A school psychologist often has a need to work with the emotional sphere of a client: burnout among teachers, mental tossing of teenagers who have stepped on the winding paths of adolescence, anxiety in connection with the difficult behavior of children among parents. In many cases, problems of this kind are also aggravated by the fact that, due to strong emotional experiences, a person cannot look at the problem from a new position and does not see a way out of it.

In this case, parables can be used as a means of psychological assistance. A metaphorical story, which has an interactive element that is included in the course of the narrative, is capable of solving several problems at once: taking the client beyond the scope of his problem, helping to look at it from the outside, formulate a request more clearly for himself and the psychologist, launching a mechanism of reflection, during which the internal, hitherto hidden resources.

The purpose and objectives of psychological work with the parable:

reflection with the formulation of your difficulties and requests to the psychologist;

search and updating of internal resources;

developing skills to use these resources in a stressful situation;

development of creative skills.

Parable

Once upon a time, in time immemorial, man was equal to animals. He shared food and shelter with them. They hunted together, licked their wounds and trembled with fear when thunder roared and lightning flashed on the dark night. But one day God came to a man and said:

- You are my favorite creation, I created you in my image and likeness. And it is you who are wiser than all my other creatures. Therefore, I want to test you, test your wisdom. I brought you a gift - the greatest of all. But you will have to pay a lot for it. I brought you Reason. Having accepted it, you will rise above all animals, and there will be no corner in the Universe where you look. You will sink to the bottom of the deepest seas, you will rise above the clouds to the stars, you will learn to cure many diseases. And you will have no peace, because you will always ask yourself questions about the world around you and try to find answers to them.

But it will make you the loneliest creature in the world. By learning the secrets of the universe, you will also know your mortality. Every person will suffer, realizing that his days are numbered. He will look at the birds, animals and fish and think: “Here they are, the blessed ones, living, completely surrendering to the flow of time. They have no idea that they will soon die, that old age will bring illness and infirmity. They revel in life here and now. But I know that I will die, that I will be sick and weak when I grow old, and that I will not see what will happen to the world when I am gone...”

This is how a person will think, and he will explore the world even more fiercely, create works of art in order to at least capture his feelings and preserve them for posterity. The fear of death and its bitterness will push many to great deeds and terrible crimes only so that their name will be preserved for centuries.

And I ask you, man, are you ready to accept my gift and take this burden on your shoulders?

The man thought for a long time, looking first at the stars above his head, then at his feet. Finally he answered:

- Yes!

God smiled at this and said:

- I knew that you would accept my gift and not be afraid of payment. And I will reward you for your bravery. I will make your loneliness less bitter. Know that from now on, each of you people will have your own assistant and guide who will watch over you from where mortals have no way. Each person will be accompanied by his own guardian, from the moment of birth until death. He will, like a sponge, absorb all the thoughts, feelings, experiences, and knowledge of a person. And he will grow and mature along with the person. And such will be his appearance, as man will create him, in his own image and likeness. And each of you will not be alone, and everyone will be helped and supported. And when things get really hard for you, each of you will be able to turn to your guardian, and his requests will be heard. Let it be so!

Having said this, God left the man alone. Hitherto unknown feelings arose in his soul - a strange mixture of melancholy and excitement. The man began to walk in circles, unable to find a place for himself. In the end, he decided to make a fire to keep himself busy.

And so, sitting by the fire, the man suddenly imagined incredibly bright and colorful huge metal machines roaring into the sky, leaving fiery tails behind them; mechanisms that carry people over vast distances by land, air and water; devices that illuminate homes on dark nights; a countless number of thick, beautifully printed books containing hundreds of thousands of clues to the secrets of nature... His heart beat joyfully with pride for his people, who would be able to achieve so much. And the next moment it ached with piercing melancholy - the victories of humanity were replaced by pain from the thought that the first person who dreamed of flying to the stars would not live to see the day when this would become a reality; that thousands of sick people will die centuries before a cure is found; that hundreds of scientists will pay with their sanity, the respect of others and their lives for their bold ideas, and recognition will come to them only after many centuries; that no matter how beautiful a painting, statue or music may be, they will not prolong the life of their creator, but will only give him the illusion of eternal life in the memory of descendants.

When the whole burden of these heavy thoughts fell on the man sitting by the fire, he began to cry. He howled and screamed, tears streaming down his shaking cheeks and his hands clenching into fists. The man did not know how long he spent like this, but a little later he was able to calm down a little. To finally come to his senses, the man decided to use the old method - to collect a special herb that grew here in abundance and throw it into the fire: people have long noticed that inhaling the smoke from this herb relaxes the mind and soothes the tormented heart.

Having collected the herbs, the man threw it into the fire and waited until the smoke acquired a characteristic cloudy hue and a spicy smell. Then he began to wave his hand to direct the smoke towards himself and inhale it deeply. And it’s true - the melancholy went away, and thoughts flowed much more slowly and calmly. Looking into the fire, the man suddenly wondered why the fire burns this way and not otherwise, why it is yellow, why it leaves behind ash and ashes. And although he couldn't come up with answers, he was pleased that his brain suddenly became so curious. Suddenly a thought came to him, so simple that the man was even amazed that it had not occurred to him before: “How is it that when I sit at a distance from the fire, without touching it or touching it, I still feel the warmth? ” But this thought also did not linger for long, and soon the man began to nod off, and then fell soundly asleep.

He dreamed that he was standing in the middle of a huge field stretching from horizon to horizon. There is complete silence around, and even the wind sways the tops of the grass absolutely silently. “I’m alone in the whole world,” the man thought, and he felt pain again.

Suddenly he felt someone's presence nearby and turned around sharply. In front of him, twenty paces away, a figure was visible. The air around her trembled as if in the midday heat, so much so that it practically hid the stranger. Despite this, the man saw something very familiar and close in the alien’s physique and movements. He remembered God's words about guardians and helpers called upon to support people in their loneliness.

- I am your companion, your shadow, your guardian, guide. I know everything that you know, I feel everything that you feel, I remember everything that you remember. And I can help you, because I know all your strengths, and I know all your experiences. But only you yourself are able to overcome the difficulties on your path,” said the ghost, surrounded by a trembling haze. His voice, although strangely distorted, was the man's own voice.

- Well, let's talk...

Working with a parable

Psychological work with a parable takes place in the format of a dialogue between a “person” (client) and a “phantom” (psychologist). The essence of the dialogue comes down to leading questions asked by the psychologist, directing the client to an in-depth analysis of his answers. The dialogue should begin with the “phantom” question “Who am I?” Moreover, the therapist must explain in role-playing form that the “phantom” does not have its own form, its essence is determined by the person “entrusted” to him.

This exercise is similar in principle to working with a “shadow”: a person himself puts his content into some initially empty symbol. The answer to the question “Who am I?”, firstly, integrates the client into the role-playing environment of the parable, will help him enter the role; secondly, it will demonstrate what qualities the client wants to see in someone who can help him (that is, those qualities in which he himself subconsciously feels a deficiency). Then, through leading questions, a request is formulated and, in fact, an environment is simulated in which the client seems to separate from himself and can look at his problem from the outside. Plus, the search for internal resources begins. After all, the conversation can be conducted in a different key (“phantom” says that his personality is determined by the person himself and the person “sculpts” the “phantom”).

This kind of psychological work is suitable for people with a religious worldview and expressed existential needs.

Dialogue example

- Who am i?

- You are the one who can help me. You are strong, smart, calm, calculating, impartial.

- Why do you need my help?

- I'm confused.

- How could I help you?

- You could give me determination and calmness so that I can solve my problems.

- Why can't you solve them yourself?

- I'm scared.

- Everything I own comes from you. If I am strong, it is because you are strong. My mind is from you, my memory is from you. Why do you think that you are deprived of this?

- I can't find my resolve.

- How do you think it can be obtained?..

Parable about understanding

One day the musicians stood and played their instruments, accompanying the game with singing. A lot of people danced, marched and moved to their music, in time with the sounds and chords.

One deaf man from birth looked at this whole spectacle and was surprised. He asked himself: “What does this mean? Is it really just because those people are doing different things with their instruments, tilting them this way and that, raising them, lowering them, and the like, that this whole crowd of people is fooling around, jumping, making various strange body movements and generally getting so excited?”

For a deaf man, this whole spectacle was an insoluble question, because he lacked hearing, and as a result, the enthusiastic driving feeling that is awakened in a normal person by the sounds of music was incomprehensible to him.

What do you lack to understand the people around you?

Parable of Hope

Four candles burned calmly and slowly melted. It was so quiet that you could hear them talking:

The first one said: “I am CALM, unfortunately, people don’t know how to keep me, I think I have no choice but to go out!” And the light of this candle went out.

The second said: “I am VERA, unfortunately, no one needs me.” People don't want to hear anything about me, so there's no point in me burning any further. As soon as she said this, a light breeze blew and extinguished the candle.

The third candle said: - I am LOVE, I no longer have the strength to burn further, people do not appreciate me and do not understand, they hate those who love them most - their loved ones. And this candle went out.

Suddenly a child came into the room and saw 3 extinguished candles. Frightened, he shouted: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” YOU MUST BURN - I'M AFRAID OF THE DARK! Having said this, he began to cry.

The fourth candle said: - DON'T BE AFRAID AND DON'T CRY! WHILE I BURN, YOU CAN ALWAYS LIGHT THE OTHER THREE CANDLES: I AM HOPE!

Do you know how to hope and believe in your success?

Parable “The Way Out of Difficulties”

One day, a peasant’s donkey fell into a well. The peasant came running to the cry of the donkey and clasped his hands: “How can I get him out?” I thought it was impossible to pull it out and decided: “The donkey is already old anyway, he doesn’t have much time left to live, I was going to buy a young donkey anyway. And the well was almost dry, I was going to bury it anyway and dig a new well in another place - so be it - and I’ll bury the donkey so that the smell of decomposition can’t be heard.” He began to throw earth into the well. The donkey realized that he was going to die and began to let out a terrible cry, but then died down. After several throws of earth, the peasant decided to see what was happening down there. He was very surprised to see how the donkey behaved. The donkey shook off every piece of earth that fell on his back and crushed it with his feet. Very soon the donkey appeared at the top and jumped out of the well!

The challenges in our lives are learning situations that help us become stronger.

How do you perceive your problems?

A parable about optimism

Once upon a time there were little frogs who organized a running competition. Their goal was to climb to the top of the tower. Many spectators gathered who wanted to watch these competitions and laugh at their participants. The competition began... The truth is that none of the spectators believed that the frogs would be able to climb to the top of the tower.

The following remarks were heard: “It’s too difficult. They will NEVER make it to the top. No chance! The tower is too high." The little frogs began to fall. One after another... Except for those who got their second wind, they jumped higher and higher. The crowd was still screaming “Too hard!!! No one can do it!” Even more frogs got tired and fell. Only ONE rose higher and higher. He was the only one who didn’t give in! He is the only one who, with all his efforts, climbed to the top! THEN all the little frogs wanted to know how he did it? One participant asked how this little frog, who made it to the top, managed to find strength in himself? IT TURNS out that the winner was DEAF!!!

Never listen to people who are trying to convey their pessimism and negative mood, they rob you of your most cherished dreams and desires!

Do you believe in yourself and your strengths?

Parable "Forgive yourself"

Do you love yourself?

Once upon a time there lived a man, and then, as usual, he died. After that, I looked at myself and was very surprised. The body lay on the bed, and all he had left was his soul. Naked, completely transparent, so you could immediately see what was what.

The man was upset - without his body it became somehow unpleasant and uncomfortable. All the thoughts he thought swam in his soul like colorful fish. All his memories lay at the bottom of his soul - take them and look at them. Among these memories there were beautiful and good ones, the kind that are pleasant to hold in your hands. But there were also those that made the person himself feel scared and disgusted.

He tried to shake the ugly memories out of his soul, but it just didn’t work. Then he tried to put on top what was prettier. The end of the form and went the road assigned to him.

God looked at the man briefly and said nothing. The man decided that God in a hurry did not notice other memories, he was happy and went to heaven - since God did not close the door in front of him.

Some time passed, it’s hard to even say what, because where the person ended up, time passed completely differently than on Earth. And the man returned back to God.

