THE STORY HAS A POWER NOT ONLY TO INSTRUCT BUT IT HAS A POWER TO DELIGHT US. THE PROBLEM IS WE ARE NO LONGER DELIGHTED BY A STORY BECAUSE WE HAVE BECOME TOO FAMILIAR WITH IT
Story delights when it activates our imagination; when it helps us see unexpected possibilities of life, when it stretches us, takes us outside ourselves, and opens up an alternate world to the one we normally occupy. A story delights by in fact creating a world within which we can live and move and have our being. A story delights by drawing us into a community, by letting us feel part of a group of characters, by making us privy to their actions, thoughts, and feelings. A story delights when it makes us feel less alone or unusual; when it confirms our own unformed thoughts and unarticulated questions; when it keeps us company. (William Randall)
Our eating, driving, our struggle against illness or the pain of job loss, long periods of loneliness, the ordinary days – our whole story is spiritual.
She lives in the story; she does not escape her ‘real story’ into the world of myths, soap operas or social media. She is not afraid or dismissive of her story, with all the question marks, commas and full stops, with all the spelling mistakes and bad grammar. She lives out her story with courage.
SEMINAR TOPICS
- Living in the light of a new story – Storytelling, Spiritual Formation and the Kingdom of God
- Identity and Meaning Making
- How our unique personality affects the way we experience and relate to God
- Practices for deeper life with God: prayer, simplicity, solitude and silence, journaling, study
ONE DAY WORKSHOPS
- 3 Enemies of Spiritual Growth: Anger, Acedia, Anxiety
- Living Into Light – journey out of spiritual depression
Spirituality is all about the way in which we encounter and experience God, and the transformation of our consciousness and our lives as a result of that encounter and experience.