Author Archives: pcostello

Wellbeing and Wellness are never more important to all of us these days. We make ourselves aware of the toxic dangers that lurk in obvious places, like lead in paint or asbestos in cladding or the quality of the air … Continue reading →

  You might have thought we learned our lessons from President Bush”s non-existent WMDs- (Weapons of Mass Destruction)  It only cost us a war.  Or from Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme. It cost people 50 billion plus. We might have treated … Continue reading →

Three things I know about Stories. 1.Stories matter! They create power, incite insurrections, cause trauma, offer healing, feed despair, nourish hope. I am a warrior in the war of stories, mapping their lethal power so as to disarm and expose … Continue reading →

Welcome to the 118th Congress. What a show!  And what amazing timing. Two years to the night, the members meet to empanel a new Congress as their way of remembering the January 6th, 2021 attempt to disrupt the orderly transfer … Continue reading →

“So this is Christmas”.….sings John Lennon, in the anthem of our season. So what? Many might say. But it might be worth trying to recapture the event before it became a song or a carol. O Little Town of Bethlehem… … Continue reading →

One of the nation’s largest therapy conferences happens annually in Washington DC. This year, the first in person for two years, the theme was “Meeting the Moment.” At first sight, I thought, “Yes” that is a great theme. How are we meeting … Continue reading →

I wrote to say I would gladly offer an introductory session on Narrative Design, and draw from my recent book on how dealing with the pandemic and its aftermath  is a perfect case study for applying some of these practices. … Continue reading →

 The principles of narrative design (POND) that are outlined in our new storywise book  https://ourstoriesriseup.com/ describe the mutually re-enforcing cycle of- 1.experience to 2.story and 2. story to 3. memory. We have an impactful experience- Our first child speaks for … Continue reading →

The world of work is made of boards and bricks, but The world of meaning is built of stories, a billion miles thick. The first relies on strong material means. The second relies only on meaning and on memes.  Why … Continue reading →

For 25 years we has been teaching people to do three things 1- Recognize that Stories have power 2- Understand their real affects in  shaping our identity, destiny and community 3- Knowing 1. and 2, to Act more effectively dealing … Continue reading →