There are good stories, stories intimate with life. They show us how to journey into our depths - retrieve our wholeness - and return. They are magical compasses.
No matter where we are, in space, or in time, they know the way. They help us realize our most sacred journey - that of coming home. Home to ourselves - home to our wholeness, purpose, and meaning.
There are so many of them - stretching around the world. It doesn’t matter which one you choose, as long as it has meaning for you.
The story I’m going to unfold today is the Wizard of Oz. I didn't choose this story…it chose me. It chose me when my dear friend Kristine died of cancer. She and I were very close during the last year of her life, partly due to my own illness at the time.
We spent hours on the phone discussing the nuances of life, death, regret, and hope. I still consider it a miracle that I was able to hold Kristine as she released her last breath, with my daughter at my side. I am honored to have done so.
A few days after Kristine’s passing, I was offered a gift from her family…Kristine’s favorite pair of colorful clogs. I immediately slipped them on my feet - and suddenly felt like Dorothy. I stared down at the clogs and knew in my heart that these shoes were magical - I knew they would lead me, guide me, protect me, walk me home.
I heard them whisper…
There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.
This is when I knew The Wizard of Oz was my roadmap. And not only my roadmap, it was my lifeline.
:::::::::
Before I end, I want to read the signposts again. They sum up the journey of life.
Welcome to the unexplainable, the mysterious, and the bizarre. Keep walking.
Guidance & protection are always with you. Keep walking.
Dangling carrots are essential. Chase them down.
A gilded cage is still a cage.
Be kind to everyone. We are all children…walking each other home.
Be aware, and build a healthy mind.
Learn to feel. Learn to crack the armor.
Believe in yourself. Be home.
:::
Thomas Huebl
The Disobedience of the Daughter of the Sun
Women Who Run With The Wolves
Stealing Benefacios Roses
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
:::
Music by:
JuliusH from Pixabay
MT_NeoSoul_93 from Pixabay
There are good stories, stories intimate with life. They show us how to journey into our depths - retrieve our wholeness - and return. They are magical compasses.
No matter where we are, in space, or in time, they know the way. They help us realize our most sacred journey - that of coming home. Home to ourselves - home to our wholeness, purpose, and meaning.
There are so many of them - stretching around the world. It doesn’t matter which one you choose, as long as it has meaning for you.
The story I’m going to unfold today is the Wizard of Oz. I didn't choose this story…it chose me. It chose me when my dear friend Kristine died of cancer. She and I were very close during the last year of her life, partly due to my own illness at the time.
We spent hours on the phone discussing the nuances of life, death, regret, and hope. I still consider it a miracle that I was able to hold Kristine as she released her last breath, with my daughter at my side. I am honored to have done so.
A few days after Kristine’s passing, I was offered a gift from her family…Kristine’s favorite pair of colorful clogs. I immediately slipped them on my feet - and suddenly felt like Dorothy. I stared down at the clogs and knew in my heart that these shoes were magical - I knew they would lead me, guide me, protect me, walk me home.
I heard them whisper…
There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.
This is when I knew The Wizard of Oz was my roadmap. And not only my roadmap, it was my lifeline.
:::::::::
Before I end, I want to read the signposts again. They sum up the journey of life.
Welcome to the unexplainable, the mysterious, and the bizarre. Keep walking.
Guidance & protection are always with you. Keep walking.
Dangling carrots are essential. Chase them down.
A gilded cage is still a cage.
Be kind to everyone. We are all children…walking each other home.
Be aware, and build a healthy mind.
Learn to feel. Learn to crack the armor.
Believe in yourself. Be home.
:::
Thomas Huebl
The Disobedience of the Daughter of the Sun
Women Who Run With The Wolves
Stealing Benefacios Roses
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
:::
Music by:
JuliusH from Pixabay
MT_NeoSoul_93 from Pixabay
🔯🝒🔯 🔯🝒🔯 🔯🝒🔯
INTRO
🔯🝒🔯
In the last episode I talked about the science of etymology,
which is the study of words.
Etymology is like a tree.
It’s constantly growing and evolving… yet retains its history.
The rings within the trunk.
Every time this tree breathes, our ancestors come to life,
not as specifics, but as overall expressions of life.
Their life in the form of words - the poems they wrote, the sonnets they scribed,
the promises they spoke.
This tree is their story,
the roots are our fathers, the fruits are our mothers.
And we are the leaves - fluttering about in this great cosmic transformation.
We live for a season,
and then merge into the rings of ancestry.
Our lives are a microcosm of the macrocosm,
the macrocosm of transformation.
The etymology of transformation is “to go beyond form.”
I like this concept: “to go beyond form.”
It means I’m not bound by the forms I see.
I can go beyond them…I can trans-form.
I do this everyday.
Each time I align my thoughts with the the world I wish to see, I transform,
I go beyond the forms I see.
Let me repeat this.
Each time I align my thoughts with the the world I wish to see, I transform,
I go beyond the forms I see.
