I love good stories. Good stories stimulate the emotions, challenge the intellect, and satisfy our hunger for the adventure and exploration. Stories teach us spiritual and moral lessons. Many of us have mental models which we adhere to. These act as filters or worldviews. Hence we only see what we want to see. Or in other words we only see what our minds through our mental models allow us to see.

Anything that does not fit our mental models, we do not see. That is why stories are an important means of communication. It cuts through our mental models into our subconscious. Jesus uses parables which are a form of stories. Stories are also used to teach in other religious traditions.

Anthony Mello was a Jesuit and well known spiritual director and retreat director. He died in 1987. Mello used many stories collected from different religious traditions to teach spiritual truths. He had published many books of collections of these stories, often adding his insight after the stories which I have found very valuable. The Song of the Bird is one of my personal favourite. Another must read is Sadbana:A Way to God.

Wheat from Egyptian Tombs

A handful of wheat,

|posted 23 April 2007|