Neverending Story meaning and power The Magma Group

Mike Sanders, 2016

I'm writing this because I wanted to explain some of the coincidences which have happened in my
life. And I sit here today and write this, and everything at last seems so beautiful.
I am a 25 year old man, and exactly seven years ago I became interested in spirituality. I went
through the different stages of being a Christian, then a male witch, then moved towards New Age
spirituality, but it never seemed right to me. I have realized that my journey has been about
something different, and to me, my journey has been painful. And yet, it has been a beautiful one.
I have fallen in love on multiple occasions, and maybe it was always meant to be that way. I felt
like, each time I fell in love, I lost a part of myself, and also gained something. But falling in love
was never about sex or being physical, it was not even comparable to romance. On each occasion it
felt like I was discovering some snippet of truth. Something hidden behind a Vail, which I couldn't
see was there, but sometimes I felt a place beyond the Vail.
My favorite film as a child was The Neverending Story, a sweet, magical film. I've seen lots of
fantasy films over the years, but that one just reached out to me. Even as a child, there had always
been something special about it, something I could see in that film and smile at. I would dream of
flying over mountains on the back of a dragon, and shooting through high clouds into a distant
sunset. As someone with autism, school was never a great experience. My physical life was never
very complete, I sort of didn't have to have it because my imagination provided me with all of the
magic and curiosity which ordinary life did not.
Of course I got older, and then I began to go out more, date, meet people. I became a bit of a nerd in
science, but now I have no interest in it really. When I was about 17 all of that changed. I went
somewhere with my family. Until then I had always seen myself as a Christian although I never
really had much interest in God or anything like that. As a young child, around aged 7, my parents
would take me to a mountainous region, somewhere very beautiful and heart-touching. At age 17 I
went to a similar place, not far away, and I looked at where I was and how it made me feel and
thought ''How can there be no God if this place is so beautiful?''. I was next to a river, in a summer
valley. And from then onwards I felt like something had been reminded.
It took a long time, and I had a habit for getting myself hurt a bit too much. I have been in love a
few times, and each time I was hoping, I guess, that these women could remind me of something
that I always had. I went to Canada when I was 19, and the experience opened my life. It changed
me permanently. I had been looking for spirit, for the God inside of me all over the place. And when
I went to Canada I saw the very heart of the Cosmos, breathing in the landscape, lakes and forests. I
met this girl there, and fell in love again. My life back at home was pretty terrible back then, I had
recently started dating someone else, who hurt me, and it felt as though I couldn't shake the feeling
of her being in my life. When I drove up to Canada, she was still on my mind. I remember
facebooking her at a motel near Seattle, and we basically discussed how we couldn't see each other.
But places, certain places, have this weird way of ripping us out of our reality zone. We think we
need someone, until something even more incredible makes itself known. And the true beauty is,
that that thing is always inside of us.
The girl I met in Canada, who I had obviously known from a past life, seemed to be the very image
of the landscape, and of all that is feminine and beautiful in western Canada. I walked into a caf
where she worked, and as our eyes met, I knew immediately that there was a very happy familiarity
between us. I climbed Mount Garibaldi and began to feel like Atreyu in the Neverending Story as he

explores Fantasia. Maybe I was Bastian in my normal life, but when I came to Canada, I became
Atreyu. I was born into a city and culture not unlike Bastian's, and yet my mind was always taking
me to places where there were native people, people who lived in the land, and knew some deep
wisdom.
I had also been watching The Neverending Story quite a lot prior to going, having not seen it in
years. Why I wonder?
So Canada was the first experience really. Amongst many, many others. I remember also, years
later, I was dating a girl in my hometown, and whilst at her college performance I met someone
who frankly made me loose control. I really loved the girl I was dating, she was lovely, loyal, kind
and caring. But there was something else I longed for, something deeper and of a less boyfriendgirlfriend kind of love. This was something that was so true, and pure, that I could barely explain it.
