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Writing Your Life-Myth

© Roxianne Moore

Using Meditation and Journaling to Heal Your Past

My premise is this: our memories reveal as much about our current state of mind and about our life's philosophy as they do about our actual childhoods. As healers and Lightworkers, we work to recover from our own inner wounds so that we can help others to do the same.

Try this: write a clear, concrete story of something you remember from childhood, a memory that ought to be shared by your siblings or parents. Now, show them the story. What points do they agree with? Which ones do they argue? In most cases, you'll find that your memory differs from theirs, often significantly.

It is in these differences that you will find your life-myth. For, in remembering our childhoods, we re-shape them to fit the pattern we see -- or wish to see -- in our lives.

In "Your Life as Story," Tristine Rainer suggests that you choose a well-loved fairy tale or story from your childhood. You may remember more than one story, or you may have trouble remembering any.

Some years ago, I picked up a copy of the Junior Classics, a ten-volume collection of stories, myths, fables and poems published by Collier. I'd had a copy of this, albeit a different edition, when I was a child. In the index, the stories and poems were arranged by age and grade level. This made a nice tool for associating stories with different phases of my childhood. I also listed books I remembered.

My favorite stories in elementary school were "The Secret Garden," "Magic Elizabeth," and stories of Gawain and King Arthur. All of the stories I listed had elements of magic, and many involved abandonment, both true of many fairy tales. Most dealt with abuse, abandonment or loneliness -- stories of children alone. For some reason, which I've yet to determine, I also listed "Blue Beard."

Which story was your favorite? How does this story and its theme relate to your life as a whole?

Rainer also suggests writing a fairy tale about your childhood. An interesting exercise. I've included my own fairy tale at Life-Myth Example. You may want to try this exercise as a warm-up. If you wish, you may send your fairy tales to the discussion area for the rest of us to enjoy.

Now, to get to the heart of the work of recovering and writing your memories, go on to the next article, "Recovering your Life Stories."

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