Snow White & I have found our Sanctuaries... have you?

 Keeping with the Snow White theme, who was lead by the dwarfs from the dark forest into a sanctuary full of magical creatures, sounds and light.  I thought I'd say a few words about how important mine has been to me recently... I suppose this post is a salute to the many amazing sanctuaries that I have been blessed with in my lifetime....

My favorite definitions of the word ¨Sanctuary¨ I found when googling it are - a sacred place, a place of refuge and protection. I consider my childhood forts and 'sit offs' that are scattered through Tom Moores Jungle and South Shore in Bermuda to be exactly that....

My most recent sanctuary is on the rooftop of my apartment building in Barcelona, Spain in the Sant Pere neighborhood. According to wikipedia, this neighborhood got its name from a Monastery named after girls that disfigured themselves to avoid rape and murder... wow.... I hope they benefited from their sacrifice in some way.. and lived to share the great wisdom and lessons they gained from their experiences.

At first glance, my rooftop may seem like nothing but a concrete and antennae jungle.... however, spend more than 5 mins up there on the slanted concrete sitting, lying or in the yoga pose of your choice and the magical energy of the place will quickly cloud your vision from the modern day junk, and shine light on the sights, sounds and feelings that soothe your body to the core.

Allow yourself to relax and let go of the skeptical thoughts that seem to plague our human minds and you will be swept into the magic... you'll sing and play along with the birds that soar up above you, move and sway with the warm breeze that strokes your skin, your heart will beat to the bells that softly chime from Sant Pere church, bursts of joy will arise with the cheers and laughter from our fellow children and Soulful's living their lives close by.

Continue to allow the magic to seep through you and you'll realize how you are completely in tune with your environment... but also, the environment is completely in tune with you.... the bells chime to the rhythm of your heart, the birds glide and circle with the highs and lows of your emotions, and the people that surround you burst into cheers along with your feelings of joy! Sometimes, you might even get a beat from a drum or a flash of lighting to accent this divine experience that might feel like a dream. I found it weird at first, but I've realized its okay to imagine that this magical atmosphere is all for me... and because of me... because something tells me that it IS all for us.... and created by us... an expression of love from the Universe and our love within the Universe perhaps! AND the more we enjoy it, the more we consciously breathe it in and actively create this magic, the more magical it becomes!

It seems to often work out that I am in place on the roof at the perfect time to enjoy the change from night to day, when the warm glow of the sun sends brilliant colors across the scattered clouds or clear Barcelona sky and very slowly the deep sky seems to open up for the tiny, yet brilliant light of the stars full of infinite wisdom that is ready to be shared to who ever will listen. Already I have received an immense amount of wisdom in this spot from those stars, and I know that I will continue to go to this spot with a relaxed body, an open mind and curiosity for what more I can learn about myself and about the world we live in.... will you find your own sanctuary and join me under the stars?

Snow White & her Self

I have seen and read my fair share of fairy tales and it's only now, that I recognize the similarities these stories have with the path of life, our development, and the realizations that are needed to become our higher selves. I suppose I have this new perspective now because of my own recent awakening to my inner demons and shadows and my realization that I need to face and accept them before I am able to really listen to my inner voice and express myself from a place of love... I'll let you know how that goes!

I love the symbolism and stunning, elaborate costumes used in this movie, Snow White and the Huntsman, so much that I feel the need to contribute my own expression of this beautiful story into the world. I felt the acting was quite good too... although the romance was a lil lacking in my opinion!

A mother admiring a beautiful deep red rose in a garden full of snow wishes for a child as beautiful as the natural scene and tough as the rose... and Snow White is born. She is showered with the same admiration and love that the Mother had for the rose. Encouraging Snow White to be a happy, confident and adventurous child, with love and compassion for nature and all life... qualities that we all posses at birth.  However, if these behaviors aren't nurtured by our parents or environment, they are quickly forgotten.

Unfortunately most of us are forced to forget these child-like qualities and focus our energy on forming behaviors and walls of protection to face the challenges that are thrown at us as we grow older.

Much like the evil Step Mother, who spent many delusional years in a cycle of games and deception using her beauty to attain power over others. Many people in this world are stuck in a similar cycle, using a variety of means to play with power, and are unaware of the power struggle they are trapped in.

The root of these delusions is shown in the movie during a flashback to her mother creating a spell to give Ravenna powers that enable her to use her beauty to attain anything she wants.  Very representative of today's societal beliefs and influences on a child, that place importance on physical 'beauty' and lead our youth to believe that looks are needed to get ahead in life, or to be happy.

