Symbolic Themes - from Malayna Dawn

Contemplating “Twilight” - Story, Symbolism, and Mythology

2009-09-21T02:38:56+05:30

I had put off reading Twilight initially.

Maybe it was out of loyalty to Anne Rice’s vampires.

Maybe because it looked like a teenage vampire story and I thought I couldn’t relate to the kids today.

Honestly, it was largely because I’m in the midst of writing my next book—still a spiritual adventure set in Sri Lanka, but a gothic and supernatural one--and I didn’t want to be influenced too much.

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetknez23/

But then I gave in. My mind needed data.

I’m so glad that I did! For one thing, it made me feel young! And apparently, I CAN relate to the kids today, since I know a few Tweens who are totally into the series, as well as several alleged-adults like myself. Youth is a state of mind.

Also - it reminded me that true creativity isn’t diminished by appreciating others’ creative work, instead, it breeds inspiration by feeding the imagination. Creation feeds creation—it’s the circle of life and of giving and receiving. And that’s all good stuff. Her praise for the band “Muse” * for inspiring her is a good example.

The first time through the series, I read for fun, marveling at the author’s craft once the spell was broken and I had to put the book down. The second time, I read for analysis. (At least that’s what I told myself.)

It’s been a while since I’ve been so obsessed by or addicted to anything, and in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been so obsessed by an entire series of books to read four in a week and then turn around and do it again immediately. So I wondered what it was about them. Here’s what I came up with:

• The first person narrative and lengthy passages of inner dialogue--thought processes and feelings-- made me feel like I was experiencing Bella’s story.

• The descriptions of feelings were so realistic, I felt them as my own. I felt like I was in love. Like I couldn’t wait to be done with work whatever had to be done so I be with Edward and Jacob again. I felt like I was cheating on my husband!

• The mystery of Edward unraveling was exciting initially, and new mysteries were continuously supplied.

• The conflict that occurs on so many levels—within each character, between characters, and the limitations and challenges of circumstance—created page-turning suspense.

• Somehow the author wrote a vampire story without much blood and a passionate love story without sex.

About names and symbolism:

• I liked that Bella Swan felt like an ugly duckling for the majority of the series, and then she found her swanhood.

• I wondered why the tribal characters all had Jewish names, but I guess they’d be Old Testament names too, seeing as how the first 5 books of the Bible are the Judaic Torah. I guess Israel has/had tribes too, or groups like Ethiopians and Mormons couldn’t identify themselves with “The Lost Tribe of Israel”, right? It just struck me: Jacob, Seth, Samuel, Leah….

• Symbolically, and archetypally, we all love the super-natural for letting us imagine improving upon our best and most valuable assets—time, life-force, power, beauty. And for describing the cost for them as well.

• People always find resonance with familiar archetypes, it’s our inheritance from the myths of our ancestors that helped the world make sense and guide us through life. *The author’s love for the band named for the nine sister goddesses of Greek Mythology whose purpose was to inspire is a classic example!

I eventually had to wean myself from the books so I could get something, anything, done. I’ve picked up other books—I re-read Anne Rice’s “The Witching Hour” and bought “The Thirteenth Tale”, but they haven’t affected me like the Twilight series did. However, a line from “The Witching Hour” seems to have struck a chord.

“he always connected most truly with those who were passionate as he was—craftsmen, artists, musicians, people who went about in the grip of obsession.”

I can relate to that. And really without obsession, life would be boring indeed. Doncha think?

Written by author Malayna Dawn for her Symbolic Themes blog.

Feeling Award-Winning!

2009-08-27T13:54:58+05:30

I recently found out that a book I contributed to has won an award, and this is on the heels of the THREE awards that Garments Without Guilt has won!

The Daily OM book won Best in Print in the Conscious Living/Self Help Book category from the Coalition of Visionary Resources.

The first inspiring article in the book was written by me, as were several others, though the story ideas were all by the lovely Madisyn Taylor, DailyOM's editor and co-owner.

The blogs I write for the Garments Without Guilt campaign have been a contributing factor in our winning three awards: in 2008 we won The WPPED CREAM Gold in New York and the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards in Macau. Then in 2009 we won an award in the Oscars of Advertising -- The Global Effies -- making us the first in Asia to win the global award.

So I'm feeling pretty groovy about the work I'm doing, because not only do I get to help people improve themselves and the world, I know we're all getting recognition for our work, which makes it even more rewarding.

Geography of a Woman

2009-08-13T11:25:36+05:30

My friend Nancy e-mailed this to me, and I thought it was interesting and lovely, so I'm sharing. It almost makes me eager to grow old!

