The Land of Oz - You Had The Power All Along My Dear

The Wizard of Oz story is a fantastical tale of our own ability to FIND ourselves in the midst of chaos, flying monkeys, a charlatan wizard, witches good and bad, rainbows, and magicians.

Dorothy, the girl from Kansas, lands in a dream world where nothing is like it should be, except a yearning to return home to loved ones where there is safety and familiarity. We all like to stay in our comfort zone rather than venture out into the world of risk, unknowing, and fear. This Land of Oz presents a brilliant metaphor for stepping into our power and taking charge of our lives. When Dorothy finally does return home, everything is the same – but different.

A popular theme in psychology and philosophy is the tripartite personality similar to Freud’s id, ego and superego, which stemmed from Plato's Republic of three kinds of people in three layers of society. In the land of Oz, Dorothy navigates her own dark night of the soul to emerge from the dream through the integration of her psyche of heart, courage, and brains. Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, explicitly reminds us of that when she tells Dorothy, “You had the power all along my dear.”

Even though Dorothy had the power to make the positive changes in her life, she needed to experience the path (the yellow brick road – the journey to Oz), adversity (conquering the Wicked Witch of the West), fears (challenging the Wizard), lessons (being tricked) and triumph (integration). In order to understand the nature of our qualities, we must be tested. It is the only way to know how strong we can be.

Tin Man - Heart

When a man's an empty kettle. He should be on his mettle And yet I'm torn apart. Just because I'm presumin' That I could be kinda human, If I only had a heart.

Cowardly Lion – Courage

Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk? Courage! What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the “ape” in apricot. What have they got that I ain’t got?

Scarecrow – Brains

Dorothy to Scarecrow: How do you talk if you don't have a brain?

Scarecrow answers: Well, some people without brains do an awful lot of talking don't they?

The Wizard never dreamed he would have to follow through on his promise of granting the wishes of home, heart, brains, and courage when Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion reached the Emerald City. The medal for bravery, diploma for brains, and the heart shaped watch were mere empirical substitutes. The heartfelt consolidation of characteristics had proved to the audience, these qualities were firmly implanted in this tripartite fantasy friendship residing in Dorothys' psyche, aching for resolution and integration. As she presents the broom of the dead Wicked Witch of the West to the Great and powerful Oz, a triumphant moment lingers, but only temporarily, as the realization of “home” continues to remain elusive.

Wicked Witch of the West - Fear

You cursed brat! Look what you’ve done! I’m melting! Melting! Oh, what a world! What a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness! Oooooh, look out! I’m going! Oooooh! Ooooooh!

A good girl indeed! Courage, brains, and heart all rolled into one unassuming young women. Home was inside of her, no matter where she travelled; love, connection, bravery, intuition, self-acutalization, memories, self-care, community. Her soul journey enveloped everything she needed. It was in her all along and it’s in you too! Looking inward is the path to wholeness and fulfillment. Integration of the self is true mastery.

As Dorothy sets out for home, the Tin Man brings out the lesson she needs to understand at her core; that to trust and believe in her own heart, courage, and wisdom is the key to the magic of life.

The Tin Man to Dorothy: What have you learned Dorothy?

Dorothy: Well - I think that it – It wasn’t enough to just want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em – and it’s that – If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with! Is that right?

Your power lies in the choices you make. It requires heart, courage, and brains to delve deep into your soul and define your life by how you use those miraculous tools, from your core, to create the life you desire.

Dorothy: There’s no place like home.

How do you define home?

Susan Lee Woodward Writer/Blogger Medical Intuitive Reiki Practitioner Laughter Yoga Teacher MBSR Meditation Teacher

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Quotes from the Wizard of Oz movie came from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/quotes