"Fairy-tale" stage of education: why write your own fairy tale?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Sometimes we fail to solve a problem, no matter how we try to reason logically. When the rational left brain is powerless, the creative right comes to the rescue. One of the most effective ways to work with him is fairy tale therapy. What is this method and how it helps to solve a seemingly unsolvable problem, says psychologist Elena Mkrtychan.

At first, it was the main source of information, it made it possible to transmit knowledge about life, to store history. Then she became a tool that helps children develop harmoniously, both mentally and emotionally. In fairy tales, you can find an explanation of physical laws, and archetypes of human characters, and all kinds of conflicts and family situations, and types of behavior in them.

If a child skips the “fairytale” stage of education, he does not form his own life algorithm, and adult attitudes, often subjective, begin to influence his attitude towards life.

Children who have not read fairy tales are in the "risk" group. Growing up, they try to solve any problem rationally, logically, using standard moves and techniques and ignoring the intuitive right-brain potential, the ability to act creatively, with inspiration, on a whim. They do not live, but all the time they heroically overcome something.

The left hemisphere seeks an explanation for everything and does not recognize miracles. And the right recognizes - and attracts them

They do not give free rein to the imagination, and after all, everything that can be thought up and imagined can be realized. And not in the imagination, but in reality. The left hemisphere seeks an explanation for everything and does not recognize miracles. And the right hemisphere recognizes. And, moreover, he knows how to implement them and even cause and attract.

The right hemisphere operates with illogical circumstances, so much so that the left does not have time to track and fix it. "How did you do it?" - the reasonable left hemisphere is perplexed. "By some miracle!" - answers the right, although this explains nothing. It is all the more pleasant to face the "miraculous" results of the right hemispheric work, explainable from the point of view of neurophysiology and psychology.

Why write your own fairy tale

When we come up with a fairy tale according to all the rules, with the help of images familiar from childhood, we launch the algorithm of our own code thinking, which uses our strengths, all mental and emotional potential.

This thinking is given to us from birth, it is free from stereotypes imposed by upbringing, "adult" logic, parental attitudes, traditions. By launching and using this algorithm in the future, we learn to get out of life's dead ends.

Remember: for sure you or your friends have ever fallen into a vicious circle. Despite all the efforts, the series of failures did not end in any way, everything repeated again and again …

A classic example is when “both clever and beautiful” is left alone. Or, for example, all the prerequisites, and intelligence, education, and talent, are present, but it is impossible to find a suitable job. And someone happens to be in the right place at the right time, meets a classmate in the corridor - and help comes from an unexpected direction and without much effort. Why?

This may mean that we tend to complicate things, let unnecessary characters into our lives, make unnecessary efforts.

Those who are unlucky complain: “I'm doing everything right! I give my all to the maximum! " But just the necessary "button" in the brain is not turned on and, even doing "everything right", we are missing something, undershooting and as a result we do not get what we want.

If the problem is not solved at the level of logic, it is time to connect the right hemisphere. The fairy tale we have written reveals the codes, buttons and levers that the brain uses to overcome obstacles, solve problems, and build relationships. We begin to see more opportunities, stop missing them, break out of that very vicious circle. This algorithm starts working on an unconscious level.

We kind of dial the code - and the safe opens. But for this, the code must be selected correctly, the tale is written harmoniously, logically, without distortion.

This is difficult to do, especially the first time. Every now and then we get lost in stereotypes, lose the thread of the narrative, come up with minor characters that do not play a special role. We also constantly turn on logic, trying to rationalize what should remain magical.

This may mean that in real life, too, we tend to over-reflect, complicate everything, let unnecessary characters into our lives, and make unnecessary efforts.

But when the fairy tale reveals all this, it is already possible to work with it.

Writing a fairy tale: instruction for adults

1. Come up with a fabulous plot, the twists and turns of which will be clear to a 5-6-year-old child.

This is the age when abstract thinking has not yet been formed, the child perceives information about the world through visual images. And they are best represented in fairy tales, thanks to which a kind of "bank" of life situations, an integral image of the world are formed.

2. Start with the classic phrase (“Once upon a time…”, “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state”), answering the question who are the characters of the tale.

3. Do not complicate the images of the heroes: they must be representatives of either good or evil.

4. Follow the logic of the plot and cause-and-effect relationships. When evil is done in a fairy tale, it should be clear who, how and why is doing it. The logical harmony of the plot corresponds to the harmony of our mental operations. And having achieved it, we will achieve life goals.

5. Remember that one of the main engines of a fairy tale plot is magic, miracle. Do not forget to use illogical, irrational, fabulous plot moves: "suddenly a hut rose out of the ground", "she waved her magic wand - and the prince came to life." Use magic items: a ball, a comb, a mirror.

If a child listened to your fairy tale, would he withstand this pile of details? No, he would get bored and run away

6. Keep the picture in front of your eyes. As you tell the story, make sure that every moment can be presented in the form of a vivid picture. No abstraction, just specifics. "The princess was impressed" is abstract, "the princess fell neither alive nor dead" - clearly.

7. Don't complicate or lengthen the plot. If a child listened to your fairy tale, would he withstand all this jumble of details? No, he would get bored and run away. Try to keep his attention.

8. End the fairy tale with a classic rhythmic phrase, but not with a conclusion and not with the morality of what was said, but rather with a "cork" clogging up the narrative: "This is the end of the fairy tale, but who listened …", "And they lived happily ever after."

9. Give the tale a title. Include the names of characters or the names of specific objects, but not abstract concepts. Not "On Love and Fidelity", but "On the White Queen and the Black Flower."

In the process of writing a fairy tale, it is important to focus on bodily sensations. Getting nauseous? It means that the thought got confused, went away. We need to go back to the starting point and look for where the failure occurred. Got inspiration, adrenaline kicked in, did you blush? You are on the right track.

If your own plot is not born, you can take as a basis one of the many existing ones - you will want to make changes to it.

And let the fairy tale with a happy ending be your first step to a happy life!