Remarkable Things Dr. Brown Said at #Forma15

Floppsy hitches a ride in Houston at #forma15

A fine gentleman posted about the most remarkable things he heard at the Forma 2015 conference with Brene Brown and the hardest serving people in the world.  Here are my remarkable things. 

Knowledge is rumor until it lives in the moment.
We can read all the pages and memorize a ream of facts, however it is only a book in hand until we live into the knowledge we have been given.  We need to take it out for a drive, kick the tires, give it breath and flesh.  Maybe you have had a moment like me, where you had 'learned' something, but you didn't really know it until it happened in your life.  Have you had that moment?

Story equals satisfied human biology.
Satisfied is a word that feels good.  It is one of those words that manages to carry the weight of itself, almost as if it were onomatopoeia.  Apparently when we hear a story our whole bodies are drawn back toward a positive and balanced state.  Heart and brain and other physiology follow the path of the imagination into the beauty of story.  Perhaps this is why diving into a good novel can be so 'relaxing'.  How do stories bring you satisfaction?

The brain rewards story, even when we 'know' it isn't true.

The positive physiological responses occur in response to storytelling regardless of the 'factual reality' of the story.  Perhaps you have read a non-fiction book that was written in such a narrative fashion that it was reading a data filled story.  Our biology is so blessed by story that even outrageously false stories can bring a positive bodily response.  

Our brains tell stories for comfort.  

If you spend time around small children you know they do this.  They tell stories to comfort themselves.  As we grow older we learn to process and think inside ourselves; we learn to read silently.  However, the practice of telling stories to ourselves is one of our most inborn and natural remedies.  Do you remember a time where telling yourself a story was a blessing?  What about a time when it kept you from moving ahead?

All of which leads to the most remarkable thing I heard Brene Brown say.  

Curriculum, evaluation, and pedagogy are less important than  telling your story.

She pointed out that what we call motivation is actually closer to manipulation.  This manipulation is exhausting, and the data is clear that we cannot sustain manipulation.  It exhausts us and it numbs 'them'.   Instead she says, we should seek to inspire, to fill with breath and life and love.  We should seek to see something in each other that we need: we should seek to hear the stories of each other.  Rather than dragging our souls down trying to constantly improve our curriculum or pedagogy: we simply need to show up with our stories.  How do you make story happen in your lifelong formation ministry?

All of the fabulous servants and storytellers gathered at Forma 2015

What did you hear at #forma15??

All statements in bold are from my notes from Brene Brown's presentation at the Forma Conference in Houston, Texas in January 2015.  They may not be transcriptionally accurate.  

My BUILDING FAITH post about what we can learn from Dr. Brown.