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Articles
The Lion and The Man Behind the Curtain
by Rusty Stewart, Ph.D.
Remember the Wizard of Oz? What does it represent to you? Self-development? I see several underlying themes in the movie that metaphorically represent our lives and how we make our own dreams. The easy ones are the lion (courage, confidence, and self-esteem), the tin man (heart or feeling love), and the scarecrow (brain or thinking/intellect/mind). I experience Dorothy as innocence, trust, and truth, and the good witch as love or Goddess energy. The wicked witch of the west is fear and the ego, which melts away with the purifying waters of love. Thus fear is really an illusion. And the wizard is not who we think he is. Instead he is just a scared man behind the curtain projecting his fear outward through the illusion of authority and control. Now what does all this have to do with self-development you may ask? Let me explain.
In order to truly grow into the co-creators and Godselves that we are, we need to have courage and trust. Courage to face all our fears that the ego makes and the trust in ourselves, and our higher power that everything will turn out all right. The most important, and sometimes the most difficult part, is trusting the universe and the process of change. This takes us into the realm of the unknown and unfamiliar. In order to do this we need to really have a strong spiritual connection. Letting go of control and facing the shadow parts of ourselves are necessary pieces that we need to accept, heal, and integrate in order to become whole and access our Godself energy. Thus we need to tap into the courage and self-confidence like the lion received from the wizard. The good news is we don't have to get it from the wizard. We already have it! We just have to learn how to trust and tap into it by connecting to the courage and wisdom of our higher Godselves. It knows that fear is an illusion and not real!
We also need to change our thinking and retrain our mind in order to create a different reality. The scarecrow received a brain in order to think. Thinking can only take us so far. The good news is that we can use the thinking of the ego, or the wicked witch of the west, to think differently, melt the ego, and begin to think less. This enables us to really listen to and follow our hearts. A changed mind can lead us to the feeling and experience of unconditional love and oneness. The tin man desperately wanted a heart. We have it! Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, opening up our hearts, and extending love is all we have to do. Courage will help us get beyond the fear of getting hurt. Remember we are Gods. Fear is not real and love has no opposite!
And finally the last piece is taking re-ownership of our lost innocence. None of us did anything wrong. It's an error. One big mistake. The truth lies in our innocence and our oneness. Dorothy experienced this with trusting the good witch to help her get back home. That's all any of us are trying to do, get back home. Home in the oneness with our Creator or Love. Dorothy extended love and recognized the illusion of the wizard. She woke up within her dream. Don't you think it's time we woke up within our dream? Think about what is happening in the world. Who is the man behind the curtain? What is really going on? What are we projecting onto our fellow brothers and sisters? Onto nature, the environment, and mother earth? How have we turned our power and control over to authority and denied our own self-responsibility?
Take your mind back. Open your hearts. Regain your lost innocence. Extend love and experience how the ego melts away. All of the answers lie within. We are Gods! That is our authentic birthright. All of this is possible with a little willingness and courage. The willingness is the trust in the universe, or Spirit, and the process. The courage is an inner knowing that fear is not real and I am unlimited and eternal. I am responsible for my perception of myself and the world. I have choice and everyday with a little trust and courage I get to choose again. I am the lion of my kingdom! Don't let the man behind the curtain influence you to believe any differently. For courage and trust remember, feel, and experience the following quotation from A Course in Miracles: "The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite. Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God."
Yoga Living, March/April 2005
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