I'm not saying either of these people were better, I don't judge, and really the person I was dating
had a love for me that was incredibly special, and yet also different. The girl I met that day, let's call
her Natalie, was someone I had known before. Or at least I think I did. Maybe I had never had past
lives with her, maybe we were linked on a level deeper than past lives. Or maybe only I felt that
way, maybe my feelings were always just mine.
I spoke to her for about five minutes, then we parted our ways, walking through the town in the
snow. That night, I dreamt I was on a bridge with her in Paris, holding her hand. The next day I
added her on facebook. It was the strangest thing. It felt like I didn't have any choice, it was as
though as soon as I met her, a magnet was drawing us together, and the more I tried to fight it, the
more I would hurt myself. After another day, when we had been texting, whilst I watched some
program about bikes we got onto the subject of love. And I asked her ''Do you think we're already
exchanging love?''. We decided that we couldn't speak any more. I was honest and upfront to it with
my girlfriend, who was very understanding and that in itself made me even happier to be with her.
She said ''Well, that escalated quickly'' and she was right. And now I'm having a hard time working
out why it may have happened.
Natalie just made me smile a little too much. Normally there are different barriers between people,
and we have to look beyond those barriers before we can feel pure love. With Natalie, it happened
instantaneously. How could I not love her? She entered my every thought, and everywhere I went,
she walked with me. They were hard times, but also exciting, because it was like she was showing
me something. I am normally quite a sexual person. I'm not saying sex is that important, but with
most of the people I like initially, their attractiveness links in with my own sexual desire. With
Natalie, I never thought about that, it didn't matter. I didn't need anything to spice up or make more
beautiful something we felt, so perfect. Lying in bed with her in my thoughts, meant that my whole
body felt warm, coos, and orgasmic, but in an almost non sexual way. I felt it in my heart. I was
floating in a pool of eternal light.
Now you're probably thinking that Natalie must have been a Twin Flame. Not sure if I believe in
Twin Flames to be honest. I think it's likely that everyone actually shows us something which we
don't yet recognize in ourselves. Needless to say, me and Natalie often didn't talk for long periods of
time. And there were times when I didn't think about her. I don't really understand destiny to be
honest. I've been loving spirituality for seven years and I'm still young. Do we really have a choice
in anything?
The easiest thing, back then, would have been to leave my girlfriend to Natalie. But I didn't, I
couldn't. If another girl is helping me to feel something like that, then maybe the capacity to feel
that already exists in me. Maybe it didn't depend on Natalie. Maybe it was me all along. And yet on
the other hand, do humans really have free will? When our heart speaks to us so strongly, when we
feel we know we belong somewhere, as I did then, is God asking us to follow that? Or is he asking
us to look within, and to see that we already are that? Is the easiest way going to help us be

complete? Does dating someone for what they cause you to feel, help you to see that you are
already whole, and perfect? I would have thought not, but to be honest I really don't know.
That's a huge question, and trying to answer it from where I used to be, would be like trying to take
control. So I do wonder, do humans really have control? Do we have destiny, or do we choose our
destiny? Say back then, I was with my then-girlfriend, whilst having undeniably strong feelings for
another, it seems like the responsible thing to try and understand that, to feel more complete in
ourselves. That way, the thing the person outside of the relationship no-longer feels like someone
we just have to be with. But others say in the spiritual community, that we cannot control all
outcomes, and that we must let go. It's a bit like driving a car over a bumpy road, with so many
turns and other ways to go. We can stick to the same path, and eventually realize that all the roads
lead to the same place. Or sometimes, maybe we have to let go. And to know that our heart already
knows where it's going. Can I make a choice which my heart has already made? Perhaps, by
becoming my heart, I can make that choice myself. Is the easiest way always the most spiritual, the
one where there is an ease at loving, and a direct path towards love? Or does the harder route, with
more determination, open us more to love, than the easiest option? I am inclined to believe the
second.
