For centuries, spiritual sages have told short stories to enlighten and inspire others. Counting the stories and parables that Jesus and the Buddhas have told might take a lifetime, and it would probably take several lifetimes to fully integrate the wisdom from those stories into ourselves.
You've probably read a spiritual story that was both entertaining and insightful. Maybe it was the classic Christian story, "
Footsteps" or perhaps Aesop's fable "The Tortoise and the Hare." When we discover stories that connect with us deeply, we remember them and their lessons our entire lives.
The reason people continue to tell, and love, short stories is because stories are entertaining and concise ways to communicate incredibly powerful ideas. Plato understood this in 388 BC when he asked the City Fathers to ban storytellers, and today's spiritual leaders like Dan Millman, Eckhart Tolle, and Paulo Coelho, also understand this power and continue the storytelling tradition.
Stories are powerful because they mirror the way we naturally think. We think in narrative structures - whether it's talking about our day, connecting with a friend, or reflecting on our experiences - and because of this, stories imprint themselves into our brains naturally.
Stories are how we understand best, so when you write down your stories you directly access the deepest parts of your psyche and soul. You can reach inside and pull out the subconscious imprints that are most valuable to your spiritual growth, and then put them on paper for your conscious mind to see and work with. Similar to Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), this process of bringing your subconscious into the conscious can result in rapid and significant personal transformation.
Unfortunately, most people never try writing stories because they don't think they're good enough. It's a classic paradox because without trying they'll never feel good enough. Having fears about writing is normal for most authors, and it is rare to come across a writer without them. My own fears were only overcome by actually writing... by "being" a writer.
The thing about writing is, none of us are writers until we are writing. "Who" and "what" we are changes from moment to moment. We may identify with what we do in life; for example we may call ourselves computer engineers, energy healers, writers, or the many other labels we give ourselves based on what we do.
But we can only associate with that label while we are doing the associated action!
Think about that for a moment. While driving a car, are you a writer? No. You’re a driver. Understanding this distinction is imperative to overcoming a new writer’s most basic concern: "I’m not a writer! I’ve never even written a story!"
And you’re right.Until you’re writing, you’re not a writer. So the first piece of advice I offer is to ignore the fear and just start writing. Why?
Because every single fear you might have about writing is based on your belief that somebody will judge you.
Read that sentence again. Maybe read it several times. Afterwards, challenge yourself to find a single fear you have about writing that does not eventually bring you back to the fear of being judged by others.
Also realize that one simple perspective shift eliminates that fear instantly. You see, not all stories are meant to be read. Sometimes writing a story is like a journal and we might write it as our own internal monologue to help us work through issues we’re having or to explore topics we’re curious about.
"Write for the pleasure of writing. As the pen traces out words on the paper, your anguish disappears and your happiness remains. For this to happen, it is necessary to have the courage to look deep inside yourself." – Paulo Coelho
As long as you write first and foremost for yourself, every single fear disappears instantly. Understanding the more personal elements of writing enables us to get past fears we might have about being a "good" or "bad" writer. Only after the story is written does the question arise, "Do I want to share this?"
Writing stories is an expression of our holistic self connecting both with our self and sometimes others. It allows those of us who have never considered ourselves to be "story writers" to find great enjoyment and meaning in writing our own stories.
When you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), the worst case is that you throw out the story as most authors do hundreds or thousands of times. The best case is that you write a famous story that impacts the lives of millions of people! Realistically, however, you will usually write a story that falls between between those extremes. You'll most often end up with a story that impacts yourself and the lives of those people close to you.
Writing stories is the ultimate win-win situation because you have nothing to lose and more to gain than you can possibly imagine.
spirituality
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Chris Cade
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February 2009 
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