The Stories
	These stories are healing journeys. They show us that within ourselves there are always answers, insights and hope. Each one of us is on such a journey. It's called Life. I hope that you may find some of your answers and insights by reading these stories. For your own individual healing journey contact me. Shadow Bag The Woman and the Woodcutter Men of Rock The Girl in the Maze

Shadow Bag

There is a woman in this story. She could be you or me or any woman. She is all women. As we watch, we see that she is carrying a bag on her back. She walks among trees full of brilliant coloured autumn leaves, but she doesn't see their beauty. She walks with a stoop, bent over almost double, and each painful step keeps her eyes focussed on the ground. Her face is filled with lines, her mouth set in an angry frown. Her eyes are dull and turned inward, focussed on her own struggle and pain. We see her come to a wrinkled old tree with a strange looking branch hanging low, quivering in the breeze. She sits to rest among its armchair roots, but as she does the low branch moves in a windless breeze and hooks the bag right off her back. The woman is astonished. The bag had never been off her back before. She reaches for it. It drops at her feet, and some of the contents spill out onto the ground around her. She reaches out a shakey hand and picks up something she remembers putting into the bag not too long ago. She had been very angry then and as she touches it, she feels the anger again. Tears fill her eyes, running down the lines of her face and onto her hand. And the angry thing she is holding dissolves before her eyes. Her fingers now reach for an old, forgotten dream that she had pushed deep into the bag many, many years ago. Her hands tremble as again she feels the hope and excitement of the dream flowing into her heart. She begins to feel something new and different awakening inside her and slowly something shifts within her being. Eagerly now, she tips up the whole bag, scattering its contents, her fingers sifting through the pile. Many things are just old things, heavy things, that mean nothing to her. Why, oh why has she carried this junk around on her own back for centuries. Some things, although awkward and uncomfortable, she isn't quite finished with, and these she keeps - for now. Some things are dreams and hopes that she feels good and excited about. These too she keeps. But nothing goes back into the bag. All the things that she keeps remain where she can see them, feel them and be aware of them. She stands up to continue her journey. Without the heavy bag on her back she stands straight and tall. She walks lightly, with her head high, her face clear and unlined. A joyful smile reaches into her sparkling eyes. Never again would she forget about the hopes and fears she carries with her. Never again would she give them her life. Now she could use them, or discard them, letting go joyfully when it was time. Always moving forward on her journey - hiding nothing behind her back. Far behind, an old wrinkled tree drops its brilliant, beautiful autumn leaves onto an old bag and its spilled contents. As the leaves decay to nourish the earth, so does whatever they cover. And the lowest branch of the old wrinkled tree sways gently in the breeze - waiting. Did you feel a breeze? return to top of page

