Wogglebug. Would you move over please? You're blocking the entrance to
my home."
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Dorothy, sitting up.
"That's quite all right," said the Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug. "No harm
done." The Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug promptly disappeared into a hole under
a large clump of grass. He reappeared a moment later and looked
quizzically at Dorothy. "Would you care to have tea with me? It's not
too often that I have a guest for tea."
"Why thank you. I'd love to," replied Dorothy. "But I'm afraid I'm too big."
"Oh, dear," said the Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug. "I hadn't thought of that.
Well," he said brightly, "we'll soon take care of that problem. Just
stay right where you are." He disappeared again, and this time returned
with a bright yellow tablecloth and a bright yellow picnic basket. He
then laid out the tablecloth on the grass, opened up the picnic basket,
and handed Dorothy a bright yellow cup and saucer. He then returned to
his hole and reappeared promptly with a bright yellow teapot on a bright
yellow tray. "Would you care for milk and sugar?" he asked as he poured
her tea.
"Just a little of each, thank you," replied Dorothy, helping herself
from a bright yellow milk jug and a bright yellow sugar bowl. "My, you
certainly like yellow," said Dorothy as she sipped her tea.
"Of course," replied the Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug without explaining further.
"I'm surprised that you don't make your home in Colorland in the Yellow
Belt," said Dorothy. "I would think you'd be right at home there."
"Oh, no," answered the little creature emphatically. "That would be too
much for us Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebugs, but we do visit there twice each
week. You see," he explained, "we Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebugs must absorb a
great deal of yellow if we are to keep our pretty yellow fur. Otherwise
it would fade very quickly to a dirty brown color like the other
animals. We are very proud of our color; we surround ourselves with
yellow so that we constantly absorb it."
"I see," said Dorothy thoughtfully. "Well, I must admit it is a very
bright happy cheerful color."
"Yes indeed," replied the little creature. "That is why we Fuzzy Yellow
Wogglebugs have such bright, happy cheerful dispositions -- which is just
as well, I might add. You see, some of the other animals don't like us;
they are quite jealous of our bright yellow color, and can be quite
hurtful at times."
"I'm so sorry," said Dorothy. "But you are so nice, why would anyone
want to be hurtful?"
"Well, unfortunately, they only see our color; they don't see the
person. We are personalities just like them, but they don't choose to
see beyond our color, so they won't have much to do with us. Why, just
the other day, my little girl was playing at school with a little brown
girl bear she had become friends with, when the other bigger brown bears
took the little girl brown bear aside and said, 'Why are you playing
with that Yellow Wogglebug?' My little girl's friend said, 'Because
she's very nice to me, and we're friends.' 'Well, don't mix with those
Yellow Wogglebugs,' they told her. 'Play with your own kind.' So now the
little brown girl bear and my little girl are quite sad and, needless to
say, lonely, because they liked each other more than anyone else at school."
"You know," said Dorothy, "the bigger brown bears that told the little
girl brown bear not to play with your little girl are the ones I feel
sorry for."
"Sorry for them?" exclaimed the Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug in surprise. "Why
would you be sorry for them?"
"Well, they are the real losers," said Dorothy, "for they must go
through life with all that hatred and resentment inside them. Not very
conducive to becoming a happy well-adjusted person."
"You show great insight for one so young," said the Fuzzy Yellow
Wogglebug. "What you say is so true. Yet many people fail to see it."
"It seems to me they don't want to," said Dorothy.
"But why not?" asked the Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug. "Do they prefer to be
miserable?"
"It appears that way, doesn't it? I was just discussing this with my
friends. People are often their own worst enemy. They are at the mercy
of their thoughts, so to speak. They do not make a concentrated effort
to control their thoughts, so their thoughts control them."
"You talk as if thoughts have a mind of their own," said the Fuzzy
Yellow Wogglebug.
