--- In Yearning freya wrote:

I do find the modern fable, The Wizard of Oz to be quite a lovely
story of spiritual transformation and the hero's journey. It has been
very special to me since the first time i saw it one Thanksgiving
night years ago. That was the only time you could see it back then,
once a year it was bradcast on T.V. on Thanksgiving night.
Oh, how i couldnt wait for the Wizard of Oz to come on!

For now,...let us fast forward up to the part where Dorothy has just
killed the Wicked Witch of the West, her most challenging adversary, her shadow-

- the part of herself not known to her at first (who has also
proved to be the one who did the most to expand her soul.)

This is excerpted from the book "Sacred Contracts" by Caroline Myss.

Enjoy....love freyja

Dorothy and her companions return to Oz feeling totally successful.
They bring the broom to the Wizard, only to be told that it's not
enough. Toto, (the Latin word for "everything"), the guardian, her intuition,
will not accept their rejection and says, in effect,

"This is wrong. You have to see that it's fraudulent. I'm going to
show you."

The guardian goes over and pulls the curtain hiding the role-playing
Wizard, showing Dorothy that she does not need to rely on a shadow
Guru to do her spiritual work for her. In fact, if one projects their own needs
and fantasies onto a guru, they may end up getting burned.

Exposed, the Wizard is forced to make good on his promises and help
Dorothy find her way home from Oz. Although Oz represents the achievement
of spiritual power and independence, it's essentially meaningless unless
she can bring back home what she has learned and apply it to her everyday life.

Spiritual insight is not an end in itself, but a means to transform
our life on earth from mere survival and dominance into compassion and service to others.

Dorothy is now confronted with yet another test, this one regarding
false power. Even though the Wizard has been less than forthcoming on his promises,
Dorothy is planning to accept his guidance and accompany him in his
hot air balloon (note the ironic choice of vehicle), but Toto - following his
nature by pursuing a squirrel-jumps out of the basket as if to say,
"Let's get out of here."

Dorothy has the good sense not to want to be separated from her
guardian and runs out after Toto, allowing the Wizard to leave without her.
Having made ond good choice, Dorothy is rewarded by the appearance of
her other guardian, Glinda, the good witch of the north.

Glinda reminds Dorothey that she has had the power to return home all
along, only she didnt know it. The ruby slippers, (symbolizing grace) which
have not left her feet since she first put them on, are all she needs. Her words
are reminiscent of the Buddhist teaching that we are already perfect buddhas,
we just dont realize it, and so we act like unenlightened children.

If we truly knew we possessed Buddha nature, or Christ consciousness
or God-realization, we would be home free.

Dorothy clicks her heels together as instructed and chants the mantra
her angel guardian gave her "There's no place like home. There's no place like home."

from "Sacred Contracts" by Caroline Myss

(the whole fable, from the start, is looked at symbolically, in the book)
**********************************8



--- In PerceptionsOfLife "algini" wrote:


magic is this moment
this tip of the iceberg
where we think we live
but it is in what is not
seen
that we truly have
our life

magic is me
expressing my heart
in this world
created just
for us to do
that simple task

love
Jeannie