Story Medicine Quest

Curriculum

Session 1

Orientation. Ancestral Treasure Hunting. In the first session, we will connect with ancestral strengths. Ancestral work can be deep and complicated to traverse. We are journeying to the past with a lens for strengths. Did you know that epigenetic research has shown that we can carry the long ago past within us? There is a long line of ancestors that we have come from and there is a wealth of strength and gifts within that line. Let’s find it! Connect with the water element this month. Drink lots of water this month, clearing away what’s no longer needed.     

Session 2

Awakening Play and Imagination. The second session is focused on orienting to the land of stories, childhood and adult heroes, and an introduction to the power of storytelling. It’s about remembering how to play. Did you know that in humans pretend play has been tied to increased cognitive flexibility and social responsivity, as well as improved emotion regulation? It opens neural pathways needed for this journey we’re embarking on to awaken something needed. In the beginning there is nothing except possibility. Connect with the air element this month. Breath in that which is essential to your being. 

Session 3

The Asking and Archetypes. The third session will focus on a traditional story, connecting with the oral tradition, and focus on setting personal intentions for the journey. The focus is on recognizing key archetypal energies working in our lives, and how they can inform and support our journey. It is here that we can discover something essential to our authentic self. Have you heard Native writer Tommy Orange’s quote, “And so what we could do had everything to do with being able to understand where we came from, what happened to our people, and how to honor them by living right, by telling our stories. She told me the world was made of stories, nothing else, just stories, and stories about stories.” Connect with the earth element this month. Walk and feel into the solidity of the earth to support your good mind. 

Session 4

Traditional Story Wisdom. The fourth session will focus on meeting and spending time experientially with one traditional story to help us remember where we come from and how to have a good mind on the journey to where we’re going, and seeking archetypes through different forms of engagement with a traditional story (expressive arts, pretext, and playback). The group will expand on using experiential exercises to help them explore traditional story elements that are important to their growth and healing journey. The focus is on recognizing key archetypal energies working in our lives, and how they can inform and support our journey. It is here that we can discover something essential to our authentic self. Did you know that an archetype is an original imprint or original patterning. In that patterning is the essence of something that determines what it is? Connect with the fire element this month. Feel the warmth in your body to ignite something new.

Session 5

Seeking a Traditional Story. In the fifth session, the group will explore their own traditional stories connected to place and manitou. The focus will be on coming into relationship with the story, using a creative process to bring to life particular aspects of the story that resonate with them, deepening their understanding and personal connection to them using various expressive arts mediums such as drawing, painting, mask making, or collage. Did you know Nigerien Storyteller, Ben Okri said, “When you can imagine you begin to create and when you begin to create you realize that you can create a world that you prefer to live in, rather than a world that you're suffering in.” Choose an element to connect with this month, that you need to bring more into your life for balance. 

Session 6

Extracting essence. In the sixth session, the group will share creations and connections to story, and learning through synchronicity and essential elements. The group will reflect on how others' stories impact them and what synchronicities arise from sharing their stories and how this relates to the call to action. Have you heard, Native writer N. Scott Momaday, say, “Anything is bearable if you can make a story out of it?” This month you will integrate all elements, water, air, earth, and fire to support you in your journey forward.

Session 7

Resource Building. In session seven, we will create something new. Integrating the work we have been doing into a whole. We will create an essential guide pulling from the childhood or adult hero, traditional story findings, story mask and element, and ancestral root, lands and manitous that can serve as a resource in our lives. Do you know the words of Native poet Joy Harjo? “…The journey might take you a few hours, a day, a year, a few years, a hundred, a thousand or even more.” This month you will connect with the rose, the center of the wheel to support you in your journey forward.

Session 8

Story Medicine Circle. In session eight, we complete part one of the Story Medicine Quest. We will sit in Circle with our guide spiraling deeper in the asking for what’s next.  A vision is the ability to envision, to see what's possible. Do you know what muskrat did for Skywoman?” Elders stories say, “At the end of the day it was only the little muskrat who hadn't given it a try. Not because he didn't want to help, but because everyone knew that muskrats don't really dive deep. Muskrats live in the shallow places. They never swim in the deep water. But if you look at your own life, you'll see that there are times when you just have to give up your old story about what you can or cannot do. Sometimes in your life you have to burst from the confines of your story and grow into a more capable person. That day, long ago, the muskrat decided that with no one else available to help it was up to him to do the job and so he did.” This month you will sit in the center of your own medicine wheel, with your story medicine council.

Class Participation & Recordings

We request participants attend the whole program to respect the container of the class and Dr. Madrigal. We understand that life happens, and if you know you will miss more than two sessions, we recommend that you join at a time when you are available for all the sessions. Your presence and engagement in the program is essential for the course.

At Braided Wisdom we strive to build an online environment that creates a safe container for all. Part of creating a safer environment is asking for participants to have their cameras on during the session. If you have an access need around this request, please reach out to info@braidedwisdom.org so we can discuss how best to support you.

Please note sessions will be experiential and interactive in nature. Participants will have opportunities to engage in creative and expressive art practices which will include individual and group shares and performance. Sessions will be recorded and only be shared with registered participants.