The Power of the Third Person

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In a webinar I attended once on the value of presence, the presenters shared a metaphor for being mindful of your own thoughts: "Engage your third person". In storytelling, the third person is used as a form of narration that is outside of the action. Can we play third person or “third party” to the action in our own minds? Are we able to play not just the role of mediator, but also of witness? And when would this be useful?

Invisible Threads Part 1: Casting On

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Author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once wrote: “What is essential is invisible to the eye.” I have come to notice that this is the case with some of the most important things in life: you only notice them when they are missing. What makes story almost invisible is its effectiveness - it is so effective because it is so effortless. In this series of articles to follow, I explore the pervasiveness of story, how to use it effectively on purpose, the potential pitfalls of story, and how we can use it to make sense of our lives and the way we think and behave. I surface and examine the aspects of story that can either derail us if we don’t notice them, or can be used to our advantage in various ways.