My Partner in Crime, Charles W. Taylor

July 9, 2012

Some days are worth cerebrating.

Some days are not "just another step,"

but something else a new arrival.

Today is worth cerebrating.

My "partner in crime" Charles W. Taylor,

my African American partner in our jail ministry,

took his new game to the next level.

This is a storytelling "game" we have been

mutually creating for about one year,

using stories, with a special card sort

to enable repeated addictive offenders

to authentically access a new part of

their healing story and risk sharing it.

In one session.

Charlie is a tall, lanky guy, former athlete and coach who still looks 40ish, but is closer to 60. He is a 25 year crack head, graduate of Fayette County Drub court, but only after 8 remissions, that is eight returns to the County Jail.

Charlie has become a storyteller, with now some 45 stories

of a "Different Kind." Now available on DVD.

These are all stories of his own spiritual journey, but

disguised in symbol, metaphor and parable, so that

any seeker can find relevance.

What happened yesterday: in a program established by myself in 2004, now supported by some 12 volunteers, the decision was made to start a "post graduate" program inside the Detention Center, for those who still had time to serve, but who had completed our 12 week program. This would allow us to bring in new candidates while encouraging our graduates to move to a mentioning role, in another pod (10 bunk units)

Yesterday, Charlie and I divided our time, me with the previous group, and he with the graduate group not called Master Life.

Charlie took our "Skin in the Game" storytelling with cards to the Master Life group, which had 14, ten who had never met him. So he was really off on his own with a new group.

In computer games, the simulating is aimed to keep you "in your flow" of urgent optimistic expectation, striving for the next level of expertise, called "leveling up," to reach a "fiero"

moment of triumph, double fist pump. raised in an enthusiastic, a Y o "YES!"

Yesterday, Charlie took his storytelling and card sort to a new mostly strange group with resounding success. Every inmate ended the session by giving Charlie a hug. Charlie was on his own, without me, and that fiero "YES" is worth cerebrating.

I am fiercely proud of him. He did it all on his own and

discovered new energy, courage, and potential vision.

Below is the post for his Websites. We are in process of creating a set of "Skin in the Game" set of cards based of our experience.

http://www.adifferentkindofstorybook.com/post.cfm/

BW. Charlie and I will lead workshop demonstrating this powerful new way of storytelling with a hook, (the card sort response that invites skin in the game) at the annual Kentucky Storytelling Conference, at Blue Lick State Park, October 19-20/

Bo to www.kystory.org for more information.

Paschal Baute

www.paschalbaute.com