Mindful Storytelling

Becoming the Hero of your Life

by

Calvin Niles Shamash Alidina

www.mindfulstorytelling.co
Mindful Storytelling

WELCOME!
Mindful Storytelling: Becoming the Hero of your Life

Storytelling isn’t new, nor is mindfulness!

But when combined in a certain way, it can be used to great effect. That’s what
this eBook is all about.

In 2021, we came together to explore the intersection of mindfulness, storytelling

and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in the first season of our new
podcast Mindful Conversations and have been exploring it ever since.

Over a series of 12 episodes, we learned about the potential for Mindful

Storytelling to transform the lives of individuals using the hero’s journey for
transformation.

In this eBook we'll share what Mindful Storytelling is and how you it can help you
discover the hero already within you.

Copyright © 2022 Calvin Niles and Shamash Alidina

Design © 2022 Calvin Niles and Shamash Alidina
Published by: Calvin Niles and Shamash Alidina © 2022
No part of this work is to be used without the prior permission of the author(s).
For more information, visit www.mindfulstorytelling.co
Mindful Storytelling

STORYTELLING
Why does storytelling matter?

Stories shape our lives. The human brain is often called a storytelling machine.
We have evolved to love listening to stories. They trigger our emotions. They grab
our attention. They teach us lessons.

The thoughts that go through our heads form stories. And our past experiences
are shared with others take the form of stories.

These stories can dominate our lives and the choices we make. When we are
faced with life’s challenges, we use our stories to help us decide what we can
and can’t do.
Mindful Storytelling

MINDFULNESS & ACT

Where do mindfulness and ACT fit in?

Mindful Storytelling is about becoming more conscious of this process of

storytelling that happens between our ears. So we notice the stories we are
telling ourselves about ourselves and others.

Mindful Storytelling can then go deeper than that. It can help us realise we are
not just the stories that arise. We are also the conscious awareness that lights up
those stories.

Mindful Storytelling helps you go from being the victim to the hero of your
journey. You learn to do this by learning the 12 stages of the Hero’s Journey and
learning the 6 skills of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help you get
unstuck in those stages.

This approach shouldn’t be seen just as therapy; it’s for everyone! All human
beings have stories in their heads about who they are and what they can or can’t
achieve. Everyone can learn something new about themselves and about what’s
possible.
Mindful Storytelling

GETTING UNSTUCK
Change your story, change your life.

People often struggle to lead rich and meaningful lives because they are stuck in
cycles of victimhood and do not know how to move towards their full potential. In
some cases, they may believe that they are the stories they tell. Many are
imprisoned by their own stories and feel like they have been sentenced to a life
of stuckness.

When you become aware of the stories you are telling - both to yourself and
others - you are able to take action from a more empowered position.

When we are stuck we might ask:

- Why am I so stuck?
- What should I do next?
- How can I be happy?
- How can I improve my relationships?
- How can I be kinder to myself?
- How can I stop procrastinating?
- How can I find meaning in my life?

With Mindful Storytelling you will be able to:

- See how stories appear as patterns of your life.

- Understand the stages of transformation on the hero’s journey.
- Focus your attention on the present moment and move your attention with
ease.
- Open up to your emotions and unhook from unhelpful stories.
- Develop different perspectives on the stages of your journey, or even who you
are.
- Connect with a higher part of you that is aware of other parts of your identity.
- Open your heart to your values.
Mindful Storytelling

Exploring the Hero’s Journey through the lens of

Mindfulness and ACT

The term Hero’s Journey was originally coined by American writer and professor
Joseph Campbell who used it to express this universal story of human
experience. It has since been used in mainstream storytelling all over the world
and has been distilled from 17 stages to the more commonly known 12 stages of
the hero's jouney.

Each stage brings its own challenges and opportunities. Here we will go through
each stage and explain what’s going on from a mindfulness and ACT
perspective.
1.
ORDINARY
WORLD
When was the last time you were
truly in the moment and not
caught up in your thoughts about
the past or future, but actually
living in the present?
Chances are you are familiar with
the term autopilot: when you do
routine activities mindlessly, rather
than with full awareness. You’re
doing the same old thing, again
and again. Existing habits
dominate your actions. You’re fully
inside your comfort zone and aren’t
challenged at all. The Ordinary
World can be described as living
on autopilot.

You react unconsciously rather

than respond consciously to
everyday life. You have the same
arguments, you go to the same
places and spend time with the
same people. You are sleepwalking
through life.
 2.
CALL TO
ADVENTURE
You are suddenly faced with a
challenge. Sometimes these
choices are tiny and seemingly
insignificant, but other times they
can be the start of a life-changing
journey. This is most often an
external challenge. It can be
something small, like having to do
some new piece of work you’ve
never done before. Or a bigger
challenge like being faced with
serious illness, relationship
breakdown or death in the family.

Internally this can show up as fear,

stress, anxiety or depression and
very uncomfortable feelings may
arise. Externally the world is forcing
you out of your sleep - some
mindfulness naturally arises. You
realise something new is being
called upon you.
3.
REFUSAL
OF THE
CALL
The moment to rise to the
challenge is upon you but you are
in denial of the challenge you face.
Why? Because it’s much easier to
deny and ignore rather than face
up and take action.
It’s understandable. You respond to
the challenge with your old story of
who you are and what you can
achieve. However, this old story isn’t
able to offer the motivation and
willingness to face up to this new
challenge. Something needs to
change and you need help.
4.
MEETING
THE MENTOR
You may have heard the saying,
‘when the student is ready, the
teacher appears’. When you’re
open and ready for it, your mentor
will appear to help you start your
journey through the challenge.
Other people aren’t the only form
of a mentor. Almost anything can
be your teacher, with the right
attitude and perspective. It could
be a book, a quote or an aspect of
nature. Even meditation can be
your mentor.

