I just started reading "Women Who Run with the Wolves" by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. http://www.clarissapinkolaestes.com/women_who_run_with_the_wolves__myths_and_stories_of_the_wild_woman_archetype_101250.htm I am blown away by her ability to both tell a story and then break it down to its psycho-social-spiritual components in a way that leads to the reader (listener) to have a greater view of themselves.
It reminds me of "The Power of Myth" by Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Myth both a book and a PBS series.
I love how many traditional medicines and indigenous cultures make use of telling a story to help and individual or group heal. Ultimately we are all telling a story. Our life is a story and we also tell ourselves a story in our heads that shapes reality based on how we act out our core beliefs.
I once asked a shaman a question about relationships (close friends are laughing) that I was struggling with, she paused and smiled, an then launched into an animated version of a traditional Inuit story called "Skeleton woman"http://www.redkite-animation.com/index.php?page=skeleton-women The story so captured the essence of the psychological drama, that I was floored by the ability to capture this and to heal the part that my own mind could not see within myself. That is the safety and genius of a story, as it manages to sidestep the Ego's defenses and implant a greater consciousness that normally the Ego would put up many defenses to... After all, it is only a story and what could this possibly have to do with me:) Perhaps everything. Now when I patient or couple comes to me in my office asking me a question about relationships, I can't help but pause, get a slight smile, and then launch into a rendition of "Skeleton Women" knowing that they will leave with a smile on their face and the knowledge that this beautiful oral tradition will continue to get passed down for it still contains the capacity to heal.
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