Transformation happens in many forms,
I speak of it specifically in the form of thought for two reasons.
First, because lasting change includes a change in thoughts.
And second, because it’s easy to transform thoughts.
It takes only an instant.
Simply think a thought you want to think!
If I want to be more loving, I think a loving thought.
That thought immediately manifests as loving vibrations in my body, followed by loving words, and loving actions.
See how easy that is? And quick!
It takes a little longer to transform the physical realm because materials take longer to change.
This is where BELIEF comes in.
If I wish to transform something in the physical realm, something I can’t yet see,
I need to believe in what lies beyond form.
Maybe believing beyond form requires me to believe I can end an unhealthy habit, or quit an unhealthy job.
Perhaps it’s believing in saying goodbye to a mis-aligned friendship,
and saying hello to a wonderful partnership.
Whatever it is, transformation requires me to believe beyond the current form.
This shouldn’t be hard because it’s an obvious truth.
Think about it this way.
Every instant the universe is exploding and imploding,
it is constantly transforming,
dusting us with a symphony of change.
Everything is transformation.
Part of which is our sun.
🔯🝒🔯
The promise of every sunrise is that we are not the past,
and the future is yet to be determined.
The sun transforms every day,
the sun in the east is not the sun in the west…it has burned away part of its core.
I forget this because I rely too much on the form I see,
I forget that transformation happens even when things look the same.
The Sun looks the same everyday,
even though it burns its life away in order to become part of the greater story.
We are the same, we are miniature suns,
burning and shining until we become cosmic dust, or cosmic consciousness…
whatever is next.
Perhaps it seems as though I digress, that I’ve lost myself on a tangent,
but this is exactly where we are going.
Every single one of us.
We are living toward one final breath, one final word upon the tree of words.
What is your one final word? …the one you’ll whisper before your leaf drifts to the ground?
What is your one final word?
Are you living that word?
Or do you forget, like me?
🔯🝒🔯
I dust the earth with my death everyday.
I die at night and am born each morning.
My time here is sacred.
Even with all the pain,
the sorrow,
the loss.
I’ve been through so much.
I’ve seen the underbelly of life. Firsthand.
And yet…I’m here. I’m breathing.
I’m burning and shining the light I’ve been given.
Sure, I’ve got hard days - I wonder if what I do matters, if things will work out the way I hope…
or if things which have no hope…will quickly fade.
I’ve also got delightful days - when I know my value and share my well-spring of joy.
This thing called life isn’t easy. But it is easier shared.
So, I share.
I share words which grow on a very big tree, timeless and ripe,
words waiting to be picked into bushels and arranged into stories.
Stories which light our path,
and tell us when we’re lost.
🔯🝒🔯
These are the good stories. The stories which are intimate with life.
They show us how to journey into our depths - retrieve our wholeness -
and return.
They are magical compasses.
No matter where we are, in space, or in time, good stories know the way.
But so many of our stories have been lost,
or are mere fragments of what they once were.
🔯🝒🔯
Clarissa Pinkola Estes wrote a wonderful book about old stories.
It’s called Women Who Run With the Wolves.
Joseph Campbell wrote a wonderful book about old stories.
It’s called The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
Both authors studied indigenous cultures to see how stories were used as sacred roadmaps.
What they found is that good stories help us realize our most sacred journey - that of coming home.
Home to ourselves - home to our wholeness, purpose, and meaning.
The best stories are the ones which know the way home.
There are so many of them - stretching around the world.
It doesn’t matter which one you choose, as long as it has meaning for you.
🔯🝒🔯
The story I’m going to unfold today is the Wizard of Oz.
I didn't choose this story…it chose me.
It chose me when my dear friend Kristine died of cancer.
She and I were very close during the last year of her life, partly due to my own illness at the time.
We spent hours on the phone discussing the nuances of life,
death,
regret,
and hope.
I still consider it a miracle that I was able to hold Kristine as she released her last breath,
with my daughter at my side.
I am honored to have done so.
A few days after Kristine’s passing, I was offered a gift from her family…
Kristine’s favorite pair of colorful clogs.
I immediately slipped them on my feet - and suddenly felt like Dorothy.
I stared down at the clogs and knew in my heart that these shoes were magical -
I knew they would lead me, guide me, protect me,
walk me home.
I heard them whisper…
There’s no place like home.
There’s no place like home.
There’s no place like home.
This is when I knew The Wizard of Oz was my roadmap.
And not only my roadmap, it was my lifeline.
This isn’t the first story which has been a lifeline for me.
I’ve followed the roadmap of many mythologies over the years,
and each has one led me there and back - into dark, scary places,
and back into a bright, new life.
Never underestimate the power of stories,
they are living, breathing, gifts from beyond.
Writers know this firsthand.
They know how a story is born,
birthed from some mysterious place,
waiting to be told.
Be heard. Be held.
Whenever we trust stories to guide us…they do.
They always do.
