Space Between Stories
A learning journey that navigates the transition from an old story, through the space between stories, to a new story.
Course Content
Session One:
An Introduction to the Space Between Stories
with Charles Eisenstein
The story of separation and interbeing. How they embed our systems and institutions, and inhabit us personally. The process of transition from an old story, through the space between stories, to a new story.
A lot of important themes arise in this introductory call that we will follow up on throughout the learning journey. They revolve around our central theme — the transition in our stories, from personal to cultural.
How does one stay in a new story, when the people and culture around us keep dragging us into the old, “dousing” our fire with negativity? What do we do when we feel great passion to make a difference, but cannot find an outlet for our gifts that calls to us? How do we fit new kinds of relationships into a limited set of socially defined roles?
An Introduction to the Space Between Stories with Charles Eisenstein
Assignment for Study and Deepening
In the session, our guest Brent Durborow shares a beautiful story of how he was ejected from his old story of “America bringing freedom and democracy to the world,” a story that was a cornerstone of his identity as a soldier. I’m sure most people in this course have had such an experience, an event that unraveled your understanding of what is normal, who you are, how to live, what is real, what is important, what life is supposed to look like. These are the events that plunge us into the space between stories. They could be quite painful — part of the collapse of a relationship, a career, health, or identity. They could be an exhilarating glimpse of a larger reality. They could involve both.
The assignment is to write about or share one of these stories either on the course forum or with someone in conversation. Please pick a discrete event, not your whole life story or a general type of event, but an actual event located at a specific time and place. It doesn’t have to be a huge watershed. It could be a small vignette, one of a series of like events that slowly eroded your world-view. It should be at least a glimpse of your journey into a space between stories.
Additional Materials
Participant Responses to “The Story of Separation” and “The Story of Interbeing”: Read Here
Optional NAAS Subscription
This course has run as a DIY course, and you are welcome to do it that way. However, for many people it is more powerful to work the material with a group. My business partner and former wife Patsy and I host a network community called A New and Ancient Story (short for NAAS). It is an online network dedicated to reverence in communication. If you would like to participate in it in conjunction with this course, go to the community landing page and read the introduction and posting guidelines. If you feel resonant, you can join through additional subscription. Once you are a member, you will find archives of discussions on course forums on the left menu as well as participating in many features NAAS offers