A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF

THE DRAGON WITHIN
A Tale of Self-Discovery and Healing

with comments by Dr. Pennington

      CHAPTER ONE: THE SHADOW

The little Princess, Avalon, grows up in a forbidding castle with dysfunctional parents, who are the King and Queen. Hers is a cloistered life and she very quickly learns that if she explores she will be restrained, if she reaches for something it will be denied, if she cries she will be left alone.


And so the little Princess became very quiet, very good, and very sad. She had no way of knowing that the wooden walls of her playpen were like the stone walls of the castle which were like the walls of the world, or that the seeds of physical decline are planted in the bed of emotional interaction between parent and child.


Avalon discovered that her mother pretended to be kind when she was really being mean; that she denied what was real. Her father was materialistic, busy and unaware of his daughter's needs. Her playful cat Cleo and her loveable dog Daniel were banned from the castle. The rule of the palace was not to talk about feelings.


At night the little Princess would look longingly out of the bedroom window of the shining castle, wishing she could fly away on the back of some magic fairy to anywhere other than her unhappy home. She felt sad and confused. She thought she must be the loneliest child in the whole kingdom. Every night she cried and cried but her tears streamed down the inside of her body. There was no one to talk with about her sadness. There was no one to share her fears. There was no one to share her loneliness.


Psychological depression is known to result in physical illness and gradually the little Princess became gravely ill. The Royal medical expert, the court physician defined her condition as a disease for which there is no known cure.


Part of her felt relieved to hear the truth, because it meant that she might indeed escape from her life of sadness and loneliness. But another part of her felt angry that she had never really had the chance to live. And then she remembered that she wasn't supposed to feel angry. And so Avalon choked back an ocean of tears, closed her sad, green eyes, and tried to prepare herself for death.

      CHAPTER TWO: THE WAY TO AWARENESS

As Avalon was about to drift off into what might be her last sleep, she spied Alwyn, the Wish Fairy riding on the crescent moon. Alwyn encouraged Avalon to leave the castle, and to learn to fly with positive thinking.


"When the Royal physician told my parents how sick I was, and that I probably won't ever get better, I realized how frightened I was of dying. Now when I imagine myself flying I think I'm even more fearful of living."


"Be brave little Princess," whispered her fairy friend. "Brave is when you are afraid and keep going anyway."

Avalon is distressed when Alwyn returns her to the.
castle.

"Avalon I love you very much and I will continue to guide and protect you. You flew very well, but it is hard for you to believe that there is really something more for you out there, different from what you have learned during your Royal upbringing."


"Authoritative older people convinced you that you had an illness with no known recovery, so how could you possibly believe otherwise? I promise to send you a messenger who will help you sort out what it is that you need to feel, think, believe, and do, to become well."


The Wish Fairy placed a soft, white feather in Avalon's little hands, "This is a bridge from one world to another, a symbol of our trust in each other."

Avalon's only source of understanding within the palace came from the court jester, Hermes. "Hermes, I am confused. I need you to explain the difference between a dream and real life."


"Dreams", he answered, "are the stuff of which the world is made."

"We who believe in magic, and tricks, and humour, and dreams, know there is lots more that can be done."


Hermers somersalted from Avalon's bed to the floor, and tiptoed up to where a startled little Princess was quivering at his words.

      CHAPTER THREE: FRIENDS: FURRY AND FEATHERED

The feather left by Alwyn belonged to the gentle and wise teacher Whoot, a magnificent, benevolent, two-foot, Great Horned Owl.

" I am a very wise old owl, schooled in the classics of identity, I have been sent by the ancient ones to help you learn more about WHO you really are and WHO you might become. .....When you lose your balance, you become sick. What you need now my little Princess is to leave this castle and discover something, somebody, or some essence that has the power to heal."


With Whoot's feather she fanned the dark brown beetle of doubt out of her head, realizing that what was happening to her was not just a dream, and that Whoot was the promised messenger.


Avalon began to understand that she was already beginning to change and that each experience helped prepare her for the next challenge. She took off on Whoot's back, swooping out over the palace walls. In a meadow of multi-coloured wildflowers she was reunited with her dog and cat.


"Oh my goodness," whispered Avalon to herself. "These are my three best friends and not one of them likes the other - I've never been allowed to think for myself. Daniel is very affectionate and like to please, (a bit like myself) Cleo is very independent and thinks for herself, (I'd like to become more like her) and Whoot is the oldest and wisest, (one day I will be too.)" With the help of Whoot, Avalon is able to enlist their understanding and cooperation.


Avalon shared with the others that the Queen mother criticized her severely if she talked about herself. Whoot belittled this concept pointing out that if you don't ask yourself who you really are, and find out what you need - you won't have any self at all. Instead of being somebody you will become nobody.

Avalon asked if there was a connection between what we are feeling and getting sick. She asked if feelings are catching.


Wise Owl widened his enormous eyes and spoke seriously. "Ah, my little one, you are just beginning your climb up the Mountain of Meaning. You have a long way to go, more roadblocks to hurdle, and more learning to assimilate before you will be able to answer your questions. We are merely in the meadow and have many miles to travel. One step at a time."


As the little Princess drifted into a soft sleep, she was thinking how good she felt to have spoken openly and honestly about her thoughts and feelings. As she let go of consciousness in the safety of her trusted friends, a sense of deep joy spread slowly through her relaxing body.