At the end of this episode I’ll share my favorite stories…but for now, let’s continue with Kristine.
🔯🝒🔯
At Kristine’s funeral, with her colorful clogs adorning my feet, I stood before the audience and spoke,
but not about her…Kristine asked that I speak about what I learned through my illness.
Namely, to be true to me.
To live a life of integrity.
Live a life of integrity.
Maybe you cringe when you hear this word? Integrity.
I certainly did when I first heard it whispered deep inside me.
Live a life of integrity.
Back then, integrity sounded austere, severe - like a sinless life of drudgery.
Turns out, integrity has nothing to do with sin, nor is it drudgery.
Instead, it’s the alignment of thoughts, words, and deeds.
Pretty simple, really - not a tough concept - but oh, so powerful.
Alignment of thought, word, and deed.
This kind of living takes steadfast awareness,
I suppose that’s why I continue to practice Integrity on a daily basis,
even though it’s been over a decade since I first heard the whisper.
What I didn’t understand then,
is that Kristine’s shoes were about to show me the connection between the Wizard of Oz,
and a life of integrity.
When I took my first step of integrity upon that yellow brick road, it was shaky at best,
wobbly for certain,
but it led me to who I am today.
ME.
Through and through.
That one step of Integrity led me to integration,
integration led me to wholeness.
And wholeness led me home…
🔯🝒🔯
I’d like to look at these three words.
Integrity, Integration, Wholeness.
Integrity stems from the Latin word integritas, which stems from wholeness.
Integration stems from the Latin word integrare, which stems from make whole.
As you can see, Integrity and integration are related through wholeness.
These words are so entwined that their concepts are fluid.
Integrity flows to Integration flows to Wholeness.
When you do one, the others flow naturally,
like spring waters feeding a stream.
So, what about wholeness?
The etymology of wholeness is from…
Health.
Now, we have a river of meaning.
Integrity, Integration, Wholeness, all flow to Health.
🔯🝒🔯
These are the foundations I built my home upon.
Two homes actually.
The one inside myself.
And the one outside myself, which I’ve yet to build.
You see, I don’t have a place to call home.
Over the past five years I’ve lived in many places, all of them temporary.
But now that I’ve built a home inside me,
I feel like I can end my traumatic cycle of temporary homes.
I feel like I can actually live in a “home” - home in every sense of the word.
Home for me is…
Belonging. Connection. Partnership. Celebration. Family. Intimacy.
🔯🝒🔯
My journey is so very odd.
Maybe you’ve noticed?
I built a home inside myself before having a home outside myself.
Which goes to show that every journey is unique.
Like the salmon and the eel.
One is born in freshwater, the other saltwater.
One swims to the salty sea, the other to fresh rivers.
Their cycles oppose each other, and balance each other.
Neither in conflict with the other.
The good news is that it doesn’t matter what your journey looks like,
all that’s needed is for you to follow your roadmap, trust your inner compass.
Because…there’s no place like home.
🔯🝒🔯
If you know the Wizard of Oz, then perhaps you recognize the journey I’m about to share.
The one where Dorothy integrates herself and comes home to her wholeness.
Yes, there’s the outside journey, where the characters travel through the land of Oz,
but this is simply an outer representation of Dorothy’s inner journey.
The outer characters mirror Dorothy’s inner journey.
Let me show you what I mean.
The characters Dorothy meets along the yellow brick road are aspects of her.
The Scarecrow is her mind.
The Tinman is her body.
The Lion is her soul - the word soul is related to the word courage.
So, basically, Dorothy meets herself on the yellow brick road.
She meets her Mind, her Body, her Soul.
Once Dorothy has met all parts of herself, they begin the process of transformation.
Notice that I use the word THEY.
This is a collective transformation - Dorothy doesn’t do this alone,
she engages with aspects of herself which are independent, and integrated.
What do I mean by independent and integrated?
Imagine a 3-D puzzle….with all the pieces floating around, unattached, unintegrated.
Then they begin to transform, they go beyond their current form, and fit into each other.
They integrate into a whole, as independent pieces.
They integrate into a whole, as independent pieces.
This is exactly what Dorothy is about to do, integrate her independent pieces - her mind, body, soul.
This process happens by way of challenges.
Challenges are nothing more than opportunities to “go beyond present form.”
Pause and think about this:
Challenges are opportunities “to go beyond present form”.
Some challenges are difficult, others are easier,
but each one is an opportunity,
a gift…
waiting to be opened.
So why don’t we see challenges as gifts?
Why do we shy away from the scary forest and the dark castle,
or even…the miraculous chance to meet a Wizard?
Why don’t we face our challenges with integrity, integration, wholeness?
There are a million reasons, billions actually,
but I'm going to only address one because it encompasses nearly all others.
What is that one reason?
The reason we don’t face our challenges with integrity, integration, and wholeness?
We lost our roadmaps. Our stories.
We don’t know the way…
We don’t know how to integrate our inner world.
How to navigate our psyche with integrity.