Our whole life is like this, and most of us don't know what is best for us, whether it be work,
relationships, or even knowing who we are. And then you come across those times, where all roads,
all options seem to be opposing you. Whether that be someone not showing you the care that you
desired, or a situation where you can choose to stay where you are, or to move somewhere else, like
Canada. If someone makes such a choice, how will they know it will be right? Perhaps in either
case, they can create the life of love which they want. But sometimes we have to actually let go of
the wheel. We are like sailors moving across a sea. When that sea gets turbulent, and we can no
longer see the land. We have to let go of the wheel. We cannot know what the people of these lands
are like, or if those we love will always love us. Only they can know that. So trying to make a
decision in these times is pointless. But on some deep level, there is a love, constantly manifesting.
We must let our ship, our vessel, guide us to those manifestations which are not necessarily the
easiest, but those which will bring us to the greatest realization of love. Sometimes that might even
mean letting go of a past flame for good. Sometimes, the most loving thing to do is to see that noone else can provide the answers, and to sail away alone. Where will you end up, and who with?
When you sail with an open heart, leaving fear, and expectation behind. You will surely be brought
to where you belong. Where will you find yourself, and who with, when you have left everything
behind?
We go back to the beautiful Neverending Story now. Atreyu goes to the Ivory tower, and is told that
he must go on a journey. He must leave all of his weapons behind. Just as a person finding
themselves must leave themselves vulnerable, and unprotected against the forces of evil. Because
that is the only way we can get the attention of our heart. Only when we aren't afraid, can our heart
speak to us, and guide us. Atreyu takes with him, the Auryn, two snakes intertwining in a necklace.
Auryn represents the eternity, the two snakes, circling the Universe and holding it in place. It
provides Atreyu with protection from evil, for the symbol of eternity is unbreakable.
Atreyu rides out, whilst Gmork, the evil wolf, hunts him down. The wolf represents the dark self,
fear, as it constantly stalks consciousness, trying to stop the young warrior when vulnerable. And
then Atreyu meets Valkor, the luck-dragon. Valkor is Michael Ende's version of the ship. Atreyu
nearly sinks in the swamps of Sadness, giving up all hope, until his last bit of hope calls out. His
luck dragon, perhaps his higher consciousness picks him up. This story is so similar to my own
dreams as a child, where I would be sitting on the back of a friendly red dragon, and we would fly
over the clouds. I had these dreams even when I was only three years old. Valkor represents trusting
the heart, for dragons represent a movement between different phases, places and forms of

existence. Just as Chinese dragons can stretch to 700 ft high, or sit inside a droplet of water, Valkor
can symbolically act out the inner knowing of Atreyu's heart, and like in a dream, or out of body
experience, take him to where he needs to be, with very little effort. Atreyu lets go of the wheel, and
trusts his heart.
Whilst I'm no longer in this situation of having difficulty in making decisions, I have recently
spoken to Natalie again, and it reminded me of a time when I decided to stay somewhere, even if
my heart seemed to urge me to go elsewhere. But I think that even then I knew, we don't gain
anything by looking for greener grass elsewhere. And perhaps when Natalie came into my life, it
was a symbol of something I felt that I did not possess. I don't believe that God ever urges us to go
somewhere else, but to see a person coming into our life as a symbol. A symbol for something that
we can recognize in ourselves. Love has a beautiful way of working things out in the long term, so
yes it was my job to find that thing in myself, but inevitably, if my current relationship had been bad
(which it wasn't), the external situation would have sorted itself out in such a way, where I would
end up with the person who most appreciated me.