"In a way they do," replied Dorothy. "Of course, people's thoughts
revolve around themselves a great deal, since our main concerns are to
do with our own physical comfort. After all, everyone wants to be warm
and dry, and to be well fed and secure. So our thoughts, quite
naturally, center on our own feelings. But as a consequence, we can
become self-centered, even selfish. Some people can take selfishness to
the point of depriving others of their basic needs so they can acquire
more for themselves. A good example of this is a Dictator of a country
amassing for himself a fortune, while the majority of his people are
starving to death. Or a business which is not satisfied with a
reasonable rate of return, but extracts an exorbitantly high profit at
the expense of people who are struggling to make ends meet. Now, there
is nothing wrong with using one's own talents to make a pleasant life
for one's self; to acquire a nice home, and to have an abundant life,
for we are meant to enjoy life. But this abundant and joyous life cannot
come by taking from others what is not rightfully ours to take; but can
only come by maintaining a fair exchange of each other's goods and
services, and by leaving the element of greed out of all transactions.
Thoughts that are greedy thoughts are our mortal enemy."
"Do you know," said the Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug, "that thoughts have shapes?"
"They do?" said Dorothy in surprise. "That I didn't know."
"Oh yes, as a matter of fact, the area around the Wicked Witch's castle
is called /'Negativethoughtland./' Negative thoughts are, as you know,
the worst kind of thoughts there are; so you can imagine what monstrous
thoughts must dwell around that castle, just laying in wait for
unsuspecting travelers."
"You mean you can see them?" asked Dorothy, her eyes getting big.
"Oh, yes," answered the Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug. "You see, every thought
you think is a new creation, so it has to go somewhere and do something.
Now, if it is a good thought, like, say...."
"Like I'm thinking right now," said Dorothy. "That I love my Aunt Em,
and that I wish I was with her."
"Yes," said the Wogglebug. "That thought is a thought of love and will
go right to your Aunt Em and help to make her feel good."
"What does that thought look like?" asked Dorothy.
"It looks like a soft crimson projectile like a comet. When it hits your
Aunt Em, it will burst and shower her with little explosions of pure love."
"That sounds beautiful," said Dorothy. "Can you tell me the shapes of
some other thoughts and what their effects are?"
"When you go to Negativethoughtland, you will see some awful shapes;
they are visible to everyone there."
"Can they hurt me?" asked Dorothy anxiously.
"They cannot come near light," said the Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug. "In
fact, light dissolves them. But if you have a lot of negative thoughts
yourself, you will attract them to you and they will make you more
negative; so you must think positive thoughts. Be happy, optimistic and
cheerful; loving and kind. And as long as you do that, these negative
thoughts will never come near you -- for they cannot stand the light that
positive thoughts are made of. So when you go through
Negativethoughtland, visualize light all around you -- this will protect
you. Learn to do that every day as you walk to school. Put light around
your house in Kansas every night. Be enthusiastic. Face each day with
determination and know that you can master any problem that the day may
bring. As you go through life you will face many difficulties ... but
everything's not going to happen to you all at once. So just take one
day at a time and do the best you can with that day -- that's all that is
expected of you. Each day that you live, you can be earning your way to
a better place -- a better life. But you must do the earning yourself;
you must do the work. No one else can do it for you."
"What you are saying makes a lot of sense," said Dorothy. "When I get
back to Kansas, they're going to see a new me."
"Well," said the Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug, "that's very commendable; but
don't set too high a standard for yourself. Don't say, 'I'm going to be
perfect,' or 'I'll never lose my temper again,' or 'I'll never do this
or that again.' Just say 'I'm going to do my best; but if I make a
mistake, I'll try to do better next time.' At least you will be trying
to control your thoughts and emotions, and that's half the battle right
there."
"You know, Mr. Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug," smiled Dorothy, "you may not
have much of an education, but you have a great deal of wisdom and
understanding. Some educated people don't have that."
"Why thank you, Dorothy," replied the Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug. "I suppose
I do try to compensate for my lack of education by thinking about
things. It's good to think, don't you agree?"
"Oh, yes," answered Dorothy. "One should always take the time to quietly
think about things. By the way, may I ask you a question?"
"You may indeed," replied the Wogglebug.
"Well, this is sort of a personal question," said Dorothy.
"That's quite all right," replied the Wogglebug. "What is it?"
"Well, it's about your name," answered Dorothy.
"What about my name? Don't you like it?" asked the Wogglebug kindly.
