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Welcome Sacred Storyteller,

 

You have crossed over the threshold and entered into the realms of Speak The Spark: A Sanctuary for Sacred Storytelling. 

 

I am just delighted that we get to co-create in this way together.

 

This welcome packet confirms that you have committed to your journey, and provides a lot of information. You will receive this in the form of an email within a couple of days of your registration. 

Now that you have registered, please go to our classroom platform and register. (there may be a 24 hour delay between when you register and when you are brought into the classroom, so keep an eye out in your inbox. Once in the platform, you will receive your first assignment.) 

 

Here is the link to the teaching platform: https://speakthespark.teachable.com/

 

Please note that your registration is not complete until you fill out the links at the end of this page.


This welcome packet is designed to pave your way and provide a bit of guidance, 

a railing of sorts, to rest your hand upon as you take your first steps into the sacred storytelling cauldron. 

I strongly recommend you give yourself some time to tend to the details of this page. You may even want to give yourself the luxury of printing this page, and enjoy a hammock, bath, or cup of tea to keep you company while you settle in and take all of this in.

 

As they say…it begins when you say "yes"…so I wouldn’t be surprised if the stories begin presenting themselves to you. The old stories may begin speaking up from the bones of earth, and perhaps new stories will start whispering to you through the winds…the muse may strike at any moment, and show up through the unexpected dialogue of a loved one. 

 

The invitation is to listen in such a way that you never have before. 

 

Listen as if the stories are waiting for you, speaking to you, already with you. 

 

Listen as if what you hear matters….and take notes. 

 

PS: Throughout this page you will receive a lot of requests and invitations. Don’t worry about remembering them…as they will be summarized at the end for the sake of ease and grace. 

 

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In these days of preparation I invite you to consider…

  • Is there anything you want to let go of over the course of our time together?

  • What are you inviting in?

  • How will you know you received what you came for at the end of our time together?

  • Perhaps you want to get a beautiful new journal that is dedicated to this course, your reflections, stories, and note taking. 

 

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What is Sacred Storytelling?

This is a question we will answer together. But perhaps we can begin living the question via exploration as you create an altar for yourself, your choice to say yes to sacred storytelling, and for this class. 

Let’s face it~ if we were meeting in person we would gather in a circle and collaborate in building a big beautiful altar together that we would all add something to. But we are meeting in the virtual space. And so~ we will co-create here. (Check out the altar Sabine created for our online meeting from last year’s class.) 

 

I invite you to build an altar for each class. This can be very simple ~ and is an act of including and feeding the divine through your intention and attention. It helps separate the day and settle into the gift you have given yourself: focused time on this artform of story. It provides you an opportunity to focus your intention by what you choose to place on your altar. Here are a few examples of altars from last year’s participants that they shared on our Facebook page. You’ll notice a few similarities: candles, flowers, and objects of symbolic meaning. Building an altar before we officially begin is a way that you can start saying yes to your choice to engage in the sacred art of storytelling, saying yes to the muse and the divine collaborators, and creates a visual reminder and a place where you can physically tend to your intention by lighting candles and changing flowers. At the end of this message I’ll provide a link with more information on how to create an altar. In the meantime, may the participants of last year’s class inspire you.

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I created this simple altar while hosting a class from my mom’s house with some crystals I was traveling with and candles.

Daphne created this altar...

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Ways we can develop, maintain, and strengthen, our sacred storytelling collective

It's no joke to embark on an online journey. It’s akin to running a marathon, and invites a relationship to commitment, stamina, dedication, and a few fun ways that naturally inspire us to engage with and learn from each other. Here are a few ideas…if you have more please bring them to us! 

 

Facebook

 

This is a place for those who engage in the social media realms to engage with each other as much as we want. It will be as deep or as shallow as we make it. This is a place for our collective genius to show itself by sharing our experience, insight, perspective, resources, and wisdom, humor, and inquiries. 

 

My invitation to you is to let this place be a place where we share: 

• books that inspire

• quotes

• videos

• wonderings

• deep and not so deep thoughts

• reflections from our classes

• ask for help if you are feeling stuck

• share a short story you are working on and would like some feedback from our collective

• photos of your altars and other things you think will inspire or inform our collective.

My request of you is to introduce yourself ASAP. I invite you to play at the game of poetry and play with eloquence. You can use it as your first creative exercise. When you add a photo of yourself it is that more delightful. 

 

Here’s are a few examples of introductions from last year’s class. May they serve as inspiration for you, and may you find some play and delight in whatever unique way you choose to introduce yourself. Perhaps it will be through video (Facebook live videos make it simple and easy) or other means. 

 

*Please note~ allow yourself to be inspired by your cohorts, and invite the comparing mind to be simply noticed if it shows up. We’ll talk more about that later. If you feel stuck and stymied, use this introduction of yourself as a 4 minute free-write, where you simply write what comes to mind without judgment. And then tell us what it is! 

Example, Introduction 1: 

Fellow adventurers, I am excited to embark on this wild ride with you all!!

 

“My name is DB [initials have been used for sake of privacy] I was conceived in a union of love, a weaving of German Becker roots with a mixture of Russian, Polish and Austrian Reinstein richness. The winds have blown me many places. After years of wandering through life in the dry, mountainous, painted sunset, howling coyote lands of Arizona I find myself amongst the winding rivers and ancient Redwoods of California. I imagine I will forever be a wanderer in some way or another. Moving with the changing tides and finding my home deep down in the depths of my soul. I come to this class a novice in storytelling but with an awareness of the many stories that have become my life strategies. I am mystified by the way stories seems to show up on my doorstep and and ask me to question, ask me to see who I really am at my core. I am enamored by their invitation. I say YES to their call and full heartedly step into this part of my being with all of you.”

