Views from around the universe
views on stories & narratives
change the story
=
shape the world
characters
Views from around the universe
characters = The best characters are those who develop a life of their own.
characters = Characters allow a writer to grow parts of themselves into a full person.
characters = One of the great things about having a range of characters is to randomly put them into an unforeseen situation and watch what happens.
characters = It’s great to fall in love with a character, it’s fantastic to be challenged by a character, it’s amazing how much you can learn from your own imagination.
narratives
Views from around the universe
narratives = They are funny little things. Like a story without a storyline — or a happy ending.
narratives = What surprises us is that earth humans still seem quite eager to embrace narratives which harm them.
narratives = Narratives are useful and that’s really the most important thing to know about them: narratives are made up and can be used. That means they can also be changed, rethought, tested and overthrown.
stories
Views from around the universe
stories = If you look at the stories humans tell each other, it’s no surprise they make no progress.
stories = Humans still underestimate the power of stories.
stories = Humans tend to tell the same kind of story over and over again instead of allowing their imagination to create the stories which can help them to evolve.
stories = Some stories are essential in exposing malfunctioning systems, practices, approaches and so-called progress. Other stories are essential in providing ideas and even visions for alternatives.
stories = You don’t tell a story what to do. A story has enough story in itself. It doesn’t need telling.
stories = A good story attempts to understand. In other word, if you are puzzled about something, use a story to explore or face that something, and see what happens.
reality
Views from around the universe
reality = needs stories in which to be, in order to exist.
reality = most scholars agree that reality has a physical dimension which gives the human the ability to sense themself and their surroundings.
Of course, this physical dimension can be achieved in dreams. Which is why reality is also defined as something that has a kind of unavoidable continuity. In a dream you could be racing towards the pier in a motorboat and manage to avoid a collision in the last moment, and in another second you are in the boathouse, clashing with the person who got you into this situation. Reality doesn’t allow for such jumps, and rarely for such excitement.
And yet, reality isn’t fixed. It might even be understood as something that can be created within the limits of a few physical laws.
reality = is often misused to tell people that they have to face reality, as in don’t try to change anything. But parts of reality can be shaped, and should be shaped, after all, who wants to live in the reality shaped by others?
reality, alternative
Views from around the universe
alternative reality = What amuses us is that humans are unaware that every single one of them lives in an alternative reality.
alternative reality = While we agree with the statement above, we are worried that humans are so eager to invent alternative realities in their stories instead of taking a good look at their reality and do something about it.
alternative reality = Unlike some other writers, we have learned that alternative realities can help people to grow strong, to test themselves, to find out who they want to be and who they can be. Of course, there will come the time when all that has been learned will need to be put to the test. And not everything might survive. But used in moderation, we have good experiences with allowing for alternative realities in our minds.
them and us
Views from around the universe
them and us = stagnation
them and us = pointing the finger
them and us = jealousy
universe
Views from around the universe
universe = if only you knew
universe = We like to think of us as further advanced than humanity on Earth, but we are aware that such thoughts are the beginning of turning wisdom into stupidity.
universe = The universe is vast and mysterious indeed. It celebrates life and exploration, respect and love, creation and wisdom.
Unfortunately humanity is still too immersed in its fantasies about domination, wars and exploitations.
We don’t want any of this in our universe.
us and them
Views from around the universe
us and them = making life and progress difficult
us and them = superiority complex
us and them = we are right, you are wrong