The answer is surely not so often to leave. People often abandon relationships without really doing
any work on themselves. A long term relationship takes commitment to self, as much as it does to
the other person. And I think that saying we should go wherever our heart leads us, is false. When
really we should be recognizing what our heart is telling us, we already are, and recognize that. We
should never go anywhere, but in some circumstances the external situation will alter itself
accordingly to where our heart belongs. When we talk about belonging somewhere, I don't think we
really belong anywhere, apart from within ourselves, within the majesty of the Cosmos. The places
and people we feel a belonging to, appear to us as after effects of what we feel inside. So for me to
think that Natalie was where I belonged may have been wrong. I was already in a relationship, and I
must have been in a relationship for a reason. But there's a line I don't understand yet between
consciously choosing to be with someone, and our heart already deciding it for us. I think it depends
on how open our heart is. But I also think that making a conscious decision to be somewhere, and
stick by it, is admirable. Anything which happens outside of that is like a load of symbols to show
us what we can add to what we already have, and that doesn't mean actually looking to other people
and places for those things. It means recognizing what they show us, and finding that within. To be
fair, I haven't really a clue. I'm just saying what I think is most likely. I just need to let go, and let
things drive themselves so to speak.
I remember having a vision recently, where I was in meditation and heard this weird pirate song,
about sailing over the seas and being free. I didn't even create the song, nor did it even exist, it just
played to me as if some weird pirate inside my mind was singing the lyrics for me to hear. It's apt.
And two nights ago, I dreamt that I was being chased by a tsunami and was riding a ship, hoping
that it would be picked up, and ride with the wave. My life is full of meaningful coincidence. It gets
on my nerves sometimes. I just laugh and think ''Why?''. So right now, you could say that I have
become the pirate again. Not literally. But a pirate who is sailing his ship, across the sea, with his
mind set on emotional freedom. And he doesn't care how hard it will be. And there is a storm
coming, a storm in my relationship, which seems to be bringing other people from my past into the
waters. Some of them good, others not so much. I feel trapped in my mind, anyway. Unable to sail
through this. But it's also really exciting, because I don't know what my heart has in stall for me. I
think that once we become fully aware, we can make decisions for our heart. But this storm will
teach me to become fully aware, and perhaps consciously, perhaps not, I will end up in a beautiful
place when the storm has passed. Just like Atreyu setting off into the distance to find Bastian, his
true self, so I must become like him, to leave my weapons behind, leave the borders around my
heart behind, and walk into the unknown.
I was recently speaking to a friend from Australia, who has suffered sexual abuse her entire life. She
is a huge inspiration to me, because despite what would be a completely heart breaking thing for
many people, she is one of the most loving people I have ever met. Me and her are quite similar,

although our life experiences are very different, we both love quite easily. We both long for the
same kind of loving relationship. And we both agree, that this kind of attitude tends to get us hurt a
lot more than it does bring such a relationship into our lives. And the amazing thing is, despite this,
we still don't give up. Because to give up, and to close our hearts, would be easier maybe, but it
wouldn't be in our nature. We would rather be hurt, let down, and broken by fifty partners, than we
would close our hearts to the possibility of love.
I don't even know if I could describe my love for Natalie as being healthy. It was beautiful, I felt
swept away, but when I look back, she never saw me as I saw her. I was so lost and in love with her,
that I lost control. She made me smile uncontrollably, which to most people probably meant she was
the one for me. But whilst she once said, that I made her smile a lot, she was far stronger than I. She
stood strong in her decisions, and even though I was in a relationship, my heart didn't stand in one
place.
Before we go back to the Neverending Story, let's just say that to understand love, and why we love
certain people, is so difficult. I remember when Natalie came back into my life last year, and we
texted for some days, whilst I was also in a relationship, a different one this time. I felt uneasy, I
began to smile at the thought of her. It was as if my heart was with her regardless of whether I
wanted it to be or not, until after two days of texting her and one phone call, I burst into tears. I
don't cry often, but I remember saying
I can't fall for you again
. I spent days thinking about that
week when I first met her, looking at the photos I had taken of the snow that week. My heart was
filled with happiness, so I allowed myself a few days to just contemplate that, before deciding,
again, no. No, she had plenty of chances to date me. These feelings are mine, and mine alone. She
participated in the process but didn't cause these feelings, so I don't need her. And yet I still wasn't
sure. Time would tell, as I discovered.
which land?
