About Us

Our Mission

Our mission can be summed up simply: to uplift and strengthen the human spirit, your human spirit, through stories.

Why We Love COLLECTING, WRITING and TELLING Stories

Did you know that LIFE is a dream and a vision, to be explained by STORIES?

Our life consists three different stages – past, present and future. The past and the future are dreams that exist in our minds in the form of events (stories) that have taken place and events (stories) that will take place. The present moment is where we bring into focus all of these stories, forming the vision to guide our lives.

STORIES hold together the dream and vivid moment that LIFE is. Thus STORIES are full of human vicissitudes, and therefore deservedly appealed to us.

This is why we believe that stories have the power to inspire and bring out the best in people. This is the basic premise and the foundation of the work we do. We love to tell and write stories that will nourish your life; stories that will strengthen your spirit and soul; stories that will expand your heart; stories that will open your mind to new possibilities and potentials within yourself; stories that will allow you to see the world in new ways; stories that will help you preserve your inalienable human dignity; stories that will bring light to your ‘bad’ days, and lift you up!

We, the contributors to Spoken Stories, have felt stories do all of these things for us in our own lives and experienced being the vehicle through which stories have likewise effected others. SpokenStories.org is a place for us to celebrate and share with you the joy we have found in storytelling

Where Our Stories Come From

Some of our stories are the oral tales and folklore that have been recorded from cultures throughout the world. Others have origins in the oral tradition but have been reworked in original ways by our storyteller contributors. Other tales by our contributors are their own original creations, often reflecting the diverse cultures they come from and their personal experiences. We also post stories of real-life events and situations that we hope will provide you with insights and lessons that you otherwise might never have had the opportunity to encounter.

No matter where they come from, all of our stories have been selected and posted onto Spoken Stories because we believe they have the power to uplift and strengthen your human spirit.

Who We Are

We are a small but growing team of storytellers and story lovers who have been attracted to the core mission and ideals of SpokenStories.org. There is a wide variety amongst us as to the types and styles of storytelling we do and the cultures we represent. We bring a versatility and breadth to the Spoken Stories collection of tales and share a passion to bring stories to as wide an audience as possible.

To learn more about us individually, check us out at our Storytellers/Contributors link. If you are interested in joining our storytellers team, please apply it here!

We would love to hear of your experiences in telling stories you’ve found on SpokenStories.org and support you in your storytelling efforts. You can send your stories, comments, complaints, compliments and bookings to Info[at]SpokenStories[dot]org

Our Founder

SpokenStories was founded by a recent graduate of University of Minnesota, Abdinasir (Nasir) Haji-Bare. Upon receiving his B.S. in finance in 2007, Nasir put his efforts into expanding his stories for all people of the universe to see. After two years of thinking and constructing, SpokenStories.org went live late 2009. He is actively engaged in telling and writing stories at various venues. AbdiNasir is a member of our storytellers team and he is a regular contributor.

Finally…

We hope that our stories will help you unearth yourself like a tropical flower ready to blossom and dominate its surroundings with a good smell and positivity; and shade the forest with its beautiful leaves by intercepting, screening and filtering the rays of the sun and other harmful objects.

Also, as you come across stories on our site that especially appeal to you or that you feel particularly drawn to, we really encourage you to reanimate them and keep them alive by telling them to family, friends, and anyone else who will listen. As storytellers, we can tell you from our own experience that there is something almost magical that happens the more you tell the stories you love to others. They take root and begin to live within you. Over time they ripen in deeply nourishing and sometimes astonishing ways. If telling stories is something new for you, we assure you it is not all that hard to do. Like riding a bicycle, just about everybody can learn to do it. It just takes a little practice and trust in yourself. To help you along these lines, here are links to websites that provide some guidance, suggestions, and hints for learning to tell stories: http://www.spokenstories.org/about/storytelling-sourceswebsites/

Spoken Stories

808 Berry St. Suite 339

Saint Paul, MN 55114

USA 925-373-1256