Going Deeper

That subtle shift of awareness, the unexpected resolving of a thorny problem - the "aha!" whether it is shared by everyone or affects only one person, never fails to move me deeply. I have come to recognize its many guises, and treasure its gift whenever and wherever it occurs. Some call it grace, some speak of an epiphany, while others suggest it is spirit in action. Similarly, the term 'catharsis' means emotional release. Occasionally, it has a specific focus. In other instances, it can be life-transforming. I think of it simply as 'Angel Work.'

I never know when or how this cathartic response may occur. An inmate in a federal prison, for example, read a simple reincarnation tale from the Tlingit people of coastal Alaska, reprinted in a magazine from my book Some Folk Say: Stories of Life, Death, and Beyond. While I did not witness his moment of transformation, I eventually saw the results. After several months of correspondence initiated by this inmate (whom I will call Mat), as well as phone calls from prison officials, I was invited to conduct a workshop at that prison, and then return two months later to do further work. When I met Mat and spent time with him alone, he told me, "As I read your story I could identify with the character, and I was comforted. It meant reconciliation with my family. I saw the story as a sign of forgiveness." Mat had made a mistake that landed him in prison. For him it was a kind of death because he felt cut off from his primary support system, his family, the people he cared about most. While his family had promised to stand by him and help him after his release, Mat had placed himself beyond redemption. The message in the Tlingit story brought him back to life.

Each individual life is a story—a story that, like all good mystery tales, often unfolds with unexpected twists and turns. The challenge, then, is to be present and embrace our unfolding life story, including the transition we call death. The many day-to-day concerns of life, however, frequently eclipse the more subtle spiritual issues that call out to be addressed. And yet, for millennia, people have been asking: "What is the purpose of life? How can I find meaning? Why death?" A vast collection of material in all the creative art fields springs from these and similar questions. Drawing on this tradition, using folktales and stories from diverse cultures around the world and throughout time as an entry point, my work helps people begin to address these and other spiritual concerns. By reflecting on these stories, we uncover their deeper meanings, thus enabling people to apply this perennial wisdom to today’s pressing concerns regardless of age, culture, or lifestyle.

During a book reading in a suburban bookstore, a small, rather forlorn looking older woman sat staring straight ahead, listening to my reading but not taking part in the conversation that I encouraged. Suddenly, after I had read the brief Aesop fable, 'The Old Woodcutter,' I noticed her begin to stir in her seat. Her back straightened as her eyes sprang to life. "That's what my mother was trying to tell me before she died! Now I understand!" She was fairly glowing with a new awareness. I have no idea of that woman's story, but clearly, in that moment, an important healing had occurred.