The Woman and The Woodcutter

Once upon a time there was a woman who lived happily alone in a forest. She shared her house with her animal friends and cared for her garden, where she grew herbs and plants for healing. From time to time she helped her distant neighbours with their ailments. She was most content with her life. One day a man came along. He was a woodcutter and had journeyed into the forest to cut trees for the people of the village to burn during the cold winter. He came to the woman's house and asked if he could share a meal while he worked. He seemed to be a pleasant man and the woman liked him, so he came every day to share a meal with her. Soon she asked if he wanted to stay. He did. His work kept him busy and she enjoyed caring for him as well as her usual daily chores. Soon the winter became colder and the man became even busier supplying firewood for all the people. He brought his adult children to help him with the work. It seemed like a good idea so the woman agreed. The adult children had young children of their own. Young children who needed watching and caring; and changing. As she spent her days in or near the house with her own chores the task of minding the young children fell to her. This became very demanding and she soon realized that there was no time for her own work. The children made a mess of the garden and caused chaos in the house; and all these extra people to cook for and clean up after. As everyone was away in the forest working, she felt obligated to do her part. After all, she was gaining some benefit from this as were her friends in the village. But she was unhappy. And each day she became more unhappy. One day she was very angry with the children. She no longer felt at home in her own house. She shouted at the children, becoming angrier by the minute. When she saw the others coming into the house for their meal, she ran out. She ran into the forest. She ran deep into the forest, far from the house, far from the children and the others cutting the wood. She ran so far that she no longer even heard the thunk of the axes and the ringing of the saw. She ran and ran and when she stopped it was quiet and peaceful and beautiful. She wanted to stay here; to be alone, to hear the silence, to be at peace. She sat down on the grass, and then lay down on the earth, letting the sounds, smells and sights of the forest sink deep her being. Yes, she wanted to stay here. Soon it became dark. The woman was not afraid, but sat beside a tree making herself comfortable, and went to sleep. When she awoke she was no longer beside the tree. In fact, she was no longer even in the forest. She was in a barren land where it appeared that nothing grew or lived. She walked and walked for a long time, but found nothing. She was lost and lonely, and wandered with no purpose. After a while she sank down onto the barren ground, lay her head in her arms and cried. She heard a loud hissing noise beside her head and opened her eyes to a snake. It had come out of the ground for the moisture of her tears. "How do you live out here all alone?" she asked. "Oh, I don't live here. I just visit sometimes," the snake answered, "whenever I need some peace and quiet". "I don't like it here. Can you show me the way back?" "Oh no. It is different for everyone. You must find your own way." The snake started to slide away. She sat and watched, confused. But before it slid into its hole it turned back and called out "Remember it is all in your control. No-one else can show you the way, but you." With those words she understood how she had lost control over her own house and her own life. She sat and cried some more tears at how she had lost control of her situation and then planned how she would change things now that she understood. She needed to talk, to say, to communicate her needs to others; not just assume that her feelings were obvious, especially when she went to so much trouble to hide her innermost feelings. Her crying and thinking wore her out and she slept again. This time when she awoke she was back at the quiet place in the forest. She jumped up joyfully and walked home surrounded by the golden light of the sun; all the way thinking of how things would change now. When she arrived home, her house was clean and quiet, and empty of people. She heard the ring of the axes and the saw close by and joyfully prepared a meal for the hungry workers. When they came they were glad to see her. They had arranged other carers for the children and she was happy that others had seen her need. They all sat and talked for a long time. She had finally learned to control her situation and now would gently communicate her needs to those around her. She was willing to be helped and to be of help. She sometimes looked after the young children now, and was happy to do so. Her garden was once again beautiful and full of healing plants, and she lived and worked happily and with confidence. return to top of page

