Create the Life You Imagine~May 2018

Guides and Threshold Guardians

“As you now go towards the center, there will come more aids, as well as increasingly difficult trials.”

~ Joseph Campbell

As Dorothy begins her walk down the yellow brick road, the Wicked Witch promises, “I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too.” Lurking behind trees and around dark corners, the Witch lies in wait for the opportunity to stop Dorothy on her journey. Threshold guardians show up in the form of talking apple trees, in worries of “lions and tigers and bears, oh my,” in fields of intoxicating poppies and in the winged monkeys and fearsome creatures of the dark forest. But also watching the way is Glinda, the Good Witch, and she always seems to respond when the call for help goes out.

The myths tell us that the closer we get to our deeper Selves, the more challenges we will face. These challenges are the threshold guardians along the path. The threshold guardians are represented in medieval architecture as the gargoyles and creatures at the gates of the great cathedrals and in medieval stories as trolls under bridges. In life, the threshold guardians show up in the form of obstacles, naysayers and fear mongers. They are the voices in our heads or the voices of those around us that tell us not to venture, not to risk, not to seek, not to dream. They try to lull us back into the old ways, the old patterns and the old structures that have supported our lives. The test of our spiritual strength is our ability to push through these obstacles with the certainty of our connection to our higher Self and the guidance of our intuition; these obstacles, the threshold guardians, challenge us to release all that is false and to acknowledge the soul of who we are. They come to test our resolve, our fortitude, our focus and our perseverance. These qualities are the pearls of our spiritual work, and we will be given many opportunities to test and fortify these hard-earned strengths.

On the brighter side, as we stand firm in our resolve to walk our path, the Universe lines up to support us. The myths promise that as we make our way through the confusion and challenges of our journey, help is always available. In the Oz story, our heroine and her companions show us that just when all seems lost, a good cry for help will bring forward exactly the assistance that is needed. Just as Glinda’s soft pink light floats ever present in the background of the Oz journey, watching over our heroine as she makes her way, we will find that help is always available to us if we soften our fear and remember our connection to All That Is.

When we connect deeply with our deepest Self, we also connect with something immensely bigger than ourselves—we connect with an unseen presence that holds within it all of our deepest possibilities as well as the pathways to get there.

As we allow ourselves to be present to this deeper flow in our lives, we learn to look beyond the experiences and challenges we encounter and to see life as an invitation to come into deeper awareness of our true Self.

Some experiences will invite us to drop the false exteriors we have created for safety and acceptance. Some experiences will challenge us to reach deep within ourselves for gifts, strengths and abilities we didn’t know we had. The presence of challenges and struggles in life are sure signs that we are being invited to learn more about who we really are and to face and surrender the fears, emotions and beliefs that no longer serve us.

At this stage of the hero journey we begin to trust that we are never alone and that all experiences in life are meaningful opportunities to learn and grow. We stop looking for the answers to life outside of us and begin to accept our deeper intuitions and knowings as we move forward on our path. This represents a fundamental shift in our consciousness, which opens and expands our capacity to be present to the mystery of life unfolding through us and around us.

Wishing you courage, blessings and light as you continue this journey to create the life you imagine.

Tracy