How to voyage into our depths…and…return, whole.
Voyage into our depths. And return, whole.
We need stories.
Good stories.
To show us the way…how to integrate, navigate, voyage there and back….
there and back, safely.
Wholly.
Let me repeat this because it’s a lot.
Good stories are roadmaps.
They manifest our inner journey in outward form.
They do this so we can see, see how to go beyond form,
and transform.
Good stories know the compass lies inside each of us.
.This inner compass guides us, reassures us,
and reminds us that we aren’t alone,
even when we feel alone.
Good stories show us the ups and downs, the ins and outs,
the rhythms of life.
The rhythms of life.
Like breathing.
Our most basic rhythm.
Inhale: expand.
Exhale: empty.
But a good story doesn’t stop there, it also gives us signposts. It tells us the topography.
The mountains & valleys, the dark forest with fighting trees, the flying monkeys, the foreboding castle.
The signposts tell us when we need to pay close attention.
And listen carefully.
🔯🝒🔯
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, and possibly even tomorrow,
a story began to unfurl.
The first ribbons of the story swirled into a huge tornado until a dark column spread upward,
into the heavens, and swept low across the plains.
A young lady named Dorothy was caught in the swirling dust,
along with her loyal companion, a dog named Toto.
Suddenly, the tornado whips and spins into a frenzy until it sucks Dorothy and Toto, and their home, up, up, and away.
Far, far away they go until the tornado drops them in a strange and foreign land.
Dorothy looks around and recognizes…nothing. Nothing is the same!
Everything looks different.
Everything feels different.
Dorothy has no idea what is going on.
🎼 SIGNPOST! 🎼
Here’s the first notable signpost in this story.
Let’s read it.
Welcome to the unexplainable, the mysterious, and the bizarre.
Keep walking.
Ok.
This signpost states the obvious, but sometimes we need to hear the obvious,
especially when we don’t know where we are.
This is true for me.
When nothing is familiar, or comfortable, or known,
I need a reminder to keep walking because I’m afraid I’m lost, and I don’t want to get more lost.
Dorothy heeds this signpost with ease and is about to keep walking when an unexpected event
blesses her with a pair of magical shoes,
ruby-red slippers which glitter with promise.
🎼 SIGNPOST! 🎼
Here’s another notable signpost.
It reads:
Guidance & protection are always with you.
Keep walking.
Ok.
Guidance and protection are always with me, so…I’m not alone.
I’m Guided and Protected.
This is an important signpost because when I’m surrounded by the unexplainable and bizarre,
I feel afraid.
This signpost reminds me that guidance and protection are always with me.
I can trust my path.
Keep walking.
And so Dorothy does.
She sets off on her adventure with great fanfare,
all of Oz celebrates her triumphant beginning.
She’s got magical shoes, her loyal companion Toto, and a yellow brick road to follow.
What has she got to lose?
She’s off to meet a Wizard who will solve all her problems.
Dorothy skips off, following the yellow bricks, sure of herself and her journey.
🎼 SIGNPOST! 🎼
Here’s another signpost.
It reads:
Dangling carrots are essential.
Chase them down.
Let me interpret this sign, since it’s mine.
Have you ever seen a donkey pulling a grinding stone in a circle,
around and around and around.
Dangling in front of the donkey’s head is a carrot.
The donkey chases the carrot, around and around, yet never catches it.
This is me. On a Soul’s journey.
I am the donkey chasing the dangling carrot.
This is how Soul gets me to do what I need to do.
But, what exactly is a dangling carrot?
It’s the thing I wish so badly would happen,
because it will solve all my problems.
The dangling carrot may be a job, a bank account, a city, a dress size, an award, a person,
anything which will finally,
and eternally,
solve all my problems.
I am naive and immature at the beginning of every journey, so I race off, chasing carrots,
only to find there is no magical thing which will solve my problems.
I am Dorothy.
Uninitiated. Unintegrated. Pieces and parts of my wholeness.
Dorothy has no idea she must become a unified whole…
so she skips toward the Emerald City, toward a wizard named Oz…
and believes this solve her problems.
Thus begins every sacred journey.
Every ancient, mythological journey begins with the uninitiated character setting off toward something they don’t understand.
One such story is so old, you may recognize it.
Have you heard the story about a mind, a body, and a Soul?
They travel to some mysterious place, foreign and strange.
They arrive in a tightly bound package and struggle to live together,
to be at home with each other.
The mind, body and soul are unintegrated.
They are pieces of their wholeness.
In this state, they are confused about their task, going so far as to chase down different carrots.
The mind chases one carrot, the body chases a totally different carrot, and the soul? Well, it does its best to guide them toward a carrot which neither the mind nor the body can see.
Which doesn’t go so well…
At this stage of the journey, the mind, body and soul push and pull against each other.
They disconnect and reject what the other desires.
This isn’t as bad as it sounds.
It’s actually helpful.
Opposing desires offer self-inquiry.
Opposing desires offer self-inquiry.