Between 18 and 22, a woman is like Africa : half discovered, half wild, fertile and naturally beautiful.

Between 23 and 30, a woman is like Europe : well developed and open to trade, especially for someone of real value.

Between 31 and 35, a woman is like Spain : very hot, relaxed, and convinced of her own beauty.

Between 36 and 40, a woman is like Greece : gently aging but still a warm and desirable place to visit.

Between 41 and 50, a woman is like Great Britain : with a glorious and all conquering past.

Between 51 and 60, a woman is like Israel : has been through war, doesn't make the same mistakes twice, takes care of business.

Between 61 and 70, a woman is like Canada : self-preserving, but open to meeting new people.

After 70, she becomes Tibet : wildly beautiful, with a mysterious past and the wisdom of the ages, an adventurous spirit and a thirst for spiritual knowledge.

EcoPsychology - Nature on my Mind

2009-07-08T23:27:08+05:30

I’ve just taken a course in EcoPsychology! This particular course was called Psychological Elements of Global Citizenship.

I was trying to describe the combination of Ecology and Psychology to a friend at the beginning of the course. He said it sounded like it would be really interesting, if he understood any of what I had said. I told him maybe I’d be better at describing it by the end of the term, so let’s see.

I described the course in my final paper this way:

… a valuable tool in re-adjusting our worldview to one that is eco-centric. Most of us are well aware of the environmental, social and economic challenges of our day, but many of us do not see the ways in which they are connected. By using our own personal experiences, this course helps re-orient our thinking to see the connections between ourselves, all living things and nature itself. It offers a model for our society based on natural systems that have been successfully sustainable for eons. The term “natural resources” takes on a whole new meaning when we begin to understand how much nature can teach us about surviving and thriving on personal, professional, social and global levels.

Did that make any sense to you?

For more info visit www.ecopsych.com .

Spiritual Metaphors 4 Life ~ Hero's Journey

2009-04-09T01:04:00+05:30

Life is like a heroic journey. You are the hero of your own life story. There are always challenges and monsters, but there are helpers and guides too. After we cross into the unknown, we find that we have more inside us then we realized. Then we return home from our spiritual adventure to find that we have changed and we bring something new to old circumstances.

“The heroic life is living the individual adventure.”
~ Joseph Campbell

Spiritual Metaphors 4 Life ~ Power Strip

2009-04-06T00:44:00+05:30

Life is like a power strip. (Different from a power trip...)

We only have so many spaces to plug stuff in, so we might as well make sure it’s the stuff we like. If we start plugging in stuff that we don’t like—whether that means complaining or doing something that goes against who we really are—we don’t have space left for the good stuff. We might even overload and blow a circuit. We choose what to plug in to our power strip. Choose wisely!

Spiritual Metaphors 4 Life ~ Mirror

2009-04-02T01:01:00+05:30

Life is like a mirror. Because we attract what we are thinking about into our lives, we can look at the people and the circumstances around us to see what we’ve been thinking.

We might point a finger at someone to blame them, but there are still 3 fingers pointing back at us.

When we change our thinking, we change our circumstances, and the mirror of life will reflect it back to us.

(What song is stuck in your head right now? "Man in the Mirror"? "Reflection"?)

Spiritual Metaphors 4 Life ~ Comedy

2009-03-31T00:33:00+05:30

Life is like a comedy. Don’t take anything too seriously or too personally, learn to laugh. Lighten up!

Light is energy and energy is life, therefore enlightenment must be when we’ve lightened up. Think about it. Life is pretty funny.

Read Malayna's Article about Comedy and Spirituality on Self Growth.com!

Written by Malayna Dawn for SymbolicThemes.com

Spiritual Metaphors 4 Life ~ Musical Instruments

2009-03-29T00:28:00+05:30

Life is like a musical instrument. All the potential is in the instrument to make incredible music, but for us to play the music, we have to practice. We have to make sure our thoughts instruct our actions and become habit so that our inspiration can come through.

Spiritual Metaphors 4 Life ~ Magnet

2009-03-27T00:25:00+05:30

Life is like a magnet. We all attract and repel all the time. We attract the things that are most like us and our thoughts, and we repel things that aren’t like us. Once we know what we love and what isn’t important to us, we attract more of what we love to us—from all sides.

Read Malayna's articles for DailyOM about the Law of Attraction, the Power of our Thoughts and Goal Setting.

Written by Malayna Dawn for Symbolic Themes.com.