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FERNSTONE STORYTELLING In one of his teaching tales, renowned hypnotherapist Milton Erickson tells the story of a man named Joe. Joe was one bad dude. At the age of twelve Joe was expelled from school for beating up other kids in his class, along with vandalism and other assorted misdemeanors. After stabbing his father's farm animals with a pitchfork and setting fire to the barn, his parents took him to court and had him committed to Wisconsin's State Industrial School For Boys. At the age of fifteen, the Industrial School paroled him. On his way home, Joe was arrested for burglary and promptly returned to the Industrial School, where he had to stay until he was twenty-one years old. By that time his parents were dead and they disposed of their property, leaving Joe without any inheritance. Upon being given a suit and ten dollars at his discharge, Joe headed back home again, was arrested again for burglary on his way and, this time, was sent to the Young Men's Reformatory in Green Bay. He served every day of his sentence - in other words - with no time off for good behaviour. After his release from the Reformatory, Joe went into the town of Green Bay, was arrested for burglary again and, this time, sent to state prison. When he completed every day of that sentence, he was released and, on his way back home, was arrested for burglary again and sent back to prison for another term. After serving every day of that term, he was released and headed back home again. "This time," said Erickson, "he made it all the way back; and, as soon as he walked into town everybody started saying, 'Look out! Joe's back!'" Sure enough, by the end of his fourth day back in town, some merchants noticed items missing from their stores. Somebody else reported a motorboat that had suddenly disappeared. And everybody knew who the culprit was. Now, it happened that a rich farmer who lived outside of town had a daughter named Susie. Susie was about five-foot-ten, good looking, famous for her dressmaking and cooking, and popular with all the young men in town. But everybody felt sorry for Susie. She was an old maid at 23! And, in those days, that should not have been! Everybody felt Susie was just too choosy! But, it happened that one day Susie was on her way into town on an errand and Joe just happened to be leaning up against the front door of one of the stores as Susie was making her way down the street. When he saw Susie coming, Joe swung around and stood in her path. He looked her up and down very thoroughly and very quietly . . . and Susie, with equal poise, looked Joe up and down very thoroughly too. Finally, Joe said, "Can I take you to the dance this Friday?" (Now the town had a dance every Friday and Susie was very much in demand at those dances by all the eligible young men; and when Joe said, "Can I take you to the dance?") Susie said, "You can if you're a gentleman." And Joe just stepped out of the way and let her go on her way. And the next morning, the merchants who had reported missing items were very glad to find boxes full of stolen goods back at their front doors. And the motor boat that had gone missing was suddenly back where it belonged. And somebody saw Joe heading out of town toward Susie's father's farm. And that Friday Joe and Susie went dancing together. And they danced every dance - just the two of them. Word soon got around that Susie's dad had hired Joe to work on his farm for the magnificent wage of $15. a month. And they fixed Joe a room in the barn. And Joe turned out to be the best worker Susie's dad ever hired. And every Friday night Joe and Susie went dancing together. And soon the whole community was "a'buzzin'" because Joe and Susie were seen "goin' for a drive" every Saturday night. And they started going to church together. And within a year Joe and Susie were married. And Joe moved from the barn into the house. And Joe was still the best hired hand imaginable. And Joe became the best neighbour people had ever known in those parts. And soon people began to forget about Joe's convict days. They even elected him to be president of the local school board. And, in his spare time, Joe went back to the state reformatory for young men and volunteered to work with young offenders. Brought them back to work on the farm and managed to rehabilitate quite a few of them. And that was when Joe met Milton Erickson. Ran into him in the hallway one day as Erickson was making his rounds. "There's an old record at the Industrial School that you ought to read sometime, Doc. About a guy named Joe." And Erickson did read it. That's how he learned all about Joe. "And all the psychotherapy Joe received," said Erickson, "was, 'You can if you're a gentleman.'" ~ “I have been telling stories for many years in churches, schools, jails, seminaries, health-care facilities, retirement communities and workshops. More and more frequently, I tell them as a kind of therapy to people who come to me with troubles of one kind or another. The stories I tell, which I prefer to call healing stories, have spiritual ambitions. They evoke spirit and attempt to bring you, the listener, into a space where you need to be, which is your soul. Such stories are subversive in just this sense: they always have someone's name on them. By inviting you to look through the window of someone else's life, more often than not, you end up looking into the mirror of your own. I believe that God loves good stories and that when a good story is told and somehow a human heart is moved to transformation the universe itself is healed in some mysterious way. For at the centre of life there beats a Loving Heart which seeks and finds every human heart. Good stories invite us on such a wondrous, inner adventure.” - Barry J. Robinson ~ Barry is an accomplished storyteller, a member of The Storyteller's School of Toronto, and is available for dynamic storytelling presentations and workshops on the healing art of storytelling. STORYTELLING SERVICES Therapeutic Metaphor - Stories told and sometimes "chewed over" with individuals, couples, families, children and teachers, patients and health-care workers as a form of therapy. Storytelling Presentations - Dramatic and deeply engaging story presentations to all manner of audiences and ages from the world's treasure-house of stories, including: Native American, Inuit, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sufi, Buddhist, contemporary and class family tales. Storytelling Workshops - 'The Healing Art of Storytelling' - Listening to and learning how to tell stories that transform the human heart dealing with such issues as: anger, death, self-esteem, bullies, forgiveness, finding courage, owning one's shadow, discovering the miraculous, overcoming violence and finding the way home. COMMENTS FROM PARTICIPANTS AND LISTENERS "His delivery is articulate, sensitive, and the stories were thought provoking . . . an enjoyable, educational and growing session." Marj Morley, Mary Margaret Passmore, Owen Sound, Ontario "My impressions of Barry and his storytelling are that he is resourceful and an energetic man who impressed all in attendance. He performed with skill and enthusiasm. I believe his intelligence, organizational talents and good humour make an outstanding addition to the storytelling rank." Cathy Morrison, RN, Owen Sound, Ontario "I have found Barry to be very professional in his work. He had an excellent selection and variety of stories, his pace of presentation was well-timed and I personally enjoyed the time he took to help us reflect upon what had been said. During these reflections, he displayed well-honed listening skills plus the ability to draw people out. While working to develop our storytelling technique he was non-threatening, encouraging, positive and very knowledgeable. He continually presented himself with confidence, ease, flexibility and a sense of humour." Debbie Doyle BSc, Meaford, Ontario "The experience highlighted the depth, impact and scope of good storytelling and has given me a new respect for human contact through the spoken word." David Mattinen, Toronto, Ontario "As a result of attending your workshop, I will think more about stories, read more stories, and look at my own stories." Evelyn Holley, Owen Sound, Ontario
CONTACT US AT: E-mail: fernstone@fernstone.org Tel: (519) 376-9439/592-4551
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