Men of Rock

There was once a girl called Lorana who grew up in land far away. In this land the men were made of rock, strong and hard. The women were made of paper. Now, when Lorana and the other children in this land were very little girls and boys they were not made of rock or paper. All the children seemed to be hard and soft. They were hard and strong at times and also soft and bendy at other times. As they grew up they gradually became more rocklike or more like paper until, as adults, that was all they knew. The men were strong and hard. Nothing could hurt them as nothing could penetrate the rock. The women, on the other hand, would often fall apart, and bits of them disintegrated as they worked very hard. Sometimes the rockmen were too powerful and the paperwomen would be hurt or crushed. In the centre of the land there was a Place. This Place was surrounded by a very high wall and all the rockmen and paperwomen kept away from the wall and the land beyond. The little children knew this Place. They had come from the land beyond the wall. Here men and women were like the little children; soft and strong at the same time. Here nobody was so hard that they could feel nothing and nobody was so soft that they melted or broke. As the children grew and became more rocklike or paperlike they forgot about this special Place and moved into the adult world. They watched the adults and learned to be like them. Lorana watched the women; soft and fragile. She saw how often they broke and that it was hard to put them back together properly. She did not want to be broken and hurt. She did not want to be crushed and broken by a rockman. So Lorana watched the men. She saw how the boys became hard and rocklike and she copied them. Lorana became a rockwoman. Lorana was a very successful rockwoman; hard and strong. She lived and worked in the world as a rockwoman for many years until, one day, a piece of her cracked and broke off. Lorana was afraid. She was afraid that she could not remain rocklike after all. She was a woman and it seemed that the rock did not work as well on a woman, even though she worked harder and longer than many of the men. She looked at the women around her. Definitely not did she want to be like them. There must be another way. As she was worrying about this and trying to cover up the broken bits, she found that she had to pack up all her things and move to another house. More bits of rock fell of as she worried and stressed trying to find another house to live in. Eventually she found a house with lots of big windows and it felt really nice to be there. For a little while she felt better, but soon more bits of rock fell off. One day, as she looked out the window, Lorana saw that her house was quite close to the wall surrounding the special Place and she could see lots of children. They were soft and strong children as they were before they changed. Yes, thought Lorana, there must be a way. As Lorana watched the children from her house, she began to wonder what was behind the wall. Was there an answer behind the wall? She decided she would find out. It wouldn't hurt just to look. And Lorana summoned up all her courage and walked to the wall, until she stood before it. It was a very high blank wall. Lorana could see no way over it or through it. She heard a giggle and looking up saw a young child sitting on top of the wall. Lorana looked, and looked again. Yes, she could definitely see a faery person sitting with the child. "Excuse me," called Lorana. They stopped giggling and looked down at her. "How do I get up there? I want to see what's on the other side." The child giggled again, but the faery floated down to stand beside Lorana. She was very tall and soft and gentle with a beautiful face. "If you are really sure that you want to see, I will help you up," said the woman. Lorana wondered how, but agreed. And slowly felt herself rising until she reached the top of the wall and sat there. It felt very high. Then she looked down and was most surprised. There was her broken rock body still there at the bottom of the wall. She looked down at herself and she was like the children, pink and soft, and hard and strong too. But she was still an adult person. Lorana looked over the other side of the wall and there were many adults; all soft and strong. Their bodies, men and women, were made of flesh like the body that Lorana now wore. "You can go in if you like" urged the faery woman. Lorana saw the people here. She saw how they played and worked together. The land itself was much as it was on her side of the wall, but the people were so very different. Here the people were all flesh, even though the outer covering came in many different colours. Men and women were happy together, both soft and hard at the same time. They saw Lorana and called to her to come and join them. She floated down and was welcomed by them, as they welcomed all those who were able to leave their old shells behind and come to this Place to be free and whole. The people began a special celebration to welcome Lorana, a real woman, to her new land and her new life. return to top

