Brothers Grimm, The

Stories have played a major role in all our lives. When we were kids we looked forward to bedtime when we want to hear the story of a parent. If we were not so lucky, we heard a story at school. Those of us who went to Sunday school heard stories of the Bible which were supposed to educate us, but often we are scared into submission. Unfortunately, the different layers of the Bible stories are hardly ever explained to us. Emanuel Swedenborg provided interesting spiritual explanations of various Bible stories. See my blog a link to the site.

Another fascinating site that sheds a different light on the hidden meaning of these stories in the Bible is where the author claims that none of the stories in the Bible are real and actually happened. See my blog a link to the site.

And by the way, this is not a sin to read these websites and then decide for yourself what you want to believe. God has given you a mind so that you can use it to decide what is good for you. Remember that what is good for you is not necessarily good for other people, and it is not for us to judge each other.

We all grew up with tales of the Brothers Grimm. These tales are now considered as fairy tales for children, but they were originally intended for adults because each of them contains a lesson that is much deeper than what the child intended. Each of these stories is a metaphor that explains a facet of living.

And of course we are told stories every day on television. Soap operas are not real at all, but for some people, they are a window into the life of an imaginary family. There are various series that are familiar characters and we learn what to expect from characters, like the heroes of science fiction or action movies. We all have our favorite actors and actresses, because they are masters at weaving a web that you want to believe. Sometimes, these soaps are used for edutainment (a combination of education and entertainment) to convey important information about health or civil matters, which is more powerful than for example provide written materials for people who reading difficulties, or to provide verbal warnings to people who have the common sense to consider these warnings.

Stories are part of many different traditions. The stories of the Brothers Grimm and comic characters like Asterix and Tintin was born in Europe.

There are also tales of the Thousand and One Nights that reflect ancient life in the Middle East. The Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Persian folktales Arab and Indian have been handed down through the centuries. Legend has it that a beautiful woman named Scheherazade had to tell a story of a prince killing each night to prevent the prince from the kill. The result is a beautiful collection of stories, including on the famous Sinbad the Sailor and Aladdin.

Hasidic Jews have their own traditional stories. One of the followers of Rabbi Baal Shem Tov was lame. One day, this disciple was asked to tell a story about his master. He began to tell how the Baal Shem Tov used to jump and dance when he prayed. The pupil became so absorbed in his story that he got up and began to jump and dance like his master used to. At that time, he was cured of his infirmity, and became completely healthy. There is a beautiful story called Let me pick the story that explains the value of healing stories. See my blog a link to the site.

On the African continent stories of talking animals who often convey important lessons in life. See my blog for a link to a site with examples of these tales.

Why are stories so important to us? We use stories to share experiences, understand each other and create a sense of community. Parents u.