- Why did you come back? - asked God. - After all, I did not close the gates of heaven in front of you.

- Lord, the man said, I feel bad in your paradise. I'm afraid to take a step - there is too little good in my soul, and it cannot cover up the bad. I'm afraid everyone can see how bad I am.

- What do you want? - asked God, since he was the creator of time and had it in abundance to answer everyone.

- “You are omnipotent and merciful,” said the man. - You saw through my soul, but did not stop me when I tried to hide my sins. Take pity on me, remove from my soul all the bad things that are there!

-

And God took from the man’s soul everything that he was ashamed of. He took out the memory of betrayal and betrayal, cowardice and meanness, lies and slander, greed and laziness. But, having forgotten about hatred, man forgot about love, and having forgotten about his downfalls, he forgot about his ups. The soul stood before God and was empty - more empty than at the moment when a person was born.

But God was merciful and put back into the soul everything that filled it. And then the man asked again:

- What should I do, Lord? If good and evil were so fused in me, then where should I go? Really - to hell?

- Return to paradise,” answered the Creator, “for I have created nothing but paradise.” You carry hell with you.

And the man returned to paradise, but time passed, and again he appeared before God.

- Creator! - said the man. - I feel bad in your paradise. You are omnipotent and merciful. Have pity on me, forgive my sins.

- “I was expecting a completely different request,” God answered. - But I will do as you ask.

And God forgave the man for everything he did. And the man went to heaven. But time passed, and he returned to God again.

- What do you want now? - asked God.

- Creator! - said the man. - I feel bad in your paradise. You are omnipotent and merciful, You have forgiven me. But I myself cannot forgive myself. Help me?

- “I was waiting for this request,” God answered. - But this is the stone that you yourself must lift and carry.

Friends, remember, love begins with forgiveness and acceptance of yourself! And no one will do this for us!..

Do you love yourself?

Parable "Whisper"

Instructive!

Once a young man was driving a new sparkling Jaguar in a great mood, humming some kind of melody. Suddenly he saw children sitting by the road. After he carefully drove around them and was about to pick up speed again, he suddenly heard a stone hit the car. The young man stopped the car, got out of it and, grabbing one of the boys by the collar, began to shake him and shout:

- Brat! Why the hell did you throw a rock at my car? Do you know how much this car costs?!

- Forgive me,” the boy replied. - I had no intention of harming you or your car. The fact is that my brother is disabled, he fell out of the stroller, but I cannot lift him, he is too heavy for me. We have been asking for help for several hours, but not a single car has stopped. I had no choice but to throw the stone, otherwise you wouldn't have stopped either.

The young man helped the boy sit the disabled man in a chair, trying to hold back his tears and suppress the lump in his throat. Then he went to his car and saw a dent in the shiny new door left by the stone.

He drove this car for many years and always said no to mechanics who offered to repair the dent, because it constantly reminded him that if you ignore the whisper, a stone will fly at you.

A parable about the fulfillment of desires

Aren't you afraid of your desires?

One man was traveling and unexpectedly went to heaven. In India, the concept of heaven is the tree of wish fulfillment. As soon as you sit under such a tree, any desire will immediately be fulfilled - there is no delay, no time interval between the desire and the realization of what you want.

This man was tired, and he went to sleep under such a wish-fulfillment tree. When he woke up, he felt very hungry and thought:

– I feel hungry. I'd like to get some food from somewhere.

And immediately food appears out of nowhere - it just floated through the air, very tasty food. He was so hungry that he didn't think about where it came from - when you're hungry, you don't think twice. He immediately started eating, and the food was so tasty...

Then, when his hunger had passed, he looked around. Now he felt satisfied. He had another thought:

If only I had something to drink...

There are no prohibitions in paradise, excellent wine immediately appeared. Lying in the shade of a tree and calmly drinking wine, blown by the cool breeze of heaven, he began to wonder:

What's going on? What's happening? Maybe I'm dreaming? Or are there some ghosts here playing tricks on me?

And ghosts appeared. They were terrible, cruel and disgusting - exactly as he imagined them. He trembled and thought:

Now they will definitely kill me.

And they killed him.

Are you afraid of your desires?

A parable about self-acceptance

One day a man came into the garden and saw withering and dying trees, bushes and flowers. He asked them why they were dying? The oak tree said that it was dying because it could not be as tall as the pine tree.

Turning to the pine tree, the man found it falling because it cannot produce grapes like a grapevine. And the vine died because it cannot bloom like a rose. Soon he found one plant that gladdened his heart, blooming and fresh. After questioning, he received this answer:

- I take this for granted, because when I was imprisoned, people wanted to have joy. If they wanted oak, grapes or roses, they would plant them.

Therefore, I think that I cannot be anything other than what I am. And I try to develop my best qualities.

It’s the same in our life – you can only be yourself. You can grow and enjoy life, or you can wither if you don't accept yourself.

Do you accept yourself and your life?

The parable of the distrustful man

One day, a stupid and distrustful man came to visit his neighbor.

The owner took him into the house and offered him soup, but as soon as he took the spoon, he noticed a small snake in his plate. In order not to offend the owner, he still ate the soup, but a few days later he became so seriously ill that he was forced to go to a neighbor. And he, having listened to the complaint, prepared the medicine in a small cup, which he then gave to this complainant.

As he was about to take his first sip, he again noticed a small snake in his cup. But this time he decided not to remain silent and said loudly that it was for this reason that he got sick last time.

Laughing, the owner pointed to the ceiling, where a large bow hung. “What you see in your cup is not a snake, but the reflection of an onion,” he said. “There is no snake.” The incredulous neighbor looked at his cup again and, of course, there was not a snake there, but a simple reflection.

He left his neighbor's house without taking the medicine and was well within a day. A person usually sees only what he wants to see.

What do you see in your life?

Parable "Golden Windows"

Instructive!

The boy sat on the threshold of his house on the hill and looked with envy at the beautiful building below in the valley. It was illuminated by the rays of the midday sun, and the windows shone with golden light. The house looked like a fairytale castle.

The boy sadly thought that he lived in a poor, unprepossessing house, and, perhaps, a boy just like him was walking through the rooms of that wonderful castle.

One day the boy decided to go down to the valley and take a closer look at the wonderful house and admire it. He did just that.

And what did he see at an hour when the sun's rays did not illuminate the building? He discovered that the fairytale castle that delighted him so much was an ordinary house, no better than his own.

Here the boy involuntarily turned his gaze to the top of the hill, to his house. The sun was setting, and its rays brightly illuminated the glass of the windows, which now sparkled with gold. This is what his usual home looked like from the lowlands. But the house I live in is also beautiful,” the boy thought as he walked up the path to the top of the hill.

Look at the windows of your house when the sun's rays fall on them!

Parable “Wisdom of Life”

Instructive!

Once a wise man, standing in front of his students, did the following. He took a large glass vessel and filled it to the brim with large stones. Having done this, he asked the disciples if the vessel was full. Everyone confirmed that it was full.

Then the sage took a box of small pebbles, poured it into a vessel and gently shook it several times. The pebbles rolled into the gaps between the large stones and filled them. After this, he again asked the disciples if the vessel was now full. They confirmed again - the fact is complete.

And finally the sage took a box of sand from the table and poured it into a vessel. The sand, of course, filled the last gaps in the vessel.

“Now,” the sage addressed the disciples, “I would like you to be able to recognize your life in this vessel!” Large stones represent important things in life: your family, your loved one, your health, your children - those things that, even without everything else, can still fill your life. Small pebbles represent less important things, such as your job, your apartment, your house or your car. Sand symbolizes the little things in life, the hustle and bustle of everyday life. If you fill your vessel with sand first, there will be no room left for larger stones.

Parable "Autumn"

Instructive!

One day a blind man was sitting on the steps of a building with a hat near his feet and a sign that said, “I am blind, please help.” One man walked by and stopped. He saw a disabled man who only had a few coins in his hat. He threw a couple of coins in there, wrote new words on the sign without permission, left it with the blind man, and left. At the end of the day he returned and saw that the hat was full of coins. The blind man recognized him by his steps and asked if he was the man who copied the tablet. The blind man also wanted to know what exactly he had written. He replied: “Nothing that would be untrue. I just wrote it a little differently." The man smiled and left.

The new sign read: “It’s autumn, but I can’t see it.”

Parable "About Ten Fools"

Instructive!

One day, ten fools were wading a river and, having reached the other bank, they decided to make sure that they all crossed it. One of them began to count, but while counting the others, he missed himself. "I see nine - we lost one. Who could it be???" he said. “Did you count correctly?” asked the other and began to count himself. But he also counted only nine. One by one, everyone counted nine, letting themselves through. "There are only nine of us! But who is missing?" All efforts to locate the “missing” were unsuccessful. “Whoever he was, he drowned! We lost him!!!” said the most sentimental of them. Having said this, he burst into tears, and the other nine followed his example.

Seeing people crying on the river bank, the traveler, filled with sympathy, asked what was the reason for their grief. They explained what had happened to him and said that even after repeated checks they could not count more than nine people. Hearing their story, but seeing all ten of them in front of him, the traveler realized what was going on. And in order for the fools to understand that there were really ten of them who made it safely ashore, he told them: “Let each of you name your number sequentially: one, two, three, etc., while I strike him so that you make sure that you are included in the count and, moreover, only once. Then the “missing” tenth will be found.” Hearing this, the fools rejoiced at the prospect of finding their “lost” comrade and accepted the method suggested by the traveler.

While the good traveler distributed blows to each of the ten in turn, the one who received the blow counted himself loudly. “Ten,” said the last one, after receiving the last blow in turn. They looked at each other in confusion. “There are ten of us,” they said in one voice and thanked the traveler for getting rid of grief...

How often do we not see what is hidden behind the obvious, and how often do we not see the obvious itself???

Parable "For this star"

Instructive!

A man was walking along the shore and suddenly saw a boy picking up something from the sand and throwing it into the sea. The man came closer and saw that the boy was picking up starfish from the sand. They surrounded him on all sides. It seemed like there were millions of starfish on the sand; the shore was literally strewn with them for many kilometers.

– Why are you throwing these starfish into the water? – the man asked, coming closer.

– If they stay on the shore until tomorrow morning, when the tide begins to go out, they will die,” the boy answered, without stopping his work.

– But this is just stupid! - the man shouted. - Look around! There are millions of starfish here, the shore is simply littered with them. Your attempts will not change anything!

The boy picked up the next starfish, thought for a moment, threw it into the sea and said:

– No, my attempts will change a lot... For this star.

Parable “Enjoy your coffee!!!”

Instructive!

A group of successful graduates with wonderful careers came to visit their old professor. Of course, soon the conversation turned to work - graduates complained about numerous difficulties and life problems. Having offered the guests coffee and received consent, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a coffee pot and a tray filled with a variety of cups - simple, expensive, and exquisite: plastic, glass, porcelain, crystal...

When the graduates sorted out the cups, the professor said:

- Have you noticed that all the expensive cups have been taken apart? No one chose a simple and cheap cup. The desire to have only the best is the source of your problems. Understand that the cup itself does not make coffee taste better, and sometimes even hides what we are drinking. What you really wanted was coffee, not a cup. But you deliberately chose expensive cups, and then looked at who got which. Now think: life is coffee. But work, money, position in society are just cups. These are just tools for storing Life. What kind of cup we have does not determine or change the quality of our Life. Sometimes, when we focus only on the cup, we forget to enjoy the taste of the coffee itself. Enjoy your coffee!!!

Parable “The Pain of Loss”

Instructive!

The great Teacher had several students. Among them, two brothers were distinguished by their special zeal in learning the truth. It so happened that their parents died almost simultaneously, and the brothers were plunged into deep sadness at this loss. Their mental pain was so great that they could no longer devote themselves entirely to teaching.

The teacher noticed this and said to them:

- I have an order for you: you need to go to the city and bring me an extinguished coal. But you should take this coal only from a family in which no one has experienced the loss of loved ones.

The brothers went to the city and visited many houses, but everywhere, in every family, there were people who told them about the grief they had experienced. They returned to the Teacher, and the elder brother said:

- We could not fulfill your instructions, we do not have an extinguished ember, but I realized that one must be able to survive pain, since the departure of loved ones is part of the fate of any person.

