The One Thing More Powerful Than Story...

There’s something underneath every story.

It exists before a story is even crafted.

It’s present as the first inkling of an idea reaches a storyteller’s mind.

It’s active and dynamic as a story unfolds, as plots twist, and as characters’ develop.

And it’s very much alive at the conclusion of a tale, as that story lingers in your body and your mind for moments, days, weeks, years, or decades later.

Underneath the stories we tell ourselves, tell others, and receive from the world is something more foundational, more wild, and even more human: raw energy.

Energy Exists in Everything

Energy is the foundation of everything. This energy exists physically around us and in our bodies as frequencies.

In the book The Energy Codes, Dr. Sue Morter posits that because energy is physical, it can be worked, dispersed, gathered, and directed all through the use of our physical bodies.

This idea might seem like a big leap. Many books are dedicated to exploring and proving this concept, and I can't fully convince you in a single paragraph (or maybe I already have??) However, if you want to dive deeper, start here.

Feelings are Physical Experiences

Our environment around us is constantly interacting with the environment inside us. These interactions lead to energy shifts.

When an energy shift happens, we feel it.

We often think of feelings as living in the mind space. Dr. Morter instead differentiates between emotions and feelings. Emotions are a story we assign to a feeling. Let’s say a stranger enters a room. The energy shifts, and you have a sense of unease. This sense may be assigned the emotion of “disgust or “fear,” or it may be assigned “excitement” and "wonder.”

But if you listen to your body, you will find that the “unease” itself originates from a physical feeling, maybe a knot in the stomach, a closing of the throat, or the constriction of breath.

Feelings are not emotions. Feelings don’t have names like sad, angry, afraid, disgusted… Feelings are just that, felt. Somewhere, anywhere in the body.

What I appreciate most about defining “feeling” in this way is that it honors the root of the word. “Feeling” comes from the Old English “fēlan,” which refers to the act of perceiving something through physical sensation or touch.

Stories Work Energy

If a feeling represents a physical energy shift somewhere in the body and “a story” is an evocation of a series of feelings, then, in this way, our stories are crafting a physical reality.

Said another way, stories cause physical energy shifts within the people being exposed to them.

Why does this matter?

Every human is inherently a storyteller. Storytelling is a fundamental aspect of our survival, as crucial as water, food, or reproduction. This storytelling ability means we can influence and work with energy through the stories we tell.

Moreover, every human has the potential to be influenced by the stories they consume. This understanding leads us to two essential insights:

1. Be Mindful of the Stories You Tell: Not only should you be conscious of the content of your stories, but also of how you convey them. The delivery mechanisms of the story - the music, tone, visuals, and language - all carry specific energies that physically affect the listener. We will explore these elements in greater detail in future discussions.

2. Consumer Beware: Be aware of the stories you take in and understand how they might influence your own energy. In a world where controlling your inputs isn't always possible, it's crucial to learn how to manage these influences. Keep what resonates with you and let go of what doesn't serve you. Dr. Sue Morter’s Energy Codes is an excellent resource for starting this journey.

There are many more facets and deeper aspects of these points that I am SO eager to explore with you in the future.

Until then, Cheers!

-

Higher Storyteller 💖💫