From a young age, Ravenna was forced to take care of her brother in a harsh world with no mother or father, and only one belief, that her beauty can get her what she wants. Resentment towards men built up from her experiences of being used by them for her beauty. Which leads her to diceive and kill Snow White's Father, becoming the ruler of the kingdom and attaining what she believes to be ultimate power. However, she looks into the mirror and only see's the worst version of herself. When in reality she is stunning... Perhaps each wrinkle and visible rib represent the guilt and shame she holds within her body, as most of us do.

Snow White is forced to live in a cell on her own in darkness. Her innocence is maintained and she is still very child-like when she later escapes from the dungeon. Representing the inner child that we all have inside of us... which for some, has been locked away for many years. For the lucky ones it is still running free along with them.

Those who have locked away their inner child most likely also believe that they are a victim to the negative events, behaviors and feelings that appear in their lives often. However, most people will have an experience that forces them to look within, reflect, re-evaluate their priorities and desires, and question their purpose for being here....

For Ravenna, this moment was when she was mislead once again by a good-looking man who stabbed her in the stomach. Her brother, or her addictive side of self, spent his life finding ways to attain whatever she desired.... the beauty and youth of young girls. In the end it was he, who failed to give Ravenna what she wanted to devour the most - her suppressed inner child, Snow White, by allowing her to get free.

It was with the help of her beloved birds that Snow White is able to escape. They lead her first to the nail that she uses as a weapon and then show her the way through the rocky cliff side. Birds represent our connection to our spiritual intuitions and remind us to go with flow through the twists and turns of life with grace and determination. Snow White follows them with no hesitation and is lead to a stunning white horse who happens to be chilling out in the rocks. Horses represent freedom, a time to change and get moving and encourage power and endurance to face the obstacles of life. The white horse gets Snow White away from Ravenna's brother and army and to her next obstacle... the dark forest.

The forest thrives with creatures that are feared by most... insect, snakes and deadly poisons that made up the trees and foliage. Snow White struggles for quite some time before she finally gives in to the foliage of darkness and passes out, becoming one with it. The dark forest represents the darkness of our forgotten negative past experiences that linger deep inside us, creating limitations and fears.

The Huntsman enters the movie just in time for a vulnerable Snow White to receive help from his strong, capable and tough presence. With his help, she is able to face her fears and see that it is possible to step over a branch of snakes or in our case acknowledge the thoughts, emotions and feelings that stem from a past experience and need to be left behind or forgiven...

The Huntsman represents the masculine side of our selves that is easily forgotten, especially by women, but when remembered it helps us to replace our fears with empowerment.

Together they take on the forest... he teachers her how to fight, and she saves his life using compassion by showing love to a troll that was, moments before, about to kill him. They come across a group of women with scars down their cheeks which they'd made as a form of protection from the evil queen. They help Snow White and the Huntsman with their care and words of wisdom. To me these wise women represent the inner wisdom we all carry within us, that can be heard if we allow ourselves to listen.

Very slowly, Snow White and the Huntsman earn each other's trust and promise to stick by one another. When this unity of masculine and feminine is found within our selves we are able to then take on the obstacles ahead of us with compassion and understanding.

Together they encounter the seven dwarfs, prove their worth to these aspects of her ego, and are lead into the 'sanctuary' or land of fairies...!

With compassion, Snow White wins the skeptical dwarfs over and shows them the connection she has with the nature and destiny of the land. Their ailments and worries begin to disappear and are replaced with brighter thoughts and feelings. They decide to stick with her, protect her and get her to where she needs to be.... its nice to know that its possible for our negative traits and behaviors to be turned into positive, helpful ones when shown self love, acceptance, and trust.

During an attack Ravenna uses Snow White's childhood friend, William, as a disguise to seduce the vulnerable Snow White, and poison her with an apple... representing our tendency to turn to others for security and comfort and how we can be deceived very easily if we let our guard (or Huntsman) down and trust too quickly.

With the loss of Snow White, the Huntsman finally realizes his love and appreciation for her qualities and plants her with a kiss - masculine and feminine aspects of the self uniting. She awakens with a knowingness of her purpose, confidence in her abilities and a determination to rise up and take charge of her destiny. And this is exactly what she does, with her Huntsman, dwarfs and people by her side.

Snow White finally defeats Ravenna and releases her from the spell of delusions reclaiming the life she is destined to live. There is peace throughout the land once again...!

I truly believe that we all have the chance to take this journey... to sift through our past, learn the lesson's presented in each experience, unite our masculine and feminine aspects and acknowledge our fears and weaknesses so that we can replace our negative behaviors, thoughts and emotions with love and acceptance. Maybe then we will become our fuller, truer self.

I promise my next post won't be an essay... thanks for reading!

Besos