Born in Athens, Greece as an Air Force brat, Teri M Brown graduated from UNC Greensboro with a multitude of degrees – majors in Elementary Education and Psychology and minors in Math and Sociology – she just couldn’t settle on one thing! While homeschooling her four children, she began her writing career by focusing on small businesses, writing articles, blog posts, and website content. She published five nonfiction self-help books dealing with real estate and finance, receiving “First Runner Up” in the Eric Hoffman Book Awards for 301 Simple Things You Can Do To Sell Your Home Now, finalist in the USA Best Books Awards for How To Open and Operate a Financially Successful Redesign, Redecorate, and Real Estate Staging Business and for 301 Simple Things You Can Do To Sell Your Home Now, and Honorable Mention in Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Award for Private Mortgage Investing. In 2017, Teri began dabbling in fiction, a lifelong dream. Upon winning the First Annual Anita Bloom Ornoff Award for Inspirational Short Story for a piece about her grandfather, she began writing in earnest, and published Sunflowers Beneath the Snow in January 2022. Teri’s second novel, An Enemy Like Me, is launching in January 2023. Teri is a wife, mother, grandmother, and author who loves word games, reading, bumming on the beach, taking photos, singing in the shower, hunting for bargains, ballroom dancing, playing bridge, and mentoring others – especially youth and women who are having trouble discovering their worth. Learn more at http://www.terimbrown.com.
“Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.” ~ Roger C. Schank, Cognitive Scientist
PodMatch
This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Teri M. Brown, and I’m so glad they did. I hope you’ve enjoyed our conversation and remember that if you have a podcast or something to share with the world, check out PodMatch at my affiliate link at PodMatch and tell them Lucinda sent you.
Patreon
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast and Patreon communities so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. If you’re passionate about stories too, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower.
“If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far. ~ Daniel Goleman
I quit teaching public school just as the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) movement in education was beginning. It made me sad but I was going to teach at the college level and I thought they would understand that emotions, not the intellect, rule the world. In fact sometimes people with high intellect, but jumbled emotions, have created very dangerous devices that could destroy the Earth. The arts are all about emotions. They are after all the oldest teaching tool. Unfortunately, STEM has infected all levels of education. Well, that and sports. Which means that the budgets for the arts keeps dwindling.
But here’s the thing that I felt very clearly not long ago, if every human was emotionally intelligent, we wouldn’t have to endure wars, threats to democracy, greed, disregard for human rights, and human life. Because as Travis Bradberry says, “Emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.” And as much as I think science is important, the sciences, for the most part, don’t teach us how to manage our emotions.
That’s why stories are so important. They are all about the emotional journey the characters go on in a prescribed plot arc that helps us understand the “moral” of the story. Stories can also help us understand ourselves and others better. And maybe even help us connect with our fellow human beings on a deeper level.
If you’re convinced that stories are frivolous and science is what will save the world, there is an organization that studies human emotions in a scientific way. It’s the HeartMath Institute . They have researched a thing called “coherence”, which is how I found them. Each Full and maybe even New Moon, they call for people to focus on a specific topic endangering humans or the planet, so that the combined efforts send out positive energy into the world. In a way it’s like a global prayer circle. But their research goes far beyond that and they have all kinds of resources offering techniques to reduce stress, heal from trauma, resources for parents to use with their children, and so much more.
Gregg Braden is a visionary scientist who as Deepak Chopra says, … “is a rare blend of scientist, visionary and scholar with the ability to speak to our minds while touching the wisdom of our hearts.” He has done work with the HeartMath Institute, though his research is more about vital things the Ancient civilizations knew that we have forgotten but need to learn again.
HeartMath and Gregg Braden give me hope for the future, because they get it. Stories are the oldest teaching tool because they help us learn by connecting our emotions to new information. But they also help us understand the emotions of others and ourselves. Most importantly, when we share stories with each other, we are more deeply connected. That’s why large gatherings like church, or concerts, or theatre, dance, and movie performances are so exhilarating. Our emotions (energy) mingles with that of others and we have an opportunity to get new perspectives about ourselves, others, and world.
Every movement has it’s season. STEM will eventually fade when more scientists like Gregg Braden, and the HeartMath Institute understand that underneath all suffering are many people with wounded emotions. This is why I’m passionate about talking stories with my podcast guests, friends, family and students. I’m driven to understand myself and others better and to clear up my emotional energy to help make the world a better place to live.
To that end, my husband has finished creating the cover art for my course, Saving the World One Story at a Time, on Ûdemy. I’ll be submitting it for review and soon it will be available. I have 10 or 15 “test students”, but if you’d like to take the course for free as a test student and leave a rating or review, let me know. I’ll be happy to send you the coupon code when I get it.
I know the world is a crazy place with so many things crying out for our attention. So thanks for your likes and occasional comments. I appreciate your time.
Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards.
Have you ever experienced life shattering events? Yeah, after the last few years, most of us have. In The Space Between Time, Jenna Holden gets slammed by her fiancé walking out, her mother’s untimely death, and losing her job all in one week. But she receives unexpected help when she finds her three-times great-grandmother’s journals and begins the adventure of a lifetime.
The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version is published.
Lucinda is also the host of Story-Power a podcast where she and her guests discuss their creative endeavors, and/or the stories that have changed their lives. It’s available here on Sage Woman Chronicles and on Apple, Google, and Spotify podcast apps. Please rate and leave a review. It helps people find me.
Patreon
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast and Patreon communities so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. If you’re passionate about stories too, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower.
