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k 13 HOW IS IT THAT THe SAMe STORY can be found in diverse and seemingly unrelated cultures, sometimes on opposite sides of the globe? And why are the same stories passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years? Each question has a different answer and yet they both address the same basic reason as to why stories exist: to perpetuate our human culture and give it continuity. The more rational intelligence and conscious memory a creature possesses, the more his culture is perpetuated by learning rather than instinct. An example: I grew up with four Wolves who were orphaned so young they had not yet opened their eyes. They never saw another Wolf until they were adults and still they knew the ways of the Wolf: how to function as a pack, how to hunt, and how to raise young. Some of our human culture is instinctual also, yet we learn most of it from example and through story. A Wolf raised by humans is still very much a Wolf, whereas a Human raised by Wolves becomes Wolflike. She will walk on all fours, growl and howl, and exhibit most of the other characteristic Wolf behaviors. It is because of the missing piece in her upbringing: story. Wolves carry most of their stories in their instinctual memories; we do not. This is why storytelling is essential to the perpetuation of human culture. THe STORYLINe The mystery of the same story being voiced by storytellers of every language has fascinated world travelers and story buffs ever since there have been world travelers and story buffs. Why is it that, as they discovered, most stories are universal? Over time, a number of theories have been put forth, which can be summed up as follows: Chapter Four Where Stories Come From • A psychic connection exists among storytellers. • Stories of an ancient, fallen civilization were scattered in the diaspora. Both explanations suggest that most stories come from one wellspring common to the human experience. Neither possibility is taken seriously by the academic community. And yet reason dictates that if the same stories are found with various peoples, there must be some connection among them. What might this connection be? We all come from the same mother, the Earth, and the same father, the Sky, so we must all be sisters and brothers. When the surface colorings and flavorings of belief, climate, and region are stripped away, we can see that all of us live essentially the same way, with the same basic values and needs, feelings and aspirations. With this perspective it is not hard to see that we all share essentially the same culture and history. These common bonds and shared lifeways are core to the human experience and the continuum of human life. I believe they are so intrinsic to the human psyche that they are imprinted in our genes. In the ways that we are part of our surroundings, this shared soul has become part of the world we live in. It is echoed in the wind and etched in the landscape. Psychiatrist Carl Jung calls this the collective unconscious, and Australian Aborigines call it the songline, which they describe as the songs, stories, and ceremonies that connect in lines to form a web that lies over the Earth to guide our lives. Because story encompasses all of this, I favor the term storyline. The storyline is the voice of the dimensionless , timeless place where all past, present, and future experience dwells. The ancestors and those yet to be born reside there. Think of it as the womb of all life and all creation, as the holder of all wisdom known and unknown. Each of us is one with the womb, whether or not we are conscious of it. Within each of us it resonates and touches everything we say and do. There is no word-based language in the storyline. It is a pure state of communion where all is known and sensed and felt without having to be consciously heard or processed. A story comes to the storyline as a pure subconscious impression. The storyteller chooses the words to wrap around a story in order to make it a communal experience. Therein lies the storyteller’s challenge—and her unique and essential gift to her people. I seldom know when I am about to enter the storyline; it just seems to happen spontaneously and at the appropriate time. Were it not for the lingering feelings of...

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