However, the younger brother continued to be very sad and did not want to listen to words of support and consolation from his brother and other students. He retired to his house and immersed himself in experiences.

One day the older brother came to the younger brother, who was sitting alone near his house, sat down next to him and said:

He hugged his brother, and together they returned to the Teacher.

Parable "The Little Lamplighter"

Instructive!

In those days when lanterns were lit with fire, lamplighters walked the streets every evening and brought light to every alley. At that time there lived a little lamplighter, he was short, a homely old man. Every evening he walked along the alleys and struck a match on his sole, lighting the lanterns, each dark street became brighter than usual.

He had no family, he was quiet, inconspicuous, people living nearby knew nothing about him; children mocked him, calling him a dwarf, and adults called him a quitter, so he preferred to go out only in the evenings, light lanterns, and then admire the night sky. Each time, striking a match on the sole, the little lamplighter decreased in height.

One day a stranger approached him and asked: “How can you live like this? After all, you will completely disappear, you do not regret your life for people, and they give nothing in return, only insults. Unfair, wrong.” To which he replied: “If I don’t light the lanterns, then people will be left without light. What about them without light? If someone walks along a dark street at night, will he get home? So he will wander until the morning. Is it fair? And there will be light on the street, that person will reach the house, and in the depths of his soul he will say thank you, and I will feel calmer.”

So the little old man continued to strike a match on the sole and shrink until he disappeared completely. No one noticed that the little elderly man was gone, only everyone immediately noticed that it became very dark in the evenings.

Parable "Seed"

Instructive!

On an ordinary day, amid the bustle of the city, two wise men met in the square. The subject of their dispute was a small seed thrown by someone on the asphalt.

One wise man said: “It will not germinate, because there is asphalt and stones here, it will not reach the soil, people will trample it...”.

Another said: “No, it won’t grow because it will die from drought, the sun will burn it with its rays, it is so small and defenseless that it simply has no chance...”.

So they continued to argue, and meanwhile it began to rain and carried the seed a little to the side, towards fertile soil. The seed has sprouted. The sun's rays warmed him and helped him grow, gave him strength and love.

And the wise men kept arguing... And each one gave more and more reasons why the seed could not germinate, their argument became more and more heated, their statements became more and more confident... and they did not even notice that the seed was missing.

And from that seed a huge, beautiful tree grew. It began to bear tasty fruits, shelter people from the summer heat, and delight the eyes of passers-by.

And only when this tree touched the sages with its shadow, they paid attention to it. But they still didn’t understand where the tree suddenly grew from.

Parable "The Sage about Perception Filters"

One old and very wise man said to his friend: “Take a better look at the room we are in and try to remember the things that are brown.” There was a lot of brown in the room, and my friend quickly completed the task.

But the sage asked him the following question: “Close your eyes and list all the things... blue!” The friend was confused and indignant: “I didn’t notice anything blue, because according to your instructions, I only remembered things that were brown!”

To which the wise man answered him: “Open your eyes, look around - there are a lot of blue things in the room.” And it was absolutely true.

Then the sage continued: “With this example, I wanted to show you the truth of life: if you look for only brown things in the room, and only bad things in life, then you will only see them, notice them exclusively, and only they will be remembered by you.” and participate in your life. Remember: if you are looking for the bad, then you will definitely find it and you will never notice anything good. Therefore, if all your life you wait and mentally prepare for the worst, then it will definitely happen to you, you will never be disappointed in your fears and concerns, but you will always find more and more confirmation for them. But if you hope and prepare for the best, then you will not attract bad things into your life, but simply risk being disappointed sometimes - life is impossible without disappointments. By expecting the worst, you miss out on all the good things that actually exist in life. If you expect bad things, then you get them. And vice versa. You can acquire such fortitude, thanks to which any stressful, critical situation in life will have positive sides.”

People notice only what corresponds to their thinking, passing through the filters of perception, like through a sieve, the information around them.

Do you notice the good around you in life and in people?

Parable "The Sage about Heaven and Hell"

Instructive!

One true believer was very worried about what hell and heaven were, because he wanted to live righteously. “Where is hell and where is heaven?” – he turned to the sage with this question, but he did not answer. He took the questioner by the hand and led him through dark alleys to the palace. They entered the large hall through the iron gates. There were visible and invisible people there, poor and rich, in rags and in robes decorated with precious stones. In the middle of the hall there was a huge cauldron on the fire, with soup boiling in it, which in the East is called “ash”. The brew gave off a pleasant smell throughout the room. People with sunken cheeks and deeply sunken eyes crowded around the cauldron. Everyone tried to get their portion of soup. The sage's companion was amazed when he saw in their hands a spoon the size of himself. Only at the very end of the handle was there a wooden handle. The rest of the handle of the spoon, the contents of which could satisfy any person, was iron and unbearably hot from the soup. The hungry people greedily poked their spoons into the cauldron. Everyone wanted to get their share, but no one succeeded. They had difficulty pulling the heavy spoons out of the soup, but since they were too long, even the strongest could not put them into their mouths. Those who were too zealous burned their hands and face and, oh, they attacked each other and fought with the same spoons with which they could satisfy their hunger. The sage took his companion by the hand and said: “This is hell!”

They left the hall and soon no longer heard the hellish screams. After long wanderings through dark passages, they entered another hall. There were a lot of people here too. In the middle of the hall there was a cauldron with boiling soup. Each had the same huge spoon in his hand as his companions had already seen in hell. But the people were well-fed, and only quiet, contented voices and the sounds of spoons being dipped were heard in the hall. People came in pairs. One would dip the spoon and feed the other.

If a spoon turned out to be too heavy for someone, then another pair immediately helped with their spoons, so that everyone could eat in peace. As soon as one was satisfied, another took his place. The sage said to his companion: “But this is paradise!”

Parable "The Wisdom of the Teacher"

One day a young man came to the Teacher and asked permission to study with him.

- Why do you need it? - asked the Master.

- I want to become strong and invincible.

- Then become one! Be kind to everyone, polite and attentive. Kindness and politeness earn you the respect of others. Your spirit will become pure and kind, and therefore strong. Mindfulness will help you notice subtle changes. You will have the opportunity to find the right path to avoid conflict, and therefore win the fight without entering into it. If you learn to prevent conflicts, you will become invincible.

- Why?

- Because you will have no one to fight with.

The young man left, but after a few years he returned to the Teacher.

- What do you need? – asked the old Master.

- I came to inquire about your health and see if you need help...

And then the Teacher took him as a student.

What and from whom are you ready to learn?

Parable about a bad and a good city

One day a man was sitting near an oasis, at the entrance to a Middle Eastern city. A young man approached him and asked:

I've never been here. What kind of people live in this city?

The old man answered him with a question:

What kind of people were in the city you left?

These were selfish and evil people. However, that is why I happily left there.

Here you will meet exactly the same ones,” the old man answered him.

A little later, another person approached this place and asked the same question:

I just arrived. Tell me, old man, what kind of people live in this city?

The old man responded in kind:

Tell me, son, how did people behave in the city where you came from?

Oh, they were kind, hospitable and noble souls! I still had many friends there and it was not easy for me to part with them.

“You will find the same ones here,” answered the old man.

A merchant, who was watering his camels nearby, heard both dialogues. And as soon as the second man left, he turned to the old man with a reproach:

Why did you give two people completely different answers to the same question?

Son, everyone carries their own world in their heart. Anyone who in the past did not find anything good in the region from which he came, will especially not find anything here. On the contrary, someone who had friends in another city will find faithful and devoted friends here too. For, you see, the people around us become to us what we find in them.

What kind of people do you see nearby?

Parable “The Wits of a Smart Man”

To test the intelligence and observation of the Sultan of the neighboring kingdom, and at the same time the ingenuity of his people, one padishah in ancient times sent his neighbor three golden figures. These figures looked exactly the same and had the same weight. But all of them, according to the one who sent them, differed from each other in their value. The Sultan was asked to establish which of the figures was the most valuable. Together with his courtiers, he carefully examined the figures, but could not detect the slightest difference. Even the wisest men of his state were ready to bet their heads cut off that there was no difference between the figures. The king became despondent. What a disgrace! It turned out that he ruled his country, where there was not a single savvy subject who could find the difference between the figures. The entire state took part in solving the riddle, and everyone tried their best.

When it seemed that hope was already lost, one young man, languishing in prison, undertook to discover the difference between the figures, if only he would be allowed to examine them. The Sultan ordered the young man to be brought to the palace and ordered to show him three golden figures. The young man examined them very carefully and finally determined that each of the figures had a small hole in the ear. Then, to check, he inserted a thin silver wire there. It turned out that the first figure had a silver wire coming out of his mouth, the second had a silver wire coming out of his other ear, and the third had a silver wire coming out of his navel. After thinking a little, the young man turned to the Sultan.

“Oh, great one,” he said, “I think that the solution to the riddle lies before us like an open book. All that remains is to read what is written there. Please note: just as no one person is alike, each of these figures is one of a kind. The first figure resembles those people who, having barely heard some news to the end, rush to tell others about what they heard. The second figure is similar to the people about whom they say: “It flies in one ear, flies out the other.” The third figure is in many ways similar to those who remember what they hear and try to pass it through their own heart. Mister! Now decide which piece is the most valuable. Who would you choose and make your close confidant? The one who blurts everything out, the one for whom your words are like the wind, or the one who you can completely trust, because he will keep your words in the recesses of his soul? »

How smart are you and do you know how to pass different knowledge through your heart in order to turn your failures into success?

See the sea

In one poor village a boy was born. He spent his days meaninglessly, mechanically and monotonously, just like the rest of the inhabitants of this dying village, having no idea what to do with his own life. And one fine night he dreamed of the sea. None of the villagers had ever seen the sea, so no one could confirm that such endless water existed somewhere in the world.
And when the young man announced that he was going to go in search of the sea from his dream, everyone twisted their finger at their temple and called him a madman. But, in spite of everything, he set out on a journey and wandered for a long time until he found himself at a fork in the road. Here he chose the road that led straight, and a few days later he reached a village whose inhabitants led a calm, prosperous life. When the young man told them that he was traveling, dreaming of finding the sea, they began to convince him that he was wasting his time and it would be better for him to stay in this village and live as happily as everyone else.
For several years the young man lived in abundance. But one night he dreamed of the sea again, and he remembered his unfulfilled dream. The young man decided to leave the village and hit the road again. After saying goodbye to everyone, he returned to the fork and this time went in a different direction. He walked for a long time until he reached a big city. I admired its hubbub and diversity and decided to stay there. I studied, worked, had fun and over time completely forgot about the purpose of my journey.
However, a few years later he again saw the sea in a dream and thought that if he did not fulfill the dream of his youth, he would waste his life. Therefore, he again returned to the fork and chose the third road, which led him into the forest. In a small clearing, the young man saw a hut, and next to it, a not too young, but beautiful woman who was hanging out washed clothes. She invited him to stay with her, since her husband went to war and did not return. The young man agreed.

They lived happily for many years, raised children, but one day our hero, who was already old, was again visited by a dream about the sea. And he left everything with which he had been associated for many years, returned to the fork and set off along the last path, hitherto unknown to him, very steep and rocky. He walked with difficulty and began to fear that he would soon be completely exhausted.

Finding himself at the foot of a large mountain, the old man decided to climb it in the hope of seeing the sea from his dreams at least from afar. A few hours later, at the end of his strength, he reached the top of the mountain. Vast expanses stretched out before him: the old man saw a fork in the road and a village in which the inhabitants led a prosperous life, and a big city, and the hut of a woman with whom he spent many happy years. And in the distance, on the horizon, I saw the blue, endless sea.
And before his exhausted heart stopped, the touched old man, through tears of regret, also noticed that all the roads along which he walked led to the sea, but he did not go through any of them to the end.

Be positive!