PodMatch
If you are a podcaster, or have a message or fantastic product you want to share with the world, I encourage you to check out PodMatch. Use the affiliate link and tell them, Lucinda sent you. Then contact me so we can set up a Story-Power chat.
Born in Athens, Greece as an Air Force brat, Teri M Brown graduated from UNC Greensboro with a multitude of degrees – majors in Elementary Education and Psychology and minors in Math and Sociology – she just couldn’t settle on one thing! While homeschooling her four children, she began her writing career by focusing on small businesses, writing articles, blog posts, and website content. She published five nonfiction self-help books dealing with real estate and finance, receiving “First Runner Up” in the Eric Hoffman Book Awards for 301 Simple Things You Can Do To Sell Your Home Now, finalist in the USA Best Books Awards for How To Open and Operate a Financially Successful Redesign, Redecorate, and Real Estate Staging Business and for 301 Simple Things You Can Do To Sell Your Home Now, and Honorable Mention in Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Award for Private Mortgage Investing. In 2017, Teri began dabbling in fiction, a lifelong dream. Upon winning the First Annual Anita Bloom Ornoff Award for Inspirational Short Story for a piece about her grandfather, she began writing in earnest, and published Sunflowers Beneath the Snow in January 2022. Teri’s second novel, An Enemy Like Me, is launching in January 2023. Teri is a wife, mother, grandmother, and author who loves word games, reading, bumming on the beach, taking photos, singing in the shower, hunting for bargains, ballroom dancing, playing bridge, and mentoring others – especially youth and women who are having trouble discovering their worth. Learn more at http://www.terimbrown.com.
“Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.” ~ Roger C. Schank, Cognitive Scientist
PodMatch
This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Teri M. Brown, and I’m so glad they did. I hope you’ve enjoyed our conversation and remember that if you have a podcast or something to share with the world, check out PodMatch at my affiliate link at PodMatch and tell them Lucinda sent you.
Patreon
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast and Patreon communities so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. If you’re passionate about stories too, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower.
“The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers – creative and holistic ‘right-brain’ thinkers.” ~ Daniel Pink, author
This post contains affiliate links.
This blog post is going to be a little bit different than my others. I’m going to share with you a chat I had with Teri M. Brown an author I interviewed early last year but whose Story-Power episode doesn’t air until this coming Wednesday, January 25. In that episode, we talked about her first book, Sunflowers Beneath the Snow but she was already working on her second book, An Enemy Like Me, which she is publishing on January 24th. Both of Teri’s books are about the joys and difficulties of family relationships, among the most important relationships in our lives. And how outer events, such as the fall of Communism and World War II affect those who live through them.
Teri and I chatted about this second book, her writing and promotional process which I published on my Patreon page. I’m publishing it here to help her promote both books. I have published several conversations with my podcast guests on Patreon, some are uncut versions of their Story-Power episode, some are new conversations. I hope you’ll go check them out.
I’ve begun to read the books written by my podcast guests and I’m so glad I am doing that because I’m learning some vital things about the emotional lives of human beings through the characters who appear in the books. Of course, my guest’s books are not the only ones I read. However, I have to say, I’m am enjoying them and am glad to promote them so others can enjoy them too.
I wish I could remember who said, “Emotions are energy in motion,” but it’s so true. Since I’m an empathetic, highly sensitive person, I want to see the characters in the stories grow. I’m happy to say Teri’s characters learn some very important lessons. They are uplifting and that’s why I’m promoting them here.
One more thing that I have gained from talking with so many authors, I’ve been inspired and am working on my second novel again. I hope to get the rough draft finished by summer. I may post snippets of it here for you to read.
I hope you enjoy my conversation with Teri, and be sure to listen to the our first conversation which helped us begin our growing friendship.
Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards.
Have you ever experienced life shattering events? Yeah, after the last few years, most of us have. In The Space Between Time, Jenna Holden gets slammed by her fiancé walking out, her mother’s untimely death, and losing her job all in one week. But she receives unexpected help when she finds her three-times great-grandmother’s journals and begins the adventure of a lifetime.
The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version is published.
Lucinda is also the host of Story-Power a podcast where she and her guests discuss their creative endeavors, and/or the stories that have changed their lives. It’s available here on Sage Woman Chronicles and on Apple, Google, and Spotify podcast apps. Please rate and leave a review. It helps people find me.
Patreon
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast and Patreon communities so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. If you’re passionate about stories too, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower.
PodMatch
This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Teri M. Brown, and I’m so glad they did. I hope you’ve enjoyed our conversation and remember that if you have a podcast or something to share with the world, check out PodMatch at my affiliate link at PodMatch and tell them Lucinda sent you.
Lorrie D. Grant is a storyteller with a message. She is always looking for an adventure and always has a story to tell. Lorrie decided to capture a few of her life stories a few years ago, simply to save her lessons learned for her two daughters. This unexpectedly led to creating a blog, which then led to the writing of her first children’s book, “Why is there an Elephant in my Basement?” released in 2017. The following year she released her second book, “Little White Flies”, and her third book, “I am Beautiful Too”, was released in 2019. Lorrie has a background in Corporate Business Operations, but is most passionate about making a difference in the lives of others.
“Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are ideally set up to understand stories.” ~ Roger C. Schank, Cognitive Scientist
PodMatch
This episode is brought to you by PodMatch, the dating service for podcasters. They introduced me to Lorrie Grant, and I’m so glad they did. I hope you’ve enjoyed our conversation and remember that if you have a podcast or something to share with the world, check out PodMatch at my affiliate link at PodMatch and tell them Lucinda sent you.
Patreon
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast and Patreon communities so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. If you’re passionate about stories too, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower.