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This post was written by: Carol Webb
The wonderful world of wizardry came to a cinema near you last week. A great blockbuster of a film, wonderful sets and breath taking special effects, the sort of film that fulfils every child’s dream. I saw it and I was spellbound, but then I took my inner child with me, and we thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle.
There is one thing that an adult can do, while being mesmerized by this light fantasy, that a child cannot. An adult can filter out the stereotypical characters and Jungian archetypes, and watch them with interest, while not actually believing the hidden meanings that are meant to influence the way that we see life. A child, however, doesn’t have the reference points that allow this, and so a fantastic film like this one is more likely to add to the belief systems that are already familiar landmarks.
Any child old enough to enjoy Harry Potter is already primed with stories about Jesus Christ. Even if Christianity hasn’t been taught overtly, they cannot have escaped Christmas and Easter, which means that they have a working knowledge of what a Saviour is. J.K. Rowling was well aware of this as she wrote the novel, she wanted a hero with Universal appeal, and recalling her Scottish Presbyterian-influenced childhood was easy to do, as the first rule of writing is, write about what you know, and this is what she does. Unfortunately, as any adult brought up with strict Presbyterian values will tell you, being the Saviour of Mankind involves a great deal of heartache, much blood sweat and tears, and a rotten ending. Unless of course you can believe in a much better afterlife, where all your suffering will have been worthwhile, and you live for an eternity in paradise in the company of angels.
I wonder how many thirteen year olds have even given this aspect of religion a second thought?
All this second hand teaching will be stored away until it raises its head again in adulthood. If adults who are suffering depression could analyse their beliefs about life, we would hear: “Life is a struggle, you have to fight to beat all the bad in the world, there are bad people out there waiting to get me, happiness isn’t easy to find in this world.” The list of beliefs goes on and on, and to release the depression the beliefs need releasing.
This work is easily done with Emotional Freedom Techniques, but it might never have had to be done if overburdening religion was not taught from generation to generation, and in such compelling ways.
You can’t insulate your child from the teaching that they will receive from a world wide phenomena like Harry Potter, it would be very hard and embarrassing for them to admit to their peers that they have been banned from seeing these films. They would also feel that they are being treated unfairly, and on top of everything else, resentment towards you would cause you to question your stance. It would be better by far to learn EFT Tapping together, so that all negative emotions can be tapped away and the film enjoyed for the fantasy that it is.
To learn EFT Tapping visit: http://www.wisehealer.co.uk
Listening brings another dimension to your enjoyment
2 comments ↓
My Mother was a wonderful woman. She took me to church once and told me there were many such places. She said I was welcome at her church, however if I chose I may go elsewhere. And I did, I went to Baptist, Methodist, Unitarian, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and maybe a couple of others. I went to Sunday school and church pretty much every Sunday. Now that I look back, the lesson for me wasn’t so much about religion, as it was exploration. Freedom if you will.
That was indeed a wonderful gift, and almost unique, since most children aren’t allowed this type of freedom, I certainly wasn’t.
Scotland is famed for its dour Presbyterianism, so ingrained that there are parts of the country where no work can be done on a Sunday. Younger generations have tried to escape this by emigrating and challenging the status quo, but still it goes on as the ‘writing on people’s walls’, our own Prime Minister displays traits every so often.
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