Belonging, Smartview Stories Book 3

No one teaches us how to live in a body. Smartview Stories are real-life family stories modeling skills to improve relationships with ourselves and others. Our books bring our inner world to life via three Inner Companions based on neuroscience concepts.

Wouldn't it be helpful to know the best way to use our brain?

Could it be that we are born with an internal instruction manual? 

Might we have it hidden inside ourselves from birth?

Within a language that many people overlook. 

These Inner Companions model HOW to use our body/brain to be our own best friend or self-mentor. Learning to BE our own best friend gives us the power to create the world within us we would like to experience around us. A world with qualities like patience, kindness, courage and authenticity.

Our third book features the Poplar Family. We learn more about 4-year-old Levi. Levi is Mama Dawn’s nephew. He comes for a visit, which unfolds to something more. Our first story, “Stone Play”, describes Levi’s first full morning staying with the Poplars and how he finds a sense of belonging with the stones in their yard. “It’s Not Fair!” shifts to Mama Dawn. Here, we explore sibling patterns, surprise, and how a good listening friend can help us find a new perspective around an old assumption. Our third story, “Bird Song”, opens with surprise and confusion that transform to a spacious welcoming toward one of Levi’s unique skills. 

In all three stories, our human capacity to discern needs and foster a sense of safety gradually replaces the initial surprise, fear, and confusion associated with starting new relationships or joining new communities. The Poplars mess up plenty. With the help of their Inner Companions, they catch themselves and find a better way forward.

Smartview Stories are unique and go well with books by Karen Young or Dr. Dan Siegel. Our original inspiration was Winnie the Pooh. The series draws from the research of Eugene Gendlin, Iain McGilchrist, and Dan Siegel around felt sensing, brain function, perception, and Interpersonal Neurobiology.