#4. The stories we make. The stories we tell.

“Stories create community, enable us to see through the eyes of other people, and open us to the claims of others.”

– Peter Forbes, photographer and author

?? My creative leadership tip: Every Monday, I start my day by creating a one-breath-per-line? #mondaymindfulness activity. I set some basic rules before I begin and let the first line I place in my journal dictate the outcome. 
  
?? Watch the video below to breathe along or to create your breathwork.        

Storytelling Is Good for Us and Our Bodies

Storytelling Increases Oxytocin and Lowers Cortisol. We all understand this from our own experiences sharing stories, but new research by Brockingham and colleagues shows just how deep these human connections through stories run.?

Read the article here- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-stories-of-our-lives/202106/storytelling-is-good-for-us-and-our-bodies

Tal Ben-Shahar on Storytelling and Positive Psychology

I see storytelling as the unifying theory of psychology. If you think about it, in the context of clinical psychology, what is therapy all about? It's about helping the client form a coherent story about their life, and it's through that story that they heal.

Read the article here- https://kripalu.org/resources/tal-ben-shahar-storytelling-and-positive-psychology

Harnessing the Power of Storytelling to Improve Your Mental Health -Headspace

Using mindfulness while writing down stories can help, too, since it can create an opportunity to notice your body’s reactions, which can be a clue to your comfort level. If you notice that your breathing increases as you write about a particular part of your story, for example, you might pause and allow yourself to be curious about your reaction. What does it mean??

Read the article here- https://organizations.headspace.com/blog/harnessing-the-power-of-storytelling-to-improve-your-mental-health

19 Best Narrative Therapy Techniques & Worksheets [+PDF]

It is likely that the life story you tell yourself and others changes depending on who is asking, your mood, and whether you feel like you are still at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of your most salient story.

Read the article here- https://positivepsychology.com/narrative-therapy/

Book recommendation: Wherever You Go, There You Are, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D.

Stories enhance us work on the one-breathe-per-line activity, play to reduce stress and bring back the childlike wonder, and repeat. Have a wonderful week.