Story Paths

Reply to the story prompts in this episode here: https://storypaths.substack.com/p/59ab0f86-2c8f-4168-bf08-7ec3eb672e75(Available for paid Substack subscribers)You can learn more about Jennifer’s work here.Is ceremony a grave affair for adults, or can it be something playful which includes children?Or perhaps all of the above? Playful with adults, serious with children, and a mix of all these and more.Have you ever wished that education could be a ship that can be sailed in any direction you choose? That learning practical subjects can be blended with a spirituality that is life-nourishing and open to questioning and play?What if someone wants to play, but finds it oddly challenging to let go?Jennifer Engracio is an educator and shamanic practitioner. She walks many paths and blends many influences, including homeschooling and an earthy spirituality.She began in the public school system in Canada, but found the values incompatible with hers. Gradually she made her way into more unconventional fields, as we’ll discover.She explores the intersection of play, education and ceremony. It’s a rich vein, and don’t be surprised if you find yourself singing, praying, crying and teaching as you listen along.I’ll see you on the inside. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

Share your stories on the newsletter here: https://storypaths.substack.com/Welcome to the Story Path newsletter and podcast, a Story Elements Edition.Journeys: Part six: The Return.In the previous parts of this exploration of journeys, in story and in life, we looked at different possible destinations, the amazing journeys of different creatures, and considered how these journeys might help us reflect upon as humans. Then we moved beyond our planet.It's been a wonderful journey exploring journeys, and yet all journeys must end. Journeys do not all end in the same way. Today we will explore different possible endings and how we might craft good returns for those we care for who are journeying. Whether personal relationships, clients or otherwise.(Listen above)Prompts(Take one, none, many or all. I suggest you write a response, or speak it aloud, or discuss them with a friend, or just think about them)-Imagine a character who embarks on a transformative journey, encountering profound experiences, only to return to a place that remains unchanged. Write about their struggles to reintegrate into a familiar yet unrecognizable world. How do they struggle when their internal changes being unseen by their people?-Create a fictional society or culture where returning from a journey, whether physical or metaphorical, is celebrated with deep reception ceremonies. Describe these customs in detail and the impact they have on the returning individual. How do these ceremonies shape the community's perception of journeys and change?I look forward to hearing your thoughts, if you’d like to share. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

Write your guess on Substack here: https://storypaths.substack.com/p/90569a1b-7787-4636-a3b4-27a969f6b513Can you guess which real-life story this is?In the playground, two boys began to fight. It got intense, so the second boy ran off to perch at the top of a slide.It was there that a third boy found him and asked, "Do you know that you don't have to be close to fight?" "What?" asked the second boy."Take this," said the third, and passed that second boy a straw, and a palm full of pebbles.“In return, I want half your lunch.”“Alright.”And so the first boy found himself being pelted by pebbles.The third boy approached the first, and had soon wheedled out of him another half-lunch. And all that without having to fight.Would you venture a guess as to which real-life scenario this fable might be? Speaking of? It could be more than one.Which real-life story this might this be? Leave your thoughts in the comments. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

Here's the article for this episode, with pictures and prompts: https://storypaths.substack.com/p/555eb054-2321-4811-b15c-a6746d84cdd2Welcome to the Story Paths newsletter and podcast. This is a Storyteller’s diary edition.As I tell the tale of this one life, may it help you to tell your tales.In part one, I spoke about how I met an old friend of my father's after twenty years, and how we began to throw ropes across the river of time that separated us.We gradually made our way toward a meeting in the middle of that river, in part to continue this recollection, in which I confessed to him the reasons why I cut my ties with him, and the other men who supported me, all those years ago.In we go.Prompts(Take one, none, many or all. I suggest you write a response, or speak it aloud, or discuss them with a friend, or just think about them)-Imagine a character who, after years of estrangement, receives an unexpected letter from someone they distanced themselves from long ago. This letter reveals truths about the past that had been buried for decades. Write about the emotional journey of reconnecting with this person, uncovering the life lessons hidden in their shared history, and the impact this reconnection has on the character's present life.-Your protagonist discovers an old journal or a collection of letters from a deceased family member, shedding light on a pivotal moment in their past that was misunderstood or misinterpreted. Explore how this revelation prompts the protagonist to seek out someone from their past they haven't spoken to in years. Write about the conversation, the wisdom gained from these interactions, and the resolution or closure it brings to long-standing questions.-Your protagonist, an entrepreneur, experienced a failed venture years ago that led to a disconnect from former colleagues, mentors, or partners. Unexpectedly, circumstances arise that force them to collaborate or reconnect with these individuals. Write about the emotional and professional journey of reengaging with the past, extracting valuable lessons from those failed endeavors, and how these connections contribute to the protagonist's newfound success or altered business direction. Explore the transformation and growth stemming from this reconnection and its impact on the protagonist's entrepreneurial spirit.I'd love it if you share your thoughts in the comments.Until next time. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the Story Paths Newsletter, a Storyteller’s Diary edition.Reply to the story prompts in this episode here: https://storypaths.substack.com/p/b44f0ad4-f7b9-4d14-b975-1b34ebc4dee2 (Available for paid Substack subscribers)You'll also find images connected to this episode.---I'm on pilgrimage again, but it's different this time.Before, it was overseas, inside the myths of those palms, hills paths, trees, and temples. Singing poems in the tongues of those mothers and wizened sages, walking away from our worldly lives and identities, and toward a common divinity. Barefoot in those holy lands.I'm on pilgrimage again. These lands are holy too, I reckon, but far less exotic. I'm journeying now into my own past, into places and moments where I changed....As I write this, I’m near the river that I grew up by. I’ve been visiting the trees my sister and I climbed when we were children. Going to the hills that we sledded down, and the schools where I learned and played.Story prompts:In your life, has there been a journey that felt like a pilgrimage? Perhaps more than one! For this moment, I’d like to hear about one journey of yours where stories, memories, land and movement intertwined.Share your thoughts on the Story Paths Substack (paid subscribers): https://storypaths.substack.com/p/b44f0ad4-f7b9-4d14-b975-1b34ebc4dee2 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit storypaths.substack.comShare your stories on the newsletter here: https://storypaths.substack.com/Welcome to the Story Paths Newsletter and Podcast. A Story Elements Edition.Journeys: Part five.Oute…

