EMBODIED RESTORYING PROCESS (ERP)

                                         By David Boje and Grace Ann Rosile since 1993


Testimonial on Restorying in our work with Veterans (PDF

 

In Restorying Analysis, the old 'character' in your  'old story filter' is the Problem, not you the person!

1. Recharacterize (authentic Self identity) ‘Time Travel’ to when you were at your best with Sustainability & Stress

2. Externalize (re-label) Make the Problem the old story, not the person. E.g. Mr. Unsustainability, Mr. Stress, etc.; Travel to Sanctuary (safe place) to theater room for image readjustment

3. Sympathize (benefits) – of old story of Mr. Unsustainability, Mr. Stress; Map the payoffs

4. Revise (consequences) – Map the Organization & Economic influences of old story/old stereotypes of you as Unsustainable/Stressed

5. Strategize (Little Wow Moments of exception to grand old story); Time travel to reclaim best of you in Being Sustainable & Unstressed

6. Restory (rehistoricizes the Grand old Story by collecting Little Wow moments into New story)

7. Publicize (support networking) e.g. letter writing with supporters of your ‘New Story’ of Sustainability Awareness and Balance Selves

The Gentle Touch: Coaching with Embodied Restorying Process (ERP

By David Boje

Introduction: The Power of Restorying with a Gentle Touch

In coaching, there is a profound difference between pushing change onto an entrepreneur and gently guiding them into a space where they recognize their own power to transform. This is the foundation of Embodied Restorying Process (ERP)—a seven-step coaching approach designed to help clients navigate their lived stories, recognize limiting narratives, and construct new, empowering stories.

At its heart, ERP is about how we make sense of ourselves. Our minds filter out 99.9% of reality every second, leaving us with only fragments of the world. These fragments become our stories—shaped by habits, cultural norms, and past experiences. But what if those stories no longer serve us? What if they limit our well-being and our ability to thrive?

This workshop in Brisbane will take participants through a structured yet flexible approach to restorying their entrepreneurial journeys. The key is The Gentle Touch, an idea echoed in Ernest Hemingway’s words:

"In our darkest moments, we don't need advice or solutions. What we need is human connection, a quiet presence, a gentle touch."

ERP is not about forcing change; it’s about gently inviting a shift—at the right moment—through deep listening, mirror neurons, and recharacterization of personal and professional identities.

The Seven Steps of ERP

  1. Recharacterize – Examine how the world defines your organization or identity.
  2. Externalize – Label the problem, making it the problem, not you as the problem.
  3. Sympathize – Understand the benefits of holding onto the current story.
  4. Revise – Recognize the negative consequences of this received identity.
  5. Strategize – Identify Little Wow Moments (LWMs) that challenge dominant narratives.
  6. Restory – Collect LWMs into a New Story—one that is no longer bound by the past.
  7. Publicize – Build a support system that reinforces this New Story.

The ERP Cycle in Action: Coaching Questions for Each Step

Step 1: Recharacterizing the Story

At this stage, the coach observes body language, voice tonality, and shifts in breath—watching for signs of resistance or openness. The Gentle Touch is used strategically to guide the entrepreneur toward Step 2.

Step 2: Externalizing the Problem

Here, the entrepreneur gives a name to the problem (e.g., "Mr. Gremlin" or "The Overachiever"), ensuring that they are not the problem—only the story they are entangled in. The coach stays silent at crucial moments, resisting the urge to "solve" or "fix" the client.

Step 3: Sympathizing with the Story’s Benefits

It is essential to recognize why the entrepreneur clings to a limiting story—there is always a why. The Gentle Touchacknowledges the benefits of holding onto the past without reinforcing the problem.

Step 4: Revising the Consequences

Coaches must remain just long enough in the awareness of the problem’s consequences—without allowing the entrepreneur to fall back into the PSA (Problem Saturated Account).