If your mentor is a person, trust

grows between you and they help
give you the skills and courage but
the mentor does not walk for you,
you have to take that step yourself.
5. CROSSING
THE
THRESHOLD
We all have moments in our lives
when we are faced with a choice
that will change the course of our
future. This is the choice you have
made to try something new. At this
point, you’ve decided it’s worth
feeling the fear and doing it
anyway. Doubt does not disappear
though and you may often ask
yourself, “can I really do this?” You
sense that after this, there’s no
turning back! You need to be
willing to make space for fear to
arise within you as you step from
your ordinary worldview into the
unknown. This stage often gives
you a mixture of fear and
excitement.

“In mindfulness,
acceptance always
comes first, change
comes after.”

-Shamash Alidina
 6. TEST,
ALLIES AND
ENEMIES
One challenge leads to another
and you are tested in ways that
make you want to give up. You
realise you are in a new world now
with new rules. You may not have
been expecting so many
challenges and that can feel scary.
But that’s just the way things work.
When faced with more challenges,
you see the need to actively seek
out support. You begin to build a
support group of allies for your
journey ahead. But there will
seemingly be enemies too.

Again, like with your mentor, your

allies may not only be people and
could be your attitudes, your values
and more. Seeking support is an
act of humility. Without that
humbleness, you can find yourself
getting stuck here.
7.
APPROACH
THE INMOST
CAVE
This is sometimes experienced as
the dark night of the soul. Things
are getting harder rather than
easier and many of the doubts and
fears that first surfaced upon your
call to adventure are confronting
you again. You continue to keep
going by putting in more and more
effort but you can’t see the point.
Your mind/ego will do its best to
persuade you to stop. You’d love to
run away but there seems to be no
where else to go and, as the
magnitude of your decision is
becoming clearer, you fight on.

"We're coming into a time

where it has to do with how
you stand in relationship to
your own world within and
in relationship to those
around you in the world
without."

-Steven C. Hayes
8.
ORDEAL
Your challenges reach a new depth
- deeper than you could have ever
imagined. You can’t go any further.
Why? Your sense of who you are
needs to die for you to be reborn.
You are facing a peak of both fear
and possibility, death and rebirth. In
some sense, you have to ‘let go’
and trust. The old approach of
running away and fighting will not
work here... you’ve tried that. At this
pivotal point, your old story of who
you are dies, in that vacuum, a new
story is born.
9.
REWARD
The story of your old self and its
limited capability has died and you
have now discovered that you're
part of something much bigger.
You control a little less and trust a
little more. Internally, you realise
you don’t have to keep running
from the thoughts and feelings you
don’t like and holding on to the
ones you do like. You see them for
what they are - just thoughts and
feelings. You see them as
moments - understanding that
they are perpetually changing. And
then there is you behind them, as
the observing self. Your passing
thoughts and feelings are no
longer your dictator.

“The human mind thinks and

learns through metaphors.
When you are mindful of
the stories your tell yourself,
and others, you can change
your story and change your
life.”

- Calvin NIles
10.
THE ROAD
BACK
The road back is where you begin
your return back to some
normality. Crippling fear and
stuckness is replaced with feelings
of accomplishment acclaim and
even vindication of your decision to
commit to crossing the threshold.
You meet the world as a changed
person with deeper insights.
Challenges do keep coming but
are much easier to navigate with
this new understanding of who you
are and how to meet them. This
may be the time for some rest and
celebration.
11.
RESURRECTION

Challenges don’t just stop. There

may be yet another challenge to
face. You apply your new learnings
and sense of self to this challenge
knowing that this journey is no
longer just your own and that the
effects of every challenge you
surmount ripples out and impacts
others in positive ways. This new
understanding helps you to
successfully navigate the
challenge and confirms that your
old sense of who you are - your old
story - is no longer useful at all.
You are fully vested in this new way
of being.
12.
RETURN WITH THE
ELIXIR
You return home as a hero of your
journey, not a victim. You pass on
your newfound wisdom through
either your sense of being or
explicitly through teaching,
coaching or some other way.
When you share your wisdom and
insights with others, you are helping
to create a more enlightened world
and you are giving others the
opportunity to learn from your
example and grow as individuals.

Your willingness to share is an act

of kindness and you may yourself
become aware of the mentor you
have become. In this new reality,
you may choose to take on bigger
challenges to make the world a
better place, but only if aligned
with your values.
Mindful Storytelling

DO YOU WANT TO
LEARN MORE?
We run training in Mindful Storytelling for individuals and
practioners. To learn more about our training courses and
workshops, visit www.mindfulstorytelling.co

We also have a podcast

called Mindful
Conversations, in which
we explore Mindful
Storytelling with various
practitioners.

You can listen to season

one by clicking the image
on the right or by visiting
www.mindfulconvo.com

For further information, or to contact us, you can get in touch below:

Calvin Niles: contact@calvinniles.com

Shamash Alidina: info@shamashalidina.com

www.mindfulstorytelling.co