The Great Ditch on the Yellow Brick Road

In one poignant scene in L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz written in 1900, Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Lion see before them a great ditch that stopped them in their tracks. It was a very wide ditch and when they crept up to the edge and looked down they could see it was also very deep. The sides of this ditch were so sheer, that it appeared impossible to climb down without serious injury.

The four of them sit on the edge of the great ditch wondering what to do. It appears they are stuck.

Life tests our resolve again and again. Some things come easily to us and some things do not. Some goals are achieved with just a little effort and others require deep reserves of patience, determination, and ingenuity.

Baum wrote, “We cannot fly, that is certain; neither can we climb down into this great ditch. Therefore, if we cannot jump over it we must stop where we are,” said the Scarecrow.

”I think I can jump over it,” said the Cowardly Lion after measuring the distance carefully in his mind.

“Then we are all right,” answered the Scarecrow, “for you can carry us all on your back, one at a time.”

Confidently and courageously jumping and leaping over and over again, the Lion carries each one of them on his back as if he were an amazing stallion. He requires a bit of rest between each marvelous leap because this kind of exertion is unlike anything he has done before. Each leap with one of his companions on his back takes his breath away and he needs time to regain his strength and momentum to do it again and again.

As they go a little farther on their journey to Oz, they come up against other challenges that force them to wisely use their heads and to draw upon solutions. Every time this happens, one of them comes up with an idea that stirs their collective imagination and the obstacle is circumvented.  Barriers inspire creative solutions and solutions serve to strengthen their basic character and resolve to succeed. As they continue their long journey on the Yellow Brick Road they are displaying the qualities they each believe they lack.

The imagination opens doors and helps us to see the bigger picture. Transforming problems into solutions strengthens Dorothy’s power and tenacity and inspires the Scarecrow to use the brain he believes he doesn’t have. Defying obstacles opens the heart of Tin Woodman; a heart he fears he has lost.  Creating solutions allows the Cowardly Lion to draw upon deep reservoirs of courage; courage that he always worried he was missing. Overcoming obstacles together helps each of them return to a state of grace.

Therefore, one of the most important lessons the Wizard of Oz teaches us is that we need each other. Like Baum, I believe that we are at our best when we harmoniously work together, joining with others in a variety of ways to make life a sacred journey.

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Understanding Inflammation and How it Affects Your...

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Understanding Inflammation and How it Affects Your...: Inflammation is one of the body’s natural defenses against injury and disease whereby the body’s immune system triggers the release of chem...

Understanding Inflammation and How it Affects Your Health

Inflammation is one of the body’s natural defenses against injury and disease whereby the body’s immune system triggers the release of chemicals to heal wounds and infections such as bacteria and viruses.  Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is a disease. Instead of protecting the organism (our cells and bodies) it starts to kill the organism by releasing a surge of chemicals that ultimately destroy the tissue when no infection or wounds are present. It is regarded as an autoimmune disorder.

Beginning with the pioneering medical research of Denham Harman, MD in 1956 and Imre Nagy, MD in 1978, chronic inflammation has been shown to be the main contributing factor of all degenerative diseases, and the root cause of the two greatest killers: cancer and heart disease. In addition, chronic inflammation appears to be a contributing cause of allergies, mood disorders, gastric diseases, arthritis, dementia, Alzheimer’s, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, and the premature aging of the body and skin. A diet rich in omega 6- fatty acids which is called the typical American diet, sets the stage for chronic inflammation. High fat diets generate the production of free radicals which attack cells to get an electron they desperately need to stabilize themselves. Every time they stabilize themselves, they damage healthy cells.

Harmon wrote, “Molecules are made up of atoms glued together by chemical bonds. Each bond consists of a pair of electrons. When a bond is broken, what are left are two molecular fragments, each of which contains one of the now unpaired electrons. These molecular fragments are highly charged and highly unstable, because they contain only one electron rather than two. These highly charged, highly unstable, highly reactive particles are what we know as free radicals.”  Does this describe anyone you know?

When you ingest lots of saturated fat in your diet, your body generates more free radicals. Your body is already in a constant battle between free radicals trying to take control of your cells and antioxidants fighting to protect your cells from invasion and damage. Free radicals cause damage to the cell membrane, resulting in the cell being unable to let nutrients in and wastes out. This imbalance sends a signal to the immune system to produce chemicals to help repair the damage. Now you have two problems: an over abundance of free radicals and a chronic overproduction of chemicals. Harmon discovered that omega 3-fatty acids, a good source of antioxidants, need to be abundant within the system to counteract the aggressiveness of the free radicals.  Since the brain is 60% fat, it is a breeding ground for free radicals. You want to be eating foods that nourish and protect your miracle brain which has over 100 billion cells, 100 trillion neural connections, and 400 miles of blood vessels, and coordinates, controls, and regulates all the physical and mental activities you perform each day.

