Life Is How You Tell Your Story: A Mother’s Quest to Heal Her Son

By Yamina Salomon

Life Is How You Tell Your Story is an inspirational story based on the true events of a young mother's quest to heal her son, Arieldavid, from a rare, life-threatening condition with which he was born. Despite the doctors' beliefs, limited support, and immense challenges, Yamina set out on a quest to build a healthy, full, and happy life both for her son and herself. This quest took her on an extraordinary journey filled with unexpected challenges and triumphs. To get the necessary answers, Yamina traveled and met esoteric teachers, discovered yoga, Ayurveda, self-awareness, holistic healing techniques, and Eastern philosophy. In order to achieve the full life she envisioned for her son and herself, she pieced together all of her learned and intuitive knowledge into one coherent and powerful method she named the "Storia Map." Storia, meaning both "history" and "story" in Italian, represents that everyone has a history, and yet the story of our future is yet to be told. As the name of the book suggests, life is how you tell your story.

This book features a full-color interior with over 70 photos from 2005-2021, Storia guided meditations, and exercise worksheets.

All profits from sales of any format of Life Is How You Tell Your Story will 100% go to Arieldavid, the hero of this story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
• Release date: Dec 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662909368

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Sanctify Life!

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

–Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Sanctify life!

Sanctify life!

Sanctify life!

These were the words that echoed in my mind as I was meditating, gazing at a beautiful oak tree a few meters from my house. I had never meditated before this moment. Sanctify life! The words kept echoing inside me. I was gazing at the tree with such focus and intensity that I lost any notion of time and space, and for a few long minutes, I was completely one with that old, big, and beautiful oak tree that was in front of my house outside of my garden.

I hadn’t noticed that tree till that very day, when I returned from the hospital and sat down, overwhelmed by the news the doctor had given me. Just a few hours earlier, I was sitting in front of the doctor for a check-up two weeks before my son was born.

Something is wrong with the baby, the doctor blurted out without any warning. I recommend you have an abortion.

Shocked by this sudden turn of events, I could not fully comprehend what she was saying. Everything was going so well. How did this happen? I thought. And how could she suggest I have an abortion?! I was shocked as, for me, this soon-to-be-born baby was a gift from God, which I had no intention of turning down. At that point in time, it was not even clear exactly what the problem was.

What are you talking about?! I replied. Abortion? No way! I love my son, and I want him to live! And if he is sick, which you don’t even know for certain, you don’t even know what the sickness is. But should this be the case, what I want from you as a doctor is to help him live and to guide me in how to help him heal!

Now, it was the doctor who looked surprised. But seeing that my mind and heart were aligned in a firm answer, all she could do was nod. I will arrange a meeting with the relevant doctors, she said, so that your son will receive the necessary life support on the day of his birth.

I returned home, feeling overwhelmed but knowing I had done the right thing. I felt a big storm was coming my way, and I was not sure how to approach it. What is our life going to be like? I asked myself as I sat down in my living room, overlooking the garden.

My gaze fell naturally to an old oak tree, and as if nothing else existed, I was drawn to observe it. I saw the strong and stable tree trunk. It seemed like nothing could ever move it. I wanted to be as strong as that trunk, regardless of what the doctor had said. I wanted to follow my own heart. I knew intuitively that my son would be healed. There was no explanation for that internal knowing, but I felt, with all my heart, that this baby would grow to be as strong and beautiful as this oak tree.

God will prevail, and he will help us in our journey, I said to myself.

I looked up at the tree’s leaves. The wind was moving them in all directions. These leaves were swirling and crackling just like my thoughts, making me restless. I shifted my gaze back to the tree trunk and again regained calmness and balance as the sturdiness I was witnessing was reflected back into my own soul. My gaze became stronger, and I felt closer to the tree, as if I were just a few meters away from it. I began breathing with the tree, inhaling cold air and exhaling warm air from my body. Slowly I felt my breath becoming deeper and steadier.

This tree has seen extreme weather, storms and even wars, I thought to myself. And yet it is still standing strong and beautiful, looking so majestic and wise. I felt as if I was standing right beside it. I imagined myself leaning on it, putting my arms around it, and letting go. Feeling all the burdens leaving me, feeling grounded, feeling at peace.

I turned to the tree and asked it, Tell me what path I should take. I was talking to the tree without any expectations of receiving an answer. But the answer did come. I could hear the words in my mind, as clear as day:

Sanctify life!

Sanctify life!

The words were still echoing in my head. I wanted to help my son live the best life he could. I didn’t exactly know how I would do this, but now I had a path: sanctify life.

Note: Thirteen years later I call this meditation Storia’s tree meditation and use it in my Storia Map workshops. You will find the script for Storia’s tree meditation in the upcoming pages, so you may practice it too. The main benefit you may attain, as I have, is to find the core value of your life, your own personal mantra.

The Dream and the Promise to My Son

Two weeks later I had a dream.

In the dream, I heard a noise in the hallway of my home, so I walked to the entrance door. The door opened, and a stranger walked in. He stopped and stood in front of me. To my surprise, I was not scared. The man’s face was incredibly peaceful. I knew he had not come to harm me.

Are you lost? Do you need something? A glass of water? I asked the man in the dream. He was taller than me, but not by much, and he had short silver hair. His body was slim yet strong. I felt very calm.

He shook his head as if to say, No, I am not lost. I have come to the right place. He lifted his right hand and rested it ever so softly on his chest. He bowed his head slightly as if to say, I apologize if I startled you and came uninvited.

I am not startled, I answered, but if you are not lost, why did you come?

My mind was racing with questions, but strangely, my body was completely relaxed. We were only one meter away from each other. The man was now facing forward, looking straight into my eyes. His eyes were light blue. Such beautiful eyes, I thought to myself. There is so much PEACE in them. Peace I had not seen before in anyone’s eyes. This peace was so vivid and distinct in contrast to the turbulence I was experiencing in my life. In contrast to the stress, the running around and worrying, these eyes were like a safe harbor on a stormy night. It was as if his eyes were calling out like a lighthouse sending a beacon to the ships at sea, showing them the way back home.

I stood there with my feet firmly on the ground and looked straight ahead into the man’s eyes, waiting for his answer.

Everything will be all right. His words were very clear and sharp, cutting all illusions of uncertainty. I understood. He had come to give me an encouraging message. To give me the strength I needed to help my son live.

Yes, I know, I said. But how can I help him?

At that very moment, I woke up. It was around five in the morning. My water broke, and I rushed to the hospital to give birth to my son. He was a beautiful baby, and when I looked at him, I only saw beautiful, emanating