Stories We Create and Live By

Part 1 of 2. As I’m finishing reading another masterpiece, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, I’m fusing what I’m learning as a communication student with what I am learning to forget in my spiritual practices.

I’ve been getting glimpses of inspiration over the past couple of days leading me to write about the topic of stories and the narratives we create. Storytelling was one of the latest subjects discussed in one of the courses in my current study program. I’m not going to go in detail about storytelling and what it is – at least not from the academic viewpoint. The fusion of the knowledge I am gathering from my current education and the timeless wisdom in the books I read has brought me to writing this piece and it is my intention for it to let me and you see reality for what it is. I want to be able to look back and learn from my inspired moments whenever I tend to drown in my own stories.

The Game of Narratives

We all have narratives of our past, present and probably future. We all have a story happening right now. Multiple stories, I’d say. On all levels of existence in this current dimension – individual, communal, societal, global – we live by stories. We even agree on some collectively and call them “facts.” We have so many stories happening at the same time that more than often we get lost in them, forgetting that these stories are stories, with the main function of giving meaning to reality. Some stories give us hope, others bring fear. Some make us optimistic, others rather the opposite.

The stories we tell ourselves eventually become the stories we live by. These stories shape our realities in so many ways – that for me to put it into words falls short to explain their implications. But before even trying to do that, a small reality check:

The stories we tell about our lives are our versions of our reality. The stories we share as collectives are our histories. You will never find one version of reality nor one version of history.

There is not one version of reality because we all experience reality through our own personal (hi)story lenses. There is no one way of seeing life because for most of us, our past experiences weight heavier than the present moment. Some of us believe our stories to the point that they become our identity. And so, most of what we think, say, and do have some relation to our personal, historical, societal, racial, religious, political and communal narratives – that’s to name a few.

To have a narrative, there must be a narrator. I’d like to think of the voice talking, assessing, judging, comparing, competing, labeling, defending, dictating, shaming, and blaming, among other things, as the narrating voice.

Most of us confuse our narrating voice with our voice. We believe this voice to be ours. This phenomenon is understandable as most of us did not have the teachers to teach us to distance ourselves and see this voice for what it is: a collection of thoughts forming at every moment, vibrating at different frequencies, giving everything meaning and shaping both events and perceptions of events around us.

Characters and Their Roles

In a story, there are characters too. Everybody we interact with is a character in our personal story. All characters have a role. Some characters have multiple roles too (a colleague who is also a friend, a sister who is also an enemy, a caretaker that was also a pain-inflicter, and so on). The narrating voice itself also has different characters and roles.

Character types can range from demonic to angelic, depending on the frequencies we transit and how we choose to label them. As we experience more, we add more labels, so to say, to our narrative and our stories and their characters. Even further, we believe these narratives to be the absolute truth. This, of course, creates a lot of conflict between different beliefs that stem from different stories. Histories have shown how brutal such conflicts based on one-sided narratives and belief systems can turn out.

Current Realities

Currently, we have many, many narratives, characters, roles, labels and belief systems in our realities. I’m talking about when someone asks you: “Where you’re from?”… What do you answer? When someone asks you: “Tell me about yourself, who are you?” what is your story? What is the thing that defines you the most? Are you still hurt by your past?

Many people are still very much attached to these stories; experiences, characters, roles, labels and beliefs. Our attachment to our stories, or rather, the stories that we tell and believe, makes it difficult to de-identify from them so we can see the stories for what they are: narratives of reality, versions of events and viewpoints from different angles.

I am not going to ask you to not tell [your] stories and feel the burdens they bring with them; neither will I ask you not to see the injustices nor to not stand for your causes. I know too well that as we create our stories, we also share common stories; we coexist in the collective stories of humanity. Many of us are born with the world’s pains on our shoulders. Because of that, I know that stories should be told. They should be changed. They should evolve. Until they cease to have power over us. Until we heal.

So by all means, tell your stories. Inspire others with your narrative. Dare to make the best fucking story out of your life. Make an impact. Live for something. Evolve in your ways of being and thinking. While doing all that, never forget that the stories we live by and create, the stories we share, protect and believe, as well as paradigms we want to change are not the ultimate reality. Have consciousness clarity in the midst of the clouds of thoughts. Don’t get lost in your narratives. Don’t let any story define you. A story is not reality – it’s how we convey reality. How we perceive reality. How we translate reality.

Our personal, individual stories can be individual master art pieces. Collectively, we can create heaven on earth. We have all the tools and power we need. Now it’s time to do some purposeful energy work. Detach, reframe, intend & manifest. More about this topic in part 2 of this blog series: Intentionally Manifesting Our Versions of Reality.