What I Did Not Know

I currently live in Victoria, BC, but grew up in Toronto, so tornadoes were never really much of an issue for me. Although, I’ve always been fascinated by tornadoes, movies like “Twister”, about the immense force that tornadoes create, I find fascinating.

As a child growing up, one of the more predominant memories I have is watching the Wizard of Oz. I am not sure why, but it was something that has always brought me serenity and an association with security and safety with my family.

A friend of mine in Vancovuer in passing – as we were talking briefly- told me  how yoga is played out in our pop culture alot. That pop culture is full of metaphors of yoga. I have always know this, but I was  surprised when this friend said the Wizard of Oz is full of yoga metaphors.

Dorothy seeking!

The Similarities

So upon that I went online and  watched the movie again with my partner. As a child, one would miss the similarities, but after watching it now, I could see very quickly the similarities.

That is, Dorothy, is looking for answers to her problems; by seeking out the wizard. Believing he had the answers to everything. We all do this! We go down many roads in our lives, looking, seeking and hoping to encounter just the right person, who can give us all the knowing answers to our problems.

We all hope to find such a person, who has the answers to all our questions? The one who can tell you what to do and what not to do and who to be and not to be!

Believing that they have all the answers, while believing you have none. Maybe you, too, can identify with the feeling of not knowing which direction to go in your life.

And maybe you to have experienced incredible doubt about what your purpose in life should be. Maybe you have questioned who you truly are, or maybe,  just maybe, you are familiar with the feeling that someone else knows better than you.

Yoga Philosophy

Yoga philosophy, teach us, we live in a world of Maya, that the world is an  illusion and that the divine intentionally forgets itself and that you are apart of the divine.  The divine does this so you can experience the lessons of life  and you – through yoga – can discover who we really are. When we do this we stop suffering and we begin to live with purpose.

The truth is, we are all Dorothy. We are all seeking; we are all looking for the same things. Love, hope, purpose and all of us have a limited amount time in this consciousness. In the Gita (one of the sacred yoga texts) its says “Life is the supreme gift”.

Dorothy learning the truth “you have always had the power (to go home) you just had to learn for yourself”

Yoga is the trip down the yellow-brick road that goes  through your muscles and your bones to you! Yoga helps us get past the distractions and to be here and now, fully present, fully alive, fully aware of the magic around us.

When we do that we stopped seeking for the wizard, and we begin to realize that we ourselves our the wizard: That we hold all the answers to who we are, what we should be and how we should live.

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