"Oh, yes I do," replied Dorothy. "I love your name. But I just wondered
what /Woggle/ meant. And you are not a bug, exactly."
"Oh, that's easy to explain," said the Wogglebug. "You see, in ancient
times, the Oz word for work was woggle; and in those days, we were the
workhorses of Oz, so to speak. We worked mainly in the fields. We
harvested the wheat and the corn, the rye, et cetera. Our daily pay was
six pennies and a pocket full of rye or wheat -- whatever we were
harvesting at the time (of course, money is no longer necessary in Oz,
as you know) and you're right, we're not bugs at all. We're animals;
anyway, we came to be known as Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebugs and that name is
now our official title. Also, we are on good terms with the
commonly-known Wogglebug insects, and consider it an honor to share the
name with those industrious creatures. Would you like to hear the famous
Wogglebug song? We used to sing it in the fields while we worked, and
it's still very popular today."
"Oh, I'd love to hear it," replied Dorothy enthusiastically.
The Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug cleared his throat and said, "It goes like
this." He began to sing in a beautiful, rich baritone voice:
"I'm a Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug, I woggle all day long,
I woggle in the morning, at night I sing my song.
I sing a song of sixpence, with a pocket full of rye,
I'm a Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug, I'll woggle 'til I die.
I'm a Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebug, I'll woggle 'til I die --
hey!"
As he finished the last line, about fifty Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebugs came out of
their little mounds and started to sing and dance:
"We're Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebugs, we woggle all day long,
We woggle in the morning, at night we sing our song.
We sing a song of sixpence with a pocket full of rye,
We're Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebugs, we'll woggle 'til we die.
We're Fuzzy Yellow Wogglebugs, we'll woggle 'til we die --
Hey!"
When the other yellow Wogglebugs finished singing, they all turned to
Dorothy, and said shyly, "Nice to have met you, Dorothy." Then they all
disappeared back into their little mounds. Dorothy turned to her little
Wogglebug friend, but he had disappeared, too. She bent down and tapped
at his little door. The door opened, and the yellow wogglebug's face
appeared.
"I didn't mean to be rude, Dorothy. But I must get recharged. My yellow
is beginning to fade, and I wouldn't want you to see me without my
yellow. I'd just be plain old ordinary brown."
"Oh, that's all right," said Dorothy. "I'd love you just as much -- no
matter what your color. It's you I love, you know."
"I know," said the Wogglebug. "But I wouldn't feel myself without my
yellow color."
"I understand," sighed Dorothy. "Well, it's been a great pleasure
meeting you. I hope to see you again very soon."
"Thank you, Dorothy," said the little creature. "I hope so, too. Very
much." He reached up and kissed Dorothy on the nose; then disappeared
inside his house.
*
Chapter Thirteen:
Princess Saari's Colorland and the Conciencez
*
"Dorothy! Dorothy! Where are you?" It was the Lion. "We must be on our
way!" he said.
"I'm ready," replied Dorothy. "I've just had the most delightful
experience with a Wogglebug."
"Oh, yes," said the Lion. "Aren't they just the most adorable creatures?"
"Yes indeed," said Dorothy. "I wish I could take one home with me to
Kansas."
"I wonder what your Aunt Em would think," said the Lion. "To see a fuzzy
yellow animal that talks."
Dorothy laughed. "That would be quite a sight. I'd love to see Aunt Em's
face if that happened."
"What if you brought us all home?" said the Lion. "She would really be
surprised then!"
Dorothy smiled at the thought of it. She could just see the expression
on Uncle Henry's face as she introduced her friends to him. And if she
took them all to school, how exciting that would be. Her school friends
would really be surprised to see a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion
walking around and talking. As it was, she knew no one would believe her
when she did return. She knew that she really would not be able to tell
anyone about her adventures. They just would say she had been dreaming
like the last time.
"Well, let's be on our way," repeated the Lion. "Do you see that red
haze, Dorothy?"
"Yes," said Dorothy. "I do. I see some of the other colors, too. It
looks like a big rainbow on the ground." As they walked toward
Colorland, Dorothy began to think about her adventures so far. She was
having a really exhilarating time. She felt somehow she was undergoing a
learning experience, and felt good about it. She realized, thinking back
on her life, that it was all a learning experience. That she was
learning and growing and expanding in awareness and understanding. She
sensed that somehow there was a guiding force behind her life, gently
nudging her into different directions and into different experiences.
