12 minute Audio Recording Lecture: Contemplative Storytelling
Basically in this recording (along with some quotes) she asked us to make a “Discoverer,” as described in the online lesson after the recording in these words I copied here . . .
PAUSE 9. Today, I invite you to try a simple and poetic tool: the discoverer.
A cardboard frame with a square window. It’s as simple as it is effective. Looking through it, we isolate a portion of the world and make it the protagonist. It’s our “thing-finder,” as Pippi Longstocking would say.
Let’s Narrate Without Words
- Create your own discoverer by taking a piece of cardboard of at least 10 by 10 centimeters (or 4 by 4 inches) and cutting out a 4-by-4-centimeter (or 1.5-by-1.5-inch) window in the center.
- Take a silent walk through an everyday space—your neighborhood, a park, a square, or even a quiet corner of your home.
- Spend a few minutes looking through your discoverer in different places. Don’t photograph anything yet. Just take a look.
- Then, choose one of those frames—and take a photograph. Only one.
- Write a whole page about why you liked this image—describe its physical qualities, its colors, what it made you feel, and what it reminds you of. Don’t just describe what you see—tell the story this small piece of the world whispers to you.
VERY IMPORTANT
Once you have completed this exercise—and not before—check the next step at the bottom of the page.
Write a whole page about why you liked this image—describe its physical qualities, its colors, what it made you feel, and what it reminds you of. Don’t just describe what you see—tell the story this small piece of the world whispers to you.
In my travels to Costa Rica before moving here, one of the positive and influential experiences was the “vista” or view from the lodge or hotel rooms I stayed in, which included the Pacific Ocean, mountains, a volcano, jungles, gardens and parks. Thus from the first embryo of moving here, vistas were a part of my vision or dream of living here, and even though I know that places with vistas can be more expensive and not possible for me on my limited retirement income, it was always a part of the dream! 🙂
One of several reasons I chose Atenas as my first place to try living in was that a couple from Hawaii on the “Live in Costa Rica Tour” moved here immediately after the tour and chose the Hacienda La Jacaranda Apartments and thus that was where I lived my first four months, soon in a top floor apartment with great views of the Atenas area in two directions. (Linked to my gallery of those vistas.)
So when I secured the realtor named Andrew to help me find a small rental house (casita), I told him that if affordable, I would prefer one with a view. And he did it! I like my different vista so much that I’ve stayed in this house 11 years now and hope to finish my life here as opposed to a nursing home!
If you follow my blog, you know that I share different aspects or visions of my vistas here and of course have an entire gallery titled: From My Roca Verde Terrace (Linked to the gallery.) With the constantly changing light, weather, and time of year, literally no two views or the same. I am so glad that one of my unaffordable dreams for my retirement years became a reality and it continues to be one of the many inspirations for my blog, “Retired in Costa Rica.”
Now for Her Final Assignment on This Activity
Read what you’ve written.
But this time, rewrite it.
Where you once talked about the image, now talk about yourself.
This would have been easier with an object or something like a tree or a flower, but a vista is so broad, so varied, so changing, so inspirational, that I have trouble talking about myself in the same terms or concepts.
But maybe to someone I am a beautiful inspiration, always changing, always different and expansive. I hope so! 🙂
HER PHOTOGRAPHER: We recommend the work of Flor Garduño to enhance your inspiration
The photographer’s website: https://florgarduno.com/
Recommended music: Dust In The Wind – Kansas (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
A little 1970’s nostalgia! 🙂
WHAT YOU HEARD TODAY
What you heard today:
Antonio Damasio
This renowned neuroscientist reminds us that emotion is key in shaping reason and identity. Without emotion, there is no story.
Interview in JotDown: “The more educated we are, the more tolerant we will be of people outside our group”
(In Spanish, you can translate it into your language using your browser settings)
Walter Benjamin – The Storyteller
In this philosophical essay, Benjamin warns that the art of true storytelling is disappearing in an accelerated society. Contemplation is a form of resistance.
Download The Storyteller in PDF
Pippi Långstrump
The freest girl in children’s literature inspires us to tell stories without fear, from a place of authenticity.More information
I’ve never done it before,
so I’m sure I can do it.
PAUSE 9. THE DISCOVERER EXERCISE – Continued
Now that you’ve written a whole page about that image that moved you, that you liked… let’s take it one step further.
Read what you’ve written.
But this time, rewrite it.
Where you once talked about the image, now talk about yourself.
Where you once wrote:
“I like this image because it has a soft light, it seems to move, it gives me a sense of calm…”
Now write:
“I like MYSELF because I have a soft light. Because I move without making noise. Because, sometimes, I am calm.”
This is not about egocentrism, but about recognition — daring to see in yourself what you saw outside, because the image you chose speaks about you; you project yourself onto it.
Perhaps your final text will say something like:
“I like myself because I’m like autumn: warm, full of nuances.
I like myself for the way I look at the everyday.
For my quiet presence.
For the way I reflect light.
Because I show myself… and I hide, depending on the moment.”
Do it without fear.
Do it with tenderness.
It’s an act of reconciliation with your way of being and existing.
¡Pura Vida!
RETURN to main page of Photography & Mindfulness OR to my Photographer page.