Great Morning Beloved!
The Wizard of Oz – Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

Welcome back to the Yellow Brick Road and the Lessons we can possibly learn from our Characters.
This week Joey Greene has us looking at that man behind the curtain…even though he asks us to ignore him.
People can change your life for the better. They can inspire you, motivate you, and help you recognize who you really are.

I am sure you all can look back and recall more than one person who has made a difference in the way your life has progressed. I pray I am doing that for at least some of you. That is my job. I am here to call you higher.

I hope I can be at least a small part for you that my ‘people’ have been for me. My biggest ‘person’ outside my Mother was Rev. Erica Trantham. Erica was my first Unity Minister and was instrumental in inspiring me to become a Licensed Teacher for Unity. She would kid me, tho I’m not sure it was kidding anymore, but she would say, ‘you’re going to be a minister anyway’ and then give me more to do.

She called me higher. I hope I am calling you higher, whatever that means for you.

Joey Greene tells us that inspiring people are gentle souls full of light and joy. Uninspiring people abuse power, in their attempts to help us they are really manipulating us to help themselves.

They are hiding behind the curtain.

Even though Glinda and the Munchkins both say the Wizard of Oz is wonderful, neither say what it is that makes him so. Dorothy’s song, “We’re off to see the Wizard” never answers the statement why he is a wonderful Wiz. Pg. 114
We do find out that the ‘wonderful wizard’ isn’t so powerful that he can contain the Wicked Witch of the West. So, those his powers are very limited.

However, Dorothy, the Scare Crow, the Lion and the Tin Man all put faith in a mysterious Wizard that they have never met to help them with, really, their inside issues….brain, courage and a heart. And of course, Dorothy’s challenge, to return to Kansas and home, a home she thought she wanted to leave.

So, any of that hit a note with any of you? How about depending upon an outsider, a stranger, no less, to solve our souls’ questions? How often have we questioned our brain power? And our courage…how long did it take you to walk through that door? How long did it take you to find the courage to ask yourself those important questions? To pull the curtain away? (What are you waiting for?)

And your heart…are you giving your heart to the one you love or holding out, thinking to protect it from hurt? Yes, we do that but why?

Many questions from this Lesson, already….

Thank you, Toto, for again leading the crew to truth when he pulls on the curtain and reveals the Wizard and his pullies and leavers, revealing just a man…and from Kansas too…wonder what that’s all about? Was Kansas really that bad a place in the 1900’s?

He too, fell from the sky but he accepted the honorary title of Wizard, whereas, when Dorothy fell from the sky in Munchkinland, she refused the honorary title…she wanted to go home. That life just didn’t fit her.
What does that say about the Wizard?

When did the Wizard lose his soul? When did he choose to hide behind a falsehood instead of admitting the truth to himself and the people of the Emerald City?
And are we any less guilty?

It is estimated that 85% of our bodily illnesses come from distress in the soul….yes, mind-body related. William Bausch, in his book, “The Yellow Brick Road-A Storytellers Approach to the Spiritual Journey,” calls it ‘soul sick.’

I remind you of the reading two weeks ago from Thomas Moore’s, “The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life,” ….we have forgotten that nature is the prime source of spiritual life.”

And we see that in many ways and in many places today. And yet, in many places, people who are searching to get back to their soul connection are often asked 4 questions. You may have heard of these:
1. “When in your life did you stop singing?” When did you lose your voice? Who made you feel that it was no longer safe to give voice to your own truth, thus submerging your real self? As a result, your soul has contracted and your identity has been lost.
2. “When did you stop dancing?” When did you begin to lose touch with your body? Children dance spontaneously all the time. How did it happen that we stopped dancing?
3. “When did you stop being enchanted with stories?” Stories are the greatest healing and teaching art we have. Through stories we transmit values, traditions, memories, and identity.
4. “When did you stop being comfortable with silence?” Silence is recognized by all cultures as that place where we connect to mystery. Is it any wonder that our culture is soul sick?

What answers do you think the Wizard would come up with if he asked himself these questions?
I do not think he even considered anything near them until the time he awarded the brain, heart and courage….and then, maybe.

The Wizard was still in the throes of his masquerade as he screened any potential visitor by posing as the Doorman to Emerald City, the Cabby with the Horse of a Different Color, and the Guard to the Palace. This way he remains unreachable and mysterious…..and out of touch with himself and his people.

How many questions do we have to ask ourselves? How many steps do you have to take before letting someone in? 3? 9? 25? More? Think about it. Are you still unreachable?

When the Wizard in the disguise of the Doorman tells our group of heroes that “Nobody can see the Great Oz! Nobody’d ever seen the Great Oz! Even I’ve never seen him!” Thus, he is telling the group that the Wizard is a myth.

He is also warning the group, and us, against blindly following leaders or expecting them to solve our own problems.

The Wizard rules through fear and intimidation, from behind a curtain. What does the curtain mean to you? Do you have one? How thick is it?

Of course, the curtain seems to keep the Wicked Witch at bay, because of the mystery, I suppose.

Through his intimidation and bullying, the Wizard convinces Dorothy and her friends to ‘earn’ the right to have their wishes granted by bringing him the Wicked Witches broomstick, thus killing her for him.

If the friends succeed, the Wizard is liberated from his self-imposed seclusion. If the Witch kills the friends, then he will be rid of the pesky farm girl and the Witches rathe. This is a win-win for him…unless the Witch gets the ruby slippers and the power that supposedly comes with them.

Green reminds us: “When you put your trust in someone who lacks integrity and compassion to solve your problems, chances are that someone will use you as a pawn to solve their own problems.”

The Tao Te Ching says, “If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled.”
So, ask yourself, “Why am I allowing someone else to control my life?”

The “Great” and Wonderful Wizard is astonished when Dorothy and her friends return with the Wicked Witches broomstick, and in his surprise tries to put them off. But after her ordeal with the Witch, she will not allow the Wizard to intimidate her anymore. And Toto comes to the aid again when he pulls the curtain away to expose the Wizard in his truth…or dishonesty.

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” says the supposed Wizard. How many times in our lifetime alone have we been asked to ignore something that we know, deep down in our soul, is not to be ignored? No matter where it came from…

The Wizard is a “humbug!”

He claims to be a bad Wizard but a good man…but would a good man send Dorothy and her friends on what certainly seemed like a suicide mission? That mission did allow for Dorothy to confront her fears. It did allow for her to finally offer herself to protect Toto. She finally takes control of her life.

The Wizard did this unintentionally; should he get good points for it?

When handing out brains, heart and courage, he realizes that he is in need of these qualities too. Proving that we see in others what we have or, in this case, don’t have in ourselves.

And we realize that ‘we already possess the attributes that we seek most passionately, regardless if those traits receive recognition from outside authorities.”

We are reminded again that when we put our faith in someone else to solve our problems, it is because “we lack faith in ourselves.” That lack of respect for ourselves allows us to be easily manipulated.

We must learn to trust our own inner nature and love ourselves. Then you will pay absolutely no attention to the man behind the curtain.