The Neverending Story has a number of metaphors. If you've seen the film, and thought it to be
magical, then the book will blow your mind away. Particularly if you have an interest in quantum
physics, something I took a minor in and so have a vague understanding of. The Neverending Story
made me think that the writer, Michael Ende, must have known his stuff for sure. Fantasia, the
world that Bastian finds himself in, behaves a bit like a dream-World. I don't mean that Fantasia is
not real, but it is like a dream. A place where our mind, and imagination, seem no-longer confined.
Everything, every legend, happens in Fantasia. And the Nothing, the destructive force which
destroys Fantasia, can be seen as the amnesia in the human soul. Gmork is a servant of darkness,
who tries to help the nothing, because
people who have no hopes and dreams, are easy to control
.
This can be interpreted as the assault on human consciousness by whatever it is, which is causing us
this amnesia. Evil, darkness, I don't know. The Bible describes it as the Devil, other cultures have
their own negative deity who wishes to destroy mankind and torment him.
Bastian can be said to be the human child, and Atreyu, is his dream-walker, his dream self. Atreyu
is the part of Bastian which is uninhibited by the limits of human life. Valkor, acts like some sort of
oversoul vehicle, taking him from place to place effortlessly. When Atreyu is stuck in the Swamps
of Sadness, after loosing all hope, Valkor wishes him nearly 1000 miles towards the Southern
Oracle. This represents the ability of the soul, of God, to do most of the work. But Atreyu must still
face the Southern Oracle, because yes Valkor can take him most of the way, but only Atreyu himself
can prove his strength.
Atreyu goes through the Golden Gate, two imposing sphinxes, opposite each other. I always found
this scene quite terrifying as a kid, but it also seemed to awaken something in my heart, a strength. I
realized that as I followed Atreyu on his journey, I too, was following in his footsteps. And to be
honest I think that's the point of the story. Michael Ende hasn't only given us a book, he hasn't given

us your regular fantasy story. He has given us a journey which he must have experienced, and he
gave it to us so that we could join him, and open our own inner Fantasia.
The Golden Gate is a metaphor for the gateway to our soul. We all live life as humans, but actually
I think there's a protection mechanism in place which disables most of us from knowing the true
secrets of life. Most people will say that some evil force is keeping those gates closed, when
actually we're doing it. Understanding the soul and one's true self, gives a person extreme power,
and undeniably strong influence. Unless we're pure of heart, and feel our own worth, we won't
know. Unless you are good people, the chances are you won't understand any of this. The soul's
nature, the nature of God, is one of pure energy. It we try to 'enter' Heaven, the realm of God,
without being pure of heart, without being made of that energy, the energy will destroy us. Even if
we try to enter it for a brief moment, without being pure of heart, everything we hate about
ourselves will be thrown at us in a myriad of images, insecurities and fears. This is maybe the same
thing as the Ark of the Covenant, and its light energy, from the words of God, which destroys those
not pure of heart. Because the truth of love is too much for people who don't know love.
Atreyu reaches the Magic Mirror Gate, where he is confronted with Bastian, his true self. But to
call Bastian, Atreyu's true self, is incorrect. It is the potential for bravery which Bastian possesses,
which is his true self. So in a sense, Atreyu is Bastian's true self.
The Childlike Princess lives in the Ivory Tower. As Fantasia becomes sick, so does she. This could
be seen as a metaphor for a woman becoming sick when her space for personal growth, and beauty,
is being destroyed. But more importantly, she is the innocent Goddess. She is the eternally young
spirit of the land, of Fantasia. Bastian on the other hand, takes on the role of the God, as his
imagination brings her World to life. The Goddess of Fantasia is eternally young, just as God is
never aging. She represents the spirit of divine femininity within women, that eternally young soul
which all women are a part of, even if their bodies age. Bastian represents the warrior, the
responsibly used power of creation. Men are often bullied in the media for their reputation as being
unemotional, sexual beings. In truth, the inner male is indeed powerful, but he uses his power
responsibly, and for love. The inner masculine does not need sex, or power, over anything physical.