Step 5: Strategizing with Little Wow Moments (LWMs)

These Little Wow Moments become the foundation of a new history. The Gentle Touch is used again: "If you did not have this label, how would you rewrite your life story?" At this moment, silence is vital. The coach does not fill the space—the entrepreneur must be the first to speak.

Step 6: Restorying into a New Narrative

This is where the New Story emerges from the entrepreneur’s authentic self. The coach’s role is not to craft it for them but to create the space where it can be discovered in an amazing conversation between your True Self and Four Who's

Step 7: Publicizing the New Story

A New Story is fragile without reinforcement. The entrepreneur needs a support network to keep the New Story alive. Mirror neurons play a crucial role here—when others reflect the New Story back to the entrepreneur, it strengthens their belief in it.

Key Takeaways for Coaches and Facilitators

  1. Never reinforce a PSA – Do not let the client relive their problem. Instead, externalize and recharacterize it.
  2. Mirror positive neurons – Your energy as a coach will shape the entrepreneur’s emotional state.
  3. Rehistoricize through LWMs – The true self needs a new stage free of PSA influence.
  4. Use staging artifacts – Entrepreneurs must see, hear, and feel the shift in their story.
  5. Publicize with a support network – The more the story is told, the more it becomes real.

Beyond the ERP Cycle: Sensemaking and Story Filters

ERP is not just about changing the story—it’s about recognizing the limitations of our ability to perceive reality. Our consciousness filters out nearly all information, leaving us with narrow, pre-scripted stories. The Gentle Touch in coaching is about helping entrepreneurs drop outdated filters and open themselves to new, expanded ways of seeing.

In many ways, this is about unlearning. It is about letting go of culturally-imposed identities, of fixed notions of success and failure, and of the need for external validation.

This is the deep work of Embodied Restorying.

Closing Reflection: The Gentle Touch in Practice

"My positivity is a castle around me, protecting me from all negativity. A beautiful, true self dwells in my castle. I must experience the truth of my true self."

This is the heart of ERP. We are all navigating time and energy in different ways. Some waste it, some scatter it in a hundred directions, and some—through deep introspection—find the path inward, toward an inexhaustible wellspring of potential.

Albert Einstein discovered infinite potential by looking inward. So too can entrepreneurs—if they are willing to rewrite their stories.

The Brisbane workshop will explore these principles deeply, integrating lived experience, mirror neurons, and The Gentle Touch as the foundation of transformational coaching.

As a coach, facilitator, or entrepreneur, the question remains:

Are you ready to step into your New Story?



Our Certified Restorying Coaches manage their own EMotional Vibrations at a quantum level keeping them in the higher range of ENlightenment Peace Joy and Love so that you the Client can more out of what ever Low Emotional Vibrations are clogging your story filters.




Humans have story filters that filter out 99.9% if the inputs coming at their consciousness from the environment. So if you can drop story filters no longer serving you, and clean the ones that are of benefit, imagine how much more awareness of Self and your life on planet Earth there can be.

Sources & Further Reading




Restorying References

Boje, D. M. (2001). Narrative Methods for Organizational & Communication Research. London: Sage.Boje, D. M., Flora, J., Rosile, G. A., EnglandKennedy, L., Vaillancourt, K., Marin, M. R., & Strand, A. (2015). Equine-restorying Military Family Research. Las Cruces, NM.

Boje, David, Motamedi,  Kurt and Rosile, Grace Ann (2010). "Change with Academy of Management (AoM-USA). June 14-16.

Boje, D., & Rosile, G. A. (2003a). Comparison of socio‐economic and other transorganizational development methods. Journal of organizational change management, 16(1), 10-20.
Boje, D., & Rosile, G. A. (2003b). Theatrics of SEAM. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 16(1), 21-32.

