The Value of Storytelling Includes Healing the Soul to Preserving Cultural Values
The value-of-storytelling is embodied in the archetype of the Griot or Storyteller.This character archetype transcends months and seasons. Like the July sun, ancient stories burn brightly across the centuries, emblazoning their lessons in the collective consciousness of humankind.
What Do Stories Do?
Here are four values of storytelling.First, stories preserve the heros and values of a culture or culture. Heroes enshrined in the stories provide examples of qualities for younger people to emulate, such as courage, compassion, creative problem-solving, cooperation, honesty, and integrity. Another value-of-storytelling is passing down family history. In this way, we honor the achievements and antics of previous generations. We give ourselves and our children connection to those who came before and those who came after.
Storyteller Transmits Values & History
Culture and family history stories create a context in which we may view our responsibilities as citizens of the world. Third, through personal-narrative-writing and other therapeutic explorations, understanding your story may heal the wounded child and individual spirit or soul. This is a deep topic, and there are many books, workshops, and seminars to guide your through this. Fourth and last, developing your personal style and fashion archetype is a way of expressing your personal story and telling the world about yourself.
The Gemini Connection
The storyteller is an archetype associated with the zodiacal twins, Gemini, the sun sign for mid-June to mid-July."How do we keep our lives interesting? That is the real Gemini question," writes Dana Gerhardt in The Mountain Astrologer. She suggests "another Gemini icon, the Storyteller" is useful: "Applying a storyteller's imagination to life can help us weave Gemini's myriad interests into a series of successful adventures. The secret is all in the plotting," (p. 14, June/July 2010) Gerhardt writes.
Are You the Hero/ine
Of Your Life?
In our times, the story has almost become a Jungian-archetype it itself. We hear people say, “My life is like a movie.”They mean that events in their lives are so exciting, coincidental, tragic, or unusual they resemble the plot of film. A story, conversely, reflects life as it is lived.
Using Archetypes to Make Sense of Life Experiences
Jungian therapist June Singer wrote that Jung believed the first 40 years of life are for gaining experiences and the next 40 are for making sense of them.It is no wonder that personal-narrative-writing is a favorite subject of workshops and seminars, especially at senior centers. Each character archetype offers an opportunity to tell the story of your life by relating it to long-standing patterns of human experience. Each person uniquely manifests the patterns of familiar Jungian archetypes. Similarly, every fingerprint is an example of the category of fingerprint-ness while each is different from all others.
Workshop Facilitates Your Connection with Lived Archetypes
To discover the Jungian archetypes in the personal narratives of your life is to connect with the deepest threads in human experience. It is to become the griot of your experience.
The archetype workshop
is a way to engage with Jungian archetypesIn this interactive workshop, you will create a pie chart that uncovers 12 Jungian archetypes in your life. You will have an opportunity to use a life anecdote to illustrate a dominant character archetype in your story.
Interact with Your Archetypes in Intimate Workshop
In an intimate group of 15 people or fewer, we will explore the qualities and characteristics of Jungian archetypes and shadows in a kinetic activity. Finally, we will integrate our understanding of these life patterns by developing brief script scenarios. The discovery of these deep inner connections to our character archetypes may open a door to greater wholeness or unleash your creativity. What is your personal narrative? Which Jungian archetypes do you live? Experiment with personal narrative writing and unleash the value-of-storytelling for self-understanding. Take time to become the griot of your life.
The Between, Liminal Space, & The Equinox -- September 2010
The Truth-Seeker -- August 2010
Feminine Makeovers & Alchemical Transmutation -- June 2010
Mother Dance -- May 2010
Mother Rain -- April 2010
Return to Archetype of the Month page and more links.
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