This is a journey after all and we’re here to learn. Who better to learn from than ourselves.
One question at this stage is often:
What do I truly love?
Before I go on, I’d like to pause and honor each of you.
On this journey.
As a Mind, body, soul.
This isn’t an easy triad.
It requires us to let go of fear and run toward love.
No matter what that is for you…run toward love.
LOVE is Soul’s compass.
LOVE is true north.
But running toward Love is scary, and the true north of our dreams can feel a very long way from where we are,
so I want you to know that I see you,
as you are, where you are.
You are beautiful.
Thank you for sharing this journey.
🔯🝒🔯
Now, I want to go back to the inquiry I mentioned.
What do I truly love?
Am I running toward what I love?
These questions are worth your time for they answer the ageless directive: Know thyself.
I encourage deeper inquiry on these questions, whether that’s meditation, writing, etc.
What do I truly love?
Am I running toward what I love?
Your answers are the direction upon which to set your compass.
Once you’re clear about your true north, it’s time to look at dangling carrots.
Here are questions for that.
What do I believe will solve all my problems?
And WHY do I believe it’s the solution?
What do I believe will solve my problems and why?
The WHY is interesting because it points to a possibility.
That of trauma.
Trauma is a very big word. And it has so many meanings.
I’d like to offer a definition from a teacher of mine,
His name is Thomas Huebl, and I highly recommend any of his books, or talks.
Thomas defines trauma as a repetitive cycle whose outcome is unhealthy or harmful.
…a repetitive cycle whose outcome is unhealthy or harmful.
Do you see this in your life? A repetitive cycle whose outcome is unhealthy or harmful?
The hard thing about trauma cycles is that they start out good.
Like a new relationship.
It’s wonderful and exciting, the fanfare of the yellow brick road.
We’re leaving the old and discovering the new.
But…have you done this before?
Maybe your trauma cycle is eating, or alcohol,
drugs, sex, lying, stealing, jealousy,
gluttony, greed,
cruelty and violence - to your children, partner, or self.
How many times have you repeated this cycle? 10, 100, 1000.
Let’s say Dorothy’s repeated her journey 10 times, but hasn’t met the wizard.
She keeps getting lost in the dark forest.
What can she do to break her repetitive cycle?
What advice would you give her?
>> <<
What advice would you give yourself?
🔯🝒🔯
I realize we haven’t moved since the last signpost,
but there’s another one here, hidden in the bushes. Not many people notice this one.
It reads:
A gilded cage is still a cage.
That’s all it says.
A gilded cage is still a cage.
This quote is from the amazing book called Circe, which I highly recommend reading...but back to the gilded cage.
Many years ago, this quote fit me perfectly.
I had a perfect life, but my soul was dying.
I had to leave the gilded cage, leave the physical forms surrounding me.
The big house. The big hill. The security.
I had to go beyond form, and save myself. Just like Dorothy.
The wizard isn’t going to save her,
she has to save herself.
She has to break free of her gilded cage, of her uninitiated childhood.
She must become an integrated adult.
🔯🝒🔯
Every soul’s journey demands that we free ourselves from inner and outer constraints.
That we fly.
Everyone talks about flying, about spreading their wings, but if it were so easy, wouldn’t everyone be flying?
The highest heights are not frequented by many.
Are you interested in going there?
Are you ready to leave your gilded cage?
Are you ready to end unhealthy cycles?
Are you ready to integrate - mind, body, soul.
Are you ready to be home…
With yourself. In yourself. As yourself. For yourself.
Are you ready?
🔯🝒🔯
🎼 “We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz…” 🎼
Remember those three characters Dorothy meets?
The scarecrow, tinman, and lion?
I want to refresh.
The Scarecrow is her mind.
The Tinman is her body.
The Lion is her soul.
Once Dorothy meets these parts of herself, THEY begin a collective transformation.
Notice the word THEY.
THEY are the individual aspects of Dorothy’s being, and THEY collectively transform.
How does this happen?
Through trial and error.
THEY encounter challenges which require integration of self.
These challenges are not arbitrary, they have purpose.
They give Dorothy a chance to go beyond her present form,
to trans-form.
Dorothy doesn’t know this, she’s pretty clueless, but she does intuitively do the best thing possible.
She befriends all the parts of herself.
🎼 SIGNPOST! 🎼
Here’s another signpost.
Be kind to everyone.
We are all children…walking each other home.
This signpost is a merging of the 14th Dalai Lama and Ram Das.
Dorothy is a master of their combined wisdom.
She is kindly to everyone she meets, and walks them home.
Dorothy doesn’t judge the scatterbrained Scarecrow, she befriends her mind.
She doesn’t berate the rusted, armored Tinman, she befriends her body.
She doesn’t ridicule the cowardly Lion, she befriends her soul.
Dorothy befriends all aspects of herself.
Dorothy befriends herself.
Let me repeat this because it is precious.
Dorothy befriends herself.
I’d like to take a moment and practice.
