WHEN A STORY BEGINS WITH AN INTERNAL COMMAND

We usually think of the beginning of a story as an external misfortune that creates a crisis in the life of a character. Often, though, stories are set into motion by a internal command from within the character. You can see this clearly in your own life and the lives of people you know. Sometimes we get "saturated" with the way things are in our lives and we leap off the cliff into the unknown, says story guru Robert McKee. That's the beginning of a new story -- or in story language, the "inciting incident."

Can you think of a time in your life when you initiated something that disrupted your life, and even some of your basic assumptions about yourself? Or are you thinking about it? That choice sets you out on a ...hero's journey, when you become your own master and your life rises to the level of adventure.

Where were you when this particular story began? Where are you now? How have you changed? What have you learned?

Start writing!


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COMING IN DECEMBER

Reinforcing the Healthy Inner Lives of Youth in a Violent World

Sunday, December 7

1 - 3:30

Creative Righting Center

526 W. 26th St., #309

NYC

This training is free. A suggested donation of $18 to the center would be much appreciated.

Space is limited and registration is required. Please RSVP to Dr. Sherry Reiter, sherryreiter@yahoo.com and me, julietbrucephd@gmail.com.I learned through a decade of working in prisons and alternative-to-incarceration programs that the path to violence and the path to creative living are both similar in their progression and directly opposite in their results. Teachers, therapists, coaches, clergy and parental figures can interrupt a life seemingly destined for violence by offering another template -- healing story applied to life.
 

Please feel free to write me with questions about content and to forward this announcement to others who night be interested.

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 FEATURED WORKSHOP for 2014


"THE FIREBIRD": EXPLORING DEPRESSION AS TRANSFORMATIONAL GROUND
  Depression and anxiety are the twin maladies of our time. The Centers for Disease Control predict that by 2020, over 80% of women will have experienced depression. Beneath the roots of depression and anxiety in our personal lives, many depth psychologists believe these miseries are a reflection of the violence and destruction taking place throughout our world, including to our earth itself. Literally, as we heal ourselves, we heal a small bit of the world.

In my practice, I help my clients follow an ancient path through this condition. Traditional cultures understood depression and other non-ordinary mental experiences as states of emergence rather than as disorders.

This workshop uses the rich metaphors, visual images, and environments of a famous Russian folk tale to take a fresh and optimistic approach to depression. 

(NOTE: this approach is not intended to replace traditional talk therapy. Rather, it is intended to support and enrich common therapeutic modalities.)

"Thank you for your wonderful presentation. Looking at depression through a story lens was useful. Definitely useful." -- from The Psychotherapy and Spirituality Institute, presented on May 8, 2014.

       
Interested in booking this workshop for your agency? Contact me at julietbrucephd@gmail.com.