Over the holidays, I had the opportunity to go to the theatre and see the newest version of the Mary Poppins film. Did you see it?
Having loved the original as a child, I doubted this re-make could live up to such a high standard of greatness, but it did! And I think director Rob Marshall was the key – but this isn’t a film review, so let me get on with what the film taught me.
You may not know this, but the author of the Mary Poppins books, P.L. Travers was a spiritual seeker and mythologist. She studied Eastern religions and lived with the Native Americans. It’s no wonder that there is a timeless wisdom in her work.
And we would do well to not dismiss this as just another Disney “feel-good” movie, so that the profound lessons would not be lost on us.
The biggest lesson in the film of course is – as the above movie poster says – Everything is Possible. I think intellectually, we can quickly agree with this statement, but often when we look at the circumstances of our own lives, we will come up with many reasons why certain things are not possible for US.
So ask yourself how you feel about the state of your relationships? Do you believe it is possible to make peace with someone you are having a tough time with? Do you believe it is possible to attract the perfect mate and life partner? Do you think the differences you see between yourself and a significant other can have a possibility of being resolved?
If your answer is “Yes!” – Bravo! You’ve got it! Or do you? Are you saying it because you KNOW it is true? Or are you saying it because you truly FEEL it is true? Our conscious mind can play tricks on us, so be certain that you are truly embodying this feeling into your neural circuits. It is our feelings that ultimately create our reality.
If your answer is “No” to any of the above questions, simply know that is an answer from your ego / Shadow that is wanting to protect you. So the next question is in what way is this belief keeping you safe, and safe from what? Explore the answers you get, and stay with the feelings until they simply wash over your body and wash away…
Another great lesson from the film is how Mary Poppins always describes herself as “practically perfect in every way.” She loves to look at herself approvingly in the mirror. Does this sound like vanity? Or is there a more deeply metaphysical message here?
Remember that beloved metaphysical teacher Louise Hay’s main exercise was to look in a mirror daily and tell yourself how much you love yourself. I have worked with many clients who were not able to do this! When they finally could muster it up, there would be great tears and breakthroughs.
Mary Poppins is a character who brings great magic into the lives of those she touches. How could she bring all this great magic if she couldn’t love herself? It is a pre-requisite to being magical!
So if you want to see magical transformation in your relationships, perhaps it’s time to start doing the Louise Hay mirror exercise or other Self-Love practices…
A third lesson from the film is at a point where the children are lost in the fog. They’ve tried to help their father and everything they did made matters worse. Now they were lost on the streets of London, unable to find their way home.
Mary Poppins says “Of course you are lost if you keep looking at where you came from! You need to look ahead to where you are going in order to find your way.” Very simply logical, isn’t it?
And yet, how many times do we hold on to our past, thinking – even fearing – that our past is determining our future? We hold on to anger at a past spouse, fears of how previous relationships went, disappointments from our upbringing, which keep us repeating the same patterns over and over.
Our past WILL determine our future, if we hold onto it. But if we do the inner releasing work, being sure to release the blocked emotions in our Shadow, we can then move on and choose to focus on what we prefer to create in our future instead.
There are so many other wonderful lessons in the film. Like when Mary’s distant cousin (played by Meryl Streep) finds herself in a topsy-turvy world and her entire shop has turned upside down. Mary counsels her to stand on her head and see it from another point of view, where everything looks just right!
The lesson being, we can see things in a better light by simply changing our perspective. How can you change your perspective on something going on in your life right now?
Did you see the film? Do you have any other tidbits of wisdom you got out of it? Please leave them in the comments below!
If you need help with any of these wonderful spiritual lessons, drop me an email by clicking on Contact in the above menu.
In the meantime, I wish you a very Happy New Year!