WE NEED STORIES

 

Just as the brain detects patterns in the visual forms of nature

 — a face, a figure, a flower — 

and in sound, so too it detects patterns in information. 

Stories are recognizable patterns, and in those patterns we find meaning. 

We use stories to make sense of our world and to share that understanding with others. 

They are the signal within the noise.

Stories themselves are universal, 

but the way we tell them changes with the technology at hand. 

Every new medium has given rise to a new form of narrative. 

 We stand now at the intersection 
of lure and blur. 

The future beckons, but we’re only partway through inventing it.

 But at the end of the day, people want to be immersed. 

They want to get involved in a story, to carve out a role for themselves, to make it their own.

 

 It is in our nature to need stories. 

 Every culture bathes their children in stories to explain how the world works and to engage and educate their emotions.

The human mind is a story processor not a logic processor.  

Certainly, we use logic better inside stories than outside them.

Ultimately, 

telling stories is the most human of the arts in that stories help us see through the eyes of other people.

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S7HOCVG

And a tip of my Stetson to Robyn Alana Engel 

who left this review 
(that I only wish I was worthy of) 
for RETURN OF THE LAST SHAMAN on its Amazon page:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal February 7, 2015

By Robyn Alana Engel

 

"Anything I write could not do justice to the magic this author spins with words.

In Return of the Last Shaman, Roland Yeomans propels the reader through a multifaceted tapestry 


of time, space, philosophy, religion, human and out-of-this-world experiences. 

The story harbors gems of deep insight, accompanied by thought-provoking rhetoric.

Ultimately, it's beautiful. Moreover, Yeomans' words dance brilliantly - like no other author of the day.

I'm convinced he's a genius - a cut well above the rest of us. This undiscovered yet modest talent deserves much acclaim. 

At the very least, he deserves more book sales.

You won't be disappointed by this read, or by any of this author's books. 

Simply put: He's phenomenal."

{If only the above were true, but thanks, Robyn!}