Befriend yourself. Right here. Right now.
Befriend your mind. “Hello mind, thank you for all you do for me.”
Befriend your body. “Hello body, thank you for all you do for me.”
Befriend your soul. “Hello soul, thank you for all you do for me.”
Befriend yourself.
Wherever you are, you stand on the yellow brick road.
Follow Dorothy’s lead…befriend yourself, walk home,
one yellow brick of kindness at a time
🎼🎼🎼🔯🝒🔯🎼🎼🎼
I want to back up a bit because we missed some fun stuff.
I want to join Dorothy as she skips down the yellow brick road, dreaming of a wizard who will fix everything!
“We’re off to see the wizard….
Dorothy travels merrily along until she happens upon a Scarecrow.
He’s a bumbling, rambling, straw-stuffed fool - unable to scare the meekest of crows - but we like him,
he’s a fun fellow. So we invite him to join us because the signpost said to be kind and walk each other home.
Before we skip off, let’s take a look at the Scarecrow’s roadmap.
What is his journey, the essence of his journey?
...
Another way to ask this is: what does the Scarecrow learn?
...
He learns to create a healthy mind.
How does the Scarecrow do this?
He stops…and faces his mind.
This isn’t a mythological act.
What the Scarecrow does is based on neuroscience.
Here’s how.
Each time the Scarecrow faces his mind,
he practices awareness.
Through awareness the Scarecrow is able to dissolve unhealthy thought patterns.
He’s also able to create healthy thought patterns.
We watch the Scarecrow do this over and over, from scene to scene.
And slowly, we see him create new thought patterns, new neurons in the brain.
The Scarecrow literally rewires his brain.
This type of neuroplastic engagement heals PTSD, anxiety, depression, and more…
All it takes is attention, emotion, and repetition.
These are the sacred three of neuroplasticity - attention, emotion, repetition.
Straw or no straw, each of us can rewire our brains. In fact, we do this,
everyday.
Every thought we think strengthens neural pathways. Just like a seed,
if you water it, it grows.
If you think it, it grows.
🔯🝒🔯
The Scarecrows signpost reads:
Be aware.
Build a healthy mind.
Ok, what is a healthy mind?
If we return to the beginning, we know that health is related to integrity, integration and wholeness.
So a healthy mind has integrity with itself, it is integrated, and behaves as a whole.
…
How do I know if my mind is healthy?
…
I can’t answer this for you but I know when my mind IS healthy because it works with me,
it alerts me when harmful thought patterns repeat,
or when trauma shuts down my cognition.
Over the years, I’ve trained my mind to be my ally.
Can you imagine this?
That your mind is your ally?
Imagine if your mind alerted you when things went haywire inside.
Which is bound to happen because every journey has challenges.
Times of struggle are necessary to dissolve the old and rewire the new.
My deepest transformations have been during times of intense struggle,
often when I’ve faced fear and grief.
These moments require a steadfast mind.
At first, I wasn’t sure if my mental transformation was working…
and then one day, just like the Scarecrow,
I was able to remain cognitive and aware in the presence of fear, and grief..
I didn't shut down, run away, or hide.
I broke the cycle. I ended trauma.
🔯🝒🔯
Let’s skip down the yellow brick road again, this time with Dorothy & the Scarecrow.
We travel merrily along until we happen upon a Tinman.
He’s a rusty, rigid can of tin who can’t feel - not even his own heartbeat - but we like him,
he’s a nice fellow. So we invite him to join because the signpost said to be kind and walk each other home.
Let’s take a look at the Tinman’s roadmap.
What is his journey, the essence of his journey?
...
Another way to ask this is: what does the Tinman learn?
...
The Tinman learns to feel, to feel ALL his emotions.
How does he do this?
He squeaks.
The Tinman is the sweetest aspect of this mythology because it’s the roadmap of Self-Love.
An integrated body,
a whole, healthy body,
is one which can squeak, one which can cry,
one which can ask for help.
We are, in essence, asking ourselves for help.
When we dare to feel all that’s inside of us,
we are saying “YES! I love you, I’m here for you.”
And this is where Dorothy excels.
She is the aspect of us which cares and nurtures.
She has no judgment of the Tinman,
she doesn’t care how he got to be this way, or why he’s been here so long,
nor even what he thinks about himself.
Dorothy shows care, concern, love, and most of all, patience.
This is the first lesson of Love,
be patient.
Soften,
allow ourselves to cry,
offer kindness.
Kindness toward oneself is a sure way to crack even the thickest armor…
and once it’s cracked,
another journey begins.
It’s hard to say how this part of the journey will look because it’s personal.
There may be lots of crying, sleeping for days, or fuming with rage.
I’ve done all of these.
I’ve cracked many different layers of rusty, painful armor.
And when I do, I feel all I need to feel.
Rage, betrayal, loss, pain, grief, confusion, loneliness.
I also feel what is beneath those.
Joy. Love, Peace, Home.
