Page 36 - Storytelling - Storylistening

VIII. Using Common Senses: Smell the Coffee and Wake Your Memory
The following memory exercise using the sense of smell is adapted from The Healing Art of Storytelling, A Sacred Journey of Personal Discovery, by educator and professional storyteller, Richard Stone (www.storywork.com). Similar exercises using the senses of touch, taste and sound also are detailed in his book, and are appropriate for reminiscing in learning circles, one-on-one or alone.
Activity # 6: The Aroma Fantasy
1. Sit quietly, take a long, deep breath and slowly exhale.
2. Imagine you are in a magical room lined with shelves of bottles filled with every aroma from around the world.
3. Thinking back on the aroma of your childhood, reach for the bottle containing the smell of your parent’s kitchen and open it.
4. Take down the bottle containing the aroma of your grandmothers’ kitchen and do the same. Recall these smells. (Pause here for a moment.)
5. If you had chores, were there any strong aromas associated with them, like cutting the grass or cleaning the barn or feeding coal into a hot furnace? Take the appropriate bottle off the shelf and remove the lid, inhaling deeply. Go with whatever comes to mind. (Pause here for a moment.)
6. Now recall the town you lived in. Were any strong smells associated with the area, like the pungent stench of a paper mill or the suffocating reek of car exhaust? Find the bottle filled with these aromas. (Pause here for a moment.)
7. Were there any dominant aromas at the school you attended? Open these bottles as well. (Pause here for a moment.)
8. Think of other important places in your childhood – doctors’ offices, gas stations, beauty parlors, locker rooms, or places you worked – and open up the bottles filled with the essence of these places. (Pause here for a moment.)
9. Once you have completely scanned your memory, walk out of your magic room and close the door behind you, returning your attention to the present.
10. If you are sharing stories with others, tell them what you remember, describing in detail the aromas of your childhood.
Porch Swing SeriesTM Culture Change Workbooks ©Action Pact, Inc.2005-2006 p.32