She felt that it was important to somehow try to get in tune with this
force and not to get upset when things did not go exactly her way, but
to accept gracefully the bad with the good and to try to learn from each
experience. She sensed that if she did this, and especially if she asked
for guidance each day, that perhaps some of the bad experiences that she
was yet to go through in her life might not be as harsh as they
otherwise would have been. She realized that her own attitude during
each experience was the key to the whole thing. If she allowed herself
to become agitated and upset over every little thing that happened, or
over the way other people behaved or talked, her life would be one of
constant turmoil. But if she maintained a positive, optimistic attitude
and did not allow the negativity of others to affect her, and if she
tried to understand the motivation behind others' actions and words and
tried to help them where she could, her own life would be happier and
more meaningful. She knew that a great deal of what others said or did
was through lack of understanding. She vaguely remembered a saying
somewhere: "/Forgive them, for they know not what they do/."
"Well, here we are." The Lion's voice awoke her from her thoughts. As
they approached the Red Belt, Dorothy could sense a strange vibration.
It was not at all unpleasant; in fact, as they got closer, she felt a
warm glow all over. As they were about to enter, a young lady appeared
in front of them. She was tall and beautiful, with long black hair, and
wore a robe of pure white. As she spoke, her dark eyes flashed with
merriment.
"Welcome," she said. "My name is Princess Saari. It is a pleasure to see
you all. I am to be your guide through Colorland. Please feel free to
ask questions; I know you will find this to be a most pleasant and
enjoyable experience." Princess Saari turned. "Come," she said,
beckoning them to follow.
As they all walked into the Red Belt, the feeling of heat became
stronger. It was not a hot heat, but more of an intense glow. The sound
of the musical note "/Do/" could be heard faintly in the background.
"How do you feel, Dorothy?" asked Saari.
"Oh, glorious," replied Dorothy. "I feel full of energy."
"When you return home to Kansas," went on Saari, "should you feel low on
energy, take a few moments to imagine yourself bathed in a deep rose
red, just as you are right now. Breathe the red deeply, relax and see
every cell of your body and mind bathed in the red. As you breathe the
red out again slowly, let your consciousness become one with the red,
and visualize every cell of your body renewed and vibrant and full of
energy. Do this two or three times, and I'm sure you will feel much
better. If you wish to help a friend or relative who is tired or
rundown, visualize them bathed in the red and see them as vibrant,
energetic and happy; be sure to feel a lot of love toward them as you do
this, and I'm sure they will be helped. Now, we mustn't stay too long in
any one color; you can get too much of a good thing; we must keep a
balance. Before we go into the Orange Belt let me explain the negative
aspects of the red. Since it is an energy color, a person who is angry
or very upset creates a great deal of it around himself for as long as
he allows himself to be in that discordant state of mind. This would not
be a good time to visualize the red around that person. By the same
token, an excitable person who is easily upset should not wear clothing
that is red in color. Now, you may quiet emotionally disturbed people by
surrounding them with the color blue. If someone becomes angry with you,
don't be angry back, but see that person bathed in a cool blue light.
Now, if you are all ready, we will enter the Orange Belt."
As they all walked into the golden orange color, Dorothy felt the
changing vibration and hear the continuous tone of the musical note
"/Re/." Princess Saari said, "Breathe in the orange deeply; it's like
oxygen to your lungs. Do you feel the power as you breathe in? See this
golden orange color in your lungs sending its vital energy into your
bloodstream and carrying that energy to every cell of your body. Feel
yourself filled with vitality and enthusiasm. How do you feel?" asked
Saari, turning to Dorothy.
"Just wonderful," she replied. "I can't wait to see what the yellow
feels like."
The little group walked on in silence until the Yellow Belt began. As
they walked into the yellow, they could feel a cheerful mood coming on.
Dorothy could feel her skin tingling. She could hear in the background
the musical note, "/Mi/."
Princess Saari said, "This ray promotes optimism and cheerfulness. It
also has a cleansing effect on the skin. It has a quieting effect on the
nerves and stimulates the mental faculties."
