Programs of four hours or less may be delivered online or in person; longer programs are designed for in-person delivery only.
Please contact me if you would like a program not found on this list.
Two-hour Programs
Storytelling for the Heart
This program combines three stories which are told – not read – with discussion and sharing. The theme is the journey into dying and living, and the goal is to provide participants with thoughtful comfort, joy, and spiritual uplift as they contemplate their own mortality or of those they love.
Ideally suited to caregivers, seniors, and those who are anticipating the mortality of someone they love, even if not imminent.
The Neuroscience of Storytelling
Drawing on established scientific understanding, this program illuminates the ways in which storytelling help us learn, communicate, and grow as individuals and communities. Participants will come to understand the way our nervous systems grow throughout our lives, and why stories are such potent vehicles for knowledge, memory, and communication. Practical examples of how to structure stories to more effectively reach one’s audience will be explored.
Ideally suited to adults or older teenagers interested in learning more about the foundations of storytelling as an art and intrinsically human enterprise.
How to Dive Deeply into Folklore
Folklore is rich in metaphor, symbology, and unexpected meaning. However, without the proper tools, one can “wander” around in a folktale without hope of encountering these richer treasures.
Attendees will learn how to use a tool for diving deeply into folklore developed over many years of use with students from around the world. We will select a particular folktale (to be shared in advance) to use as grist for the mill, and learn how to continue our exploration more deeply, as well as more broadly with other folktales.
Half-Day / Four-hour Programs
Legacy Storytelling
The most enduring legacy that each of us will leave behind is our stories and the values contained within and illuminated by them. These are not memoirs or obituaries but instead a heartfully curated selection of personal anecdotes chosen to convey what is truly important to us.
Participants will be guided through the process of discerning their values in a novel manner which allows them to share anecdotal memories. They will then be guided through the development of those memories into flexibly structured oral stories that can be shared and retold by others.
This program does not require previous writing training, and involves both large-group, individual, and small-group work. Participants will leave with a small number of personal stories and the tools for creating others.
Visiting the Caverns of Grief and Loss
Through the use of storytelling, guided imagery, and creative exercises, participants will embark on a journey into experienced grief and loss. Using the metaphor of caves in both folklore and personal imagination, we will develop the skills necessary to begin embracing both the challenges and rewards of encountering our grief.
This program is designed to give participants who have experienced grief and loss the tools to gently embrace the changes in their lives in order to build greater resilience and discover unanticipated gifts. This is not a therapy group, but an opportunity to develop skills based on challenging stories in folklore to strengthen our own lives.
A Deeper Dive into Folklore
This program uses the tools for uncovering metaphor and meaning in folktales and spiritual tales developed over many years of use, teaching, and mentoring. As in the shorter program, this workshop will explore the deeper currents found in folklore, and also encourage participants to craft alternative storylines and meanings. Specific folktales will be selected in advance; they will be studied in both their oral and written forms.
Full Day
Full-day versions of “Visiting the Caverns of Grief and Loss” and “A Deeper Dive into Folklore” are also available.
