What Does It Mean?

Experiencing story, and life, as a mirror is a powerful practice that brings greater ease in life. Below are my writings about a variety of folktales and stories that explore this topic in more depth. In The Listening Circle, we engage in seeing life, and story, as mirrors.

Imaginal Yoga

Story Wisdom is a form of yoga. It is imaginal yoga. There is a wellspring of wisdom, intuition, and energy poised within our unconscious mind. This is the border country between our ordinary consciousness and the singular, Universal consciousness from which all reality manifests.

Recovering The Feminine Creative

It’s a curious thing. Biologically, females are designed to create – literally. Yet, the conventional culture, what Riane Eisler describes as a dominator culture, emphasizes the masculinity of creating. The Feminine, I am told, is quiet, receptive and

Woman of the Sea as a Mirror

Selkies are faeries of the sea and there are many different versions of their stories. They take the shape of a seal when they are in the water and when they come to land, they may shed their seal skins and take human form. If you come upon a Selkie in its human form, find its […]

The Child of Salt

One of my favorite stories is a traditional tale published in Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart. It tells of a “child made all of salt who very much wanted to know where he had come from.” In the video below, I’ve reframed the story a bit.

Folklore As Dream Work

In a recent article on Forbes, Jordan Shapiro shared this quote by Marie-Louise von Franz. It echoes my experience of folktales throughout my career as a traditional storyteller. I first recognized the potency and power of these tales while reading Rumpelstiltskin to my daughter. The Story Wisdom, in these tales that have been distilled over […]

The Rumpelstiltskin Effect

Once There Was… This is the book that opened the door to my storytelling journey for me.  At the time, I was reading folktale picture books to my 4 yr old and enjoying her experience of them, as well as remembering my own childhood delight in them. The Grimm’s collection of tales had been a […]