Once upon a time there were little frogs who organized a running competition.
Their goal was to climb to the top of the tower.
Many spectators gathered who wanted to watch these competitions and laugh at their participants...
The competition has begun...
The truth is that none of the spectators believed that the frogs would be able to climb to the top of the tower.
The following remarks were heard:
"It's too difficult!"
"They'll never get to the top"
or:
"No chance! The tower is too high!
The little frogs began to fall. In sequence...
...With the exception of those who got their second wind, they jumped higher and higher...
The crowd was still screaming “Too hard! No one can do it!”
Even more frogs got tired and fell...
...Only one rose higher and higher...
He was the only one who didn’t give in!
In the end, everyone gave in. Except for that one little frog who, with all his efforts, climbed to the top!
Then all the frogs wanted to know how he did it?
One participant asked how this little frog, who made it to the top, managed to find strength in himself?
It turns out the winner was deaf!
Morality:
Never listen to people who are trying to convey to you their pessimism and negative mood...
...they rob you of your deepest dreams and desires. The ones you cherish in your heart!
Don't forget the power of words.
Everything you hear or read affects your behavior.

Jar of Life

Students had already filled the auditorium and were waiting for the lecture to begin. The teacher appeared and put a large glass jar on the table, which surprised many:
-Today I would like to talk to you about life, what can you say about this jar?
“Well, it’s empty,” someone said.
“Exactly,” the teacher confirmed, then he took a bag of large stones from under the table and began to put them in a jar until they filled it to the very top. “Now what can you say about this jar?”
-Well, now the jar is full! - one of the students said again.
The teacher took out another bag of peas and began to pour it into the jar. Peas began to fill the space between the stones:
-And now?
-Now the jar is full!!! - the students began to echo. Then the teacher took out a bag of sand and began to pour it into the jar; after some time there was no free space left in the jar.
“Well, now the jar is definitely full,” the students began to shout. Then the teacher, smiling slyly, pulled out two bottles of beer and poured them into a jar:
- But now the jar is full! - he said. - And now I will explain to you what just happened. The jar is our life, the stones are the most important things in our life, this is our family, these are our children, our loved ones, everything that is of great importance to us; peas are those things that are not so significant for us, it could be an expensive suit or car, etc.; and sand is all the smallest and most insignificant things in our lives, all those small problems that accompany us throughout our entire lives; So, if I first poured sand into the jar, then it would no longer be possible to place either peas or stones in it, so never allow various kinds of little things to fill your life, closing your eyes to more important things. I'm done, the lecture is over.
“Professor,” one of the students asked, “what do beer bottles mean???!!!” The professor smiled slyly again:
- They mean that, despite any problems, there is always time to relax and drink a couple of bottles of beer!

Not ready yet
Zeus and Hera sat in the heavens, surveying the plight of humanity. Hera was very touched by the poor man, bowed down under the weight of his problems, his hunger and the suffering of his family, who had no time to laugh for a long time.
My lord,” she turned to Zeus, “be merciful.” Send help to this man. Look, he is so poor that his sandals are tied together with seaweed.
“My love,” Zeus answered, “I would be glad to help him, but he is not ready yet.”
“Shame on you,” Hera answered angrily. “After all, there is nothing easier for you than to throw a bag of gold on the ground in front of him so that all his problems will leave him forever.”
“Oh, well, that’s a completely different matter,” answered the creator of the Universe.
Bright lightning and a clap of thunder pierced the cloudless skies. The world seemed to stand still for a moment, but then the birds began chirping their songs again, and the cicadas began to chirp even louder.
A bag full of magnificent gold lay on the road in front of the poor man, who carefully raised his foot and stepped over it so as not to damage his sandals. And he moved on...

Save one star
A man was walking along the shore and suddenly saw a boy picking up something from the sand and throwing it into the sea. The man came closer and saw that the boy was picking up starfish from the sand. They surrounded him on all sides. It seemed like there were millions of starfish on the sand; the shore was literally strewn with them for many kilometers.
- Why are you throwing these starfish into the water? - the man asked, coming closer.
“If they stay on the shore until tomorrow morning, when the tide begins to ebb, they will die,” the boy answered, without stopping what he was doing.
- But this is just stupid! - the man shouted. - Look around! There are millions of starfish here, the shore is simply littered with them. Your attempts will not change anything!
The boy picked up the next starfish, thought for a moment, threw it into the sea and said:
- No, my attempts will change a lot... for this star.

Wind and flower

The Wind met a beautiful Flower and fell in love with it. While he gently caressed the Flower, it responded to him with even greater love, expressed in color and aroma.
But it seemed to the Wind that this was not enough, and he decided: “If I give the Flower all my power and strength, then he will give me something even greater.” And he breathed on the Flower the powerful breath of his love. But the Flower could not bear the stormy passion and broke down.
The wind tried to lift him and revive him, but could not. Then he calmed down and breathed the gentle breath of love on the Flower, but it withered before our eyes. Then the Wind shouted:
- I gave you all the power of my love, and you broke! Apparently, you didn’t have the power of love for me, which means you didn’t love!
But the Flower did not answer. He died.
Anyone who loves must remember that Love is not measured by force and passion, but by tenderness and reverent attitude. It's better to hold back ten times than to break once.

The most important

Once upon a time there lived a leader, and three questions tormented him all his life: what is the most important time, who is the most important person, what is the most important thing?
The leader thought: if I knew the answer to these three questions, I would conquer the whole world, I would accomplish whatever I wanted, and the people would begin to regard me as a great sage.
Countless people passed before the leader, a whole host of learned men, but no one answered these questions. Once rumors reached the leader that a certain hermit lived in the distance and was famous for his wisdom. The leader ordered his horse to be saddled and he galloped off to look for the hermit. He drives through the thicket of the forest and sees: there is a shack, and next to it a decrepit old man is hoeing the earth. He almost collapses from fatigue, but does not let go of his hoe. The leader jumped to the ground, approached and bowed to the elder.
- I came to you to get an answer to my three questions. What is the most important time? Who is the most important person? What's the most important thing?
The hermit listened to him, did not say anything in response, just know he was digging his own ground.
“You must be tired, let me help you,” the leader suggested. He took a hoe from the hermit and began to work. Then he repeated his three questions again. And this time the hermit did not answer, he only said to return the hoe. But the leader doesn’t even want to listen to him, he won’t give up his hoes, he himself decided to see the matter through to the end. Suddenly he sees a man coming towards him, his face is all wounded and covered in blood. The leader stopped him, consoled him with a kind word, went to the stream, brought water, washed his wounds, and bandaged him. The wounded man asked for a drink - the leader gave him something to drink. Then he took me to the shack and put me to bed. And he himself began to get ready for bed - evening had already fallen.
In the morning I went to the hermit again. He looks and sees that he is planting seeds in the soil that he loosened yesterday.
“Wise hermit,” the leader begged, “will you really not answer my questions?”
“That’s enough for you,” he said, “you’ve already answered them yourself.”
“And I haven’t heard any answers,” the leader was amazed.
- You, seeing my old age and weakness, took pity on me and volunteered to help. If you had not stayed here yesterday, the robbers on the road would have killed you, the ones who mutilated the traveler’s face.
The leader, out of amazement, cannot utter a word, but the hermit continues speaking:
- The most important time was when you dug the ground and helped me. The most important person at that time was me, and your help was the most important thing. A wounded man came - and he became the most important thing, and the most important thing was your help to him.
Little by little the leader understood the meaning of the hermit’s words.
“Remember,” the hermit said goodbye, “the most important time is today, the most important person is the one who is nearby at this time.” And the most important thing is to do good for those who are nearby, because this is what we were born for.
The hermit fell silent, began to sow seeds, and the leader jumped on his horse and rode to the palace. He remembered the hermit’s parting words for the rest of his life, and the fame of that leader’s generosity and justice spread throughout the world.

Parable about Robinson

When one day Robinson attempted to sail a boat he had made around the island and it suddenly began to be carried away by the current into the open ocean, he clearly understood how easily the most bleak situation could become even more bleak.
“Such is human nature,” he concluded in his diary. “We never see our situation in its true light until we experience an even worse situation, and we never appreciate the blessings we have until we are deprived of them.”

Once again about how much time is worth

To understand the meaning of the year, talk to a student who has failed the exam.
To understand the value of one month, talk to a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To understand the value of one week, talk to the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To understand the value of one hour, talk to lovers waiting to meet.
To understand the value of one minute, talk to someone who missed the train.
To understand the value of one second, talk to someone who has just been in a car accident.
To understand the value of one millisecond, talk to an athlete who won a silver medal at the Olympic Games.
Ask a computer hardware designer about the nanosecond.
Every second of your life is worth its weight in gold.
Yesterday is already history. Tomorrow - it’s not clear at all.
Today is a gift. That's why it's called REAL.

Dad and son once went to the mountains, and the son, hitting a stone, shouted:
- AAAAAAAAA.
And with surprise he hears:
- AAAAAAAAA.
The boy asked:
- Who are you?
And in response:
- Who are you?
Angry at this answer, the boy shouts:
- Coward!
And in response:
- Coward!
The boy asks his father: “What’s going on?”
The father smiled and said: “Listen to me carefully.”
The father shouts to grief:
- I respect you!
In response to him:
- I respect you!
- You are the best.
They answer him:
- You are the best.
The boy remained surprised, and then his dad explained to him: “This phenomenon is called “echo” but, in truth, it is called life... It gives you everything you say and do.”

A parable about how to change the world

A long time ago, in one city there lived this man. I lived and lived until one day I realized that our world is imperfect. This is normal, thoughts about the imperfection of the world come sooner or later to the heads of many people. But our hero was a very special person, he decided to change the world. He decided to make the world beautiful, friendly, good and perfect.
And this man said, “Give me seven years and I will change the world!” And for seven years this man met with state leaders, organized large-scale actions to change the world, attracted hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people to spiritual practices, worked tirelessly all these years. He became a very famous and respected man, but seven years passed. And the world: remained the same.
Then he said to himself, “It’s probably very difficult to change the whole world. Therefore, I will change my country first, and other countries will see how good things have become for us and will also change. It will take longer, but it will definitely change the world. Give me 700 days and I will change the country."
He came to the president of the country and received all the necessary powers, because he was a respected and famous person. All these hundreds of days the man worked almost around the clock, he met with the heads of large factories, with the leaders of political parties, regional leaders and simply popular actors and famous people. But after seven hundred days his country remained the same.
“Damn it!” said the man. “If I couldn’t change my country, then I will at least change my hometown! Give me 7 months and I will change the city! During this time, he met with every resident of his hometown, he hardly slept during this time, he showed inhuman activity, but: the city remained the same.
Then the man became completely angry - he had done so much for this world, for this country, for this city, but they remained the same. Then he decided to change his wife. And I took myself 7 weeks for this. And you probably already know the result. His wife remained the same.
Then the man, for the first time in these many years, sat down and thought - maybe it’s possible to change himself first? He took seven days for himself. And after seven days he changed, and when he changed, his wife, his city, his country and his world changed.

Interview with God

I once dreamed that I was interviewing God.
So you want to interview me? - God asked me...
If you have time, I said...
God smiled.
My time is eternity. What questions did you want to ask me?

What surprises you most about people?
And God answered...
- They get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then they dream of becoming children again.
- They lose their health while earning money... And then they lose their money while regaining their health.
- They think so much about the future that they forget the present so much that they live neither in the present nor in the future.
“They live as if they would never die, and they die as if they had never lived.”
His hand took mine and we were silent for a while...

And then I asked:
As a parent, what life lessons would you like your children to learn?
- Let them know that it is impossible to force someone to love them. All they can do is allow themselves to be loved.
- Let them know that it is not good to compare yourself with others.
- Let them learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.
- Let them remember that it can take just a few seconds to hurt a loved one, but it can take many years to heal those wounds.
- Let them understand that it is not the one who has more who is rich, but the one who needs less.
- Let them know that there are people who love them very much, they just haven’t learned to express their feelings yet.
-Let them realize that two people can look at the same thing... but see it differently...
- Let them know that forgiving each other is not enough, we must also forgive ourselves.
“Thank you for your time,” I said timidly.

Is there anything else you would like to pass on to your children?
God smiled and said, “Let them know that I am here for them...always.”

