Walt Disney…New Age Guru?

‘The more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract things to be grateful for.’Walt Disney

It’s Walt Disney’s birthday.

He was born in 1901 so that makes him…ooo, ever so old! It was Mickey Mouse’s birthday recently too, my Dad is 92 so Mickey has also had a pretty good innings!

There is a timelessness to Walt Disney’s pictures, no doubt perpetuated by the constant flow of dollars into his ongoing brand. But say what you will about this perennial Peter Pan, (yes, he made a film about him too!) Svengali of the cartoon world, he continues to enchant and evolve. The movies have come a long way from the Mickey Mouse genre and these days they are so high definition they are almost lifelike.

It’s a while since I watched a Disney movie right to the end.

No doubt now that I have a granddaughter I will be watching them to the bitter end, actually bitter end is the catch word for some of the older Disney films. Back in the day going to the cinema was a birthday outing. I am not sure how I got through my childhood without therapy; the table would be set for celebratory tea time treats, you donned the obligatory new birthday suit and set off to the flicks, hand in hand with Ma and Pa, the most significant people in your life to watch Bambi…Bambi!! OMG! The tragedy of the baby deer losing his mother to an errant hunter and finding himself lost and alone in the snow was almost too much to bear. Maybe Trump should watch it and be reminded of the awfulness of animal hunting.Another tear jerker that also stuck with me for years was Born Free, the story of Elsa the lioness. What was free about Elsa remains to be seen but to an 8 year old impressionable girl, the world was becoming a scary place if nasty people could do that to such a beautiful creature then they could do anything…and they probably did!

Dumbo was another movie that tugged on the heart strings.

There he was, a cute little elephant with appallingly huge ears, I mean who dreamed this up? These themes were like modern fables, one can only assume that the message was ‘This too shall pass.’ One hoped that as Dumbo got older he would grow into his ears and with that the awfully cruel and tyrannical would disappear into a much deserved black hole. The 50s and 60s, when these films were made, were all about a new cultural order and the family was sanctified and blessed. War, revolution and rock music were the antichrist of all things family. It will be interesting to see the inherent themes in modern Disney movies as we yet again move towards massive cultural and societal shifts.

It is said that we get the society we deserve, so, did men like Walt Disney shape our moral compass or was he inspired by the zeitgeist of the moment?

‘We have created characters and animated them in the dimension of depth, revealing through them to our perturbed world that the things we have in common far outnumber and outweigh those that divide us.’

Walt Disney

It seems then we can hardly call our world Utopic.

Man has been on a search for that since ad infinitum and we teeter precariously on the brink of a dystopian paradigm that momentarily can appear as a heaven. Even today we are reminded that we are totally responsible for the well-being of the planet and it is not necessarily peace we should be striving for but wisdom.

I have become increasingly aware in recent times, especially through social media channels, that we love our fur babies. I have two dogs, they are the light of my life! But I have noticed that we have a strong urge to humanise the animals. It is really quite strange to take a glimpse at the tragedy of the Yulin dogs or incarcerated pigs and calves taken from their mothers and in the next moment you see dogs in tutus watching the telly or baby goats snuggling up with a cat.There is a whole plethora of images of animals mimicking the human and heaven help us sounding like us too. I have to say that some of these videos are great but I do try to avoid the more brutal ones, not because I am in denial but there is only so much one can stand and I think that those that perpetuate such vileness have a possible dark heart. Having said that, I do believe that the availability of videos that carry disturbing scenes can educate so it is a matter of self-selective viewing. Is this present day thing of singing dogs and dancing cats, and all the while knowing how vulnerable they really are an offshoot of Dumbo or Elsa?

‘When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it’s because he’s so human and that is the secret of his popularity.’

Walt Disney.

The cinema and the TV, are for kids, a stimuli for the imagination.

The imagination is the playground of the divine and is a much needed tool for personal evolution especially in those so young. Disney says that imagination has no age and certainly in the holistic field, whether you are a psychic, medium or healer, the imagination is the bridge between the worlds. The imagination allows us to participate with events in the inner landscape. Imagination can be a passageway to take us forward.

‘Worry is a waste of imagination.’

Walt Disney

I kinda got to agree with Walt on that one.

Tarot will speak loud and clear about wasting time worrying, we are reminded that we are more than our thoughts. Worry spins us into oblivion; things get all out of proportion. We live in a world where we are taught to be in lack so we can consume. To be in that state of lack then we remain in a state of inadequacy, well, that’s the idea behind state control. The antidote is confidence; when we are certain of a path and purpose, be that what it may, then we can be whole in our approach to that path. Our vision is what we will live.

‘The secret of making dreams come true can be summarised in 4 Cs. Curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy and the greater of these is confidence.’

Walt Disney.

I have found this to be true in my own life, confidence is totally key, not just as a reader and facilitator but as a person. As the 7 of Wands tells us we have the right to be who we are.

Before I go, just to say that there is actually a Disney Tarot deck out there! If any of you possess such a deck then please do let us know.


SOMETHING TO WHILE AWAY THE TIME.

A little practice…

Shuffle your Tarots.

Think about your favourite Disney movie, preferably one with a remarkable message.

Draw three cards to represent the theme. What is reflected back to you? Do the cards summarise the concept or theme of the movie? Do the cards say something about how you interpret the meaning of the movie? Is it a theme that arises in your own life? If so why?

Pick your favourite character from the movie.

Pull three cards to represent this character.

How do the cards describe the character? Does this character mirror you? Is there a message in the cards for you?

Take all six cards and lay them down one row on top of another. What is the overall and general reading from the cards?

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