Enlightenment

I am swimming in the ocean with others and there are many people on the rocks and in the trees, which I can see along the shore line. All of these people are eagerly awaiting the arrival of a star that is to collide with the ocean! (The people in the dream are not afraid, but are excited, longing for the star’s arrival.) To these people this phenomenon is a natural occurrence, and so watching it is like watching an eclipse of the moon, not to be feared at all. It is an atmosphere of awe and mystery. I am very afraid, however. I yell to the others swimming nearby with me, “We must stay at least a mile away!” When the star arrives, it gently slips beneath the waters while illuminating everything around it. All is quiet now and at peace. —Dream taken from Brenda’s dream journal March 9, 1999

In this dreamscape a star collides with the ocean and somehow people are unafraid. The idea is inconceivable when we consider the possible results were such a thing to happen in waking life. This would be a dreaded catastrophe like those foretold by prophets of doom in Revelation, by Nostradamas, and even by some modern astronomers! It would most certainly bring “woe”to earth’s inhabitants! How could such a thing be welcomed, even longed for?

Over the millenniums our earth has been impacted countless times by heavenly bodies. It is believed that a comet collision once redirected the course of evolution for this planet, bringing on an ice age that ended the age of the dinosaur, and eventually allowed the rise of mammalian life. Perhaps we owe our very existence to this ancient catastrophe. Whether or not the age of man has been a positive change for this planet, I am not prepared to argue… but I am still very glad it happened. I am grateful for my sometimes miserable, human life and all the painful, cataclysmic changes that have made me who I am.

What I have learned is that sometimes HUGE CHANGE is needed and can only come from a source beyond ourselves. The dream painting “Enlightenment” is about this kind of change which transforms the individual psyche with far reaching results. The source of the light is internal, but comes from a place unknown to “the ego.” The light of “the self/soul” is allowed to make contact with the contents of one’s inner ocean, lighting it up. What is conscious meets what is unconscious, changing it forever. You could say this phenomenon is changing the world one person at a time, but it is even more powerful than that, because any deep profound change to the individual psyche is also a change to the collective psyche. The amazing illuminations and shifts we experience in the interior dimension are also experienced in that place where we are all one, where we are all connected and will eventually impact our evolutionary path as human beings.

In my painting, I wanted to let the dream reveal itself through the perspective of the people on shore, so that the anticipation and excitement of these dream beings could be felt. The positive emotions of those gathered on the shore is key to understanding the dream. Allowing the light and darkness within ourselves to meet and merge, brings deep understanding and peace. From this place of SELF KNOWLEDGE we are all transformed. The yearning for this experience is what I have wanted to express. This dream has inspired
me to say in paint, “Let’s not fear change. Welcome in the light.” ∞

Published in Dream Network, Vol. 27#4, Winter issue 2008