The inner masculine is a channel of unconditional love as he awakens the innocent Goddess within
each woman.
Things have been difficult lately to be honest. I don't write articles on this type of stuff, and am
staying up the night to get these feelings out of the way, or at least to try to. I have always held this
belief that God granted me Free Will, and now it seems that I am at the Golden Gate. I thought that
Natalie was all forgotten, but as I write more, it really isn't so. A grown man isn't meant to cry, but I
couldn't help myself. I am not a Christian, or part of any religion, but just now I sat outside with a
cigarette, my head in my hands in despair, and asked for the will power to continue. In all my years
of spiritual searching, it appears that it has all mostly come down to this one night. This is my
chance to not only speak my truth, but to live it. And it's difficult. Something deep inside tells me
that Natalie is where I'm meant to be. And what's weird is that this feeling has only come and gone
over the past few days. I decided to try and understand why I might be feeling this. I have no
intention of accepting it as my highest will, for I know it is not, but the feeling has persisted, and
suddenly, after years and years. I am remembering stuff, focusing on the past, because of internal
changes that are happening to all of us. These feelings haven't arisen because of any change in my
life on the outside, they have come from within. It is as though my heart is re-sorting itself, opening
up, and truths, lies, and feelings are being thrown in every direction. One moment I'm like
I don't
love Natalie anymoreand I feel no romantic feelings. Other times, I say
I love her more than I ever
thought. I have suppressed this
. This isn't just about Natalie either, I am beginning to think that
perhaps me and my current girlfriend should have moved elsewhere, that I should have moved
alone to a different country. None of these things, including being with Natalie, are true. But I
cannot ignore the feelings when they come up which suggest, for a second, that I'm meant to be
somewhere that I am not. And really, my current situation is perfect. So the trick is to understand,
not to act, which would be stupid, and wouldn't even be what I wanted anyway.
It is important to me not to try and understand this from the point of meaning, cause, and fate. To

do so would be to ask, where do I belong? In the arms of my current partner who loves me, but of
late seems to have found reasons not to love me? Or in the arms of someone who I felt an equal
connection to at one point in time, which apparently I remember all too vividly? I could ignore this,
but then I wouldn't be able to write about it, and to understand destiny and fate.
But I have not chosen to see this as a decision. It is an opportunity. When the outer World feels so
confusing and emotional, and I cry as I feel the loss of so many partners as they have left me. It isn't
just about Natalie, it's a greater awareness of love. Several other ex partners have spoken to me
recently. I feel like a part of me needs a girl, who never loved me as I did her, on the off chance that
she might bring me to a beautiful realization of love. Another part of me sees my current partner's
actions as neglecting of me, emotionally invalidating and unfair to the point of feeling emotionally
broken. But she is someone who, only months ago, loved me in a way which opened me up to love
in the most powerful way. I am not in the emotional state to make decisions. It isn't my job to make
decisions, because the decision always has been my current partner. But in that case, how can I cope
with this emotional turmoil and uncertainty. What if my current partner cannot accept certain things
about me? What if I cannot make her happy, because that is how it feels? But as I become more self
aware, over the past few hours, I realize that how my partner chooses to view me, how much love
she can embody for me, is not my decision. I have chosen her in my heart, I have chosen her as my
partner before God. But only she, through her own focus on God, may make the same decision. I
cannot influence that for her. So it is useless for me to sit here, wondering if she finds fault in me
because of her absence of knowing God, or if she finds fault in me, because I am not right for her.
Only she can know her limits of consciousness, and only she can decide in her heart. I think she
already has, but her mind has other plans.