Boje, D. M., & Rosile, G. A. (2008). Specters of Wal-Mart: A critical discourse analysis of stories of Sam Walton's ghost. Critical discourse studies, 5(2), 153-179.  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17405900801990116?casa_token=N371TgvS7CEAAAAA:vrJF2LqH6SU019uCK4uydzvByiA0nU6YpWiyN4QP-xXxCv8GpjJNEd_8L5fOWFrftoG08DkljyNaQCA

Boje, D. M., & Rosile, G. A. (2015, March). Equine-assisted restorying for veterans and their loved ones. In Presentation at the annual conference of the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA), Utah.

Boje, D. M., & Rosile, G. A. (2016). Restorying Indigenous Leadership: Generative Metaphors from Apache Storytelling Traditions. Leadership, 12(3), 385-412.
Boje, D. M., & Rosile, G. A. (2018). Releasing Story Filters: The Seven Steps of Embodied Restorying Process.

Boje, D., & Rosile, G. A. (2020). How to use conversational storytelling interviews for your dissertation. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Boje, D. M., Rosile, G. A., Dennehy, R., & Summers, D. J. (1997). Restorying reengineering: Some deconstructions and postmodern alternatives. Communication Research, 24(6), 631-668.  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0093650297024006003?casa_token=hE8Pnu4dsJ0AAAAA:-Lyx8V8iv7duaFmJOkvelSTgtSiwVErIxVPzEGpPuGZ5pcbuvQAdh59rrLFan7LFOU0oEEXgqt2B9io

Boje, D. M., Rosile, G. A., Hacker, K. L., England Kennedy, E. S., & Flora, J. (2013). Combining restorying and equine-assisted skills training in counselor communication designed to help soldiers and their families recover from traumatic stress. Interdisciplinary grant approved for funding by NMSU Office for Research, Dec 9th.

Boje, D. M., & Rosile, G. D., Summers, D (1997) .‘Restorying reengineering: Some deconstructions and postmodern alternatives’ Special Issue on Throwaway Employees. Journal of Communication Research, 24(6), 631-668.

Cast, M. L., Ann Rosile, G., Boje, D. M., & Saylors, R. (2013). Restorying a hard day’s work. In The Role of Emotion and Emotion Regulation in Job Stress and Well Being (pp. 257-281). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Flora, J., Boje, D. M., Rosile, G. A., & Hacker, K. (2016). A Theoretical and Applied Review of Embodied Restorying for Post-Deployment Family Reintegration. Journal of Veterans Studies, 1(1), 129-162. https://journal-veterans-studies.org/articles/41/files/submission/proof/41-1-53-1-10-20180518.pdf
Rosile, G. A. (1998). Restorying for strategic organizational planning and development: The case of the Sci Fi organization.

Rosile, G. A. (2007). Cheating: Making it a teachable moment. Journal of Management Education, 31(5), 582-613.

Rosile, G. A. (2011). The Antenarrative of ethics and the ethics of antenarratives. In Storytelling and the Future of Organizations (pp. 87-100). Routledge.

Rosile, G. A., & Boje, D. M. (2002). Restorying and postmodern organization theater: Consultation in the storytelling organization. Chapter 15, pp. 271-‐290 in Ronald R. Sims (Ed.) Changing the Way We Manage Change. Wesport, CONN.

Rosile, G. A., Boje, D. M., Carlon, D. M., Downs, A., & Saylors, R. (2013). Storytelling diamond: An antenarrative integration of the six facets of storytelling in organization research design. Organizational Research Methods, 16(4), 557-580.
ROSILE, G. A., & BOJE, D. (2021). SPIRAL Experiments. Making Sense of Stories: An Inquirer's Compendium, 116.

Rosile, G. A., Dennehy, R. F., & Bodensteiner, N. M. (1998). Restorying for personal and organizational change. Proceedings of the Southwest Academy of Management, Dallas, TX, March.

Rosile, G. A., Herder, R., & Boardman, C. M. (2016). American Indian and Euro-Western negotiations: Creating mutual benefit with upsurging antenarrative spirals. Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation, 2(4), 269-293.




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