Initiation, Week 1

"Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living."

--Anais Nin

Welcome Community Storians--

I am so glad you have chosen to come together for this work. What follows is an excerpt from the course description and structural outline for the semester. At the end of the post I have listed your reading assignment and story showing prompts (discussed further on) for the week. Have fun, explore, how many ways can you experience the same delightful thing: a cupcake, a raindrop, the early crocus bloom? Attention is at the heart of nurturing our stories. They are waiting for the opportunity to come forward.

Bring a few stories/observations for our first gathering. I look forward to our meeting time!

Course Description:

Community Stories is an experiential learning course that uses reading, writing and storytelling to explore personal and social stories and the assumptions those stories convey. You will read to investigate the complex and at times controversial stories that inform our cultural perception of gender relations, examine your own personal stories through the development of a daily “story showing” practice. Your personal growth and development is part of your training as mentors for young women in the greater community. Mentor training will culminate in the development of a mentoring project.

Process:

For the first third of the course we will focus on examining and critiquing common cultural stories—specifically with regard to gender relations and our physical and psychological relationships--and exploring how those stories have impacted us and our perception of the world. This work will include reading, writing, and will incorporate experiential activities. Because the course meets once weekly, you will be required to keep a record of your reading, writing and activities in a notebook or journal. Reading commentaries—one or two paragraphs about each assigned section or handout—will be a useful way of recalling and integrating information. I suggest for each commentary you write something about the work you liked, something you didn’t like, and something you can take away from the work and apply to your own life. I also suggest you write at least one question for each section we read.

Your attention to the process of this work is vitally important, for it is only by bravely examining the stories of our culture and our own past that we can give others permission to do the same. This is the preliminary work of mentoring.

Practice:

You will be responsible for developing a daily “story showing” practice, setting aside time to write, draw, paint, or photograph. Early in the course we will examine the importance of ritual and talk about setting “sacred” space, time for this work that is non-negotiable. It may be as short as 10 minutes, or as long as you like, the time may incorporate any other activities—meditation, breath work, walking, dance—that you wish, but the most important aspect of the practice is the story showing. It must be done consistently. Each week I will post story showing prompts on this blog, to stir the pot. All of your recorded responses can be uploaded here as posts. In this way we can share and dialogue through the week, bringing cohesiveness to our time together.

Projects:

You will be divided into mentoring teams early in the semester and asked to assess your experience and skills, also your areas of interest. As a group you will develop, market and host a series of story workshops for girls. The workshops will be hosted in teams, with each team choosing an area of emphasis. After you have completed your workshop, you will develop a project proposal based on the experience, a way of continuing your experience even after the conclusion of the semester.

Texts:

Cunt by Inga Muscio

Ritualizing Women by Lesley A. Northup

The Alphabet Versus the Goddess by Leonard Shlain

Wild Feminine by Tami Lynne Kent

Selected Readings on e-reserve

Other books you may wish to investigate:

Women who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Dr. Christiane Northrup

A Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara Walker

The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk

We begin this week with observation and initiation into sacred space, narrative, and practice.

Readings:

Ritualizing Women Chapters 2-4 (also available on e-reserve, password vesta)

Story Showing: choose one or more questions to explore through the week.

1. Show a story about ritual versus routine. This may be through photographs, drawing, writing, painting...etc, or a combination of mediums.

• What do those words/concepts mean to you?
• Do you have a story (your own or your family's) about either of these ideas?
• How do those ideas shape your life?
• What does ritual look/feel like?
• What does routine look/feel like?
• How many different ways can you show this story?

Enjoy the journey.

"There is nothing more important than this day."

--Goethe