Transcription
What if the meaning of life was explained to you when you were just a young child through vivid imagery in a deeply encrypted metaphor, although you completely missed it?
Hollywood is known for its deep connection to the spirit realm, usually the dark arts. Its name, Hollywood, is derived from the wood of the holly tree, a tree made from the whitest wood, considered sacred by the Greeks and Romans and used as a magic wand by the ancient Druids. No wonder the magic of Hollywood is able to keep the attention of the masses spellbound.
Today, the spiritual metaphor in this child's movie is so deep it could literally be explained as the meaning of life. The scene we're about to dissect is the Cave of Wonders from the hit animation film Aladdin. "Proceed. Touch nothing but the lamb. Touch nothing but the lamp."
It's interesting to note a common belief among many spiritual communities is that before we were made flesh, we were spirit. I've personally often wondered if this were true. Were we sent back to this Earth with our minds wiped blank to test our spirit and see if we are capable enough of finding our true selves? Or did we fail and get caught up in the soul traps, the lusts and lures of this physical, ever-deteriorating life? If this were the case, we'd receive a similar message before entering, such as: "Seek nothing but the light."
Entering the cave can be seen as you and I entering this three-dimensional world of flesh and blood. Aladdin represents our consciousness. Abu represents our mind. The lamp represents God or the infinite. The magic carpet represents God moving in your life. For those of you wondering what the difference is between consciousness and the mind, in a nutshell, your mind is the garden, your consciousness is the gardener. The gardener who either acts with focused precision and attention to carefully curate the thoughts entering into the mind and therefore growing a beautiful garden, or one who wanders unfocused with attention spilling in all directions, allowing weeds to grow rampant, thus creating an internal environment of stress and depression.
Your consciousness is the infinite part of you that never dies, the multi-dimensional aspect of you. Your mind, however, can only function at particular states, largely depending on the activation of the wide circuits in your brain, which in turn causes chemicals and emotions to be activated all day long. Your mind is extremely finite. It only operates at the level it's been trained to operate at. It only cares for the things it's been told to care about, as long as your consciousness chose to accept and believe those words.
We see that as soon as Aladdin enters the cave, the temptation begins. Aladdin is wowed by all the wealth and riches the cave contained, even claiming it would make him the richest man in the city. Although he is undeterred by its lures, Aladdin is focused only on the lamp. It's important to note that being solely focused on God in life does not mean someone who attends church regularly, lives in a monastery praying all their lives, or lives a life without "quote unquote" sin. Every ancient Abrahamic text unanimously agrees that God is love. To be a conscious spirit moving through the vessel of the body is to be someone who actively pursues love, someone who cares about the minds and emotions of other people, seeing him or herself in others. This loving care also extends into the animal kingdom and nature alike.
Although our consciousness may be focused on what is right and true, we do, however, need to navigate through this life with the monkey ever present on our back, our monkey brain. This part of the brain can keep a man trapped in lower states of mind. If he never learns to train and control this part of the mind, this part of his mind will end up controlling him. The untrained monkey brain can make a man waste his entire life, run into the drink, the smoke, or anything in between, just to calm his mind and give him some peace. This monkey brain can make a man endlessly chase material possessions as though it will somehow fill the void deep within him. It can make him chase woman after woman, believing that somehow the next one will take away his loneliness or fill the lack of love deep within him. The monkey brain is impulsive, highly emotional, and the most destructive part of our nature if left unkempt. It is also the most trainable, programmable part of us, as the age-old adage goes, "Monkey see, monkey do."
We see Abu instantly runs to the first big red shiny jewel that he lays his eyes upon. Their entire mission is almost over before it had even begun, had not Aladdin intervened and pulled Abu back into line. This is the foundation of why meditation can be such a powerful practice for our physical lives. It gives us the ability to see and recognize the monkey impulses as they arise and correct them before they take charge and destroy our mission in life.
The next thing we observe is the monkey becoming agitated and grumpy. This is often the feelings we experience when following our true nature and not our impulsive lusts and desires, although delayed gratification is always far superior to the brief, temporary highs.
Next, we are introduced to the magic rug. The same as in life, when we begin our journey and we prove that we are serious about the pursuit of love, we rein in our personal desires and choose to move forward toward the greater good. A powerful form begins to follow us, guide us, and walk beside us, hiding itself from plain view, allowing us to believe our successes were purely from ourselves alone. Sometimes, however, we sense it. We feel its presence walking with us. When we recognize it and give it attention, our journey through life can become far greater.
