Category — Storytelling

Shrine of Bahá’u'lláh © David Henderson

My very good friend David Henderson has set up a wonderful new website called Baha’i Words. It contains beautiful photos and the Words of Bahá’u'lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

If you subscribe (click on the “subscribe” tab at the top of the blog) you will receive a prayer and a reading each day by email.

Your email address will not, of course, be made public or used for any other purpose.

Do visit Baha’i Words.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Holy Writings, prayers, Baha’u'llah, ‘Abdu’l-Baha

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The world is full of wonderful stories. All the spiritual and faith traditions, including the Baha’i Faith, have rich treasuries of wisdom embodied in their stories. Stories are one of the most poweful activities we can get involved in to empower individuals and communities. Stories dress truth in beautiful clothes and present it to us in ways we can easily accept. Story telling is one of the oldest and most natural of human social activities. We tell ourselves stories all the time and we create the narrative of our life.

Story is spiritually empowering.

Sarah Clive is a captivating professional storyteller - and she’s a gifted teacher. Inspiring weekend course guaranteed!

With love, enthusiasm and boundless encouragement, Sarah introduced nine of us - a publisher, a gardener from Devon, an Oxford postgrad student, a psychotherapist, a speech and drama teacher and one of her students, and yours truly - to the ancient and magical art of storytelling.

Each of us chose a story to work on through the weekend and Sarah took us on a journey from the first steps in developing our stories to the point at which we could tell our stories more or less well. None of us were experts by the weekend, but we had taken our first baby steps in this wonderful art form.

So, what did we learn?

1. Choose a story that resonates for you; write down the bare bones of the story in 5 to 7 points; then set down the key points of the story in 3 to 5 words. Draw a storyboard of the story in as few frames as you can. Make sure you have a good dynamic structure for your story, with high points and low points; your hero should have his/her downs as well as ups.

2. Connect with your chosen story: close your eyes and see yourself in the story’s landscape; try to inhabit one of the characters - find one with whom you feel a connection. Visualize the frames of your storyboard: what do you see, feel, smell, hear? What do you notice? Anything surprising or unusual? In your mind’s eye clearly see any places and objects in the story; use all your senses. Let the story get into your bloodstream; let it flow through you.

3. Find a story buddy: tell your story to your buddy and ask him/her to give you feedback about your story and how you told it; do the same for your buddy. Sit in the hot seat: be your character while friends or fellow storytellers ask you questions about your character and what he/she thinks, does or feels; answer in character.

4. Create a story space, a special place where you will tell your story. This lets the audience know that your story is a magical thing and will invite them to pay attention. You could drape a chair with coloured fabrics; you could dress in special clothes or costume to tell your story; you might have a story cloth with various objects attached, objects that you will bring into your stories.

5. Tell your story: make a strong start; take your audience with you into the time and place of your story; introduce them to your characters. Vary the tone and volume of your voice to take the story forward. Use pauses to punctuate the story. Use different voices for different characters. Use movement, repetition, rhythm, rhyme to give colour to the story. Bring the story to a clear and satisfying close.

6. Use sound effects and music as and when appropriate. They can help you get the audience’s attention at the beginning; they can give colour and emphasis to points in the story, and they can help keep your audience entranced.

7. Acknowledge your audience and thank them for listening. Take your time to tell your story, but don’t take the next speaker’s time. Be on, be good, be off!

Of course, there’s much more to story telling than this. If you want to learn how to tell stories with power, to share wisdom and fun with others through story, the best thing is to find a story telling course.

And how magical if it takes place here.

The Mill House, Angmering - Margaret & Ranjit Appa’s home

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, stories, storytelling, Sarah Clive

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