POINT TO PONDER: "Why was Solomon recognized as the wisest man in the world? Because he knew more stories (proverbs) than anyone else. Scratch the surface in a typical boardroom and we're all just cavemen with briefcases, hungry for a wise person to tell us stories." - Alan Kay, at Walt Disney.
REFLECTION: It was a late night in early November 2007 in Ireland. I had just arrived at the Maynooth station from Dublin. After a long wait, I finally got a taxi. During travel to my hotel, I noticed that the taxi driver had a long last name that ended in Coelho, his first name was Luis. So I asked Luis if he had any connection with the well-known author Paulo Coelho. He told me that the only connection was that he had read all of Paulo’s books. Luis was very well-read person and sparked conversations between us that lasted for a half an hour after we reached my hotel; us still talking in his taxi and him ignoring many calls for the service. On my last day in Dublin, Luis came to the hotel and gave me the book, "The Heart or the Enlightened" by Anthony De Mello.
Anthony De Mello? The first time I had heard about him was only two weeks prior when I was in Costa Rica. I was at the hotel desk, inquiring about the tour to Arenal Volcano. Lee, a retiree of the American corporate world and frequent visitor to Costa Rica, happened to overhear my question and offered some tips. That started a conversation which converged to our common interests in books and travel, and him mentioning Anthony De Mello.
So here is a some profound wisdom about story telling from “The Heart of The Enlightened” by Anthony De Mello.
STORY LINE: "It is a great mystery that though the human heart longs for Truth in which it alone it finds liberation and delight, the first reaction of human beings to Truth is one of hostility and fear. So the Spiritual Teachers of humanity created a device to circumvent the opposition of their listeners: the story.
They knew that the most entrancing words a language holds are 'Once upon a time...,' that it is common to oppose a truth but impossible to resist a story. Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata, says that if you listen carefully to a story you will never be the same again. That is because the story will worm its way into your heart and break down the barriers to the divine.
You have to understand, my dears, that the shortest distance between truth and a human being is a story."
What a wonderful quote... thanks for sharing.
Posted by: BHSC | November 30, 2012 at 07:13 AM
(Wisdom Seeking) Barry
Thanks for repeating this story. Love De Mello's profound wisdom. "You have to understand, my dears, that the shortest distance between truth and a human being is a story."
Great dose of wisdom every week. Keep them coming.
Posted by: (Wisdom Seeking) Barry | November 30, 2012 at 07:36 AM
Madhuri
What a nice way to begin my Friday. Thank you!
Storyline so simple. Reflection-so true.
Story telling - very effective not only to get people to listen- but to encourage the opposite person to share some of his/her own.
PS: The sub titles: Reflection and Story line- are switched. :) Was that intentional? To see if readers are paying attention? or to see who would take the risk and tell the Emperor? :)
Posted by: Madhuri | November 30, 2012 at 09:07 AM
Alex Wu
Good story.
Posted by: Alex Wu | November 30, 2012 at 09:36 AM
Chris
The power of storytelling is really amazing. It can move the unmovable. As observation, some great priests use storytelling to make their points across when expounding the homily. Same with great mentors like Ken Blanchard.
So, once a upon a time... ;-)
Posted by: Chris | November 30, 2012 at 11:57 AM
Friend
This is so true (no pun intended). Thanks for sending
Posted by: Friend | November 30, 2012 at 01:48 PM
Lionel (Singh)
I now know, in light of events in the past couple of days, this story line is useful for me personally and professionally….awesome.
Posted by: Lionel (Singh) | November 30, 2012 at 01:56 PM
Posted by: FR Team:Previous Publication Comments | July 12, 2019 at 04:31 PM
Very interesting, and artfully put.
It is amusing how the understanding the psychology of the human mind greatly helps us make another human emotionally more compliant and receptive. :)
Stories engage the mind emotionally, and so does poetry. Anything that engages & involves us emotionally has a huge probability to open our mind to its effects.
Thank you for sharing this interesting post. It stimulated my mind into better insight.
Posted by: sujat | July 13, 2019 at 05:04 AM
Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit--- YOU choose. - King Solomon
Knowledge is of more value than gold - King Solomon
Posted by: Humble Warrior | July 13, 2019 at 07:08 AM