Are You a Story Keeper?

Are you a keeper of stories?  When you look around your home, do you see evidence of your own life story and the stories of your parents, siblings, ancestors?  Some homes are filled with heirlooms, family photos, memorabilia.

Native Americans called those who kept the stories of their families “Rock People.”  The “medicine” or gift of the rocks is to hold the history, the geology, of the earth.  Those of us who have this gift are able to connect the hearts of the children to the mothers and fathers, through our memories, our stories.

Some of us “Rock People” are so sentimental that our homes display treasures from each loved one and every trip we’ve taken, and for every item we hold a memory, a story, in our hearts.  I have rocks and shells from all over the world on our windowsills and altars, and our home holds precious photos of family.

On my Ireland pilgrimages, I visited many ancient sacred sites, including The City, a place of continuous worship of the divine feminine for over 6.000 years.  Our group of 10 women entered the sacred site mindfully, after kneeling in prayer at the well just outside the portal entrance stones.  In single file, we slowly and silently walked the inside perimeter of the walled enclosure.  Then our guide, Amantha Murphy, asked us each to wander the land, to feel what we were able to feel of its past and to find an area where we felt comfortable and commune with it.

Peace permeated my body as I walked that ancient sacred land. 

I felt drawn to a megalithic stone, somehow brought from a great distance away and placed near the center of the enclosure by ancient people.  I walked around this weathered old stone, then placed my hands on it, feeling love course into my body.  Sitting on the ground, I leaned back into the stone and felt as if all my sorrows were flowing out the back of my heart center and into the stone. 

Amantha called the other women over to this stone and told us “This stone is known as the StoryKeeper.  If there are any stories you are holding that bring you sorrow, tell them to her.  Give your stories to her and she will keep them for you so you don’t have to carry them any longer.”

One by one, the women spent time with the Story Keeper, whispering their sad memories to her.  After the other women left, I whispered all the rest of my own grief and loss, all the sorrows of my mother and grandmothers, my sisters, my friends, my clients.  I felt as if sorrow for all women everywhere, for all life on our planet, was pouring out of me into the sacred container of this powerful rock.  And then, I was empty.

And into the space inside me where the sorrow had been, peace flowed.  The deepest peace I’ve ever felt.  I can feel it inside me still.

This experience has inspired me to scan my home for my stories, and to creating healing altars that allow me to integrate and release any stuck emotions.  (An altar is any item or group of items that raises or alters your mood and energy level.)

Here’s a photo of my Family Altar.  Behind these photos are my healing intentions for those relationships.

What if an area in your home could serve as your StoryKeeper?  What if you could place items there in a way that would allow you to integrate your losses?  When fully felt, grief transforms into joy.  And that joy becomes our fuel, and we have the energy to move our lives forward.