      CHAPTER FOUR: THE CHALLENGE OF CHOICE

Although Avalon is still very weak physically her spirit is much stronger. The next friend she meets is Luna the Loon, a bird that is a paragon of beauty; alert, statuesque, and elegant; the most ancient bird still alive today.


She informs the little Princess that the elders are aware of her journey and have asked Luna to ferry her across Lost Lake to the Mountain of Meaning.

This chapter describes the difficulty in making life-affirming choices as opposed to destructive ones. Whoot talks about paralysis by analysis.

Avalon begins to grow from her association with nature.

As the great, silent bird carried her safely and securely across Lost Lake, the little Princess began to sense the true spirit of wilderness. She began to accept that she had a right to belong in this world.

Next we meet Evil Eagle.who will do anything for power or notoriety. This particular Evil Eagle is so addicted to destructive behaviour that he sets up situations where he will be humiliated and ultimately defeated.

There is a perilous battle between Whoot and Evil Eagle, during which Cleo is dropped screaming and hissing unmentionable blasphemy. This chapter is filled with action and humour. It closes with a discussion about shame and loss and how they affect our emotional and physical development.

      CHAPTER FIVE: THE MOUNTAIN OF MEANING

Harry the Hare guides the travellers to the Path of Potential.

Wise Owl explained, "This particular path is one-sided. You will begin on what appears to be the outside track, being very much aware of your mind and your thoughts. As you progress you will gradually find yourself on the inside track, dealing with feelings and certain physical aspects of your illness. Its more mysterious than complex. Human beings are often confused by things they can't see. The link between mind and illness has been missing for years. It's not really missing you know, its just invisible."



The group discovers a magnificent waterfall. From out of shimmering particles of light emerges a spectacular rainbow and from this source of energy appears Grandmother Athena, Avalon's spirit guide. Avalon realizes that Athena represents a force that has been missing from her life.

The woman smiled and spoke. "I can help you connect with your deepest self, your intuition and wisdom, and then beyond to greater powers still unexplored. I'll help you build a bridge from one world to another, from your past to your future. I'll help you understand the link between energy or thought process, and matter - your body."

The group eventually discovers the inevitable fork in the road. One sign reads DEPENDENCY, and is very inviting, the other reads RESPONSIBILITY and appears much more difficult. They choose the former and find themselves on a path surrounded by blight, decay, and toxic emissions. They come across a seemingly bottomless pit.

Whoot flies down and hears a rumbling in the far distance. Arachne the spider woman appears ( as foretold by Athena), and spins them a strong web net which they descend.

Arachne speaks, "Grandmother taught me that we are all made of fibers, and between each and every living creature is a network of fibers not unlike this spider web. Anything I think or do will have an effect on you. Similarly anything you say or do will affect me."



The group proceeds to share how all their behavior has been interactive. They are all lowered into the well with Arachne and Harry keeping guard on top.

      CHAPTER SIX: THE DRAGON OF DESPAIR

They soon arrived at the gaping mouth of a cave. Into the center of this strange space waddled the most immense, black dragon ever imagined. His slimy scales were glossy with greyish goo, and he stood, all in his stink and stench, at least twelve feet high.


Rather surprisingly the spunky troupe were not afraid. However just then the dragon opened his enormous mouth and the four prepared themselves for an ear-splitting roar, expecting to see flames leaping from his nostrils. But the drooping dragon could only mumble with a whispering bravado of his former self.

"I am the Dragon of Despair and this is my Hound of Hopelessness. Who are you and how dare you enter my private chambers?"


Avalon felt sick at heart as she confronted this representation of apathy.

"I am Princess Avalon," she replied bravely. "I have been diagnosed with a severe illness and I am on a quest for health, with a little help from my friends," she added, acknowledging the others.


"You have certainly found the right hole in the ground. You can stop your search now, and stay and decay with my hound and me. If your doctor thinks you are going to die then you might as well give up any sense of responsibility for yourself and get on with it.

You, like me, finally found the path of DEPENDENCY. Here, everything is dying or already dead. I've been feeding off all the effluent that falls into this well. I can depend on all this poison and decay to keep my hound and me sick and hopeless. Apathy is like opium - the opium of despair. Stay here with me, misery loves company."

"I don't pretend to have hope anymore," said the hound. "It's much easier to become dependent."

They then began a lugubrious dance which included waddling, waving their tales, burping and farting. They were totally revolting.


Avalon was just about to faint with hopelessness when the image of the Wish Fairy flickered through her mind and she remembered the power of dreams and wishes.

Alwyn arrives on the back of a green saddled hummingbird, looking like a glittering fragment from Grandmother's rainbow. The fairy replies.


"You needed to descend into this deep well to help you find your will to live. We have to delve below the superficial surface into the depths of our being to discover who we really are. What sometimes appears to be a dangerous crisis is usually an elusive opportunity for change."


The little Princess finally overcomes her fear and asks the Dragon of Despair himself what mishap brought him to this destructive way of life. Despair sheds two huge dragon tears that splash and soak the little Princess and her company.


"I have lost my fire!" he cried out in anguish. "My fire created a struggle within my dragon breast. That conflict gave me consciousness, and it is this dialectic struggle that makes you humans human."


Avalon and her group appreciated that to begin the fight against the blight that surrounded the well, it was important to first bring healing to its makers.

The dragon acknowledged that he had been in despair for so long, that he had actually been afraid to make any changes. A remarkable celebration followed and the Dragon of Despair and the Hound of Hopelessness, spent the night gleefully discussing new names for themselves.

Go To Chapters: 7 - 11