Doorways to the Soul: 52 Wisdom Tales from Around the World - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1556357400 ISBN 13: 9781556357404

Publisher: Resource Publications (CA), 2007

Synopsis

Winner of the Storytelling World Honor Award, 1999 Stories hold the promise of illuminating generation after generation of listeners with truths at each new telling. In this delightful collection of wisdom tales, parables, and anecdotes from around the world, Elisa Pearmain offers an uplifting story for each week of the year to invite persons of all ages to discover the universal power of ""Once upon a time . . . "" Presenting timeless tales from a panoply of cultures, along with questions for reflection, she gives creative suggestions to strengthen our connection to our spiritual selves and to the wondrously diverse world around us. ""A lovely collection of short tales from different spiritual traditions."" --The Living Church ""The more I work with this book the more I like it. I put it on a list of best books to use with teens. A charming gift for anyone who needs to learn the value of story."" --Margaret Read MacDonald, Author, Folklorist Elisa Davy Pearmain is a professional storyteller, licensed therapist, author and consultant for the Unitarian Universalist Association, and award-winning author of Once Upon a Time: Storytelling to Teach Character and Prevent Bullying (2006).

About this title

From the Author:

Wise and witty wisdom tales and ways of working with them.
Hi folks, thanks for your interest in Doorways to the Soul.

This book can be enjoyed by many people because it is first and foremost a collection of wise and witty tales from many spiritual traditions and cultures of the world; from Sufi, Buddhist, and Hasidic tales, to Christian parables and folk tales from Native American, African and Asian origins. The tales are short for easy learning, and I offer simple techniques for sharing them with others.

For those who wish to explore the stories and their messages further, the book offers suggestions for ways of being with story that help form a deeper connection to its wisdom. This part of the book developed as a result of observations that I made of myself as I was searching for stories. I noticed my tendancy to read story after story, enjoying each one, but not stopping to ponder them, a lot like inhaling chocolates rather than savoring them. I had the hope that if I kept reading, the perfect story would jump out at me and zap, enlightenment! I realized however that stories are doorways into new ways of seeing and being, and we can either read the crib notes on the door or we can open the door and enter in to be deeply touched by the wisdom therein. I noticed too my tendency to skip over stories that I already knew, as if they had nothing left to teach me. Our ancestors on the other hand, knew that when we hear and tell a story over and over, it enters our bones and becomes available to us when needed.

In an effort to practice new ways of being with and learning from the stories I created a format to slow myself (and the reader)down. I suggest that you make a ritual of reading only one story a week, and then pondering, playing with and sharing it with others. After each story I offer suggestions for connecting more deeply with its themes and images.

This is broken into four parts:
1) Connecting the images in the story to the imagination and subconsious where new understandings may arise.
2) Connecting the ideas, themes and experiences in the story to our personal and family stories, offering us new insight into the past and a new sense of possibility.
3) Bringing the wisdom in the story into practical use on a daily basis.
4) Sharing the stories with others in our home, work and community settings.

This book is especially useful for those who are looking for support in their personal/spiritual development. These stories offer wonderful examples of how others have danced and stumbled down the path of life, the path toward higher consciousness, and deeper connection to all that is sacred. As we live these stories vicariously, we expand our vision of what is possible for us, and we look at our lives with new honesty and compassion.

Enjoy this book in whatever way is right for you. Share the stories that move you with others. As Anthony de Mello S.J. said, "The closest distance between truth and a human being is a story." END

About the Author:

Elisa Davy Pearmain is a professional storyteller, licensed therapist, author and consultant for the Unitarian Universalist Association, and award-winning author of Once Upon a Time: Storytelling to Teach Character and Prevent Bullying (2006).

About this edition

• Publisher: Resource Publications (CA)
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1556357400
• ISBN 13: 9781556357404
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160
• Editor: Pearmain Elisa Davy