said to the Earth, 'You owe me.' Look what happens with love like that. It lights up the sky." The composition evokes harmony and love, with natural elements intertwining seamlessly.

"Look what happens with love like that. It lights up the sky."

Whose sky will you be light in tomorrow? Who was a light in your sky today?

Please share!

#HealingThroughStories #ShareYourStory #YourStoryMatters

storiesoftheheartbook.com

Love survives loss, and is flavored by it. #HealingThroughStories #PersonalGrowthJourney #ShareYourStory

storiesoftheheartbook.com

"In a ritual of mourning, the community is the actual subject that mourns."

May we each find the community to mourn together when mourning is called for.

❤️‍🩹

storiesoftheheartbook.com

#HealingThroughStories #yourstorymatters #powerofstories

TL;DR: As rural depopulation accelerates, abandoned lands offer opportunities and challenges for biodiversity. Some villages reveal the complex impacts of human absence on nature. While some areas rewild, invasive species & ecological degradation highlight the need for intentional land management.

A photorealistic image of the interior of a rustic cabin featuring a large broken window with jagged shards of glass clinging to the wooden frame. Lightweight white curtains with delicate lace edging are hung at the top of the window and are being blown outward forcefully through the broken opening. The cabin interior includes a rough wooden wall and part of the window frame, with glass shards scattered across the wooden floor. Outside the window, rolling hills and a dense forest stretch into the distance, bathed in the golden hues of a sunset. A single bird is visible in the sky, flying upward and away, adding a subtle sense of motion and freedom to the tranquil scene.

"Graceland" by Paul Simon: music.youtube.com/watch?v=WH5W...

Tell the story of when your windows were shattered open. What did you lose? What did you gain?

#EmotionalHealingStories #ShareYourStory #HealingThroughStories

A wound is the site of an injury; when we have been wounded, it is a tangible reminder.

What if we thought of injuries, and the wounds they cause, as disruptions? They are no less painful or traumatic. But they carry a new set of possibilities of what it means to heal...
#HealingThroughStories