Narnia - Crossing the Veil

I’m not writing a movie commentary here but I realize there are many lessons from the movie Narnia that are worth discussing and sharing. Personally I felt that my past three years exploring spirituality and myself is exactly the same (metaphorically) as what happened in the movie Narnia. The theme of crossing the veil into dream wonderland and returning to everyday reality with a deepened understanding of life, a renewed perspective and wisdom is analogous to one’s journey to find oneself.

Something for you to ponder… a quote from Claudio Naranjo (well-known psychotherapist enneagram teacher) based on Zen teachings:

“As a Zen story puts it, at the beginning of the journey the trees look like trees, the mountain looks like a mountain and the lake looks like a lake. In the middle of the journey the trees do not look like trees any more, the mountain does not look like a mountain, and the lake looks like a lake. But at the end of the journey the trees look like trees, the mountain looks like a mountain, and the lake looks like a lake. At beginning of the journey there is the pseudosanity of a merely intellectual knowledge that mountains are mountains, and the price of the rational view upon all personality is that of functional mutilation. In the middle of the journey there is acknowledged delusion and confusion. At this stage we can distinguish two avenues to the transformation of delusion into reality, compatible with each other and both present as components in a given approach.” - One Quest, Claudio Naranjo

Through experiencing the transient nature of reality by going beyond the everyday mundane reality can we then realize the deeper meanings of reality and life itself. The concept of life being an illusion, which forms the basis of core Buddhist teachings, can be understood and experienced through a deep journey within, into the veils of the unconscious, the unknown, or what some might call the psychic aspects of reality. Once one has moved beyond our five senses to experience that which is beyond the five senses, we gain wisdom and knowledge accessible through contacting the world not readily available to the conditioned and rational mind. This crossing of the veil is exactly what happens in the movie Narnia when the characters all crossed over to the magical land Narnia and through battling with the evil White Witch, saves Narnia from her long reign in winter.

Physical pilgrims or retreats also hold similar significance. (Although pilgrims probably hold greater spiritual significance given their more ritualized nature, the length of time of the pilgrim and the intent behind the act of going on a pilgrim from historical practices). Taking time out from our routine everyday life gives us that space to get in touch with parts of ourselves which are normally denied through mental pressures to conform or behave in ways that are not always in congruence with our deeper drives and desires and needs. Do you need to take a break?

When one returns from the other side (this doesn’t normally apply to just taking a break from routine life), it is as if everything that happened was a dream, yet the dream feels to many, as real as this reality. Perhaps the other side is even more real. And we become enlightened to our true nature. We remember who we are.