🎼 SIGNPOST! 🎼
The Tinman’s signpost is simple.
Learn to feel.
Learn to crack the armor.
But this roadmap is more than just feeling.
It’s about the body.
The body as a vessel of energy,
a vessel of enormous potential,
a vessel of vast intelligence.
This vessel needs to move. It’s made of energy after all.
When I resist feeling what needs feeling, my energy goes sideways and my vessel becomes stiff, aching, rigid.
This is when I need to oil my body with some good ole self-love.
The-oil-of-self-love is unique to each of us.
This oil is anything which facilitates the movement of energy in the body.
I may need to cry, speak, sing, dance, hike, run, yoga, sleep, stop trying so damn hard.
I need to allow myself to feel whatever I’m feeling.
To connect to myself, to belong to myself, to come home to myself.
Inside this sacred vessel, this body.
When I heed the Tinman’s call for self-love, Love answers my call.
Love moves through me, Love moves me,
Love heals me.
🔯🝒🔯
Let’s skip down the yellow brick road again, now with Dorothy, Scarecrow, &Tinman.
We travel merrily along until we happen upon a Lion.
He’s a blubbering mop,
he can’t sop up his own tears, let alone his army of doubts - but we like him, he’s an earnest fellow.
So we invite him to join because the signpost said to be kind and walk each other home.
Let’s take a look at the Lion’s roadmap.
What is his journey, the essence of his journey?
...
What does the Lion learn?
...
The Lion learns to believe,
to believe in himself, to believe beyond form.
I’m much the same as the Lion, I struggle to believe, to believe in myself, beyond form.
When I don’t believe in myself,
I’m not at home with myself.
I’m not integrated and whole.
I’m like what the Wizard says of the Lion,
“...you’re a victim of disorganized thinking.”
The Lion is a victim of his own disorganized thinking.
He’s Goliath afraid of David.
Which I totally understand.
I’ve spent years confused about who I truly am.
I believed people who thought poorly of me,
and ignored people who thought highly of me.
I didn’t have the courage to believe myself a mighty Soul - among other mighty Souls.
It is no small feat to believe oneself a mighty Soul.
It takes a Lionesse after all.
🎼 SIGNPOST! 🎼
The signpost for the Lion reads:
Believe in yourself.
Be home.
This is the trickiest signpost for me to express because it’s the hardest one for me to practice.
Believe in myself.
Be home.
Doubt is the killer of homecoming.
How often do I doubt myself?
Or hide because I’m afraid others won’t like me?
Or run from the fullness of life because I’m afraid I’ll lose it?
How can I do what the Lion does, and go from Doubt to Homecoming?
How does Dorothy integrate her Soul?
What is Soul?
I’m not sure…but I know what it isn’t.
Soul isn’t concerned with ratings, popularity, success, wealth,
nor my need for very dark chocolate.
Soul isn’t worried if my pants fit, my car looks new, or the length of my hair.
Soul only cares about what I can’t see, that which lives beyond form…
things like faith, love, kindness.
Soul only cares about vibration and energy.
Maybe now you see why this is so difficult.
Soul requires me to integrate something which has no form.
I believe this is why the Lion struggles through the whole movie.
She is attempting to believe in something she can’t see: her worth, her value, her innate nobility.
In the end, the Lion chooses to believe those around her, those she trusts, those who love her.
She chooses to believe what they believe about her.
Maybe this sounds counterintuitive.
Isn’t this all about an inner journey?
Yes, but those are all parts of Dorothy.
It’s like trusting a positive thought, one which feels good in the body, and letting go of a painful thought.
I trust my body as my compass.
As I said, this is tricky for me to express, even though I practice believing in myself everyday.
I still have much to learn, so if this section feels disorganized and wonky, I take responsibility.
Maybe in another ten years I’ll have more clarity!
For now… let’s move onto Dorothy.
🔯🝒🔯
Dorothy is the perfect vessel. She may be uninitiated and unintegrated,
but she's thoughtful, steadfast, and honest.
And she is most assuredly - herself. She never pretends to be anyone else.
The irony of Dorothy’s success is that she gets where she needs to go simply by being herself,
by having integrity.
She doesn’t do anything special.
When she tosses water on the Witch of the West, she’s only trying to save her friend, the Scarecrow.
It is her act of kindness which leads to her integration, to her success.
Success, this is a tricky word in the realm of Soul.
It’s different from my material definition.
Success for Soul may be when part of me dies, because it keeps me sick.
Success for Soul may be when I forgive someone who hurt me, even though they never apologized.
Success for Soul may be giving up the fancy dream, because the small one, the one I can’t see, leads me home.
Success for Soul is when I journey with Soul…every minute of every day.
It doesn’t take anything special to succeed with Soul.
It only takes me being me,
you being you.
Integrated, mind, body, soul.
🔯🝒🔯
When Dorothy is integrated, she interprets the signposts and follows their guidance.
And she doesn’t give up, even when the wizard reveals the truth.
