Berman / Brown The Power Of Metaphor

Story Telling and Guided Journeys for Teachers, Trainers and Therapists
1. Auflage 1999
ISBN: 978-1-84590-546-0
Verlag: Crown House Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 216 Seiten

Packed with original stories and visualisations, this is a must-buy resource for teachers, trainers and therapists who are looking for new approaches to group work, or are simply story-telling enthusiasts. ' An essential part of our professional development library and widely consulted' Fiona Balloch, Principal, Oxford House College, London

Michael Berman PhD worked as a teacher and a writer. Publications included The Power of Metaphor for Crown House, The Nature of Shamanism and the Shamanic Story for Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Shamanic Journeys through the Caucasus for O-Books, and Journeys Outside Time for Pendraig Publishing, Tales of Power for Lear Books and Shamanic Journeys, Shamanic Stories for O Books. ELT titles included A Multiple Intelligences Road to an ELT Classroom, In a Faraway Land (a resource book for teachers on storytelling), On Business and for Pleasure (a self-study workbook). and ELT Matters (written with Mojca Belak and Wayne Rimmer).

Autoren/Hrsg.

Berman, Michael

Brown, David

Leseproben

Slaying
the Dragon
called Fear
[Overcoming the
Barriers to Learning] All learning is affected by our own personal history; we have a lifetime of experiences, beliefs, values and attitudes about each subject and our ability to learn it. Lozanov, the Bulgarian psychotherapist who developed the Suggestopedic Approach to teaching, calls these biases. He believes that all learning is heavily influenced by all of the biases, and the presenters who influence the biases are much more likely to be successful. I can still clearly remember my maths teacher in secondary school, for example, more than thirty years ago. Whenever I made a mistake, he would make me stand on one leg facing the wall, holding my tongue between my fingers so the saliva would dribble down my chin. Not surprisingly, this left me with a learning block which has remained with me ever since. It is likely that most of us have similar anecdotes to relate. Experiences like this help to make us into the people we are and perhaps even motivate us into turning to one of the caring professions as a career – not wanting others to suffer the same way that we have. It is interesting to note that in tribal societies the person chosen to be the shaman or Medicine Man was often a wounded healer – someone who had been through a near-death experience and who was consequently well suited to helping others through difficult times in their lives. How do we deal with the barriers to learning that result from such wounding? The following story and accompanying visualisation have been designed with this aim in mind. Giant Steps
Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived an enormous giant. He was at least ten feet tall, with a mane of red hair and a beard, and in his hand he carried a mighty axe. Every year, on the same day, at the same time, the giant would walk down from the mountains which were his home, to stand outside the castle walls and terrorise the inhabitants. “Come, send me your bravest man, and I will fight him,” the giant would shout, towering over the wall and waving his axe menacingly. “Send me someone to fight, or I will knock down your castle walls and kill everyone.” And every year, the gate in the castle wall would open slowly and, fearfully, one poor, valiant soul would walk out to face certain death. “Is this the best you can do?” the giant would laugh mockingly. The poor wretch would stand, mesmerised by the enormity of the giant and the task in hand. Not one person had even managed to draw his sword, before the giant would crush them with his mighty fist, and chop them into tiny pieces with his axe. But (and there is always a ‘but’ in stories like this) one day a young prince arrived in the town. “Why does everyone here look so frightened and sad?” he asked a fellow traveller. “You haven’t seen the giant yet,” replied the traveller. “What giant?”’ asked the young prince, intrigued. The traveller told him the tale. “Every year, on this very day, the giant arrives and challenges our bravest to a duel. And every year, he slays them exactly where they stand. They don’t even move or attempt to fight. It’s as though the giant hypnotises them.” “We’ll see about that,” said the young prince. When the giant arrived later that day, he was waiting for him. “Send me your bravest man, and I will fight him,” the giant shouted. “I am here,” said the young prince, throwing open the gate, and striding out towards him. For a moment, they stood and faced each other. Although he was still a long way away from him, the young prince was instantly struck by the incredible size and shocking appearance of his opponent. But, summoning up all his courage, he started to walk towards the giant, brandishing his sword, and never taking his eyes off that dreadful face with the red hair and the red beard. Suddenly, he realised that as he was walking, the giant – rather than appearing larger – actually began to shrink before his very eyes. He stopped and stared. The giant was only five feet tall. He walked closer to him still, then stopped and stared. Now the giant was only two feet tall. He continued walking until he was face to face with the giant, and with each step he took, he saw the giant shrink. By now the giant was so small, that he looked up at the young prince. He was only twelve inches tall. The young prince took his sword, and plunged it into the giant’s heart. As the giant lay dying on the ground, the young prince bent down and whispered to him, “Who are you? What’s your name?” With his dying breath, the giant replied, “My name is Fear”. – adapted from Margaret Parkin, Tales for Trainers A Guided Visualisation: Slaying the Dragon called Fear
