The Parallels of Indigenous & Modern Ways of Storytelling

The Indigenous people of Turtle island had a long, long history before Europeans came on the scene. They had their own sciences, healing systems, economic systems, languages, power structures, relationships to the land, and more. The thread that tied all of these systems together were the stories they told and passed down for generations.

These stories kept their traditions, rituals, values and overall cultural essence alive. Through storytelling they transferred it to the next generation to reinforce and uphold with honor and pride. This was very valuable to all ancient and traditional cultures. Truly we can say this still holds true with just as much power and value with any traditions, rituals ( holidays) and any historical story we tell in modern days. The stories that our ancestors and indigenous people told were meaningful, had depth, morale, had the hidden laws of cause and effect which led indigenous cultures to being holistic and balanced for the most part.

Now we are not one to praise, glamourize or gloss a romantic perception of our past nor present. So I want to mention this as a disclaimer so we are not ignoring the evidence and remanence of the effects that our ancestors' actions and inactions caused which contributed to imbalance.

I do want to honor one of the many valuable qualities and great contributions that still powers us today which is so natural and effortless, yet holds so much influence and power. That is the under valued and overlooked art of storytelling.

Especially how natural storytelling is enriching, nourishing and entertaining, even till this very day. Western culture has studied, dissected, repackaged and innovated this very valuable thread that was and is deeply interwoven in the cultures from the past and present. This is what has powered and nourished the culture and traditional ways of the indigenous people.

In modern days we can strongly argue it has surpassed the point that it has been abused and exploited for social, economic and political gain. That is another conversation you can expect that we will be delving into much further in one of our social engineering courses and live classes in the future.

For now, an example of this in modern times would be entertainment and the exploitations of those who are naturally talented and do this effortlessly. It is a naturally feminine quality that both genders can display and possess. Story telling is what predominantly creative or what we call "right brain thinkers" naturally do.

We would call these people authentic artists that come in many forms and express themselves in many ways like talking, paintings, books, comics, music, dancing, science, self expression and acting. Story telling drives human behavior because it controls the perception of reality and can easily become the narrator in the receivers head. This has impacts on human behavior greatly! From marketing ads, social media, testimonial reviews, driving sales, driving polices, fueling wars, pandemics, trends, how, why and what people do.

This shapes our society and creates collective cultures, creates celebrities, influencers, and it is the source of the power behind social media, networking, movies, music etc. Politicians have become magicians, using it for political gain especially when the years of elections come around. Notice how life becomes very theatrical and entities such as news outlets and media of all forms start narrating to maintain the authority and power of the story you are being told.

They even use entertainers and influencers as well as giant corporations, funding them all to keep the narrative alive and influence you. Why you ask? To be the gate keepers of your perception of what's is going on to influence your way of thinking and behavior of course. Sorry not sorry to shock you! Why do you think now since communication has been decentralized with the advancement of technology it has led to us having more access to a greater variety of stories and narratives of perceptions of our reality.

This has expanded via different platforms, websites and people talking to each other. Now we are experiencing and witnessing censorship to maintain a centralized story and perception. These mega platforms had to change their policies, legislation and community guidelines to limit the stories that are allowed to be told on them. We Humans are kind of big deal to each other and our realties! Our stories we tell and listen to matter. It is very much like magic. Yes, magic, like sorcerers, magicians, witches, warlocks.......ABRACADABRA! Hmmm...but aren't we way too modern and advanced to fall for or believe in magic? Are we now???

This is what fuels and can drive a person to feed their natural need and desire to feel purposeful and to uphold whatever narrative they are told or are sold into based on their ideology. In the grand universe, scripting an endless script and story that is forever unfolding. For the wise saying goes, "there is nothing new under the sun". However, change is always guaranteed. How do you think the ancestors predicted the times we are in? The devil is in the details. That is the power of controlling the narrative and story telling of course.

Now I hope I got your attention to question what you know and what you think you know and you now know your perception of reality has been incepted through the gentle yet powerful art of story telling.

I will end with this.

What stories have you been told or shown that has fulfills your great sense of purpose ? Do you find yourself upholding it ? Does it serve you? If so, how? Does it serve others around you as well? What story were you sold into that now, you know has not served you and left you and/or others disempowered? And lastly what story are you creating?

Hope you enjoyed, Mama Fe~ Fe

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