TATIANA DIMOV

Let’s unpack the Magic of good old Fairy Tales

Finding the way home…

The story of Hansel and Gretel

Once upon a time, two kids were left alone in the forest by their parents. The children overheard their parents’ conversations and discovered they were to be abandoned in the forest, The brother was the older one, fully aware that they needed signs on the road, so they could find their way back. The brother gathered small shiny white pebbles and threw them on the ground while heading into the forest. The pebbles indeed were shining like little stars under the full moon showing clearly their way back home. However, the story did not finish here…like it was not meant to be that easy…finding our way home…There was a second attempt, with no time to gather these precious pebbles this time and mark the way back. Only a piece of bread was available to spread crumbs as post signs leading two children home. But the breadcrumbs are not the same as pebbles-the birds in the forest ate them all and there were no signs to follow this time. Without reliable signs, the kids quickly fell pray to the forest witch who offered them great comfort, but soon they realized that not everybody who is helping them has pure intentions….

And so, it is in life…is not unusual to lose touch with ourselves (home) at a certain point of our Soul journey. We are usually confident in the beginning relying on signs that are familiar and known because we have planted them or somebody else did it before us. And as often goes, life happens, stormy weather happens, and here we are in a place without a clear path ahead.

We might feel lost, confused looking for a way home or back to ourselves. How do we navigate, which coordinates do we use, where are our “pebbles”? There is only one place to look and this is inside, our inner compass, the heart, because the heart has different ways to show us.

What catches your attention and makes you smile or gasp, what makes your heart dance, what brings peace? Look between things, find clues that look and sound familiar on a much deeper Soul level, see patterns, watch for sacred signs that do not always look like shiny pebbles under the moon light and yet they are strangely familiar, because our Soul has a language that only we understand.

Being present, curious and paying attention to what is around is paramount. Because the language of the heart is subtle and quiet. Once you begin trusting yourself, the path will appear with signs everywhere. Once recognised, the signs will light every step on your Soul Path and you will step on it with confidence. The path will appear before you and you will know with your whole Being that this is the way home.

The signs are different for each and everyone of us and distinctly unique, but they merely reflect deeply seated symbols of our psyche. As symbols always contain way more information than a single word. Through them, we are accessing a vast field of information. What we notice outside to be true and speak to us in a unique way is merely a reflection of deeper truth and knowing on the inside…if we pay attention. But signs are not just there to be noticed and admired. They are invitations to go within, explore, reflect and respond with greater clarity. And this the way of the Heart-knowledge turned into wisdom

Of course, the story also covers other aspects of life, i.e. the situation within a deep forest where the offer of help is an illusion; the failure of the parents to care and protect, etc. It’s up to the reader to decide which aspect is more valuable for reflection.

In my personal journey the breadcrumbs were …the books, the art, travel-all experiences that made my heart rejoice and time stopped existing. Yet knowledge and logic prevailed, and I entered the field of academia and medicine that was my forest. I fed “an internal witch (my ambition and mind) that was consuming me” as I was losing my life energy slowly but surely. Then the first bread crumb appeared-I started work as a cardiac sonographer. The incredible Human Heart was pulsing every day in front of my eyes as a mirror to remind me of my own Heart. Then I saw an ad for mindfulness which drew my attention and that led me down that path, exploring further the path of the Heart (mindfulness in Japanese sign language translates as heart fullness), then invitation for counselling and psychotherapy appeared on the path where I was working with the psyche (that includes Mind, Heart and Soul). Soon after that, the path was lit with the pebbles shining brightly under the moonlight, always when I honor the joy and wisdom of my heart. The forest was no longer dense and dark and I found myself at home writing this blog .