Two main causes of inflammation are eating inflammatory foods including fast food, processed food, food high in saturated fats, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, sugar, aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, and salt which are high in omega 6’s; stress is a leading cause of inflammation since the body is continually on alert, continually in the stress response mode protecting itself from perceived danger. In this chronic stress response, the brain signals the adrenal glands to release cortisol and it is continual release of cortisol in the bloodstream that presents the problem.
Foods that have been shown to contribute to inflammation are: dairy products, red meat and high fat meat cuts, food and drink with high sugar content, pesticides and additives in food, and highly salted food.

Questions to ask yourself?

·         How many of the above inflammatory foods do you eat on a regular basis?

·         What are the sources of stress in your life?

·         What inflammatory situations or people anger, provoke, agitate, infuriate, stir-up, and irritate you?

·         How much resentment and guilt do you carry with you from your past?

·         How many of these anti-inflammatory foods do you eat consistently?

Excellent anti-inflammatory foods include:    

·         Sweet potatoes - strongly anti-inflammatory

·         wild salmon - strongly anti-inflammatory

·         olive oil - strongly anti-inflammatory

·         flax seeds and flax oil - strongly anti-inflammatory

·         avocado – moderately anti-inflammatory

·         strawberries – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         kiwi – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         papaya – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         spinach – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         broccoli – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         tomato – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         romaine lettuce – mildly anti-inflammatory

·         leafy greens, orange, green peas and red bell peppers – mildly anti-inflammatory   

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Lessons from the Wizard of Oz

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Lessons from the Wizard of Oz: I believe that the Wizard of Oz , the famous children’s classic, is the perfect metaphor for the issues facing us as we age. Both the book ...

Lessons from the Wizard of Oz

I believe that the Wizard of Oz, the famous children’s classic, is the perfect metaphor for the issues facing us as we age. Both the book written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum and the 1939 film based upon Baum’s book focused on 5 main themes: Hope, mind, love, courage, and imagination.

As we age we certainly need hope. Doubt and hopelessness are depressive states that make life difficult. When you lack hope your life begins to close in on you and your world gets smaller and smaller. Hope revitalizes the spirit and opens doors.  When Dorothy landed in the Land of Oz, Glinda the Good Witch gave her hope by telling her that the Wizard of Oz could help her get back home. She gave Dorothy a protective kiss on the forehead and a pair of Ruby Red Shoes to safely guide her journey. We need hope, inspiration and the reassurance that we will be OK. How do we keep the fires of hope burning? We need to keep our expectations positive and trust that we can make healthy decisions and choices. We need to have things and activities to look forward to. We need to continue to dream about the enjoyable things we want to do and to join forces with others who are currently doing these things or want to do them in the future. We must always hold onto the belief that we are not alone in our dreams and wants and there are others out there who can and will join us on our journey.

The first person Dorothy meets on the Yellow Brick Road is Scarecrow who is stuck on a pole. He believes that he doesn’t have a brain. This is one of the greatest fears instilled in us, especially as we get older; that we are going to get some kind of dementia or Alzheimer’s, the brain cells are going to die and we are slowly going to lose our mind and brain power. Dementia and Alzheimer’s do not have to play a part in the aging process. Beliefs are powerful and the pharmaceutical companies and the medical profession have done us a disservice by telling us over and over again about the deterioration our brain is going to experience as we age. This repetitive negativity creates doubt and fear. If doctors would spend more time educating about proper nutrition, exercise, brain enhancing educational activities, mediation and relaxation techniques, we would probably see a dramatic drop in dementia. But most doctors have very little education or training in nutrition and brain enhancing activities. Their training is mostly in pathology.

Abraham Maslow eloquently wrote about this phenomenon in his book, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. He said that if we continue to study mental illness and think that it will give us a better understanding of the full spectrum of human nature we are sadly mistaken. All we will have is a sick psychology. He believed that in order to heal we need a psychology of wellness and therefore need to study people who are psychologically healthy. What we have today is a sick-illness oriented field of medicine that primarily addresses problems with pills and surgical procedures.

The fact is, the brain has a remarkable ability to heal and expand its communication network between and among brain cells. I have seen these miraculous changes take place as a former director of two brain injury facilities. This phenomenon is called neural plasticity. The human brain has over 100 billion brain cells that make over 1,000 trillion connections with a vascular network of over 400 miles of blood vessels. Keep your brain active by learning new things, nurture it with healthy and nutritious food that soothe it rather than inflame it, participate in ongoing exercises that enhance it, and incorporate daily meditation and self-hypnosis techniques and processes that create optimism and release the ‘feel good’ hormones, and you are on your way to having an amazing mind and brain, just like the Scarecrow wanted.

