Musing #3:  Lessons from Harry Potter (i)

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Harry Potter let me describe to you a scene in the first book.  Harry, Ron and Hermione are attempting to find the Philosophers Stone which they know is hidden through a trapdoor under a huge three headed dog.  They manage to get past the dog and drop down through the trapdoor into the unknown.  Their fall is broken by a plant, which seems fortunate until the plant begins wrapping its tendrils around them and they recognise that they are in huge danger.

Hermione is the one who recognises the plant as ‘Devil’s Snare’ and has to wrack her brains to remember how to free them.  In the book Hermione is not caught by the plant and orders the boys to ‘stop moving’, in the film Hermione is trapped too but releases herself by relaxing – Harry follows her instructions, but Ron continues to panic and the plant grips him tighter.  The words that echo in my head are in the film and said by Hermione to Harry about Ron: He’s not relaxing is he?

I feel like I can hear these words being said about me.  Sometimes it’s like I’ve tried to drop down into that deeper place and something has caught me – maybe an idea, maybe a meeting or an activity, maybe a book or a person.  At first being caught seemed like a good thing but then that distraction starts, metaphorically, attacking me; stopping me from dropping deeper and actually ‘killing’ me.  And the way out of this situation? I need to relax.  I need to disengage.  I need to still my mind – find what Rumi calls ‘that pure bead in the centre’ – and then all those things that have been clinging onto me will release me and I can drop deeper.  Letting go of things that are not important is a vital practise, but sometimes the practise is one of relaxing and finding peace, so that the things that cling to us will let us go.  Sometimes the way to the deeper place is to stop struggling and relax.

In both the book and film poor Ron finds it impossible to relax and the plant grips tighter, threatening to take his life.  I feel his pain! Hermione has to come to the rescue by remembering that – in the book – the plant does not like warmth or – in the film – that the plant does not like sunlight. 

So, if we find it practically impossible to relax, the way that we can be helped is through warmth and light.  Powerful elements from which the ‘Devil’s Snare’ shrinks.  For me, this is a potent image of the powerful energy of love which loosens the grip of the things that hold us and stop us dropping deeper into love.  Sometimes we need the light and the warmth of love to free us so that we can drop into its arms.

Interesting that the plant is called devil’s snare.  Interesting that it is possible to free yourself from it by relaxing. Interesting that it shrinks away from light and warmth.  Lots to ponder: lots to learn!