Thursday, July 21, 2016

Story Center - The Healing Power of Telling Our Stories



Ts' its' tsi' nako, Thought-Woman, the Spider
is sitting in her room and what ever she thinks about
appears.  Thought-Woman
named things and as she named them
they appeared. She is sitting in her room
thinking of a story now:
I'm telling you the story
she is thinking.
Keresan Pueblo Proverb
On the Trail of Spider WomanCarol Patterson-Rudolph

In the Pueblo People's mythos of Tse Che Nako, Spider Woman who is also called Thought Woman the Creatrix spins the worlds into being with the stories she tells about the world.  Like a spider, she spins from her own substance the great Web of being, and within that web all beings are connected by Her threads.  This power of storytelling the World into being was also given to us.  And there is also great healing in telling our stories, in not being left mute. And great healing and growth in learning to listen, really listen.  

Here's a wonderful project that originated in Berkeley.  The short videos are often powerful, and they are made by people from all over the world, all walks of life.   

Learn From My Story: Rural Ugandan Women Share Difficult Childbirth Experiences and Talk  About the Relief of Overcoming Obstetric Fistula


STORYCENTER (FORMERLY THE CENTER FOR DIGITAL STORYTELLING), FOUNDER OF THE GLOBAL DIGITAL STORYTELLING MOVEMENT, IS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT USES A COMBINATION OF STORYWORK AND INNOVATIVE, PARTICIPATORY MEDIA METHODS TO SUPPORT PEOPLE IN SHARING PERSONAL NARRATIVES ROOTED IN THEIR OWN LIFE EXPERIENCES.

We create spaces for transforming lives and communities, through the acts of listening to and sharing stories. Since 1993, we have partnered with organizations around the world on projects in Storywork, digital storytelling, and other forms of digital media production. Our selection of public workshops supports individuals in creating and sharing stories.

WHEN WE LISTEN DEEPLY, AND TELL STORIES,
WE BUILD A JUST AND HEALTHY WORLD.

http://www.storycenter.org/stories/

1 comment:

Trish and Rob MacGregor said...

Thanks for the link! Off to take a look.