Story Work/Story Play

Book excerpt: A central assumption of narrative spirituality is that the act of retelling the story of episodes of our lives can help us better see the larger Guiding Story that God dreams for us. When I can see my Guiding Story more clearly, I am better able to handle crisis and transition and better able to see my true purpose. Story Work/Story Play lays out a four-door method of spirituality that invites participants to explore their Guiding Story through four doors that correspond to the four parts of any story--a main character, a problem to solve, the power needed to solve it, and the action taken by the main character. The chapter for each of these four "doors" provides theological, psychological, and scriptural foundations for the narrative method and includes up to ten to fifteen "story work/story play" exercises the reader can use to practice the method. Each chapter also includes profile stories of real people who have discovered layers of their own Guiding Stories. The book ends each chapter with a Guided Visualization. The book's final chapter explains how members of a "narrative circle" can use the narrative spirituality tools of this book to discern each one's own unique Guiding Story.