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Archive Number 18 | ||
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Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 14:21:23 +0000
healing Julie wrote: This is my first message sense joining yesterday. If I'm not doing it right please let me know. I'm sharing & adding to the messages from the following E Mails: Cathy Feste humedico@worldnet.att.net and Gail Rosen GailStory@AOL.com Dear Gail and Kathy, I just signed on for the Healing Story E Mails and your's were the first ones that I received. I was alwyas told by my family that I was born telling stories. My mother said that at birth, as soon as my head popped from her womb, while the rest of my body struggled to be free I told my first story. It was a cry that she said would have awaken the dead and all of the Angels in Heaven and sinners in hell. I began to tell stories to audiences about 1985 and it wasn't until about 2 years later that I became aware of the real reason. My father's death in 1972 "blew me away," because he was my emotional anchor. Regardless of how low I felt, I could always pick myself up by saying "Daddy loves me." Needless to say I was devasted by his death, and ANGRY, but I was raised in a family whereby it was never said "anger isn't okay." However, when expressed, "not okay messages were sent and received." I substituted fear for anger. One year after my father's death I finally had to admit I needed help, because me now the Masters Degree Level counselor could no longer deny that I felt worse than worse. I sort help from a therapist who used Transactional Analysis (TA) & Gestalt Therapies which were big in those days. One of the Gestalt proceedures that he used immediately brought my saddness, hurt, grief, etc. front and center. As a result I began to blossom in therapy, as I began to shred one of my family's belief's...."Greenlee's don't cry in public." I cried so hard that I didn't care that mucous ran from my nose. To shorten this story, I remained in therapy for about 18 months and I continued to grow and grow up, from the emotional 3 yr. old who blubbered like a baby. Somewhere about 1985 I recognized my need to change my "self-talk," because I saw how much havoc it reeked in my life. It wasn't until about 2 year latters that I realized that once I'd made the above decision and worked deligently worked on it. Next about 3-4 years afterwards I saw an announcement for a short-term Storytelling Class taught by a local Teller and I chose to take it. And whalah--I had a ball. I began to tell stories to anyone who'd listen. I'd been out of therapy for years, yet I continued to focus on my inner growth. I'd moved from my native St. Louis to MN to work as a Chemical Health Counselor at the U of MN Student Health Service. Storytelling helped my to change my inner dialogue, although it was a few years after I'd been telling when I began to wonder, how was it that my numerous arguements with myself had lessened and become less VOM! Ah-ha...the many little "yit-yit" parts of me also enjoyed storytelling and the parts had learned to cooperate with each other to tell the stories. Little by little I began to incorporate the use of storytelling into the therapuetic groups that I facilitated for ACA-Adult Children of Alcoholics. Used in this context I saw a most powerful use of storytelling. And now that I've gotten longer than I intended. I close for now. Julie | ||