The Story Apothecary

An ethereal Japanese story about a man who saves his favourite willow tree from being cut down, and meets the woman who will become his wife under that beautiful willow. 
-Story Prescription: This is a story prescription for the Earth, and for anyone who would like to cherish or deepen their relationship with nature.
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Ways to Support this podcast:
-If you have enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating or review as this helps others to find it. Share this podcast with your friends and on social media. You can find me on Instagram @nana.tomova or on Twitter @NanaTomova or on Facebook @NanaTomovaStoryteller
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To support my work financially you can become a a regular patron on Patreon, and you will receive the gift of stories and folklore.
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You can also 'buy me a coffee' as a one-off way of supporting me if you enjoy listening.
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Music:
Thank you to In Feathers for the beautiful music. You can find more of his music and musings at https://www.instagram.com/in.feathers/

A funny and lighthearted story from Ireland about two strange friends who go picking blackberries and it doesn't quite go according to plan!
Story Prescription: For anyone who is is need of laughing kindly to themselves, if they have gotten caught up in something and forgotten why they had started on their journey. For anyone prone to having too much of a good thing, or anyone who ruminates about something over and over again.
Story Caution: This story is humorous, however it does mention the topic of hanging. Munachar wants to hang his friend Manachar for he has eaten all the blackberries. If you have been affected by this in your life, then ensure that you are in a place within yourself where you are able to listen before you do so.
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Ways to Support this podcast:
If you have enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating or review as this helps others to find it. Share this podcast with your friends and on social media. You can find me on Instagram @nana.tomova or on Twitter @NanaTomova 
.
To support my work financially you can become a a regular patron on Patreon, and you will receive the gift of stories and folklore. 
.
You can also 'buy me a coffee' as a one-off way of supporting me if you enjoy listening. 
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To visit the Crowdfunder page of the Mental Health Storytelling Project I spoke about in the podcast, you can click here.
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Music: 
Thank you to In Feathers for the beautiful music. You can find more of his music and musings at https://www.instagram.com/in.feathers/

In this episode, I conduct my first ever interview. It was really lovely to interview Daniel Allison for this podcast, and I will be featuring in his: House of Legends. You can find more about Daniel here: https://www.houseoflegends.me 
In this episode we discuss creativity and the dance between writing stories and telling stories, how the places we live in and have a connection with influence the stories we tell. We discuss how we can be in relationship with stories more deeply, how it is important to keep them as true as possible. We talk about what wisdom we have gained from stories, and how they can encourage us to welcome life fully - all parts of it - the beauty, the sorrow, the hardship, the joy and the love.
Daniel tells Duncan Williamson’s beautiful Jack story called "Death in a Nut”. Duncan Willimason used to be an oral storyteller from the Scottish travelling community, and his stories have lived on and are truly special. 
Story Prescription: For anyone who is finding it challenging to accept the good and the bad, the happiness and the difficulties intertwined. For anyone who is grappling with the trials of death in their house or community - whether that be of a life or an idea, a relationship, a creation. This is a light and humorous tale, and yet acknowledges something really important: Death is what keeps the world alive.
Music: Thank you to In Feathers for the beautiful music. You can find more of his music and musings at https://www.instagram.com/in.feathers/
If you enjoy my podcast please leave a rating and a review, as this helps others to find it. To support my work, and to hear more stories you can find me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/NanaTomova.

A king has dreams he cannot decipher, and a young peasant interprets the dreams due to the help of a wise serpent  A poignant story about how we may be influenced by our surroundings more than we think. And a story about how the dreams that visit us at night might be worth listening to. Story Prescription: For those that wish to belong, for those that have done something they regret, or for those that wish to live life differently.Music: Thank you to In Feathers for the beautiful music. You can find more of his music and musings at https://www.instagram.com/in.feathers/If you enjoy my podcast please leave a rating and a review, as this helps others to find it. To support my work, and to hear more stories you can find me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/NanaTomova.Story Source: Based on a Georgian folktale called "The Peasant and the Serpent" from a story collection titled Folktales from all nations;  F.H. Lee; 1931. Storyteller Hugh Lupton also tells this story by the name of "The Snake of Dreams"

