The Wedding feast was over.  Dressed in their traveling clothes, the bride and groom walked down a long road.  A giant bird swept down out of the sky and grabbed them gently in its claws, and flew up into the air with them.

 Up over the plains, over a mountain range, and down into a valley it flew.  On the floor of the deep valley was a slender pillar of rock, hundreds of feet high.  On top of the pillar was a castle, which looked like it would tip over and fall at any moment.

 The giant bird swept down and landed the couple in the court yard of the castle.  Before they could speak the bird flew off and a figure in a long white robe appeared.

 "Welcome", she said, "to the Castle of Dreams.  I am your guide."

 "What is this place",  asked the groom?

 "In the Castle of Dreams you can do whatever you want, but there are strange consequences.  You saw how the castle is balanced on the pillar of rock?  If you are not careful about what you do here, you could tip the balance and if it went too far, the castle would tip over and you and the castle would crash and be broken on the rocks below.  Come with me and I will show you how to keep the castle from falling over.
 She led them down stairs into a large chamber in the center of the castle.

 "This is the throne room.  When ever you feel the castle tipping, you can rush down here.  If you sit on the throne, the castle will slowly be brought back into balance again."

 "Is there another way to keep it from falling,"  asked the bride?

 "Yes.  When you are in a room, the castle very slowly begins to tip in that direction.  If you do not spend too much time in any one room, and if you spend some time in rooms on different sides of the castle, you will keep the balance.

 "The castle is like a wheel on its side, with the throne room at the hub in the center, the rooms are all around the outside rim, and the spokes in the middle are these corridors you see.  You can always run from a room down a corridor to the throne room.  You can do anything you want, as long as you keep the balance."

 "You said we could do anything we want?"  asked the groom.

 "Yes."

 "We have just been married, and we would like to spend some time together."

 "Yes.  Follow me."  The figure in white seemed to glide weightlessly down a corridor.  Soon they came to a red door marked "Passion".  On the door frame above was the word "Pleasure".

 "You can be alone in here.  If you need anything, I will come and show you to other rooms when you want.  Enjoy each other, and remember the balance."

 The next morning they noticed a strange tilt to the room, but after a while went back to sleep.  Awaking later they noticed that the tilt was more severe, and became alarmed.  They grabbed their belongings and rushed to the throne room, where they both sat on the throne.  The castle began righting itself, but it took a long time.

 The figure in white appeared before them.

 The Groom asked, "Can we stay here?  It is too dangerous to go into the rooms?"

 "You can, but you do not have to, and you will not want to.  If you stay here you do nothing but sit.  If you go into the rooms, all of life awaits you.  Even though there is little risk, if you stay here your life will mean nothing and be empty.  Out there is the fullness of life.  Risk life, go into many rooms, and live it fully."

 "But what if we stay too long in one place and the castle crashes?"

 "Live in many rooms around the castle and you will have a full, balanced life that will not crash."

 "I do not understand", said the bride.

 "I will explain it to you with the Analogy of the Chair," said the figure in white.  "A chair can have one leg like a stool.  If you sit on the stool and the leg breaks, you and the chair come crashing down.  However, a chair with many legs is safer.  If one leg breaks, the other legs will hold up the chair.  The same is true of people.  The chair legs are like what is important in your life such as work and family.  If you have several legs to your chair, and you experience deep disappointment in one important area of your life, the other areas will reassure you that you should still feel good about yourself and go on.  Although you are a failure in one area, you are a success in several others.  Later you may again be a success in this area."

 "What does that tell us about the rooms", asked the groom?

 "There are so many rooms here, you cannot go into all of them all the time.  You will want to spend more time in some of them.  Choose the few rooms which you want most, which make you feel good about yourself and which make you feel fulfilled.

 "The Analogy of the Chair says choose several rooms.  The requirement of keeping the balance of the castle means go back and forth between the rooms frequently and you will automatically keep the balance.  Make the important areas of your life what you want, and make sure you pay attention to all of them."