The monkey brain often doesn't like this power, and its desires are often contrary to it. The conscious mind needs to act as the mediator to unite the mind and the infinite power within. And this, this is a practice that must be performed daily in order to sustain this power. Know the way. This is God's spirit within you, and if you'll give it the chance, it can show you where you're meant to be going in order to find true fulfillment in life, not mere happiness or comfort, but deep fulfillment.
The most interesting part about the next scene is that when we are introduced to the lamp's location, the atmosphere suddenly changes from bright and shiny to dark and gloomy. The room represents what ancient religious texts call iniquity, the dark parts within us that are hidden from those around us. The only way to truly overcome it is to rise above it, as there is no way to truly defeat it. We usually overcome it by overcoming our carnal mind's greatest temptation. There are many things this could be, and it's unique to each man depending on the habits he has allowed to enter into his life or the lusts he has not yet overcome.
Notice that as soon as Aladdin instructs Abu not to move while he proceeds towards his goal is when the monkey brain becomes most active, charged with overwhelming lust and impulsive desire. We see the statue of the demon holding a giant red jewel. The demon statue represents the evils of this life who care not how derailed you are from your consciousness, from your union with God, but only care for profits that come straight from your pocket to their bank account. The giant ruby is red, as red is the color that demands the most attention from our brain. This is why you see breaking news or store sales announcements in bright red. These evils demand your attention by holding out in front of you the very thing that will kill your spiritual life.
Some people can become so infected by this that they end up believing that this red jewel is their spiritual life, that the more spiritually connected they become, the more of the mind's lusts they will be able to make manifest, or the more God will burden them with material wealth, as though God doesn't understand that the things you own ultimately own you. Hence why every ancient text talks about detachment from material desires and excessive wealth.
The monkey brain, Abu, becomes completely hypnotized. His eyes can't see anything else but the very thing that he lusts after. He licks his lips, and every one of his senses are consumed by desire. At the same time, Aladdin begins the great ascent, the transcendence from his lowest state to his higher state of mind, as he commences the difficult, straight, and narrow path that only a few will ever walk. Right as he nears the achievement of his goal, the monkey becomes completely consumed. The only thing stopping complete destruction is the rug pulling him back. This often happens in our lives when we don't get the things that we wanted so badly, only to realize that the hand of God closed that door for us, as it would have been incredibly destructive for our lives had we been allowed to waltz right into its path.
The movement and guidance of God can only be allowed if we work with it. If we resist too strongly, we will break away from it down that destructive path, but this is the nature of free will. As we can see, as soon as the monkey grabs the jewel, there is an instant look of regret and guilt on Abu's face. Aladdin's face is consumed by fear when he sees it. The cave cries out, "Infidels! You have touched the forbidden treasure!" The monkey tries to reverse the decision, although it's already too late. The soul has been trapped by the lure.
It's at this point that the great revelation comes. There was no treasure in the first place. Everything in the cave was a lie. It was all an illusion. It was all a trap waiting to take the next unsuspecting victim who couldn't control their desires. The only thing that was real in the entire cave was the lamp. And so it is in this life. The only thing that is real in this life is love. The love of God within yourself, that when you connect to and resonate in harmonious unison with, like two tuning forks, that same love will begin to emanate out of you into the world around you. People will feel it and be impacted by it. Your life will be a fulfilling masterpiece if you can learn to train your monkey brain and avoid the soul traps, the lusts and lures of this life, and focus purely on the lamp and shine that light to everything and everyone around you. That selfless love of love and truth.
God first breathed the breath of life into your body and has always been connected with you since that first breath at your birth. That first breath contained your living soul. You became an individualized, living image of God, housed within God's temple, your physical body. From that moment forward, God has dwelt within you, waiting for your awakening to its presence. This divine presence always abides and stirs and functions within your being.
As I share the following petition, feel the sincerity of its intention: "Oh, Divine Intelligence within my physical structure, grant unto me the privilege of attuning with Thee. Although I do not know Thee perfectly, of Your existence, I am sure. Calm my fiery and selfish anxiety to know You perfectly. Transmute this into gentle feelings and vibrations of enthusiasm so that I may realize my closeness and my Oneness with You. Let my desire be only to love and to serve You, and tell my mortal consciousness again and again that I can only love You as I love each human being. I can only serve You as I serve my brothers and my sisters. Let me truly understand that Thou art my fellow human being, and just as Thou art my brothers and my sisters, grant unto me the light to truly comprehend that we are all Divine extensions of You. We are all truly Divine extensions. So mote it be."