Free choice

Once upon a time there lived one Teacher. This strange man remained happy all his life, the smile never left his face for a second! His whole life seemed to be filled with the aroma of the holiday...
And even on his deathbed he continued to laugh cheerfully. He seemed to be enjoying the coming of death! His students sat around - puzzled, confused - and perplexed.
And finally, one of them could not stand it and asked:
- Teacher, why are you laughing? You've laughed all your life. But we never dared to ask you how you manage to do this. And now we are completely confused. Dying, you continue to laugh! But what's funny about this?!
And the old man answered:
- Many years ago I came to my Teacher. I was young and stupid then, just like you are now. I was only seventeen years old, and I was already a sufferer - exhausted and embittered by life. My Teacher was seventy then, and he laughed just like that, for no reason.
I asked him: “How do you do this?”
And he replied: “I am free in my choice. And this is my choice. Every morning when I open my eyes, I ask myself: “Which will you choose today - bliss or suffering?”
And so it turns out that since then I have chosen bliss every morning. But it’s so natural!
(c) Angel de Coitiers, “The Golden Ratio”

Master of your word

A friend once asked a mullah after listening to his youthfully inspired sermon:
- Mullah, most respected, how old are you?
The mullah looked at the young man and replied:
“I’m much older than you dried your shirts in the sun.” My age is no secret, I am forty years old.
About twenty years passed and both friends met again. The mullah was already gray, and his beard seemed sprinkled with flour.
- Mulla, most respected, how long have I not seen you! How old are you now? - asked a friend.
Mulla replied:
- Oh, you are curious, you want to know everything. I am forty years old.
The friend exclaimed in surprise:
- How come? When I asked you twenty years ago, you told me the same thing. Something's wrong here!
Mullah flared up:
- Why can’t this be? What trouble is it that twenty years have passed? Then I said that I was forty years old, and today I say the same thing. I have always been a master of my word.

Silence

Once Buddha passed through a village. Several people gathered - his opponents, and they began to hotly and angrily insult the Buddha. He listened silently, very calmly. And because of this calmness they felt somehow uneasy. An awkward feeling arose: they insult a person, and he listens to their words like music. There's something wrong here.
One of them turned to Buddha: “What’s the matter? Don’t you understand what we’re saying?” “It is with understanding that such deep silence is possible,” replied the Buddha. “If you had come to me ten years ago, I would have rushed at you. There was no understanding then. I understand now. And because of your stupidity, I cannot punish myself. It is your business to decide whether to insult me ​​or not, but to accept your insults or not is my freedom. You can't force them on me. I simply refuse them; they're not worth it. You can take them for yourself. I refuse to accept them."

©Lavsky V.V., Parables of Humanity.

Plays in the speakers: *** 2. Sirin Cerkost - First breath

The little fox couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned and thought, thought, thought. About how big the world is around and how many interesting things there are in it. And he, the little fox, is small and doesn’t know much yet.

A wise parable about the “Husband Store”

A Husband Shop opened in the city of N, where women could choose and buy themselves a husband. At the entrance there were rules for visiting the store:

Wise parable “The Beloved’s Coat”

“One girl was dating a young man. The girl loved this guy very much, but he did not share her love with her. But they were together, he did not leave her... out of pity.

Three planets, Femininity, Arrogance and Rudeness, traveled among the starry expanses of the Universe.

Meteorites circled around them, trying to attract attention with mysterious flashes. Having dared, they playfully blocked their path and, smiling affably, asked:

In the beautiful Garden of Eden, even the air froze with delight, watching the work of the angels who, on a wave of solemn inspiration, created a woman from the highest quality and most pliable clay.

She didn't like New Year's. I just didn't like it. However,
like other holidays. But still, New Year
was a special holiday: on this night it was possible
make wishes that will definitely come true.

The husband and wife lived a long, happy married life. They shared all their secrets and experiences with each other, but there was only one thing the wife asked them never to do: not to look into the old shoe box that she kept on the top shelf of her closet.

The Student comes to the Teacher and begins to complain about his hard life. I asked for advice on what to do when one thing came up, and another, and a third, and in general, I just gave up!

Parables are small stories, each of which has a special meaning. All of them are very instructive, as they make listeners think about a lot and experience some moments that a person has not yet encountered. Despite the fact that the events that take place in the parables do not occur in real life, all the sensations and emotions of the characters are so vividly selected to describe them that this allows us to compare such stories with reality.

Origin of the genre

A short instructive story, which is a parable, contains a religious or moral teaching, that is, wisdom. Such stories belong to the didactic-allegorical genre, which arose in ancient times in the East. It was there that the sages loved to speak in allegories and riddles. Somewhat later, parables with religious content began to appear. The very first of them recorded on paper are early Christian and Hebrew. These instructive stories are reflected in the Bible.

The parable is very close in meaning to a fable. However, it is distinguished from the latter by the breadth of generalization, as well as the significance of the idea. Thus, the main characters of fables are people, as well as animals endowed with certain human qualities. All of them, as a rule, are placed in certain everyday situations. In the parable everything is somewhat different. Its main characters have neither character nor external features. They are a kind of generalized person. This could be a son, father, peasant, woman, king, etc. The meaning of the parable lies not at all in the image of the man himself, but in his ethical choice. In such stories there are no indications of a specific time of action or place. The phenomena in their development are not shown in parables either. After all, the purpose of any wisdom is to report events, not to depict them. The main themes of the parables concern truth and lies, life and death, man and God.

These short moral stories have come a long way in the history of their development. They began with short texts, placed in just two lines. Such parables can be seen in the Old Testament. Having gone through the path of their formation, parables grew into small works. But, be that as it may, these short stories never cease to attract and surprise us, captivating us with the beauty and elegance of their plot, as well as the exquisitely expressed thought, which is a clot of world wisdom.

The concept of a psychological parable

In former times, short stories teaching wisdom were most often the fruit of folk art and did not have a specific author. They were born in the depths of a certain culture, and then were retold and passed on from mouth to mouth.

At the end of the 19th century. - early 20th century Some prominent writers turned their attention to the parable as a genre of literature. In these short stories they were attracted by the stylistic feature that allowed them not to describe the development of the plot, the characters and the setting. The main attention of the reader should have been drawn to the moral and ethical problem of interest to the author. In Russia, V. Doroshevich and L. Tolstoy subordinated their prose to the laws of parables. Abroad, Camus, Marcel, Sartre and Kafka expressed their philosophical views with short wisdom.

Today, parables are used in psychotherapeutic practice. In the hands of a professional, they become a powerful tool that allows you to change a person’s consciousness.

Psychological parables clearly demonstrate some moral and didactic aspect of life. They are used in cases where the patient’s consciousness is in a dead end, from which an appeal to the unconscious is required.

Psychological parables allow the specialist to form a number of images and symbols in the client that carry deep subtext and have a harmonious attitude. Such a message necessarily reaches the subconscious and begins to launch healing processes bypassing consciousness.

Correctly selected short psychological parables allow a person to understand the essence of the problem facing him and find ways to solve it. With their help, the patient begins to realize real life values, which may turn out to be much simpler than one might initially assume.

Thanks to regularly read psychological parables and their analysis, many manage to take a completely different look at the world around them, as well as at the lives of people in it.

Components of a Parable

Short wisdom is like an iceberg. In them, like in this block of ice, only a small part of the presented idea is on the surface.

What are psychological parables made of? Their main elements are four layers:

1. Functional. This is all what lies on the surface and what the psychotherapist’s client hears. Simply put, this is the first stage of getting to know the parable. That is, I read, heard, etc.
2. Physiological. This layer includes the narrator's gestures. This includes movement during the story, posture, and movements of the palms and arms.
3. Psychological. This layer is a target diagnostic. This element has a direct impact on the human psyche, that is, on the development of his imagination, thinking, attention and memory.
4. Personal. This element includes the final result. It leads the listener to personal development. However, it is worth noting that the result of exposure to psychological parables appears much later than becoming familiar with them.

Effective impact

Psychological parables about life, about motivation, about the price of desires, etc. They teach us to find a way out of the current situation, develop intuition, imagination and thinking. Some of them bring inspiration to a person, others make you think, and still others make you laugh. When using this unique tool, short wisdom has a fairly effective therapeutic effect. They allow the listener to plunge into a completely different world, which was created by a psychologist using metaphor. This allows for the closest possible connection between the narrative, the therapist and the patient. At such moments, the client begins to identify himself with the main characters of the parable, as well as with its events. This is the main power of short wisdom. However, in order for the parable to change the client’s real life, he needs to fully understand the events of the story. Identification of a person with the characters and events of the parable will allow him to replace the feeling of isolation, when the thought “only I feel so bad” is firmly ingrained in his head, with a feeling of shared experience, when the patient begins to understand that problems arise not only in his life. The main strength of the parable and its therapeutic effect lies in the fact that the meaning of the story is conveyed to the listener not directly, but indirectly, that is, as if by the way.

Let's look at a detailed interpretation of parables that help change people's vision of the world.

A story about a window

The plot of this parable takes the listener to a double room in a hospital, in which there are two hopeless patients. One of them was lying near the window, and the other was near the door, where the button for calling the nurse is located. The patients stayed in the ward for quite a long time, experiencing the change of seasons there.

The parable “View from the Window” talks about how one of the patients, the one who lay further away from the door, constantly told his neighbor about everything that was happening on the street. There it was raining and snowing, the sun was shining, the trees were either covered with a light frosty lace, or shrouded in a transparent spring haze, with the arrival of summer they were covered with greenery, and in the fall a farewell yellow-scarlet outfit appeared on them. The patient, who was at the door, constantly heard stories about people walking along the street and cars driving. In other words, about the big world that the view from the window opened up for a person. The patient could not get out of bed and envied the one who could admire all this beauty.

And then one night the patient who was lying by the window began to feel ill. He asked to call a nurse, but his neighbor did not do this because of the envy that was choking him. The patient died without waiting for help. The man lying by the door asked to be moved to the window. Once on the coveted bed, he looked out into the street, expecting to see the world in all its glory. However, his gaze met a blank wall. There was nothing else outside the window.

After reading such stories, psychologists certainly give clients a detailed interpretation of the parables. The conclusions that follow from this short story clearly indicate that the happiness of any person is in his hands. It is that positive attitude that manifests itself quite consciously. Happiness is not a gift of fate at all. It will not enter our home through windows or doors. And if you wait for it with folded hands, then it is simply impossible to become happy. This feeling is inside each of us. The human mind can be compared to a program whose operation depends on entering a certain code into it. And if we constantly put only constructive, inspired and positive thoughts into it, we will begin to see much of what can make us optimistic.

Family wisdom

The story told in the parable “On how to teach children to be happy” begins with a man walking along the road. He was a wise old man who admired the spring colors and looked at the surrounding nature. And suddenly on his way he met a man with a large and heavy load, from which his legs gave way.

The old man asked why this man had doomed himself to suffering and hard work? The man replied that he was doing everything to make his children and grandchildren happy. At the same time, he said that this is exactly what his great-grandfather, grandfather and father did. In turn, the wise interlocutor asked whether anyone in the man’s family was happy? He replied that no, but he hoped that life would be much easier for his children and grandchildren. Then the old wise man, sighing, said that an illiterate person cannot teach anyone to read, and a mole cannot raise an eagle.

The conclusion that was drawn from this entire story is that every person must first learn to be happy himself, and only after that he can teach the same to his children. This will be the most valuable gift in life for them.

Love and Separation

The story of this parable begins with the story of a young couple. The guy and the girl were noticed by Love and Separation. The last of them decided to argue. She said that she would separate this couple. But here Love got ahead of her. She said that she would be the first to approach them, but she would only do it once. After this, Separation will be able to do whatever it wants.

Love approached the guy and the girl, looked into their eyes and touched their hands. After that, she saw a spark run between the youth. Next came the turn of Separation. But she decided to approach the couple not immediately, but after some time, when the feeling that arose had faded a little. And then the moment came when Separation looked into the house of the husband and wife. In it she saw a young mother with a child and a father. Separation looked into their eyes and saw Gratitude there. Having not achieved her goal, she decided to come back later.

After some time, Separation again appeared on the threshold of the house. The children were noisy here, being calmed by their mother, and a tired husband returned from work. Separation decided that it could carry out its plans. Looking into the eyes of her husband and wife, she saw Understanding and Respect in them. She had to retreat again.