SCRIPT FOR THE GUIDE: (To be read in a gentle trance-inducing voice.) Make yourself comfortable and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths to help you relax. Feel the tension disappear stage by stage from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. Let your surroundings fade away as you gradually sink backwards through time and actuality and pass through the gateway of reality into the dreamtime. (When the participants are fully relaxed, begin the next stage.) All your life you’ve been a coward. Just stop for a moment to consider what that means. All your life you’ve taken the easy way out, running away from danger instead of facing up to your fears. Just stop for a moment to consider all the opportunities you’ve missed by not having the courage to step into the unknown. You have a minute of clock time, equal to all the time you need, to reflect on all the chances you’ve let slip through your fingers over the years…. The time has now come to leave the past behind you. Today’s a very special day in your life, the day you choose to take a different path, the day you finally face up to and overcome your fears, the day you find your courage and become the person you were born to be, the day you take control of your life again. You find yourself walking along a pathway. The stars and the full moon light your way through the darkness and guide you towards your goal. Your destination is the entrance to a cave that lies straight ahead of you, the cave where the dragon called Fear lies in wait. But with each step you take, your determination to succeed in your mission grows. And with each step you take your self-belief and confidence grow for you know that nothing can stand in your way. You’ve waited too long for this moment to throw it all away by letting your fear get the better of you again. You have a minute of clock time, equal to all the time you need, to see the sky-blue flame of intent grow inside you, the sky-blue flame of intent that can never be extinguished, and let it fill you with all the power you could ever need, the power that will enable you to dance your dreams awake, the power that will enable you to cross the rainbow bridge…. And now you find yourself face to face with the dragon and the opportunity to become the master of your life again instead of a pitiable victim of circumstance. Let the sky-blue flame expand inside you until it reaches out to encompass all that is, all that has been, and all that will be and consumes the dragon, the obstacle that stands in the way of your heart’s content and happiness, the obstacle that has never been anything more than just a figment of your imagination. Now enter the mouth of the cave where a mirror awaits you. In this mirror you can see whoever you want to see and be whoever you want to be. And you have a minute of clock time, equal to all the time you need, to appreciate the new person now standing before you, the person you were always born to be…. Now the time has come for you to return, not as the person you were before but as the person you were always born to be, the master of your own destiny. And as you leave the cave behind you and walk back along the path, make sure you hold on to the precious gift you’ve been given so you can put it to good use the other side of the gateway. And with each step you take you leave the dreamtime behind, as the new you returns along the pathway, back, back, the same way you came, back to the place you started from. Welcome home! Open your eyes now and stretch your arms and legs. Take a few minutes in silence to make some notes on the experience you had on your journeys, which you can then share with the rest of the group/make a note of in your dream journal. The following story has been included as it presents a picture of what can be accomplished once the dragon called fear has been slain. It is an adaptation of a traditional British folk tale called The Dauntless Girl. Once you have done away with your Dragon, everything becomes possible and there is no limit to what you can achieve. The Girl who was Frightened of Nothing
“Damn it!” said the farmer. “Not a drop left.” “Not one?” asked the blacksmith, raising his glass and inspecting it. His last inch of whisky glowed like molten honey in the flickering firelight. “Why not?” said the miller. “You fool!” said the farmer. “Because the bottle’s empty.” He peered into the flames. “Never mind that though,” he said. “We’ll send out my Mary. She’ll go down to the inn and bring us another bottle.” “What?” said the...