Example, Introduction 2:

 

“I was named after my Grandmother, C. Whom in Spanish is called A. I go by both. I reign from many lineages in this life; Chiricahua Apache, Navajo, Spaniard, Irish, Scottish and Mexican. A two spirit warrior of truth and mystery. I am indeed a beloved traveler of the unknown and tender of the wisdom fires. Song has woven many stories into my earthy being. I couldn't be more excited to explore the crafting of story and listen deeply to others in shaping an ancient yet familiar telling of magick and folklore! The beginners mind is my daily practice for to know of all the wonder, has meant to truly revel in its beauty as if I were surprised. Cosmic sips of sublime divinity are always preferred but I'll never turn away a freshly roasted cup of coffee    

 

Born and raised seaside in California, the Sirens of Yemaya beckoned me to the rivers of Idaho, Utah, Alaska, Washington and Colorado where I guided expeditions every summer for many a moon.”

Small Groups

I invite you to consider what level of participation you want to commit to. I think of this in three levels. I invite you to consider these three tracks of participation and tell us so we can place you in a group of people with similar interests and commitment levels. We’ll be taking our time and consideration to place you into groups that will be a good fit. We’ll be taking your geographic region into consideration, as well as your level of interest. You may be rolling your eyes and wondering why you would want to join a small group in addition to our two classes each month. 

 

Your groups can be a place where you:

• Deepen your work

• Talk about the books you are invited to read

• Create and share creative prompts

• Reflect and practice your stories

 

Consider what level of participation you want to come in at so we can place you with a group of comparable interest levels: 

 

1) I want to receive. I want to learn and soak everything up without any pressure to produce. I’ll show up or watch every class, read the master teachers books, but I don’t want to set any expectations around what I produce. 

 

2) I want a place to practice. All of the above, plus I want a group where I can talk about the books, and share the creative prompts and writing exercises. 

 

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In Real Life Gatherings

We will do our best to create groups made of people that are in the same region. I strongly recommend considering meeting in person, either for our classes or for your group meetings. 

 

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Making the Most of Our Time Together

Prepare for our master teachers: Each month I will recommend a book, video or essay written by the guest teacher. I strongly recommend taking the time to review this content. Perhaps you will dedicate time in your small groups to discuss these recommended readings, and allow it to feed and inform any questions you might have for guest teachers during our live class with them. 

Ways to Prepare for our Introduction

 

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Please come prepared to speak for 6 minutes with the following: 

 

• Your name (and any other names you go by that you would enjoy sharing with us). 

• Your ancestors name (in the interest of time, just 1-2 generations back)

• The land that you were born on, and the land that you live on. 

• What you have to give…(we all have gifts that are inherently in us, what do you bring to this collective?)

• Is there anything you are setting aside or releasing as you step into this work?

• What are your expectations and personal goals for this course?

• A creation story (see more about that below) 

• Why you chose that creation story

Upon writing a 9 page letter to a friend, Rilke wrote something to the likes of, “My apologies for the length, I didn’t have the time to write a short letter.” So while there is a great span of content to cover in your introduction, the invitation is for conciseness. 

 

Take some time to learn creation stories. These are the first stories…and come from every ancient culture, and speak to how the world was created. You have some time, relish in the oldest stories on the planet and listen for which one(s) is asking to speak through you. You will be asked to share one in our first meeting. Spoken, not read. Your first exercise in storytelling is to identify what key parts of the story matter to you and will convey the message that wants to come through the story. I will be diligent at keeping time. 

The registration link for your intro session is at the bottom of this page

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Ways to prepare for our speakers

I strongly recommend preparing for each speaker by familiarizing yourself with their work. It will deepen your experience, perhaps inspire your questions during our conversation, and more.

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A gift for you!

 When we were Gods

Please enjoy this audio story created and told by yours truly.  

 

https://soundcloud.com/leah-lamb-626936643/when-we-were-gods

 

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Logistical Review

Requests: 

You’ll notice the language that was used. A request is in the “honey-do ASAP” category.

 

Your Registration Is Not Complete Until You Fill Out The Following:

 

1) Intro form: (this helps us get to know you and place you accordingly in the right group)

 

2) Intro to Facebook: please ask to join

 

3) Watch the replay of our first call with Stephen Jenkinson, here.   

  • You may want to go big and read on of his books, Come of Age, or Die Wise, or listen to audiobooks.

  • You may want to watch the documentary Griefwalker, free and online. 

  • You many want to listen to a few podcasts. 

4) REGISTER FOR YOUR INTRO CALLS: please choose one of the following invite sessions. We are limited to 15 people on each call, so please register early:

 

5) Classes

Session 1 (Add to your calendar here)

    Jan 8, 2019 5:00 PM

    Jan 22, 2019 10:00 AM

    Feb 5, 2019 5:00 PM

    Feb 19, 2019 10:00 AM

    Mar 5, 2019 5:00 PM

    Mar 26, 2019 10:00 AM

Session 2 (Add to your calendar here)

    Apr 9, 2019 5:00 PM

    Apr 23, 2019 10:00 AM

    May 7, 2019 5:00 PM

    May 21, 2019 10:00 AM

    June 4, 2019 5:00 PM

    June 18, 2019 10:00 AM

6) Prepare for our second guest teacher, Nina Wise, by watching her tedx talk here

    

Invitations: 

Invitations are “suggestions” to do as you will with it. 

  • Create an altar for each class (Why wait? You can create one today!)

  • Create a journal dedicated to this class

Resources: 

I recommend that you bookmark this page to easily access your information all in one place.

Article on building altars: https://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/2016/02/23/building-altars-personal-transformation

 

Wow. You made to the end. 

Now it must be time to begin, 

 

Leah

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