After some time, Separation returned to this house again. In him she saw a gray-haired father who was explaining something to his already grown-up children. At the same time, the mother was busy in the kitchen. Looking into the eyes of the husband and wife, she saw Trust there. And again Separation had to leave.

After some time, she once again visited this house. The grandchildren were running around in it, and by the fireplace she saw a saddened old woman. Separation was glad that it would finally achieve its goal. She tried to look into the eyes of the old woman, but she left the house. The woman went to the cemetery and sat down by the grave. It turned out that her husband was buried here. Separation, looking into the tear-stained eyes of the old woman, saw in them the Memory of Love. And also about Gratitude and Respect, Understanding and Trust.

What could be the conclusion from the parable “Love and Separation”? There is one great feeling in the world. This is love that every person understands in their own way. However, without it, life on this planet simply would not exist. Only thanks to her there is Understanding, Goodness, Joy and other wonderful feelings in the world.

Positive thinking attitude

This parable tells how one day a wise old Chinese man, walking through a snowy field, met a tear-stained woman on his way. He inquired about the reason for her tears. To which she replied that, looking at the snow-covered field, she remembers her youth, bygone beauty and the men she loved. The woman was sure that God acted cruelly by giving people memory. After all, it makes her cry, remembering her youth.

The sage was silent for some time. He stood and contemplated the snowy plain. The woman, having stopped crying, asked what he saw. The sage said that there were blooming roses in front of him. God gave him memory, and he always remembers his spring.

What is the moral of the parable “On Positive Thinking”? The conclusion from this story is obvious. Positive thinking of a person does not consist in believing in a better future in any situation. It should be based on the fact that people need to live in the present so that tomorrow they remember yesterday with joy and a smile.

Motivation

The story of this parable tells us about a man walking past a house, near which an old woman and an old man were sitting in rocking chairs. Between them lay a dog whining as if in pain. The next day the story repeated itself. On the third day, the man could not stand it and asked: “Why is the dog whining so pitifully?” The old woman replied that she was lying on a nail. A passerby was surprised and expressed his bewilderment that the animal would not get up to alleviate the suffering. To this the old woman answered him that the dog was only in pain enough to whine, but not at all enough to make any movements and move to another place.

What does this psychological parable teach us about motivation? Improving your life just like that is quite difficult. We all need motivation to take action.

Do it differently

The parable “About the Blind Man” is very instructive. It tells the story of how one day a passer-by saw a beggar begging on the steps of one of the buildings. Next to him lay a sign that read: “I am blind. Help me please". A passerby took pity on the disabled man, whose hat contained only a few coins. He threw him money, and then took the sign and wrote new words on it without permission. After this, the passer-by went about his business. By the end of the day the blind man had a hat full of coins. When the stranger was returning home, the beggar recognized him by his steps and asked what he wrote on the sign? To which the passer-by replied that he had only changed the text a little. The blind man tried for a long time to read what was written, diligently running his fingers over the surface. And finally, he succeeded. On the sign he found the inscription: “It’s spring, but I can’t see it.”

The moral of this parable is that you should not despair when what you planned doesn’t go the way you want. It's worth trying to do things differently.

About despondency

This parable tells how the Devil, who decided to show off to everyone, carefully placed on a glass display case the tools that he uses in his craft. Next to each item he attached a label with the name and cost. This collection contained the Hammer of Wrath, the Dagger of Envy and the Trap of Greed, weapons of Hatred, Pride and Fear. All these instruments were located on beautiful cushions and could not but arouse admiration among all who visited Hell.

But on the far shelf lay a shabby and unsightly-looking wooden wedge, next to which was the label “Despondency.” This item was worth more than all the others combined. To surprised questions, the Devil answered that this tool is the only one that can be relied on when other means are powerless.

The moral of the parable “About Dejection” is that you should not give in to this feeling. It is much stronger than many others, including fear, envy, anger, greed and hatred.

Circumstances that change people

This parable tells how a young woman who had recently gotten married came to her father. She told him that she had a lot of difficulties in her personal life and at work, and she didn’t know how to cope with it. Father put three pots on the stove, filling them with water. He put carrots in one of them, an egg in another, and coffee in the third. After a few minutes they checked the contents of the pots. The coffee dissolved and the egg and carrots cooked. The father looked at this situation more deeply. He told his daughter that carrots, after being scalded with boiling water, became pliable and soft. The egg, previously liquid and fragile, hardened. Externally, these products have not changed. However, under the influence of boiling water they became completely different. The same thing happens with people. Outwardly strong, they can always fall apart and become weak. Delicate and fragile, despite the difficulties, will only grow stronger and harden. But about coffee, my father said that in an aggressive environment for him, this powder completely dissolved, turning into a wonderful drink.

What is the conclusion from the parable “How Circumstances Change People”? Not every person can be changed by the situation. He himself sometimes changes circumstances, extracting benefit and knowledge from them. Who will he become when life problems arise? This is the choice of everyone.

Parable of Desire

It's worth thinking about this story. It tells the story of a shop located on the outskirts of the Universe that sells wishes. Its sign was once carried away by a space hurricane, but the owner did not bother to nail down a new one. All local residents already knew that they could buy almost everything here: huge apartments and yachts, marriage and victory, success and power, football clubs and much more. It was impossible to purchase only death and life in the store. This was handled by the head office, located in another Galaxy.

Anyone who came to the store was primarily interested in the price of their desire. However, not many people decided to buy it. There were buyers who, having specified the price, immediately left. Some became thoughtful and began to count the money. Someone simply complained about the cost being too high, asking for a discount. But among the buyers there were also those who immediately took money out of their pockets and acquired their cherished desire. Everyone else looked at their happy faces, thinking that, most likely, the owner of the store was their acquaintance and gave them everything they wanted, just like that.

There were not many buyers who received wishes. And when the store owner, who did not want to reduce prices, was asked if he was afraid of going broke, he answered that there will always be brave people who are ready to take risks and exchange everything in their predictable and familiar life for the fulfillment of their cherished desires.

What is this parable about? “The Price of Desire” talks about how we often don’t even realize what lies behind what we dream about. After listening to the parable, a person should think about whether he is ready to go towards his goal and even lose something in order to achieve it.

"Home Sweet Home"
To understand the basic values ​​of life and build a creative life program. - Yu.E. Chelovskaya

In one beautiful State there lived a Royal family. Peace and joy reigned in their castle. But one day trouble happened. As the King walked through the garden, picking flowers for his dear daughters, the sky darkened and thunder and lightning began to be heard. Suddenly he saw the Green Snake Gorynych flying, he picked up the King and carried him away to his dark kingdom.

Chaos set in in their Kingdom, the city began to empty, then it was time to draw lots to see who would dare save the King and prevent the entire State from perishing. The King’s youngest daughter decided to take this brave action. While the eldest daughter is appointed to the post of head of the provisional government.
The youngest, without thinking twice, packs her things, jumps on her Faithful Black Horse and goes in search of her father.
For a long, long time she galloped through fields, forests, and ravines until she saw a foreign State. Having entered the city, she saw jewelry, things, drinks from different countries, attracting her so much that the Princess forgot how she ended up here and why. And then she remains in this wonderful, full of sparkle place.
Lived there for a long time. One day, when she was walking by the beautiful seashore, she met a Prince...
He asked her:
- Light of my eyes, do you like music?
“Yes,” answered the Princess.
“Then I will be happy to perform my best composition for you on the Harp.”
Playing it very melodiously and beautifully, he bewitched the Princess and wanted to imprison him... but then the string of the Harp broke and the Princess freed herself from the spell and realized that it was the False Prince.
Jumping onto her Faithful Horse, she galloped to the call of her heart, fearing that the False Prince would repair his Harp and overtake her... began to look for shelter in order to hide at least for a while. Having galloped half the night, she fixed her gaze on the open gate... from which warmth wafted. Jumping off her horse, she went there. There a woman called to her:
- Hello Princess! My people and I have been waiting for you for a long time! What stopped you from coming earlier?
- Hello! For what? I don't remember! In these foreign lands I was captivated and bewitched by the glitter of jewels and the musical Harp of the False Prince. I have never felt such inner emptiness as I do now! I really hope that you can tell me what to do next?
“The fact is that our worst enemy, the Green Snake Gorynych, has been stealing the city’s residents for a long time. And one day, my husband the Sage had a sign that when the Princess came into our house, accompanied by the Faithful Black Horse, sorrow would end, for she would defeat the founder of all troubles and suffering.. And here you are, because your father was kidnapped by the Green Snake Gorynych, you alone dared to go looking for him.
- Who are you?
- I am a good Sorceress, and my husband is a Sage. I want to help you and give you a magic ball that will show you the way.
- Thank you for your help and guiding me towards my goal. Goodbye.
- Goodbye! Wait a minute! Remember: on the way to the lair, danger may await you at every step. Be careful and don’t forget - we believe in you!
And the Princess, leaving her horse with the Good Witch and the Sage, went after the magic ball, which was the only one who knew the way to the Serpent’s lair. Along the path she meets the Heat - a Bird languishing in the ice, who begs her to help her free herself from this age-old curse.. To do this, you need to solve riddles. The princess makes up her mind. Then the Firebird asks her questions:
- Which is faster?
- What is the cutest thing in the world?
-What is dearest of all?
-Which is fattier?
The princess, without hesitation, answers:
- Faster than anything else - Thought. Thought is the seed and love is the water that nourishes it. The main thing is to realize the value of your thoughts.
- Dearest of all - this is a Dream, in a dream all grief is forgotten!
- Family is dearest of all, because one for all and all for one. They stand up for each other.
- The fattest thing is the Earth, what does not grow, what does not live - the Earth nourishes.
The Clever Princess melted the Age-old Ice by guessing the riddles, and as gratitude, the Firebird tore out a burning feather, which would later illuminate the path to the dark dungeon of the Green Serpent Gorynych. So she went on her way. She approached the spring and suddenly heard groans... looking around, she saw an Apple tree that was drying up. The tree asked to be watered. The princess, having collected water in her palms, fulfilled Yablonka’s request, and in return for her help and compassion, she revealed the secret of the water of this spring, with the help of which you can defeat any dark forces. She also gave a jug. The princess thanked Apple Tree, filled a jug with Magic water from the spring and moved on. Whether it was long or short, the ball was finally over. The princess raised his eyes and saw the Crystal Castle, entering there she thought: “How can... in such a beautiful place... the most terrible creature live?” But, remembering the parting words of the Good Witch, she decides to take out the feather given by the Firebird. The feather was so bright that the light opened her eyes rather than blinding her. Seeing the wretched picture... of this dungeon full of burning... emptiness... dirt and poor imprisoned people, the Princess experiences fear, but her inner core and newfound confidence give her the strength to move on... Passing by monotonous rooms, she finds herself in the main Hall, where Green dominates Dragon. The princess sees a table set, and next to it there is a throne on which the Serpent sits.
- Hello! Have a seat! Are you perhaps hungry? Taste my food and drinks!
- Thank you, generous Green Snake Gorynych! I came to give you a gift so that you will have mercy!
- Come to me, let me take a look!
The princess comes up and hands him a jug of water. But the Serpent sensed a catch and gave her gift back. Crying out:
- Take it! Liar!
Without hesitation, the Princess throws out Magic Water on the Snake and he disappears... all that is left of him is a bunch of keys... The Princess picks them up and runs to free the prisoners. Among them she finds her father. And he says:
- How long have I been waiting for you!
The daughter, through tears of joy, replies: “I’m so happy that you’re with me again!”
The people rejoice and everyone returns home. Everything ends well.. And the fairy tale continues.. I can only promise that they will live and live, and although I had a hard time believing that the house would be filled with joy, still Good prevails, and Success awaits every hero!

ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION

THE WOLF IS INSIDE US

One old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about the struggle that occurs in the human soul. He said: - Baby, two wolves are fighting in us, one represents Misfortune - fear, anxiety, anger, envy, melancholy, self-pity, resentment and inferiority.

Another Wolf Happiness - joy, love, hope, serenity, kindness, generosity, truth and compassion.

The little Indian thought for a few moments, and then asked: “Which wolf wins in the end?” The old Cherokee answered simply: “The wolf you feed always wins.”

