There is an ancient alchemical text that says:

“Whosoever wishes to enter the philosophical rose garden without keys is like a man who wishes to walk without feet.”  

This saying invites us to discover the keys to opening doors to a deeper understanding than the intellect can grasp - an understanding at the level of imagination, meaning, intuition and wisdom.  

In thinking about what these keys might be it seems to me that stories that have stood the test of time are telling a universal story of internal development and growth which is mirrored in the external symbols of the world and physical existence.  The process of this growth and the principles and dynamics underlying this growth is the same for all people and so the story told is my story, no matter what symbols, characters or story line is used.  Indeed the  story of our own lives is an outward expression of an inner state of being. Our inner state is not static but growing and changing and so the external expression of our lives is dynamic and changing.  Our story is powerful and filled with meaning and our story needs to be told, understood and shared.

The characters in the stories, just like all the characters of our own dream life, are personifications of our own inner states of being, qualities inherent within ourselves. The characters in the stories are all representations of inner relationships with different aspects of self.     I am the baby Jesus, the Virgin, Herod, the Wise men, the shepherds and the donkey and this is the story of my birth.  Everything in the myth represents an aspect of me in the story of my existence.   People in my world mirror back to me inner aspects of my own being if I am willing to look in the mirror without judgment.  Reading the story this way facilitates integration and inner communication, healing of inner conflicts and a gathering together of the scattered  and disavowed parts of ourselves.

The journey is a mythical story of the inner pilgrimage away from God and then back towards God, from whence we originated.  The evolution of our own consciousness is depicted as the pilgrims progress towards a fully aware consciousness.   The story helps us orient ourselves and reassure us about the path we are on.

A good story is full of symbol - which is a representation of a deeper reality that cannot be seen.  For instance, as a symbol, “a key” can be seen to mean a clue that points to a  deeper meaning, not just a metal object that opens a physical door.  And a door can be seen to mean an opening into an expanded state of consciousness, not just a wooden structure blocking the entrance to a physical room.  A star is an astral body in the heavens and it is also the reflection of light in the soul of every human...

When the intellect attempts to interpret myth it sees stories as linear and progressive, historical, time bound, factual, one time events about other people.  Reading with higher mind or wisdom is to recognize that myths represent ongoing, cyclical dynamics in our own beings.   Eg. Birth and death happen over and over again in our lives. 

How then can I understand the story of the Life of Christ/Buddha or any other enlightened being as my story?

©  Lyndall Johnson 2001

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time......

And all shall be well and

All manner of thing shall be well

When the tongues of flame are in-folded

Into the crowned knot of fire

And the fire and the rose are one.

T.S.. Elliot