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Strategic Monk

Telling the Stories of Our Spiritual Lives

Last updated on: July 19, 2014 at 4:40 am   by Greg Richardson

Telling the Stories of Our Spiritual Lives 2014-07-19T04:40:29-08:00 Greg Richardson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

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The story of your spiritual life may begin, “Once upon a time,” or “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.”

Your spiritual life story may be full of detailed information and specific dates. You may not even remember when it started, or a time before it began.

You may not be certain that your spiritual life story has begun, even now.

When I work with someone as a spiritual life mentor, we usually begin by telling our stories. I often tell people they can tell me everything and ask me anything. It is helpful for us to tell our stories because by telling them we see things in new ways.

My story includes dramatic transformations, a few twists and turns, and entertaining companions. It is a story that fits together and makes sense to me because I have lived it. Some parts confuse other people, some are challenging to explain, some are very emotional.

Telling the stories of our spiritual lives helps us get to know each other and learn that we can trust each other.

Telling our spiritual life stories includes one person remembering and putting their experiences into words. They also include another person listening and being open to another’s insights.

Each person gains from the experience of story telling. I will listen, find questions that are as insightful as possible, and listen some more.

It is a true privilege to be allowed to listen as someone tells their spiritual life stories. It can be hard work to tell your story, and challenging to listen.

Telling each other our own stories is one of the most deeply spiritual ways we can spend our time together.

What is your spiritual life story?

Who listens to you as you tell the story of your spiritual life?

[Image by Alaskan Dude]

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