Each of us will save ourselves.
Each of us is the hero of our life.
Each of us will risk all we’ve ever known in order to face the things we fear most.
Because we want to be whole.
We want to be home.
This is Soul’s roadmap.
🔯🝒🔯
What about Toto, her loyal companion, and the Wizard, and the Witches?
I’ve decided not to touch upon them because they’re deep rabbit holes.
If you remind me in the future, I’ll revisit them…
For now, I want to offer some practical applications, ways to practice integrity, integration, and wholeness..
🔯🝒🔯
First - Integrity.
What is integrity?
After many long years, this is my answer:
Integrity is the harmony of thought, word, and deed.
Meaning, my thoughts are in accord with my words, and my deeds follow suit.
I fall short of this on a daily basis.
Which doesn’t mean I’m a failure, or broken - it means I’m human,
and I’m learning.
So the practical application for integrity is: harmonize your thoughts with your words, and your actions.
🔯🝒🔯
Second - Integration.
What is integration?
After many long years, this is my answer:
Integration is when my parts behave as both individuals and collectives.
I don’t want my mind to behave like my body, nor my body to behave like my soul.
I want them to express their unique natures while being integrated.
The practical application for integration is: let your mind be your mind, your body your body, your soul your soul, AND unify them in purpose, meaning, and aim.
But be patient. Integration takes time.
Begin by discovering the different parts of yourself,
then consider how they might collaborate with each other.
🔯🝒🔯
Wholeness.
Wholeness is Holy. It’s sacred.
That’s the etymology of this word.
Holy, Sacred.
So what is Holy & Sacred?
After many long years, this is my answer:
YOU ME US
Each of us is a sacred jewel, shimmering upon a cosmic web, refracting light into the ethers.
We are stunning upon this collective web, and brilliant in our uniqueness.
YOU ME US
We are Whole.
Wholeness is simply allowing, believing, knowing beyond form.
I am Whole.
As I am.
🔯🝒🔯
I began walking this story over five years ago, this is when I slipped Kristine’s clogs onto my feet.
I’ve encountered many challenges, I’ve failed repeatedly, and clicked my heels in desperation - longing for home.
Today, my work is to build a home outside me.
A place for my heart to flame, and my soul to thrive.
A hearth, with a fire,
windows and doors whose latches are welcoming.
A place for personal introspection,
growth in partnership, and endless adventure.
A place with the deep roots of my fathers and rich fruits of my mothers.
A place just like the home I’ve built inside me.
I’m nearly done with the story of Oz. I can feel it’s ending just there. Beyond my fingertips.
Beyond form.
My magical shoes are ready to take me home.
But this isn’t the end, it’s the beginning, of a new story.
I’m not sure what my new story is, but I’ll walk it with integrity, integration and wholeness.
This isn’t the only story I’ve lived.
There have been many.
I love them all, and each one got me there and back, safely.
They are my living, breathing ancestors.
I’d like to share a few of those stories, they may not resonate with you but perhaps they’ll lead you to stories which do.
I’ll list them in the notes section for this podcast.
First: The Disobedience of the Daughter of the Sun by Martin Prechtel. I’ve read this one many times and it’s a great introduction to indigenous storytelling. Take your time…it’s a short book but requires your full attention.
Second: The Handless Maiden - this story is in the book Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I’ve read this one about twelve times over as many years. That’s how long it took me to grow back my hands.
Third: Raggedy Boy - a story expertly tucked into the book Stealing Benfacios Roses, another book by Martin Prechtel. This is an old Mayan tale about traveling to the underworld and gambling with the Gods and Goddesses to recover what you’ve lost, what you love. I’ve read it too many times to count.
Fourth: Any indigenous mythologies, along with old, old, untouched stories, back when they were tales of loss. Loss is a crucial part of any Soul’s journey so find mythologies which haven’t been stripped of this sacred lesson.
Fifth: The hero with a thousand faces by Joseph Campbell. He explains what I’ve attempted far better, and more beautifully.
🔯🝒🔯
Before I say goodbye, I want to read the signposts again.
They sum up the journey of life.
Welcome to the unexplainable, the mysterious, and the bizarre.
Keep walking.
Guidance & protection are always with you.
Keep walking.
Dangling carrots are essential.
Chase them down.
A gilded cage is still a cage.
Be kind to everyone.
We are all children…walking each other home.
Be aware, and build a healthy mind.
Learn to feel.
Learn to crack the armor.
Believe in yourself.
Be home.
Every time I slip my feet inside Kristine’s clogs, I feel like Dorothy.
Like an eternal traveler along a path of bricks which only lead deeper and deeper,
a spiral.
A calling. A whisper.
There’s no place like home.
There’s no place like home.
There’s no place like home.
🔯🝒🔯
And so…
Without an outer home,
yet with an inner home of integrity, integration and wholeness,
I bid you farewell.
OUTRO
🔯🝒🔯 🔯🝒🔯 🔯🝒🔯