PENCIL

Before putting the pencil into the box, the pencil maker put it aside.

There are five things you must know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget them, and you will become the best penciler you can be.

First, you can do many great things, but only if you allow someone to hold you in their hand.

Second, you will experience painful sharpening from time to time, but it will be necessary to become a better penciler.

Third, you will be able to correct the mistakes you make.

Fourth, your most important part will always be inside you.

And fifth - no matter what surface you are used on, you are always obliged to leave your mark. Regardless of your condition, you must continue to write.

PARABLE ABOUT THE HORSE

The peasant's horse ran away. How to sow, how to plow? The peasant began to cry. Somehow they plowed the field, somehow they sowed it. Time has passed. The horse came and brought the foal. Oh, what luck, the horse ran away and brought a foal. The foal grew up and turned into a powerful horse. A peasant's son rode on it, fell and broke his leg. “What grief,” the peasant cried, “my son broke his leg.” In the morning there is a knock on the door: mobilization. All the young guys are taken to war with the neighboring kingdom. But they didn’t take the peasant’s son. He was delighted: what a blessing - his son broke his leg.

• If we cannot change the situation, then we can choose how to react to it: with a plus sign or with a minus sign.
• Everything that is done is for the better; in every event there is a meaning that cannot be immediately grasped. Only subsequent events will prove the goodness of what happened.
• Every problem is a test, every test is a challenge. In every challenge lies the germ of future success. Time passes, a chain of events unfolds, leading a person to success.

GORGEOUS [anti-manipulation, honesty]

A girl walked along the road, as beautiful as a fairy. Suddenly she noticed that a man was following her. She turned around and asked:"Tell me, why are you following me?"

The man replied: “Oh, mistress of my heart, your charms are so irresistible that they command me to follow you. They say about me that I play the lute beautifully, that I am initiated into the secrets of the art of poetry and that I know how to awaken the pangs of love in the hearts of women. And I want to declare my love to you, because you have captivated my heart!”

The beauty looked at him silently for a while, then said: “How could you fall in love with me? My younger sister is much more beautiful and attractive than me. She is following me, look at her.”

The man stopped, then turned around, but saw only an ugly old woman in a patched cape. Then he quickened his steps to catch up with the girl. Lowering his eyes, he asked in a voice expressing resignation: “Tell me, how could a lie come out of your mouth?”

She smiled and answered: “You, my friend, also did not tell me the truth when you swore your love. You know perfectly all the rules of love and pretend that your heart is burning with love for me. How could you turn around to look to another woman?

ABOUT COFFEE

A young girl comes to her father and says: “Father, I’m tired, I have such a hard life, such difficulties and problems, I’m always swimming against the tide, I don’t have any more strength. What should I do?”

Father, instead of answering, put three identical pots of water on the fire, threw carrots into one, put an egg into another, and poured ground coffee beans into the third. After a while, he took the carrots and egg out of the water and poured coffee from the third pan into the cup.

What changed? - he asked his daughter.

The egg and carrots were cooked, and the coffee beans dissolved in the water, she answered.

No, my daughter, this is only a superficial look at things. Look - hard carrots, having been in boiling water, became soft and pliable. The fragile and liquid egg became hard. Outwardly they have not changed, they only changed their structure under the influence of the same unfavorable circumstances - boiling water. Likewise, people who are strong outwardly can fall apart and become weaklings where the fragile and tender ones only harden and get stronger...

What about coffee? - asked the daughter.

ABOUT! This is the most interesting! The coffee beans completely dissolved in the new hostile environment and changed it - they turned boiling water into a magnificent aromatic drink. There are special people who do not change due to circumstances - they change the circumstances themselves and turn them into something new and beautiful, extracting benefit and knowledge from the situation.

SAD [self-esteem, self-acceptance]

One day the king went into his garden and found withered and dying trees, shrubs and flowers. The oak said that it was dying because it was not as tall as the pine. Turning to the pine tree, the king discovered that it was dying because it could not produce grapes. And the vineyard dies because it cannot bloom as beautifully as a rose.

And the king found only one flower, a pansy, blooming and fresh as always. He was interested to know why this was happening. The flower replied:

I took it for granted that when you planted me, you wanted pansies. If you wanted to see an oak tree, a vineyard or a rose in the garden, you would plant them. And I - if I cannot be anything other than what I am - I will try to be it as best as possible.

You are here because existence needs you as you are. Otherwise there would be someone else here.

COLLECT FLUFF

One man spoke ill of the rabbi. But one day, feeling remorse, he decided to ask for forgiveness, saying that he agreed to any punishment. The rabbi told him to take some down pillows, rip them open, and let the down fly into the wind. When the man did this, the rabbi told him: "Now go and collect the fluff."

But this is impossible! - the man exclaimed.

Certainly. And although you may sincerely regret the evil you have caused, it is just as impossible to correct the evil caused by words as it is to collect all the fluff.

TEACHER

One day a neighbor's woman came to the wise Teacher with a boy and said: "I have already tried all the ways, but the child does not listen to me. He eats too much sugar. Please tell him that this is not good. He will listen because he respects you very much."

The teacher looked at the child, at the trust in his eyes, and said: “Come back in three weeks.”

The woman was completely bewildered. It's such a simple thing! It’s not clear... People came from different countries, and the Teacher helped them solve big problems at once... But she obediently came after three weeks. The teacher looked at the child again and said: “Come back in three more weeks.”

Here the woman could not stand it and dared to ask what was the matter. But the Teacher only repeated what was said. When they came for the third time, the Teacher said to the boy: “Son, listen to my advice, don’t eat a lot of sugar, it’s bad for your health.”

Since you advise me, I won’t do this anymore,” the boy replied.

After this, the mother asked the child to wait for her outside. When he left, she asked: “Teacher, why didn’t you do this the first time, it’s so simple?”

The teacher admitted to her that he himself loved to eat sugar, and before giving advice, he had to get rid of this weakness himself. At first he decided that three weeks would be enough, but he was wrong...

One of the signs of a true Master is this: he will never teach something that he has not experienced himself.

VALUES IN LIFE

Before a lecture, a philosophy professor enters the hall and lays out severalvarious things. When class begins, he silently takes a large empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with large rocks.

Then he asks: “Was the jar full?”

Yes! - the students agree.

Then the professor takes out a box with small pebbles and pours them into the same jar. He shook the jar a little, and the pebbles, of course, filled the open areas between the stones. He asked the students again: “Is the jar full?”

They laughed and agreed that the jar was full. Then, the professor takes out a box of sand and pours it into a jar. Naturally, sand fills the rest of the space.

Now,” said the professor, “I want you to understand that this is your life.” Stones are important things: your family, your friends, your health, your children. If everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

Pebbles are other things that matter like your job, your home, your car. Sand - everything else is just the little things in life. If you pour sand into the jar first, there will be no room for pebbles and stones.

It's the same in life. If you spend all your time and energy on the little things, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that matter most to your happiness. Take care of the stones first, it really makes a difference.

Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

The husband and wife lived for thirty years. On the day of the 30th anniversary of their marriage, the wife, as usual, baked a bun - she baked it every morning, it was a tradition. At breakfast, she divided it crosswise, buttered both parts, and, as usual, served the top part to her husband, but halfway her hand stopped...

She thought: “On the day of our thirtieth anniversary, I want to eat this rosy part of the bun myself; I’ve been dreaming about it for 30 years. After all, I’ve been an exemplary wife for thirty years, I raised wonderful sons for him, I was a faithful and good lover, I ran a household , she put so much strength and health into our family.”

Having made this decision, she hands the bottom of the bun to her husband, and her hand shakes - a violation of 30 years of tradition! And the husband, taking the bun, said to her: “What an invaluable gift you gave me today, my love! For 30 years I have not eaten my favorite, the bottom part of the bun, because I believed that it rightfully belonged to you.”

IN SEARCH OF DESTINY

One day, two sailors set off on a journey around the world to find their destiny. They sailed to an island where the leader of one of the tribes had two daughters. The eldest is a beauty, and the youngest... Well, how can I say so as not to offend anyone... Not really. One of the sailors said to his friend: “That’s it, I’ve found my happiness, I’m staying here and marrying the leader’s daughter.”

Yes, you're right, the leader's eldest rain is beautiful and smart. You made the right choice - get married.

You don't understand me, friend! I will marry the chief's youngest daughter.

Are you crazy? She's... not very good.

This is my decision and I will do it.

The friend sailed further in search of his happiness, and the groom went to get married. It must be said that in the tribe it was customary to give a ransom for the bride... in cows. A good bride stood ten cows. He drove ten cows and approached the leader:

Leader, I want to take your daughter and I will give ten cows for her!

It's a good choice. My eldest daughter is beautiful, smart, and worth ten cows. I agree.

No, leader, you don't understand. I want to marry your youngest daughter.

Are you kidding me, dear man? Don't you see, she's so... not very good.

I want to marry her.

Okay, but as an honest person I can’t take ten cows, she’s not worth it. I'll take three cows for her, no more.

No, I want to pay exactly ten cows.

They merried. Several years passed, and the wandering friend, already on his ship, decided to visit his remaining comrade and find out how his life was. He arrived, walked along the shore, and was met by a woman of unearthly beauty. He asked her how to find his friend. She showed. He comes and sees his friend sitting, kids running around...

How are you?

I'm happy.

Then that same beautiful woman comes in.

Here, meet me. This is my wife.

How? Did you get married again?

No, it's still the same woman.

But how did it happen that she changed so much?

How about you ask her yourself?

A friend approached the woman and said: “Sorry for the tactlessness, but I remember what you were like... not very much. What happened that you became so beautiful?”

Just one day I realized that I was worth ten cows....

PSYCHOTHERAPY TALES

CLOUD AND LAKE

Prevention of a passive life position, “self-flagellation”, refusal of constructive activity - V. Buyanovskaya

You probably all know the large impassable swamp north of the city. Nothing grows on it, and it seems that only occasionally black clouds fly over it. Neither the sun, nor the moon, much less a cloud, ever appears above him. Neither birds singing nor human speech can be heard there. Even children and animals avoid this disastrous place.

But once upon a time, a very, very long time ago, everything was completely different. Then, a long time ago, in the place of this terrible swamp, there was a beautiful Lake. Throughout the entire District, the lake was famous for its clear water; graceful willows stood along the banks, bathing their loose branches in the waters of the lake. And all kinds of fish were found there. From the very early morning, boys came to fish and splash in the clear waters; in the afternoon, adults came to swim, relax, and take a sip of crystal water after a hard day. Lovers came at night. How much laughter, how many declarations of love the Lake heard. And the birds sang all day. In the morning, the Sun greeted the Lake, bathing its rays in its waters; at night, the moon paved a silver path along which little silver men glided.

More often than others, one Cloud floated over the Lake. It was so small, so light, so fast. Cloud loved the Lake very much and every time tried to be with him as much as possible. Cloud loved the Lake very much, but the Lake was very proud, unapproachable and did not encourage such advances. It offended Cloud, and Cloud cried, it floated into the distance, but then forgot everything and returned.

But the Lake loved only itself. He became irritated by the singing of birds, the dancing of fish, and the laughter of children. It was so proud that it did not even like the small streams that flowed into it. Everything irritated him. The lake believed that it was very beautiful and no one was worthy of it, no one could compare with it. And Cloud cried more and more often. Other clouds and adult clouds could not calmly watch as Cloud melted. They half-forced, half-persuaded me to fly south, to distant Africa. At first, Cloud was very worried, but when he saw how people and plants rejoiced at him, he slowly got used to life without the Lake.

And the Lake, since Cloud flew away, has become completely unbearable. Only Cloud's cheerful and easy-going disposition smoothed over the worsening and worsening character of the Lake. Over time, the birds began to fly around the Lake and the fish tried to move to other bodies of water. Gradually, the Lake stopped communicating with the streams that had been replenishing it with fresh water for so long. The lake was no longer so crystal clear. No one could hear his vows of love or children’s laughter on the banks; no one wanted to swim after a hard day. Even the beautiful willows removed their loose branches; they had nowhere else to look. The lake gradually became more and more muddy and swampy.