Which real-life story does this remind you of? Comments here (paid subscribers): https://storypaths.substack.com/p/e817b97e-6206-4107-aa85-e6cbcfce7631In the playground, a boy pushed down another child, and kept them pressed down while he rifled through their pockets, taking one thing after another. Then he let them go and said, ‘Every day you have to come bring me more.’The child was frightened, more so when they saw another child being pushed down by another bully. But when there was a chance, this first child spoke to the other, saying, ‘We could get free from them, together.’‘Yes,’ said the second. ‘But what will we do if we win? I don’t want to become another bully. What will we do when we win?’Which real-life story does this remind you of? Share in the comments, and if you’d like, I might share you story in a future newsletter. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

Reply to the story prompts in this episode here:https://storypaths.substack.com/p/fdce5cda-f28e-49fa-ad02-d8bbf05a27cc(Available for paid Substack subscribers)Find out more about Mr. Rodriguez’ work here:https://www.luisjrodriguez.com/Welcome to the Story Paths newsletter and podcast. I'm Theodore Lowry.Today, I'm glad to be presenting you with a conversation with Luis Rodriguez. This was an in-person conversation that I recorded at the Peacemaker Gathering, which the Cowichan People hosted, on southern Vancouver Island.At this indigenous-led gathering, people came from all around. We practiced making peace between us, in the form of ceremonies, discussions, circles, healing, honoring elders, and keeping a sacred fire. This conversation took place during that four day gathering.I met Luis there, and we snuck away to do a recording on the spot, which means that because this took place on a farm, you get some bonus goat noises in the background, the singing of our cousin species: the goats.A little bit about Luis.He has worked for over 40 years in the prison system, bringing creative processes into some of the roughest environments imaginable. He has a bit of a rough background himself, as he'll describe in the conversation. After hard times, and with the support of others, he came to healing, and being able to help others heal themselves.In the places he goes, there's a good deal of violence, of being caged, of inmates not getting what they need as human beings. He brings play into those situations in a way that is and valued so much by those hardened folks that they request for him to come back again and again.Now, I know I've had stereotypes about how art and play is something that we can enjoy when we’re living high up the pyramid of needs. But here I learned that play is also needed in the most difficult situations.In his work, Luis invites his participants to imagine simple, powerful metaphors—a train, a musical instrument, crossroads—to enter into their traumas in an approachable way. To adjust their life path, their intentions, and to walk in a way that is more in accord with their true desires, even in the midst of these most difficult situations.I bring you: Play in Prisons, with Luis J. Rodriguez. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit storypaths.substack.comShare your stories on the newsletter here: https://storypaths.substack.com/Welcome to the Story Paths Newsletter and Podcast. A Story Elements Edition.Journeys: Part FourOuter …

Write your guess on Substack here: https://storypaths.substack.com/p/fb3a8ee4-f3d8-4df3-92ae-2070f2136363Can you guess which real-life story this is?A confidence man, a modern-day coyote trickster, arrives in town. He brings a cart filled with stone slabs, each one soaked in luminescent oil.Distributing these slabs, he leads the unsuspecting townsfolk into a deep trance. Then, the confidence man deftly picks their pockets.Pleased with himself, he revels in his newfound wealth. However, the next morning, as some people slowly emerge from their trance, they find the trickster sitting on the back of his cart, slate in hand, ensnared by the very spell he cast.Which real-life story this might this be? Leave your thoughts in the comments. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe