Rating: NNNNN
do a little eavesdropping in any bus, restaurant or office or just listen in on yourself and you’ll realize that huge chunks of what we have to say to each other take the form of stories. “I did that, she said this, and the cow jumped over the moon.” We tell stories to explain ourselves to the world, to understand the complicated things that happen to us, to mythologize our ancestry.
Affinity with narrative, in fact, seems to be hard-wired into us at a fundamental level. It stands to reason that anything this basic to our nature might have something to do with maintaining a sense of balance in our lives. As Western medicine starts catching on to the power of the mind, serious research into tale-telling has begun. Preliminary reports suggest that writing down our personal epics, especially our most traumatic ones, helps our immune system function better.
But not just any recitation will do the trick. You must be careful not to be too seduced by your own personal mythology. There are many ways to describe the tale of your woes and accomplishments in this life. Finding alternative storylines is what healing is all about.