The frogs were the last to leave him. They couldn’t bear that no one could hear them, and there was no one to try for. But the Lake didn’t worry. He felt very good alone, no one distracted him from smart thoughts, no one stopped him from admiring himself. True, sometimes it glanced at the sky to see if a Cloud was passing by. But the cloud did not float by. Only sometimes a black cloud stopped, looked reproachfully, showered him with streams of abuse and floated on. And the Lake lived its own life, incomprehensible to anyone. It didn’t even notice when it managed to turn into a swamp. And the worst thing is that he didn’t care at all.

PARTING

A fairy tale for children whose parents are breaking up - A. Smirnova

Trouble has happened to the bear family. Quite unexpectedly for the little bear, dad went to live in another den. All he said was: “Don’t worry, son, we’ll see each other, just less often.” Mishutka was more upset by these words than reassured. He couldn’t understand why dad decided to leave and why they should rarely see each other, why he couldn’t play ball with him before dinner, swim in the pond as before, and not hear the usual in the morning: “Get up, sleepyhead, it’s already day.” has begun".

“How scary these adults are,” the little bear thought, “they always need to change something. After all, everything was so good.”

One night, hearing his mother quietly crying, the bear came out of the den and knocked on the owl’s door.

Listen, owl, you are the wisest in our forest. Explain why dad left us? Maybe we offended him in some way or he just stopped loving us?

Owl thought about it.

You know, bear, there are many difficult questions in life. They are not easy to answer.

Even you?

Even me.

I heard my mother crying today and I was completely confused. What if dad left because of me? He probably stopped loving me, and if I leave home, he will return to my mother. Then she won't cry anymore.

I think your mom will be even more upset, but your dad loves you. He himself told me about this. He feels just as bad as you, but he doesn’t show it to anyone.

But if he feels bad, why doesn't he come back?

Because in the lives of adults, things often happen that are difficult for children to understand. Many years will pass before you learn about the many complexities of life.

But I want to know now. Why do people break up? I heard from the animals that dad has a new family. It turns out that he abandoned us and will soon completely forget?

No, he won't forget. You are part of his life.

I don't want to be a part. Let everything be as before.

You see, bear, every family has its own life. It can be very long. Children grow up, and mothers and fathers separate before grandchildren appear.

Is it like a fox? Their mother left them.

And like a fox, and like a bunny. He came to me last summer and complained that dad was hurting mom, but as soon as he stood up for it, he got it too.

I know. The bunny said that he was afraid of his dad, and he felt calmer together with his mom.

You see how different relationships can be. Your parents probably felt that their life together ended sooner than they wanted. And so as not to offend each other, as happened in the bunny’s family, they parted.

There are some flowers that cannot live together in the same flower bed, although they like each other. If they grow up next to each other, they quickly begin to see each other and constantly argue and quarrel. When they are transplanted to different flower beds, they bloom again.

The same happens with adults. At first they love each other, and then something happens and it becomes difficult to live together.

I understand, but that doesn't make it any easier.

That's how it should be. Breaking up with someone you love is always hard, but sometimes it happens. The main thing is to be able to survive it.

It’s hard to be a child,” sighed the little bear.

Being an adult isn't easy either. You will understand this when you grow up. So don't be offended by dad and calm mom down. She's very worried about you. It's hard for her now too. Help her.

POWER OF LOVE

A fairy tale about the value of love, the relationship between a man and a woman. - Andrey Gnezdilov

In the old knightly times, people, in addition to their own names, gave each other nicknames. This especially applied to kings. Who hasn't heard about Henry the Handsome, Louis the Magnificent, Charles the Bold. But in one country there lived a king for whom they could not find a nickname. As soon as he was given a nickname, he changed, showing completely opposite qualities. To begin with, when he ascended the throne, he was nicknamed the Weak. It happened like this. There was a custom in the country according to which queens inherited the throne and then chose their own husbands. According to knightly traditions, a tournament was convened and the queen made the strongest person her chosen one. But at that time Queen Palla was on the throne. She was called beautiful, but, in addition, she also had a willful character and no one could guess what she would do. And so, at the tournament, where the strongest Knights fought for the honor of taking the throne, the queen chose not the winner, but the weakest knight. His name was Rich, and no matter who he tried to fight, he was immediately knocked out of the saddle. What a scandal happened when Palla, leaving the throne, put a golden crown on his head!

However, there was no need to argue with the queen. But King Rich immediately received the nickname Weak. And of course, the offended vassals refused to obey him. They joined forces and decided to overthrow Rich and give the queen a husband they would respect. Their troops surrounded the capital and demanded that the king be deposed. Then the king and queen rode out of the gate, and Palla said that if there was at least one of the warriors capable of defeating the king, then she would agree to give in to the demands of her subjects. And then a miracle happened. The strongest knights clashed with the weak king, and not one of them stayed in the saddle. The shamed knights were forced to submit. No one understood how it happened that Rich emerged victorious from all the fights. - Maybe there is witchcraft involved here?

Yes, witchcraft,” answered Queen Palla when she heard rumors of her subjects’ suspicions. - And his name is my love. She has the power to transform the weak into the strong. And from that time on King Rich began to be called Strong.

One day, the country suffered from crop failure and famine. People were ready to give the most expensive things for a piece of bread. And from somewhere, traders poured into the kingdom. They brought grain, but they charged exorbitant prices for it, so that when the grain disaster ended, the residents felt an even worse misfortune - dependence and slavery. Almost half the country was in debt. The power of King Rich has been shaken. His subjects now served not him, but cunning and greedy money lenders. Then the king announced that he intended to pay all the debts of the inhabitants of his country, but on the condition that the merchants leave it. Reluctantly, foreigners gathered in the capital. They did not at all want to leave the kingdom, where they lived so richly and freely. And so they came up with a trick. The blacksmiths made huge scales for them, and their slaves placed stone boulders on top of one of the cups, covered with a thin layer of gold. The merchants rubbed their hands contentedly, knowing in advance that the king did not have enough treasures that could outweigh the other cup. Indeed, when all the gold of the royal treasury was lightly on the scales, they did not even flinch.

Your Majesty! Even if you yourself step on the scales with all your valor, they are unlikely to be able to outweigh the debts! - the traders said sarcastically. And then the king took off his crown, stepped off the throne and stood on the scales. They didn't move. Rich looked at the queen and she smiled at him. At the same instant, the scales containing the king dropped and touched the ground. The amazed moneylenders could not believe their eyes, and the king began to throw gold from the bowl. Finally, he alone remained on the scales, and the bowl with gilded stones still hung in the air.

“I’m not going to bargain,” Rich said.

Therefore, I offer myself for the debts of my subjects. You see the scales don't lie. The traders hissed angrily: “What do we need this king for without his treasures and country?” He doesn't even have a crown. He's nobody.

Then get out! - the king exclaimed angrily. - And if even one remains on my land until tomorrow morning, he will be executed!

But we won’t have time to collect our goods! - the merchants shouted. Here is your goodness, which you put on the scales! Take it with you! - Rich answered.

And the crowd of moneylenders, fearing that their deception would be revealed and they would pay with their heads, dragged their stones away from the capital.

How much do you weigh, Your Majesty? “The queen asked Richa, laughing.

“As much as your witchcraft,” answered the king, who was immediately nicknamed Heavy.

A little time passed, and new events befell the lives of Rich and Palla. From the farthest outskirts of the country, where inaccessible mountains rose, Lady Cora Glon arrived at the court. The queen was beautiful, but she involuntarily had to look away when the burning gaze of the new beauty slowly slid over the admiring crowd of nobles, and then boldly stopped at the queen. Truly this was a dangerous rival. Her bold outfits, which flouted modesty, kindled the hearts of men. She danced with such passion, as if she had the deepest feelings for everyone who was paired with her. She could, without knowing fatigue, ride a horse from morning until late at night. She shot the bow without missing. But the most important thing is that she was surrounded by mystery. No one knew before about the existence of Glon Castle, no one could fully understand the charm of Cora, who dazzled with her wealth and freedom of circulation.

No one knew the intoxicating aromas that she used in her perfumes. Apparently, they turned their heads, giving birth to the most shameless dreams. And finally, who did she need? She seemed to want everything and everyone at once. And so, as if madness entered along with Lady Glon. Ardent youths and stern men, forgetting about their affections, were drawn to only Kora. Fierce disputes, wild jealousy, deadly fights - that’s what fascinated the courtiers.

Tears and despair, passion and anger trailed Lady Glon in an endless train, and she seemed not to notice anything.
With laughter, singing, and dancing, she called to her, promising herself to everyone who would submit to her alone. Without a scepter and crown, she began to reign at court, and poor Palla had to share power with her. Ball after ball, holiday after holiday followed non-stop, and Lady Glon was inexhaustible, like her wealth, which she generously threw at feasts and pleasures. From time to time she brought this or that admirer closer to her. But his happiness was short-lived, and soon he disappeared somewhere. No one dared to accuse Cora, because the new victim was eager to replace her opponent.

King Rich took part in all the entertainment, but none of the courtiers could accuse him of treason. Many thought that Cora was aiming at him, gradually drawing the king into her trap, and warned Pallu. But she could not overcome her pride and demand an explanation from her subject or ask the king to stop the revelry.

But one day the king did not return from the hunt. In vain did the queen wait for him, in vain did the huntsmen search the entire forest. There is no trace left of King Rich. And evil tongues immediately renamed it from Heavy to Light. But the sadness for the disappeared king was short-lived. Lady Glon, breaking the mourning, again prepared a magnificent ball. The queen tried to call her subjects to order, but they refused to obey her.

- Give us a new king, Your Majesty, and we will obey! - answered the nobles, trained by Cora. But Palla flatly refused. Having left the palace, the queen, so as not to hear the sounds of fun, went into the forest. The night was drawing to a close when Palla heard the clatter of hooves. A cavalcade of dressed-up horsemen with torches in their hands rushed through the forest.

These were drunken guests who decided to finish the feast with hunting. But it was not animals that served as her prey. They rushed after Kore Glon. Now a cheerful band scattered through the forest, and only distant voices and laughter awakened the silence. The Queen wanted to continue her journey, but suddenly stopped at the edge of the clearing. In the middle of it she saw a familiar knight. He froze, rooted to the spot, looking ahead of him and lowering the dying torch. Then the bushes parted, and Lady Glon appeared on horseback to meet him. She was naked, and only wild hair fell over her white shoulders, tangled with the horse's mane. A pack of silent dogs ran out into the clearing and surrounded the knight. Cora raised her hand imperiously, and he, touching the reins, approached her. How the snake wrapped itself around the knight's lady and grabbed his lips, and the dogs grabbed his horse.

With a muffled sad cry, the rider disappeared, and in his place, with his tail between his legs, was a new dog. The lady spurred her horse, and a pack of dogs followed her. Palla returned to the palace with horror, realizing that Cora Glon was a sorceress and fighting her was pointless. She could not rely on any of her subjects. And a conspiracy was already brewing around her. And so, at the end of the year, the courtiers again gathered in the palace and demanded that the queen choose a new king.

No,” answered Palla. - I choose only once, and you know my choice is King Rich.

But he betrayed you and the kingdom! - angry voices rang out.

Maybe so, but he did not change my love! - Palla answered.

It's time to make a new choice, queen! - Lady Glon said, approaching the throne. A triumphant smile curled her lips. A dozen conspirators surrounded the queen and tore off her crown.

I give you life, Palla! - exclaimed Cora Glon, laughing. - But only so that you share it with my jester. He remained faithful to you and therefore lost his crown. I'll put it on someone more worthy. The crowd moved away. Chained and clad in jester's attire, King Rich appeared before Palla.

Now you two will amuse me,” said the sorceress. With firm steps she climbed the steps of the throne and placed Palla's crown on her head. At the same instant, her head turned into a terrible dog's muzzle. The body shrank and became covered with fur. Instead of words, a hoarse bark came out of her mouth. The knights grabbed their weapons. With a wild howl, the witch jumped out the window and crashed on the stones.

Who could defeat the sorceress, Your Majesty? Rich asked Pallu.

Not me! - she answered. - But my love and your loyalty!

Since then, King Rich has been nicknamed the Faithful.