“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you will discover, is yourself.” -Alan Alda

Lisa’s Philosophy

Small image of a figure walking amidst a garden of large flowers.I believe in the transformative nature of the creative process to heal, empower, challenge, inform, and awaken the human spirit. I have witnessed this again and again in my work as an artist, writer, and personal historian and it continues to inspire me in both my personal and professional endeavors. I am driven by my passion for storytelling and my commitment to preserving and honoring personal narratives. When people have an opportunity to tell their stories, it transforms their lives. The creative process opens up opportunities for innovation and discovery that allow people to more fully access their own potential, and in turn make significant contributions in their lives and in society at large. They are better able to understand their past, gain confidence in their ability to address their present circumstances, and begin to envision their future. Through sharing our stories we can deepen our compassion, broaden our understanding, and inspire each other to create the change we want to see in the world.

Honoring where we come from has a huge impact on our ability to navigate where we are going. If we nurture our roots, the bond of family and community has the potential to provide a strong foundation for the rest of our lives. What we can learn from our parents and grandparents, as well as what we can teach our children, are some of the most essential lessons available to us in this life. Through the process of personal storytelling we have the opportunity to more deeply cultivate our own emotional intelligence, enabling us to open up new channels for reflection, communication and connection. I recognize that at each stage of human development we possess unique insights and abilities. As we move from one life phase to the next, these significant life transitions have the potential to open new emotional and spiritual doors to a whole other dimension of life’s experiences. The artistic process can help us access the potential inherent in those experiences. I believe it takes courage to live with your whole heart, and life storytelling is a tool that can help us do that.

_MG_0470I aim to support people to discover the creative potential in themselves, strengthen family relationships through intergenerational communication, and connect people to each other in the effort to build strong, vibrant and thriving communities. I hope that preserving life stories can be an antidote to the loss of the oral tradition due to the geographic separation of families, and can help people stay connected to their roots and strengthen their sense of pride in themselves and their families.

I am honored to embark on the incredibly intimate and powerful journey of life storytelling with my clients and students. I am here to help them navigate the process of discovering where they come from, support them in finding their own voice and figuring out where the next phase of their life will lead them. I am committed to holding space for them and providing encouragement each step of the way. I am dedicated to helping them cultivate their gifts so as individuals and families they can grow and flourish.

I hope to make the world a little more colorful, and to fill it with one of the things that make us distinctly human – our stories.

– Lisa Kagan