Over the Rainbow: Finding the Light Within
There’s a timeless question asked in the movie The Wizard of Oz:
“If birds fly over the rainbow—why, oh why, can’t I?”
This expresses a yearning that resonates with anyone who’s ever felt limited by their own experiences, their own perceptions, their own self. It conveys our desire to transcend the boundaries of ego and awaken to a deeper, freer sense of being.
But this longing isn’t about being in some distant dreamland. It’s about right here, right now—in the context of our own daily lives.
The Spectrum of Light
A rainbow is light, refracted into a spectrum of color. And that light, in its essence, is always there—even when we can’t see the full arc.
In the same way, consciousness is the spectrum of all experience. Sometimes we perceive only a fragment, a faint glimmer of color, and mistake that for the whole. But the full spectrum is always present within us, waiting to be seen when we stop limiting our perception of it.
In Sanskrit, this inner radiance is known as prakāśa—the light of Pure Awareness. And within that light lies vimarśa, the self-reflective capacity of consciousness. Together, they form the foundation of nondual realization: the direct knowing of oneself as both the light and the reflection.
When we fly over the rainbow, we are not leaving the world behind. We are rising above our limited patterns of thought, seeing the full brilliance of our being, and recognizing that the Divine is not elsewhere—it is here, as the very light of our own awareness.
Our thoughts, emotions, and patterns act like filters. They reflect only a fraction of the light of truth. The ego bounces light back upon itself, creating an illusion of brightness while keeping us trapped in shadow. Whenever we identify with our limited self (our roles, fears, and stories) or spend our days chasing what we cannot take with us (possessions, positions, recognition, control), we reinforce and justify those limitations.
The first step is to recognize that we are functioning from tension, pattern, and demand. This acknowledgment important, because only by clearly seeing where we are limited can we begin to free ourselves from limitation.
So the question you must ask yourself is: Am I looking “over the rainbow”—or only within the narrow band of light my ego reflects?
The Guru and the Dispelling of Darkness
What is the role of the teacher in our search for a new experience of life? Significantly, the word guru doesn’t mean “bringer of light,” but rather, “dispeller of darkness.” This is because the light is ever-present, and our spiritual work is to penetrate past the inner confusion that disallows our perception of a higher reality.
The guru is not merely an external teacher—it’s also the inner Grace that awakens us to the possibility of knowing the light. Nondual tradition says that there are three dimensions of the guru:
- The embodied guru, the living teacher who points the way and provides practices.
- The resonance of guru, the vibration of truth that comes to us through lineage.
- And God as guru, the ultimate field of light that dispels the darkness within our own heart.
Each of these dimensions calls us to stop looking where we’ve always looked—to stop reinforcing the same limited views of life and instead, to look for something else. When we cling to egoic identity, we take the light of consciousness and turn it back into darkness, defending our smallness. But when we open to Grace—whether through a teacher, a moment of stillness, or the sheer exhaustion of our own struggle—the darkness begins to lift.
The Purpose of Our Life
God’s invitation to us is always the same: don’t lose sight of the miracle of being alive. The opportunity to awaken, to experience the divine nature of your own consciousness, is available in every single moment of your life.
Some people postpone their freedom. They believe there’s time to figure it out later, time to grow wiser someday, time to seek truth when life becomes quieter. But that belief is a subtle curse, because liberation isn’t a future event—it’s the direct experience of light now.
When we pause long enough to look inward, something shifts. The question is no longer “What can I get?” but “What am I truly after in this life?
And the answer, quietly, gently, always, is to know yourself as the light you already are.
The conclusion of The Wizard of Oz sums up the movie’s central message: There’s no place like home. In our search for the meaning of life’s adventures, we learn that “home” has been within us all the time. It is the inner light that only requires that we turn to it, instead of letting ourselves continue to be encased in the limited consciousness that cannot perceive anything beyond itself.
We can walk—and even soar—through the full spectrum of life’s experiences without losing sight of the radiance behind it all. That radiance doesn’t need to be achieved or earned. It simply needs to be remembered
You can fly over the rainbow. It doesn’t mean escaping life; it means seeing it from the perspective of wholeness. It means recognizing that every color in the spectrum has its place, and that the freedom you seek is not somewhere else: It’s right here, shining through your very awareness.
Stop throwing blankets over it. Stop postponing your liberation. Look up, look within, and let the light reveal itself: brilliant, complete, and eternally yours.