Dorothy said, "I always thought that color was just plain color, plain
and simple. I didn't know that each color had a different effect on you."
"There is a great deal that is not known," said Princess Saari. "At
least, not known to the general public; you see, throughout history,
there are those who have been knowledgeable on certain subjects:
subjects which are generally not taught. Not too long ago these people
were burned at the stake by those who feared them. One always fears what
one doesn't understand. Even today these people do not say too much, as
they know that much of what they might say would not be accepted.
However, for one such as yourself who has an open and curious mind,
books are available on these subjects and can be found."
The Scarecrow interceded, "We discussed this recently, didn't we, Dorothy?"
"Yes, we did," said Dorothy. "We all had quite a discussion on the
subject of knowledge and truth and books?"
"What was the general consensus?" asked the princess.
"Well, that we should not accept blindly that which adults teach us, but
that we should sift and question and think for ourselves. And if we're
not happy with the answer to something, we should find out more about it."
"And if we should become confused by conflicting ideas," said the Tin
Woodman, "we should meditate on the subject and ask the Great Wizard to
give us the truth or to guide us in the right direction."
"Do you know who the Great Wizard is?" asked Princess Saari.
"I was telling Dorothy something about Him," said the Tin Woodman, "but
couldn't quite explain how it is that He loves everyone -- even the
Wicked Witch...."
"Well, I'll be happy to explain a little more about Him," said Princess
Saari.
"Couldn't you also cover meditation?" said the Tin Woodman. "I was going
to explain this to Dorothy, but I would prefer that you teach us."
"I'll be glad to," said the princess. "We'll discuss the Great Wizard as
we go into our meditation. Any further questions can be answered before
you leave Colorland. All right, let's begin," said the princess. As she
spoke, a chair appeared behind each of them. "Please be seated," she
said. "Sit upright with your back straight and your legs together. Place
your hands upon your knees and turn the palms of your hands upwards.
Now, close your eyes and think of the sun; feel its light and warmth on
your face; now think of the Great Wizard standing in the middle of the
sun. You can't see Him, but you know He's there. Feel his warmth and
love pouring down on you. Breathe in that light. As you breathe in the
light, visualize a little bright light inside you, like a tiny sun. See
that little light inside you grow brighter and brighter until you are
filled with this great light. Within this light are all the colors of
the rainbow. You may send this great light within you to anyone you know
who is sad, or not feeling well, or perhaps you have a pet cat or dog,
or even a horse you want to help -- this light can be used for any
purpose, to help anyone, even to make your plants and flowers grow
beautifully. Remember, as you send this light, feel that beautiful love
in your heart. Become one with the light.
"Now let us go into deeper meditation. There are many ways to do this,
but I think you will especially like this one. Imagine a little door in
the middle of the light inside you. As you look at the door, you see
some words on it. As you get closer, you see that the words say
/'secret/ /place/' and above these words is your name. For example,
/'Dorothy's secret place/.' Around your neck is a beautiful gold chain
with a tiny gold key attached. You take the chain off over your head and
place the key in the lock, turn it, and open the door. You walk inside
and close the door behind you; then you place the key back in the lock
and lock the door from the inside. You then put the chain back around
your neck. As you turn to observe your secret place, you hear the most
beautiful music and feel an outpouring of love showering down upon you.
You are filled with a joy and peace that you have never known before.
This is your secret place; no one can enter without your permission.
"As you look around you, you see your favorite scene. Perhaps a
beautiful sandy seashore. The surf gently tumbles over the rocks and
sends a fine spray of salty mist into your face -- you can even taste the
salt in the spray. Everything smells so fresh and clean. The soft sand
under your feet is pure white, and as you walk into the wet sand, the
surf gently laps over your feet.
"You may prefer that your secret place be a garden filled with flowers,
by a lake, or in the mountains. Wherever your favorite place is, take
the time to enjoy your surroundings -- the colors of the flowers, the
shapes and textures of different objects and materials. And be still --
listen to sounds, such as the surf, a waterfall or a fountain splashing.
Smell the aroma of a thousand flowers, of freshly cut grass. Just drink
everything in and enjoy it.