So whilst I don't desire to be with Natalie, that dreadful question has entered my mind,
how happy
do I make her?Looking at it from a logical perspective, I probably don't enormously. But 'what if's'
can be damaging when we already have someone to love. I think the only reason that the 'what if'
has entered my mind, is down to doubting if my partner is happy with me. So with all this turmoil
on the outside, most people would say
hope for thisor
try that
. But I am tired of hoping, tired of
expecting any kind of longevity in unconditional love, or hoping that anyone could come to see me
as perfect. The only thing who can see me as perfect, is God. And God is me. So for the first time in
my life, I have not been the stubborn spiritualist who thinks he knows what's what, or how to react
in any situation. I have decided that this entire process is an opportunity to open up to God, to open
my heart. And that takes a lot of trust. But like Atreyu, right now, trust and faith are the only things I
really have to go on. I have made a conscious decision to be with a particular person, but what is
more important right now, is making the conscious decision to build a relationship with God.
Although a second thought, I kind of know that the more I embody love, the more that God will
work his magic in my decisions and choices. And should I enter my inner heaven, should my heart
completely open, then God will sail on that turbulent Ocean with me, and bring me to a place,
wherever that may be, where I can feel my own heart, and God, in the person I am with. I will do
part of the work, by opening my heart. And I shall leave the rest to the Cosmos.
So, do we really have free will? Yes, we do. But it is always a decision by more than one. When we
do not know love completely, we move from person to person, wondering who will love us the
most. When we open our hearts to love, we will always choose to go and share our life with
someone, who, out of their own free will, has also chosen to embrace love. When we open our
hearts to God, uncertainty and chaos have little effect on us. And whatever uncertainty and chaos
throws at us, will be of love. If you're in this situation, you shouldn't be asking yourself, do I choose
one person or the other? Instead you should be asking, do I continue to completely attribute others
to my feelings of love, or do I choose to find love internally?
Let's return to The Neverending Story. The book contains a lot of symbolism which has been missed
out in the film, probably because the audience wouldn't understand it. In the story, Bastian comes
across a city made of wicker, beside a sea. The people from this city sail their boat across the sea,

using the collective intension of their minds. It actually seems that all the people from this city have
like a collective consciousness. Bastian finds himself at a mine, where a man digs memories out of
the ground in the form of glass sheets. Bastian must find a memory of his buried here for him to
return to the human World. This process identifies what happens when we loose connection to the
human World, and end up spending most of our time dream-walking, neglecting our body and
having no intension of returning to the difficulties of this world. Bastian becomes so involved with
this beautiful World, that he forgets it is a teacher for human life, and not where he was born to be.
But it is so beautiful, that to find his way home, he has to find a reason to come back. And this is
true in shamanism, and other spiritual practices. People visit the other dimensions where all things
happen at will, we may wish for whatever we want. But we sometimes become trapped here, as I
have done for short periods of time. Even though I was living a physical life, my mind was trapped
here. When really, we are human and we visit these places to learn more about being human, more
about making the human world beautiful. A part of us always inhabits these fantasy plains, for
Bastian that is Atreyu. But Bastian must learn how to help in the human World, by temporally
becoming his dream self, and God self. This World consumes him so much that he forgets why he is
human, and only the loving memory of his parents is enough to bring him back. This is a metaphor
for the simplest things in life, family, and a few friends, being the most important things.
For Bastian to enter the human world again, he has to walk between two serpents and dive into
water. This reminds me a bit of the DNA molecule in a strange way. DNA is incased within water,
and maybe DNA acts like a kind of ladder between different levels of consciousness. He has to dive
back into that water, between the strands of DNA, to find his human self again, and to then be reborn as a human.
In the book, there is also a mysterious writer who lives on a mountain. Perhaps the Neverending
Story is like a genetic code, except much deeper, coding for all events and experiences, and the
writer sits in his mountain home and decodes this information, which then becomes Fantasia.