Article fist appeared in Prediction Magazine, April 05, page 19.

Last month we discussed the lower-self as an aspect of our spiritual-self or inner-child and; how to reconnect with our ‘innocence’ via creativity and children. In fact, bridging the higher-self (wiser part) and the lower-self (child-like self) is a major part of our spiritual journey and development. In other words, bringing spiritual wisdom to a lower physical, or mundane, level; where spiritual understanding can manifest and can be applied in practical everyday life. Enter fairy tales.

Childhood and spiritual development

At each stage in our human and spiritual development we build on the foundations of each earlier stage, but do not replace them. Western psychoanalysts from Freud onwards, have acknowledged that childhood is the basis of our human development. It follows that our childhood is also the basis of our spiritual development.

In my view fairy tales, for children and adults alike, are an essential aspect of our ongoing understanding of spirituality and the spiritual laws that govern our lives, or our earth-bound experiences (as a spirit in a body). The imagery and metaphor speak to our brain, providing it with means of accepting new concepts. These means are creative and often subliminal. At times when our brain rejects the obvious, it may welcome the mystery of myth instead!

Myth awareness & spiritual growth

Reoccurring themes (love, betrayal, the dark side, the triumph of good over evil etc.) in fairy tales are really archetypes, or patterns which exist at the unconscious level. Carl Jung described these as elemental forces which structure our imagination and make it distinctly human. Archetypes may emerge into consciousness in many ways. In other words, the stories that our parents read to us in childhood can shape not only our life-beliefs, but also our spiritual awareness. As adults, reading fairy tales can help our spiritual understanding grow to the next higher level of awareness.

As much as I enjoyed fairly tales as a child, I could not help wondering as a young adult, and especially as a woman, what were they teaching us? From a female perspective, the Princesses in those tales seem to be passive, just waking at the kiss of a handsome Prince, as in Sleeping Beauty. Why does Cinderella's suffering end only when she meets Prince Charming? And did Beauty settle for a Beast because there were no Prince Charming about (panic, panic)? Fairy tales seemed peculiar, and it seemed to me then, that women have had the short end of the fairy stick, it seems ever since Eve was blamed for seducing Adam into eating the original apple.

The Duality of spirituality

The strangeness of many fairy stories coupled with the frequent use of magic to produce results; highlights the fact that these stories work on several different levels. On one hand, these fables are often about the awakening of female sexuality, and the journey into adulthood (as in Beauty and the Beast). On the other hand, they also introduce complex themes; love, the nature of the self, and the love of others, which all lead to spiritual growth.

One of the themes of many fairy tales is that of a Prince waking up the Princess. In other words, one element of the self, the Princess (the female aspect) lay dormant, or unfulfilled, until the second element, the Prince (the male aspect) merged with it to produce a third aspect or state of existing: the archetypal couple who represent new beginnings. Adam and Eve had to merge in order to give birth to something new- humanity.

Reading fairy tales again with adult understanding can help us recognize the concept of duality, the spiritual nature of being, or the duality of female and male energies. In abstract terms, content and container. Awareness of both aspects is an essential part of spiritual growth. Where the female aspect is creativity, intuition, understanding or content; the male aspect, would be knowledge, discipline, structure, or the container that gives form to the content. Both aspects integrate to create something new and powerful: progress or evolution. In other words, the Cosmic Child energy – as we discussed in February.

As the development of our spiritual nature is dependant on our development as complete human beings, these simple fairy tales can have an important part to play. Seemingly simple, they are multi-layered and connect at a deeper level with our consciousness. Both aspects of our selves, male and female, need to be acknowledged and honoured; in order that we may grow into the next state of being, or awareness. Otherwise, our understanding of life, or spirituality, can be askew.

Next Month, we will discuss whether our brain is the spiritual seat of our consciousness. Till then, love, light and healing.