The Storyteller's Prayer
Who knew it would end up at the Portugal Parliament?
Hello Good Human,
Before we get to Once Upon A Time…
There is an invitation for the Sacred Story to visit. This idea of conjuring the spirit of a story is as old as dust and practiced by cultures around the globe. You’ve most likely witnessed many a person doing an invocation without realizing what was happening.
The tradition of invoking a story has deep roots in oral storytelling, particularly in indigenous, shamanic, and ancient cultures, where storytelling was considered a sacred act connected to spiritual, communal, and natural forces.
This is an old way of knowing story as living beings, with a will and a spirit all their own. And for you to be bestowed by their presence: for the story to come alive and live through you– well this is an exalted human experience of divine expression. This is when we feel the magic as audience and teller commune in a way that stirs the imagination and enlivens connection.
Indigenous and Shamanic Traditions
In many indigenous cultures, storytelling is a sacred practice where storytellers invoke spirits, ancestors, or natural elements to guide the story. The invocation creates a ceremonial space, ensuring the story comes from a place of truth and respect for tradition and the natural world.
2. Greek and Roman Traditions
Ancient Greek and Roman poets, like Homer, invoked the Muses at the beginning of their epics to receive divine inspiration. This invocation acknowledged that the storyteller was a vessel for higher wisdom and set the story in a sacred, creative context.
3. African Storytelling Traditions
African griots often start their stories by invoking ancestors or spiritual forces, anchoring the story in cultural and historical continuity. These invocations ensure the wisdom and knowledge within the story serve the community and maintain its spiritual depth.
4. Medieval and Religious Traditions
In medieval Europe, storytellers invoked God or saints to align their tales with Christian teachings. The invocation positioned storytelling as a moral and spiritual act, embedding the narrative within a religious framework.
5. Contemporary Sacred Storytelling
Modern storytellers, especially in sacred and earth-based traditions, use invocations to honor ancestors, nature, and the collective wisdom of the past. This practice brings a sense of reverence and healing to storytelling, emphasizing connection and transformation.
Storytellers in our classes are encourage to find their own unique way to invoke their story.
How The Storyteller’s Prayer Came to Be:
As I was coming into my own as a storyteller, I listened for how my muse wanted to be conjured. Turns out my Muse has a generous heart and when I asked, she whispered this in my ear:
May all the words that need to be heard……be spoken
And may all the words that need to be spoken………be heard
The first line is for you: The story catcher. The prayer is that may what is alive in your tender heart and banging around your consciousness be spoken to through the story. That the time we have together be a respite from the busyness of life, and the parts of you that are alone and neglected be met through the journey of our storytelling.
This is a declaration of intent: to be in connection and service of the audience: to be as active in listening for your souls, as one is active in telling the story.
The second line is for The Muse. The prayer is an honoring of the spirit of life herself. A declaration of commitment to the Muse to create a space where it can be heard; and a commitment to stay present enough to listen and act upon what wants to come alive through the alchemy of the connection between storyteller, story catcher, and the muse.
And so it is, the story of The Storytellers Prayer.
I caught it as it flew through the ethers.
I like to imagine it as a universal prayer that storytellers have been mumbling inside and out since the beginning in one way or another.
One of the things I love about teaching… is that students always teach me new ways of being with story.
And that is what Ana did when she sent me this email after attending a training:
This afternoon I tested something interesting for the first time…
I went to the Portuguese Parliament to present a Policy Paper in front of an Economics Commission, and when I was given word, right after expressing my gratitude and going through the formalities, I spoke the intention for all that needs to be said to be heard and all that needs to be heard to be said, and took a deep breath to elevate the room’s frequency into that intention before entering my speech and it was so powerful.
I noticed some sitting more straight and moving in their seats and the discussion that followed felt more effective than any other time before.
Quite amazing to bring a sacred container energy to such a context!
So may it be known,
That yes we tell stories around the fire, around the table, and at parliament!
May you find powerful ways to develop a relationship with the muse.
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"People become the stories they hear and the stories they tell."
-- Elie Wiesel