Of Fairy Tales, Award Shows, and Waking Dreams

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Guest Post by Riley Carson

Waking Dreams frequently arise from our immediate surroundings, triggered by unusual events unfolding around us. In these moments, we become aware that these occurrences may hold a message akin to those found in dreams, open to interpretation.

Yet, at times, Waking Dreams intrude directly into our thoughts, seemingly emerging out of thin air, accompanied by a compelling sense that the Universe has just dispatched a message our way. This piece revolves around one such unexpected morning message, delivered in a manner that combines significance with a touch of humor.

On the morning of September 3rd, as I savored my coffee and let my thoughts wander, an intriguing idea spontaneously surfaced: What if there was an award show that bestowed accolades upon the fictional characters from nursery rhymes and fairy tales?

My mind flitted over familiar tales like The Three Little Pigs, the Three Blind Mice, and the trio of Bears from the Goldilocks story. It struck me that all these three examples featured three characters, totaling nine. This stirred a memory I had jotted down in my journal just a few days earlier, on September 1st: 

“September, the ninth month of the year, holds a unique significance for me. During this month, my spiritual awareness tends to sharpen, reaching heightened levels.

Insights flow more readily. For some reason, I intuit that this year demands a focused attention on this aspect. I must remain alert for profound messages from within or without.” 

Following this entry, my journal reminded me of how the number nine had played a pivotal role in past revelations. Initially, I thought it would be a delightful writing exercise crafting a whimsical portrayal of an award show for these nine characters.

I thought it might serve as a charming bedtime story for my three and five-year-old grandkids. However, as I delved deeper, a subtle but persistent message emerged, urging me to approach this endeavor with more gravitas. 

“Stay vigilant,” my journal entry gently admonished. In that moment, I acknowledged that I had been delivered a Waking Dream from within, and it was incumbent upon me to honor it.

My first task became evident: I needed to create a vivid and enchanting description of an Academy Awards ceremony, one that would captivate the imaginations of my beloved grandchildren. I sketched it out in storyboard format as follows:

The award show Master of Ceremonies speaks: “And these are the final contestants for Best Trio in a Fairy Tale or Nursery Rhyme:

“Snouty, Pinky, and Oinkster in third place for their fine performance in The Three Little Pigs.” Followed by audience applause.

“Whiskers, Squeaky, and Cheddar claimed second place for their challenging roles in The Three Blind Mice.” Followed by more audience applause.

“And the finalist winners are: Bumble as Papa Bear, Honey as Mama Bear, and Cubby as Baby Bear for their roles in Goldilocks and the Three Bears!” Followed by standing applause and speeches by the bears.

That little exercise made my task of interpreting the imagery feel more tangible. Next I proceeded to determine the message of this odd Waking Dream.

The fairy tale about The Three Little Pigs is a story about three pig siblings who build houses of different materials (straw, sticks, and bricks) to protect themselves from a big bad wolf who would eat them. The wolf does blow down the straw house and the stick house, but can’t collapse the brick house. 

The story teaches a lesson about the importance of hard work and preparation. As the antagonist, the big bad wolf can huff and puff and blow a house down if it is not built well. For me the wolf represents the blowing Wind of Change that can undermine our psychological “house”, our state of consciousness, if we have not put in the work needed to be resilient.

While the Three Blind Mice nursery rhyme doesn’t necessarily convey a specific lesson, I felt it could be considered a cautionary tale about the consequences of mischievous or risky behavior:

Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run,
They all ran after the farmer’s wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a thing in your life,
As three blind mice?

The mice, in their blindness, run foolishly after the farmer’s wife, who happens to be holding a carving knife: a bad combination. This leads to the harm befalling them. 

To me, the reckless mice represent the repercussions of being blind to our motivations, leading us astray into the wrong place at the wrong time. Put another way, I needed to keep alert to the potential dangers of the risks associated with impulsive actions.

I felt that the fairy tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears imparts several lessons, such as respect for others and their property, and consequences of our actions. The little girl, Goldilocks, stumbles into the home of three bears in a forest, who are out for a walkwhile their breakfast of porridge cools. 

She enters their house and samples their porridge, chairs, and beds—finding one that’s “just right” in each case. The bears return, discover her, and the story ends with her fleeing their cottage.

But it also conveys through the character of Goldilocks the idea of learning to find a balance between too hot and too cold, too hard and too soft, too big and too little. I think of this as learning to be balanced in our thinking and feelings, to avoid being rigid and inflexible on one hand, or too passive on the other. 

In Hindu philosophy this is conveyed in the ideas of the three gunas or qualities: Tamas (inertia, lethargy, laziness), Rajas (restlessness, desire, attachment), and Sattva (purity, harmony, balance). I felt I needed more practice remaining in a state of Sattva when confronted with my daily challenges.

So, to summarize, my Waking Dream was encouraging me to:

* Focus on strengthening my state of consciousness to be better withstand the Winds of Change that may be blowing my way;

* Avoid impulsive or rash decisions by keeping my motivations conscious and spiritually oriented;

* Strive to maintain balance, harmony, and respect for others.

Certainly, these are valuable lifelong goals. Yet, I wondered why this Waking Dream message seemed to offer general spiritual advice I already practiced to some extent. It struck me that I must now prioritize these disciplines further. Changing circumstances demand evolving skills; neither the complacency of Tamas, nor the fiery impulsiveness of Rajas would prove helpful.

Thus, I concluded that this year marks a renewed focus on these three pearls of wisdom in my daily spiritual practices. Wait, fairy tales and nursery rhymes for spiritual advice?

Pigs and rats and bears? 

Sure, why not? The Divine Order knew it would get my attention in a vivid and concrete way. And I still get to tell a new bedtime story to my grandkids.

Please note: All images are for illustration purposes only unless otherwise specified.