When I was seven I watched The Wizard of Oz…at least until the Wicked Witch scared me so much that I stopped.
I did not see the end of the movie.
I was too scared.
Over the next year, I had the same dream three times. The dream was set at the house of a family friend. I loved that house. We only went there a few times, but it was beautiful and fascinating. The dream was set in the backyard. The house was on a slope, to get to the yard you had to go down a flight of stairs. Under the house was a room (storage?)…In the dream I was playing happily with my sister. This dream was so vivid I could feel the warmth of the sun. The door of the room under the house opens and a wicked witch emerges…coming to get us, the sky darkens, my heart races, “run sis, ruuun”…I am powerless, fear fixes me, the witch comes closer…
I wake up. terrified.
In hindsight this dream was set in a real-life place I most related to Oz (magical, fun, unknown, beautiful, happy). I guess (just as in my dream) the witch was out of place, odd, unnecessary..I would have liked the movie just as well without the wicked witch, but there she was. I couldn’t change it.
At some point, about a year later, I had the opportunity to watch the movie again. This time, I was brave. I watched the whole movie, and loved it! Especially the witch vanquishing scene.
That night, I dreamed again.
This time instead of waking up, I noticed a bucket of water nearby. In an instant I had grabbed it and thrown the water over the witch – vanquishing her! I woke, feeling strong and powerful, confident and happy. I had found the tool I needed to conquer that fear. The wickedness could be taken away.
I never dreamed that dream again.
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Facing our fears means gaining knowledge and finding resolutions. Finding tools that we can use when the fear presents itself, knowing that we can control the cause of the fear, is empowering. Once you have the power, the fear disappears…vanquished.
Replace Fear with Understanding
Claim your Power.
In birth, we do this with Birth Cartography – creating a map, that reveals the landscape and the power imbalances within. When we recognised that ‘the authority’ is there to provide assistance IF we need it, and we get to determine what that looks like, we can take responsibility and step into our power.
Read more about overcoming fear:
From Fear to Celebration: The Five Stages of Being
How I turned the Beast of Fear into a friend for life
From Belief and Fear to Informed and Confident