The Girl in the Maze

Once upon a time there was a little girl called Wendy. She realized, one day, that she was walking through a maze. Well, it felt like a maze and it seemed like she had been here for a very long time. Wendy did not remember getting into the maze and now she could not find her way out either. It felt like she had been here forever, going around in endless circles. Every day she stumbled along the same path, passing the same places, the same people and things, the same situations; day after weary day. At night, when she slept, she would dream of a world where her life was different. Here she was a happy child, feeling safe and secure, and loved. Then she would wake and find herself back at the place where she began her journey every day. And wearily Wendy would set out again. In the place of the maze where she slept and began her daily journey stood a tree. The tree was sick. Its roots were shallow and unable to draw up nourishment for itself; its branches were mostly bare. Wendy gave the tree some of her water in the mornings before she set off. Sometimes she met others along the way, but they never seemed to be on quite the same pathway as herself. And at the end of a long day she would turn a corner of the maze and find herself back at the place of the bare tree. She did not know how to escape the cycle. Now, in the evenings a big bear would come. It seemed that he too finished his daily journey in this place of the bare tree, although Wendy never saw him during the day. The bear was a big, strong father bear who growled alot. He was much bigger than Wendy and she was afraid of him. The bear became angry at the sight of the tree , bare and unable to flower. He would growl and roar, and Wendy became very frightened of him. So Wendy began to adorn the tree with bright and colourful things so that he would not get so angry and frighten her. Every morning she awoke, knowing her world was the same. She would set out, sore and tired and very unhappy. Every day she trudged on and on, trapped by the walls around her. She knew that she would never be able to break through those walls. For many years she trudged the same path, over and over. Every day she returned to the place of the bare tree and she would make it beautiful for the bear so that he would not get angry and scare her. Usually he got angry anyway, but there was nowhere else for her to go. One day, when she was no longer a child, but had grown into a beautiful young woman, she was wearily walking the same path when she saw something different. There was a hole in the wall of the maze. Wendy stopped and looked at the hole. She was unsure of what to do. There had never been even a tiny hole before and now there was a big hole with a young man standing in the gap. He beckoned to her. He spoke to her. "Come with me. Leave this place and come to my place. It is much nicer than this." At first Wendy was afraid to change and said "No". She continued on her own path which inevitably led back to the tree and the angry bear, and her own unhappiness. The next day the hole and the young man were there again. This time Wendy stopped and looked through the hole in the wall of the maze, into the young man's world. It was quite different. There was no bare and empty tree, no big and angry bear. This place looked brighter and nicer too. She could finally stop her endless cycle she thought. So Wendy followed the young man into his world. For a time Wendy was happy in this new place with her young man. It was a strange place and Wendy tried hard to fit in. She watched and listened and learned how things were done here. Her young man was so clever and knew so many things, and all she had ever done was to go around in circles looking after a tree and being afraid of an angry, old bear. She had so much to learn. And she did learn. She learned about the correct way to behave in this place. She so badly wanted to do all the right things so that she would belong and be accepted. But after a time Wendy gradually became aware that she was actually still stuck in the maze. She was just in a different part of it, and now she circled this part day after day. And once again she became sore and sick and tired. One day, on her continuous journey, she again spotted a hole in the wall. Wendy was surprised and went closer to look through. Standing there was a white horse and on his back was a handsome knight in shining armour. As she watched, the knight and his white horse disappeared into the distance and the hole was rapidly closing. Wendy caught a glimpse of golden sunshine, beautiful, peaceful countryside and happy, contented people sharing love and harmony; and no maze walls. Then it closed and Wendy was still in the same place; in the ever circular maze which now seemed so dull and lifeless. Wendy sat and cried. She cried for herself and what she had missed. Then she picked herself up, and started to dig at the wall of the maze. She dug a hole and poked her head through, but it was not the beautiful, golden land. It was a deeper, darker part of the maze. Wendy tried to patch the hole that she had dug and almost succeeded, but bits of the darkness continued to leak out into her world. On her daily rounds of the maze that she was now so familiar with, Wendy defiantly continued to dig holes in the walls. From one hole that she dug, sprang a large, golden cat who chose to stay with Wendy. The cat showed Wendy the right places to open the wall. Wendy made lots of holes and lots of openings and the golden light slowly filtered through into her part of the maze. But the first hole that she had made into the darker place still leaked and she returned and repaired the hole using bits of the newly found golden light to seal it. The doorway into the beautiful, golden land was opening more and more, and the golden cat remained with her and helped her. But, again, the old hole that she had patched started to leak from a little tear beside the patch. Once again Wendy was afraid as she felt herself trudging the same weary path, over and over. The golden light had worked once before to patch the hole; she would try using it again. But this time, before she patched it, she poked her head through to see what was on the other side. Wendy saw a little girl walking wearily along, looking sad and sore and afraid, trudging on alone in the darkness. Wendy recognized the girl and the place. It was herself, the child she was, so unhappy and afraid, alone in the darkness. Then Wendy realized that this hole was perfect after all. It now enabled her to rescue this child. If she had not made this hole, she would never have found her. Even though the hole had been letting darkness into this part of her world and making her sick and sore and sad, it was worth it. Now that she knew and understood, it was worth it. Wendy crawled through the opening, took the child in her arms and quickly crawled back through the hole. The child was rather surprised, but Wendy held her, rocked her, stroked her hair, saying "I love you. I love you. You are safe with me." The child came with Wendy into her world. Wendy and the child together closed the hole, and the little girl that was Wendy grew up in this new world, loving, caring, supporting. Together they opened up many doorways into the beautiful, golden place beyond the walls. Gradually her world and all within it were bathed in the golden light and lived in peace and harmony together. return to top