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                            Telling Your Story

One of the most empowering activities we do as humans is to tell our stories – especially to each other.  The following questions serve as guidelines for focusing on your story and relaying it to others.  I encourage you to write the story, not merely think about it.

Where were you born?  How did you arrive in this life?  How did that place affect who you are/how you see the world?

What is the first thing you can remember about being you?

What was childhood like?  What didn’t you get then that you can give yourself now?

What gave you pleasure in childhood? 

Where/with whom did you feel safe?  Where/with whom did you feel unsafe?

What were your siblings like?  What was your relationship to them and them to you?

What were your parents like?  What did you learn from them about men/women?  About marriage?

What spells were cast on you?  By whom?

How were you wounded?  Where?  By whom?

What was starting school like for you?  How has education affected your enjoyment of learning?

Who were your friends?  Where are they now?  Why did you (or not) keep up with them?

Did your family attend organized religious services?  How did and have those experiences (or lack of) affected your spirituality?

What was puberty like?  What were you told about what was happening to you?  By whom?

Who was your first love?  Where is she/he now?

Who taught you about sex?  What was the message about sex?

What initiations have you been through?  What were the initiatory events in your life?  What initiations do you have to look forward to happening in the future?

What were your early achievements in life?  What activities did you feel competent and successful about?

What is your work?  What place does work have in your life?

Who were/are your mentors?

How have you “husbanded,” "wifed," or "partnered?"   If you are single and never married was this a conscious choice?

How have you “fathered”  or "mothered?"  If you have no children was this a conscious choice?

What is your place in community?  How do you participate in community?

What are your victories and defeats in life?  Which were most valuable?

What is your relationship to your body today?

What is your spirit life like today?

How do you view retirement?

What wisdom has revealed itself to you?

How do you see your death?  How do you think you will die?  How would you like your dying to be?

Compiled by:

Phil Foster, MDiv, LPC, NCC, DAPA

(All rights reserved 2006)