Welcome

Heart Tales is a monthly newsletter for people on an adventure toward wholeness. It is published by Jim Cyr, storyteller, author, and crisis intervention specialist.

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The Worst and the Best

The ruler of a prosperous kingdom sent for one of his messengers. When he arrived the King told him to go out and find the worst thing in the entire world and bring it back within a few days. The messenger departed and returned days later, empty-handed. Puzzled, the King asked, “What have you discovered? I don’t see anything.” The messenger said, “Right here, Your Majesty,” and stuck out his tongue. Bewildered, the King asked the young man to explain.

“The messenger said, “My tongue can do many horrible things. My tongue speaks evil and tells lies. I can overindulge with my tongue which leaves me feeling tired and sick, and I can say things that hurt other people. My tongue is the worst thing in the world.” Pleased, the King then commanded the messenger to go out and find him the best thing in the entire world.

The messenger left hurriedly, and once again he came back days later with nothing in his hands. “Where is it?” the King shouted out. Again, the messenger stuck out his tongue. “Show me,” the King said, “How can it be?” The messenger replied, ” My tongue is the best thing in the world. My tongue is a messenger of love. Only with my tongue can I express the overwhelming beauty of poetry. My tongue teaches me refinement in tastes and guides me to choose foods that will nourish my body. My tongue is the best thing in the world because it allows me to chant the name of God.”

The King was well satisfied. He appointed the messenger to become foremost among his personal advisors.”

a story told by Guru Mayi, leader of the Siddha Yoga Foundation, found in The Dark Side of the Light Chasers:Reclaiming your Power, Creativity, Brilliance, and Dreams, by Debbie Ford

Thought to Ponder

“I like to imagine a person’s psyche to be like a boarding house full of characters. The ones who show up regularly and who habitually follow the house rules may not have met other long-term residents who stay behind the closed doors, or who only appear at night. An adequate theory of character must make room for character actors, for the stuntmen and animal handlers, for all the figures who play bit parts and produce unexpected acts. They often make the show fateful, or tragic, or farcically absurd.” James Hillman

Take stock of all the characters in your psyche’s boarding house. Let the oddball ones introduce themselves to the regulars.

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Your Comments Welcome

Post your comments in the comment box or email them to me at jim@hearttales.net

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What’s on My Desk

Currently, I am reading…

The Compass Rose by Ursula K. Le Guin. This book of short stories contains one of my all time favorite stories, “Gwilan’s Harp,” a story that I first heard told by Patrick Ball on his CD “Storyteller: Gwilan’s Harp and Other Celtic Tales.”

Heart Tales News

Book

My book, The Cracked Pot: Finding Grace in the Cracks of Child Abuse is available at Amazon.com

“This is one man’s true story of the unspeakable things that were done to him as a child and his rocky journey through adulthood to find God, peace AND his true self.”

Blog

If you enjoy this newsletter, check out The Heart Tales Blog at http://hearttales.net/blog. The blog is published every Monday and Thursday. Check out the current series about the Brownie of Blednock.

About Jim & Heart Tales

The true spirit of my work is to lead people on a life-changing adventure toward wholeness by connecting their hearts to their true selves, to others, and to God, through stories of healing, wisdom, and faith. My life-changing adventure toward wholeness includes performances of folk and fairy tales, sacred stories, and personal stories, and workshops on how to tell stories in therapeutic settings.

Feedback

“Jim’s storytelling spoke to many of the problems our women face on the road to recovery from addiction and gave them options for handling those problems they had not considered before.”
Helen Raytek, Program Director, Crawford House

“Jim, I want to thank you for your time, efforts, and talents in presenting your Clinical Benefits of Storytelling Workshop. I was very impressed with your professional and fun deliverance of the material and many useful resources and examples. I felt I benefited from it both personally and professionally, and will use what I learned…”
John J. D. Schweska, L.P.C. Assistant Program Director, Mobile Response and Stabilization Services, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen

“…your newsletter is a wonderful resource, and I hope that many will subscribe to it.”
Dr. Robert Bela Wilhelm, Storyfest Ministry

“…Thank you once again, Jim, for sharing your stories/your story and influencing my healing.”
Eileen