 The couple left the throne room and began looking in each of the rooms.  They tried many, but never stayed long in any one.  The figure in white did not bother them, but let them explore life.  They tried various rooms with the door frame marked "Pleasure", some marked "Success", several marked "Service", and a few interesting ones marked "Serenity".

 The figure in white did not appear, no matter what room they entered, until the bride stopped in front of a door with a door frame marked "Pleasure".  The figure in white appeared just as the groom came walking up.  On the door was the word "Drugs".  They wondered why she approached them before this door.

 "I must warn you both," said the figure in white, "that you should not go in this door."

 "I thought you said we could do anything we want,"  said the bride.

 "You can go in here if you want, but you should not.  It is easy to go in, but very hard to come out.  You may not be able to get out and that would tip the balance and send the castle cashing on the rocks below."

 "Why can't you get out?"
 "You lose control of yourself.  The drugs are fun for awhile, but you become addicted and you lose your judgment.  Then you must have them and you will do anything to get them."

 "When you go in that door, you are trapped in there, and you cannot get out of this room to go into other rooms."

 "I will follow your guide," said the young woman.

 "So will I," said the groom.  "Let's go."

 The couple went off again exploring in other rooms.  They were so enthralled with what they were doing that they did not notice they had drifted apart into different rooms.  They found some they liked better than others.  Both found work they liked although their jobs were quite different.  They found hobbies and community service, religion and passion again.

 They met quite by accident, it seemed, before a door marked "Nursery."  On the door frame above was the word "Service."  They entered this room and the bride felt like a whole woman.  Part of her reason for being had arrived.  The groom felt good about this.  He too felt fulfilled.  The little baby was precious and cooed and gurgled in the young woman's arms.  She could not spend all her time in here, although she thought she wanted to.  Too much time here, as anywhere, would upset the balance, so she made sure the baby was safe and secure, and went off to other rooms which she had found that she liked.
 One of them marked "Friendship" under a door frame marked "Service" was a favorite.  Both of them enjoyed the parties and sharing time with friends, and enjoyed relying on friends and being relied on as friends.  At the party people were laughing and having fun.  Music was playing.  The bride and groom were talking to another couple they enjoyed, when the figure in white appeared and told them it was time to go.

 She took them to the throne room, which was dimly lit.  She had them stand before the throne.  "You have learned much here and learned it well.  Now there is one more lesson for you.  She produced two long candles, and handed one to the groom and one to the bride.

 "These candles represent success."  She gave a light to the groom.  "Light your candle.  Your flame is your success."  She handed the light to the bride.  Light your candle.  Your flame is your success.  Look around the room.  You see that the light that each of you carry is not quite enough to light the room.  Now hold your candles together so the flames are touching.  See how much brighter it is.  The room is lighted."

 "What are we to learn from this?" asked the groom.

 "The lesson of the candle lights is that you can do more together than either one of you can do alone.  When you marry, your marriage becomes a new union.  When you sacrifice what you want for the sacrifice of the marriage, you do not do it for the other person, you do it for the marriage.  The two have become one, and the one is greater than either person alone.  Now the goal is a richer, more successful life through being a part of the marriage.  It is good for the man and it is good for the woman.  Keep your united marriage light burning brightly.  Life has many wonderful secrets with which to bless you through the experience of marriage.  You cannot have them any other way."

 Leaning toward the flame, the figure in white said, "Your united marriage flame I blow into the air, so that the symbol of your union is everywhere"  Then she blew the flame into the air and put the candles aside.

 The figure in white led the bride and groom up to the court yard.  The groom glanced up and saw the great bird heading toward them in the distance.

 "Now it is time for you to return to the world."

 "We do not want to go," said the bride.  "Can't we stay longer?  There is so much to do."

 "You must go now," said the figure in white.

 "We will never forget you,"  said the bride.

 "Remember the lessons you have learned here," said the figure in white.  "Go now.  Love each other.  Keep the balance, and enjoy the fullness of life."

 The giant bird picked them up and flew them back to the very spot on the road from which they had begun this journey.