A beautiful story from Croatia about a young ex-soldier who falls in love with the woman inside the white wolf.
Story Medicine: For anyone who has lost their wild nature, or is losing their intuition. For those that are trapped somewhere where they don’t wish to be or where they don’t belong - either a place, or a relationship.
Music: Thank you to In Feathers for the beautiful music. You can find more of his music and musings at https://www.instagram.com/in.feathers/
If you enjoy my podcast please leave a rating and a review, as this helps others to find it. To support my work, and to hear more stories you can find me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/NanaTomova.
Episode Image: The White Wolf, by ArtistJames Corwin Fine Art

A beautiful Korean folktale about a woman who needs to bring back a whisker of a dangerous tiger in order to be healed. A medicinal story about finding your inner strength.
Story Prescription: This story serves as medicine for anxiety; PTSD; finding courage; finding inner strength; facing up to your fears, and healing a relationship.
Song within the story: I found a lovely little Korean lullaby called Island baby, which was written in the 1950s during Korean wartime. It was written by Han Inhyun and composed by Lee Heungyeol. Here is a translation of the lyrics of the entire song:
When mama goes to the mudflats to pick oyster
Baby remains alone watching the house
To a lullaby the ocean sings
His arms as a pillow, baby falls asleep.
While baby is sleeping soundly
Seagull’s crying sound thobs her mind
Half empty oyster basket on her head,
Up the gravel road, Mama comes running home.
Music: Thank you to In Feathers for the beautiful music. You can find more of his music and musings at https://www.instagram.com/in.feathers/
If you enjoy my podcast please leave a rating and a review, as this helps others to find it. To support my work, and to hear more stories you can find me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/NanaTomova.

King Solomon asks his trusted advisor to find him a magic ring - a ring that can make a happy person sad, and a sad person happy!A beautiful Jewish medicinal story about the magic ring that gave King Solomon even more wisdom for the rest of his ruling days. This marvelous story is very poignant for this time in particular, and can offer hope and a little ray of sunshine on dark days.Story Prescription: For anyone feeling down, or in need of some hope or good news. This healing story will do just that.If you'd like to support me and this podcast, you can do so on Patreon. There you will find many different story gifts. https://www.patreon.com/NanaTomovaMusic: Thank you to In Feathers for the beautiful music. https://www.instagram.com/in.feathers/

In this episode of the Story Apothecary, Nana tells the powerful medicinal story of the Mustard Seed. This a beautiful Buddhist story, and talks about impermanence and how departure from this life is unavoidable. 
Story Prescription: It is a truly healing story for anyone who is in the process of experiencing loss of a loved one, or has difficulty with the process of loss, or wants to celebrate the fragility and beauty of life.
Story Cautions: As this is quite a potent story, which deals with death, and specifically the loss of a child - ensure that you are in a place both physically, and emotionally, to be able to receive this story. Having said that, it is a very remedying tale, one which brings comfort and peace.
Source of the Story: There are numerous version of this story, many available on the internet. This is my retelling, and it is an amalgamation of a few different versions. 
Music: The beautiful music is by In Feathers: https://www.instagram.com/in.feathers/
If you enjoy listening to these episodes, do rate and leave a review - it helps other people find this healing podcast.

In this episode of the Story Apothecary, Nana tells the healing story about an ill girl who is helped by a fox. 
Story Prescription: This medicinal story is helpful for anyone who needs hope, is amidst illness, or needs some wildness or tenderness in their life.  
Source of The Curing Fox story - Tales of Wisdom and Wonder by world renowned Storyteller Hugh Lupton. http://hughlupton.co.uk/ Music by In Feathers. http://infeathers.com/

Welcome to the Story Apothecary, where you will find healing and medicinal stories for the body, heart, mind, soul and Earth.