We want love and an open heart. Love is vital to our health and wellness, yet as we age we feel more isolated and lonely. Love is what connects us and joins us together. The Tin Woodman wanted a heart because when he was in love he was the happiest man on earth. He said he needed a heart to love and be loved again. How can we open our hearts more as we age? We need to participate in activities with others, to spend our time with people who are caring and nurturing, to try new things and add more fun, play and joy into our lives. Perhaps we can volunteer and help others who are less fortunate than we are. Perhaps we can go to adult education classes and explore topics like building self-esteem, vegetarian cooking, meditation, loving relationships, and learn more about the biology and psychology of beliefs and how they impact the heart and our miracle brain. Perhaps we will radically alter our diet and tell the pharmaceutical companies, “No thank you, my heart is healthy as ever because I am feeding it the beliefs, food and activities it requires for optimal functioning. “

As Dorothy continued down the Yellow Brick Road she was startled by the roar of a large lion. The three of them recoiled in fear as the Cowardly Lion made his big presence known. When he frightened her dog Toto, Dorothy smacked him across the snout and the Lion began to cry. As we get older, courage may seem to be in smaller supply. But why does it have to? Courage is that inner force within us that inspires us to stand up for ourselves, the guts to try new things, the daring to take risks, the bravery to move away from an isolated life and to open the door to something new and different. Courage helps us to defy fear. Fear is there but we don’t let it stop us from doing the things we want to do and taking the risks we want to take. And like the Wizard of Oz teaches us, we oftentimes need the help of others to make changes. Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Lion could not have gotten to Oz alone….they needed each other to get beyond the barriers and challenges they met along the way. They needed each other’s support, encouragement, and creative problem solving to get to the Wizard of Oz.

Imagination is one of the greatest gifts of all. If we are feeling stuck in life, imagination is our way out. When we were children we literally lived in the imagination. As we get older, imagination can play a smaller role as practical concerns take precedence. Your brain thrives on positive thinking and imagination. Your heart splendidly relaxes as it is inundated by the chemistry released by imagination. Courage is your constant companion in an environment that bathes in the rapture of imagination. A positive imagination is always your antidote to the doldrums of fear, anxiety, and depression. Let these 5 gifts and themes of the Wizard of Oz take you and your life to new heights of enjoyment and fulfillment.

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Understanding Metaphors

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Understanding Metaphors: Metaphor is a symbolic language which arises out of an interweaving of imagery, implication, association, perception, and memory. Examples ...

Understanding Metaphors

Metaphor is a symbolic language which arises out of an interweaving of imagery, implication, association, perception, and memory. Examples of metaphors are parables, holy writings, and allegory of literature, poetry, fairy tales, films, plays, photographs, stories, dreams, and the symbolism of nature.

The natural language of the unconscious is metaphorical and the imagery inherent in metaphor visits us in our dreams night after night. Dreaming of driving a car faster and faster might be a message from our deeper self warning us about our high blood pressure or manic behavior.  Being a passenger in the car while someone else drives might indicate our need to take control over the direction of our own life.  Einstein said that a dream he had as a child wherein he was sliding down a snowy mountain on a sled at such high speed that the stars were spinning in the opposite direction of their natural orbit, set the tone for his research and development of his theory of relativity. He said that his life work in physics was a meditation on that dream.

In order to better understand the metaphorical language and possible meanings of a dream, it is a good idea and a fun exercise to play with the imagery. Write down the basics of the dream and all the images that you remember including how you felt during the dream and discuss it with a friend or just analyze the words and imagery yourself and what they could mean within the context of your current life and future aspirations.

Fairy tales are another excellent example of metaphor. L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz was written to help children come to understand that they can maneuver successfully through any hardship in life. Baum did not like Alice in Wonderland and felt that children did not gain any self-confidence from the metaphor s in that story. Baum’s protagonist, Dorothy, is suddenly transported to an unfamiliar place and befriends four interesting characters along the way who assist her in achieving her goal: Glinda the good witch who gives Dorothy the ruby red shoes to protect her and guide her on her journey on the yellow brick road, Scarecrow who wants a brain to build his confidence, Tin Woodman who wants a heart so he can love again, and the Cowardly Lion who wants courage. The Wizard of Oz has been viewed by over 2 billion people world -wide and is regarded as the most popular family film of all time. Why? People of all ages can relate to the metaphorical nature of the story, the needs and goals of the characters, and the charming and entertaining way the entire story unfolds.

Take note of the books, films, dreams, day dreams, stories, songs, and plays you find yourself drawn to and aroused by and you will discover how the metaphors in these stir up the metaphors in you. Look upon metaphor as simply an inner figurative language that we all have inside of us that inspires us to better understand who we are, what we want, and where we want to go.