Telling Tales

~

As old as the sea and as universal as the stars.

We tell fairy stories to cast out demons

And plunge into the subconscious realms of our nights

We tell them, these tall tales and lies

In order to better see the light

And we tell them to map out the terrain

Of all that is hidden and unknown

So that in our waking hours

We might continue to dream

~

This beautiful piece of writing, I saw painted on an ageing wall in the historic Mottisfont Abbey. It was authorless and unattributed.  That such beauty should remain anonymous only amplifies its wonderfulness and my gratitude.

True story telling is an art that if done well can carry us into to a timeless space, where transcendence of the logical mind is possible. There are those who believe that stories speak to our subconscious through archetypes and symbols. The Mythic Imagination Institute believes so intensely in the power of stories that their mission is "... to reunite people to the accumulated wisdom of humankind that lives in stories and mythology..."
For my own part I only know the mesmerising beauty of being held and carried by the voice of the storyteller to wonderous places that are at once fantastic and familiar, healing and whole-ing.


Here is a link to Education Scotland where they have some wonderful story telling videos. This first little one is told by David Campbell....... ( Click on the picture below to listen to the story)

A tale which holdeth children from play and old men from the chimney corner.

Sir Philip Sidney