by Darren John Main
144 pages paperback
How many times have you seen the MGM movie The Wizard of Oz? We believe that after reading this book you will want to watch it again-because you will then see it with completely new eyes. More than that, it will speak to those inner parts of yourself that lead you to know who you really are, and help you realize where "home" truly is.
The Wizard of Oz, whether the original book or the movie, has touched millions throughout the world. If you are reading this, you are probably one of them. The characters and places have become a very familiar part of our daily lives. If you think about it, you can probably identify with one or even several of them: are you the Lion in search of courage to lead your life more fully? Or are you searching for your heart's desire like the Tin Man? Perhaps, like Dorothy, you just want to go "home."
In Spiritual Journeys along the Yellow Brick Road, Darren Main explores this much loved story from a modern spiritual point of view. Filled with wisdom and simple common sense, it is a profound guidebook that will take you on your own inner adventure along the yellow brick road of life.
"And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true."
Dorothy (MGM)
Reviews and endorsements
"Spiritual Journeys along the Yellow Brick Road is a beautiful and simple way of looking at life. It sheds new light on The Wizard of Oz and allows us to use this beloved story to explore the depth of our souls."
Gerald G. Jampolsky, MD, Author of Love Is Letting Go of Fear
"Darren J. Main uses a timeless story as an oracle that reflects our human journey to the Emerald City of our potential. The author digs deeply into hidden meanings, and mines gems of insight sure to appeal to fans of Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, and all of us who loved The Wizard of Oz."
Dan Millman, Author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior
"For spiritually minded people, especially those who are fed up with dogmatism, Spiritual Journeys along the Yellow Brick Road is a joy an immensely enriching, engaging and metaphorical voyage of discovery via the world of The Wizard of Oz. Darren Main is one big, young, talented author. I say bravo for this must read."
Sol Gordon, Ph.D, Author of The Teenage Survival Book, When Living Hurts and Life's Uncertain...Eat Dessert First
"When you follow Darren down his own journey along the Yellow Brick Road you will be amazed at the depth of his spiritual insights. The only way to write about the Vastness so vividly is to have first lived It. Then It has a way of revealing Itself in all the ordinary details of life which we might miss without this awareness. Who would have ever thought that the land of Oz had so much to show seekers looking to know the thoughts of God!"
Satyam Nadeen, Author of From Onions to Pearls
"Darren Main uses the simple tale of The Wizard of Oz to explain the simple truths of the perennial philosophy. This book is a clear and inspiring roadmap for the spiritual journey.
Tom Moon, MFCC, Psychotherapist, columnist, San Francisco Frontiers
"Delightfully written by Darren Main, Spiritual Journeys along the Yellow Brick Road contains great pearls of spiritual wisdom as well as practical suggestions to speed us along our own yellow brick road. In this simple and insightful book, Main interprets the beloved classic, adding depth and meaning to its story as a metaphor for the spiritual journey."
Christian de la Huerta, author of Coming Out Spiritually
"I loved the book on many levels. It deepened and enriched one of my favorite stories which has been an important legacy to our family for all of my life. As a student of Transpersonal Psychology, it appealed greatly to my passion for exploring many different spiritual truths. As a parent, I found this to be a great book for a generation of young people who have not been indoctrinated into a formal religion and who are looking for more meaning in their life... Thank you, Darren, for your keen insights and personal examples, your ability to make meaningful connections between the story and universal archetypes and the freshness of your writing style. Your book will become a permanent part of my library."
Janet Winters-Smith, granddaughter of Brenda and Harry Neal Baum (son of L. Frank Baum)
"Darren John Main reveals a remarkable breadth of knowledge of many of the world's historic spiritual movements in his analysis of The Wizard of Oz. His analysis of the archetypal significance of the main characters as presented in the MGM classic movie the version of L. Frank Baum's work most widely known throughout the world will resonate for many readers."
Peter E. Hanff, President, The International Wizard of Oz Club
Table of Contents
About L. Frank Baum
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. The Yellow Brick Road
2. Dorothy
3. Glinda the Good Witch of the North
4. The Wicked Witch of the West
5. The Scarecrow
6. The Tin Man
7. The Lion
8. The Wizard of Oz
The Return Home
Resources
Index
Excerpt
Munchkinland
Every journey must begin somewhere and ours begins in our childhood tribe. It is this childhood tribe that the Munchkins represent. They are our parents and our siblings, our teachers and our babysitters. They are sometimes related by blood, and other times wander into our lives by happenstance. They may be there by fate or perhaps just the luck of the draw, but they are there, and they will mold our lives, for better or for worse.
For some souls, such as Dorothy, the childhood tribe can be a very supportive environment. They greet the young soul with enthusiasm and celebrate her arrival. The soul is made to feel welcome and important. The value of the soul is never understated in this type of tribe, and her talents and skills are acknowledged.
Other souls are born into a tribe that is less than supportive. For whatever reason, the people who surround this soul do not have the eyes to see the gift that is before them. They see the soul more as a burden than a gift. They treat her with malice and disrespect, and in severe cases can be abusive. Of course our lives are not so black and white. Most of us fall into tribes that are somewhere in between the above extremes. No humans are perfect and this includes parents and the others who surround a young soul. No humans are all evil either, so our experience is usually somewhere between the two poles.
Our childhood tribe has a few very important functions. First, they are there to lay out the ground rules. They teach us to chew with our mouths closed and to say our "please and thank you's." Placing a napkin in your lap is not going guarantee spiritual success, but the bits of advice that our childhood tribes offer us do make the time we spend in Oz a bit more smooth. Of course, not all tribes do the best job of preparing us for our journey through Oz. However, knowing the ground rules makes it that much easier for us to transcend the need for these rules later on in life.
The second function of the Munchkins is to teach us the tools and direction we need to find our way home. These tools may come in a religious context or a strong educational context, but in a healthy tribe they are offered as a means of liberation, rather than as a means to control and manipulate. It would be nice to think that our religious and educational institutions were all about supporting individuals in their quest for Kansas, but far too often that is not the case.
So many religions have become "houses of hatred," loading "heavy burdens" upon people's backs. Rather than offering freedom, they have added more links to chains that bind. Education has largely become a system of programming, rather than an inspirational force to encourage free thought and creativity. This is a great tragedy. Rather than reminding us of our ruby slippers, these institutions have filled them with cement in an effort to prevent us from rocking the boat and challenging the status quo.
The third and final goal of the tribe is to escort the soul to the edge of Munchkinland. They cannot make the journey for us, but having the support of our childhood tribe can really help. In far too many cases, tribes do not support their children in their spiritual journeys because it means saying goodbye, and it takes an exorbitant amount of faith that the young souls have learned their lessons well. It has been said, "To have a child, is to forever have your heart walk around outside your body." I suspect this is a very true statement. The practice of surrender is one of the hardest spiritual principles in which to engage, but it is essential to the health of our children and the survival of our planet. Every soul has a purpose, and the job of the tribe is to give them the tools to get that job done. The job itself, however, must be taken on by the individual, and the tribe's biggest job is to let him or her do just that and not get in the way.
