Our lives are stories. We have our own individual stories of birth, followed by ongoing stages of development, relationships, discovery of mentors and guides, evolving identities, ever-emerging perceptions of meaning, lifelong learning, awareness of strengths and weaknesses, along with successes and failures, and periodic reflections on who we are and how our individual stories are unfolding.

However, our individual stories are deeply influenced and shaped by the ancestral, cultural, and historical stories of the families and communities into which we are born – whether or not those stories have been shared intentionally with us, or they remain in our unconscious awareness. Learning these stories can help us understand how some of our own patterns, preferences, challenges, values, motivations, and visions may be connected to what has gone before us and what currently inspires and/or challenges us.

Reaching beyond individual and family/culture/history, we find universal ‘once upon a time’ tales with common themes passed down ‘from of old’ to guide our paths today. They are collective stories that activate our imaginations, touch our hearts, and move us into the realm of understanding and meaning by reminding us of universal patterns, energies, courageous and heroic transformations – small and large, and essential ‘truths’ that are more than literal facts. 

When we tap into those universal stories, we know we are moving into myth, metaphor, archetype, and the great adventures that take us, as Jean Houston says, across time, culture, and history into the Bigger Picture – the Larger Story of our individual and collective lives on this planet and in this cosmos. There we can find ‘kindred spirits’ who also choose to co-create a New Story capable of meeting the unique needs of this time in history.

Unfolding within a cosmic context, this New Story finds meaning in the sphere of human thought that envelops the Earth in relationship (noosphere). It also draws upon the creative energy of the cosmos to restore consciousness of our oneness and to inspire our conscious creation of an interdependent, equitable, and joyful world in which all life thrives. All of these ‘nested’ stories are dimensions of Our Collective Story.

In this STORY section of my website, I tell a few of my own stories, introduce some of the influential people who’ve guided me in expanding my understanding of story, and finally, share the Story of the White Buffalo Calf Woman. Subsequent website sections carry the pattern of story – expanding a bit more upon the nature and role of story in our personal and collective lives. 

As a trainer and practitioner of psychodrama, sociometry, and sociodrama, which are action methods for telling personal and collective stories within a group context, I’ve also experienced basic training in other storytelling action methods. One of them is Playback Theater, which was originated by Jonathan Fox and among other things, intentionally integrates music into the group storytelling process. In the mid-1990s, I took the weeklong Introduction to Playback Theater with Jo Salas, who is Jonathan’s wife, Playback Co-Creator, and a musician. Jo wrote and sings the song ‘Listen and Remember’, which can be found (along with words) on the Listen and Remember CD by Jo Salas and Friends (1997). I hope you enjoy it.

‘Listen and Remember’ Composed and Sung by Jo Salas (joined by friends)