How much of your life is directed from foundation of unexamined mythology? What if we are all enacting some sort of story in our lives?

Now what do I mean by story? I mean that we have some vision, set of ideas, or beliefs about ourselves that define us as a central character in what could be called a "myth" or "story" that we're living out. All of elements of story have been either passed down as part of our culture or upbringing, intuited, or we've just plain made up. We then go about enacting our stories as if it they were true, thus embodying script from which we live our lives.

So now you may say, "yes I can certainly buy that, I'm very well aware that we are a product of our own thoughts and beliefs. So what's big deal?"

The big deal is this. The vast majority of us don't know that we're enacting a story. We actually think this is real life that we're living! (see movie Matrix for a great metaphor). By real life, I mean that we're approaching life based on a set of assumptions that aren't necessarily backed by good evidence. So when you don't know that you're enacting a story, you are completely at its mercy with little control over role you play and course it takes.

The story we enact often comes to us piecemeal and/or non-verbally. It may include stuff we "read between lines," and unexamined assumptions. If you were to examine each single element of your story by itself, it might appear obvious to you, even if you'd never articulated it before. If all elements, however, were collected and given voice so that they were presented to your conscious awareness, you might be very surprised at what you find. In fact, you may be shocked to point you would want to forget story entirely.

Now to make matters even more complicated, in addition to enactingour own individual stories, we are also part of stories which are bigger than us. We are enacting stories within our relationships with individuals, and groups we are involved in, such as our families, work groups, community organizations, our countries, etc. Even our civilization itself is acting out a story, much of which we may not even be aware.

As a facilitator, you will encounter groups who are troubled, often because they are enacting an unexamined story whose course they feel powerless to alter. Helping them unravel their story will grant them power over it. In other words, until you know you're an author, you cannot change what you're writing.

propose that we will enact whatever story we choose to adopt as our own, and will settle for best one available. If we don't take time to create a better one, we'll continue enacting our current story, even if it isn't working all that well for us.

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Share Your Story Storytelling is one of most powerful methods to inform your audience while increasing participation and trust.

As pace quickens in our high-speed society, it's increasingly important to turn at times, to good old fashioned story-telling--an ancient art that feeds hungry soul. Coupled with pace is fact that facilitators, being in front of room as they are, tend to be viewed as authority figures by many participants, even if only subconsciously. While we tend to ascribe lofty characteristics upon authority figures, it can be valuable to your group to dissolve these potential misconceptions with mild doses of reality from time to time.

Telling a personal story to your group, that is of course relevant to topic at hand, can be a fun, informative, and interesting way to move your group. While at same time, introducing your humanity more fully into room, and increasing participants' trust in you.

What are elements of a good story? Off top of my head, I'd say that most stories that support group process would have some of following characteristics:

- Stories relating personal experiences are best for engendering trust. - Stories should be succinct and interesting. - Stories should contain some deeper message or meaning. - Stories should be told well with appropriate emotional engagement by storyteller. - The story should somehow relate to what you're trying to do as a group and should ideally move group forward. - The story should not be used to avoid or dance around what's up for group. - The story should not involve anyone who would take offense to it being told publicly.

Now, let me tell you a story...

Long, long ago, when I was home for summer after my freshman year of college, I secured a job with a pear-packing plant in an adjacent town. This was a manual labor job but involved a lot of variety. On any given day, I might be finishing metal parts in machine shop, repairing fruit bins, doing light carpentry, general cleaning, etc.

Then one fine day, out of blue, boss strolled up to me with a push broom, a sweeping broom, and a dustpan in hand. This was big boss of whole plant I might add. Big John Bar was his name. He was a huge hulk of a man, with a brusque temperament that didn't exert much energy on pleasantries and could be just plain intimidating most of time.

He handed me brooms and said, "I want you to sweep out factory." I looked around at this huge factory that was around 50,000 square feet, and covered with machinery...conveyers, movers, shakers, and contraptions of every conceivable type, all bolted solid to dirt and dust covered floor.

I replied, "Which part of factory?" Hoping against hope that this question would have some relevance. He replied with response I had most feared, "All of it." I took tools reluctantly and slowly began to survey what seemed like an impossible job of endless drudgery for a mere 19 year-old home for summer.