“Welcome to my life story interpretive center. Here you’ll find multimedia, multi-sensual presentations and guides to help you understand reality and the truth behind any and all experiences. You’ll have quick access to explanations, reasons, and definitions to help you make sense of it all.
Find something that doesn’t make sense? No problem, your conscientious, personal interpreter will make something up that does make sense! We are here to help.”
A good story requires a good storyteller to give it life, put it into perspective, and help you comprehend and appreciate the author’s intent. When it comes to telling my own life story, the job falls to my inner interpreter.
Could my inner interpreter be responsible for more than just telling me what my experience means? Could it be more than a storyteller?
Behind my life story, an aspect of imagination works to establish and apply meaning to my life in all its unique aspects. Each aspect has its own patterns of thought and action such as, language, behavior, attitudes, experiences, perspectives, and much more. My inner interpreter recognizes and identifies patterns on a scale between friendly and hostile. I believe imagining these interpretations gives my life value and purpose – within a framework of safety.
A life story consists of a combination of beliefs, patterns of thought and action, experiences, defenses, and justifications that have meaning and value to the author. The goal of interpretation of that story is to share that meaning and value with another. Within me, my inner interpretation shares my values with all aspects of my mind.
My interpreter works like a computer program to hold and maintain consistency of my beliefs. I trust my interpreter to alert me to threats and defend the content and value of my beliefs. I need help in making sense of my life, giving it purpose and motivate me to choose ways to defend it. Keeping me securely within the bubble.
What is behind the story I’m creating?
Could my life story be a string of related interpretations rather than related events? Could my interpreter be placing value on my past experiences based solely on current justifications for defense?
“…because human history is a litany of getting shit dead wrong.” (Maher, Religulous)
Could my story be my personal history of misinterpreted misunderstandings? I interpret current events based on trust in previous [often erroneous] beliefs. It’s a positive feedback loop – like a microphone near a speaker!
Throughout my story, the common theme seems to be rightness. My interpreter is the common element that strings together my perceptions, experiences, and beliefs into a web of defense we call the “bubble”. The job of my interpreter is to present reasons to defend rightness at any cost – thus, the misunderstandings.
Although my interpreter works to convince me of the truth of my reality, it may be open to constructive discussion, argument, and negotiation. The level of that openness may be entirely dependent upon my degree of illumination, in which I determine:
- What scripts MY interpreter uses…
- How MY interpreter presents the script…
- Why MY script matters…
- Who’s in charge of MY interpretive center…
