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Irene Vincent
949 363-1637
vincent10@cox.net
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Inspirations
for “Planetary Alignment for Dream Time” by Irene
Vincent
Two Dreams inspired the image for my painting “Planetary
Alignment for Dream Time.” Also, every day life inspired
the dreams. During a vacation in Guatemala I traveled to
the Mayan Ruins at Tikal. The jungle that engulfs the
ruins adds to their mystery and beauty. As I traveled
through Guatemala I felt such a deep love for Mother Earth
and for the indigenous people in their colorful clothing.
I wished for the continuing of their traditions. The day
after I arrived back in the U.S., I became ill with a
debilitating flu. After three weeks of suffering, I said
God, “Just let me die, I surrender.” That evening when
I feel asleep, I dreamt that I was up a thousand feet in
the sky standing on a disk supported by a pole. When I
looked down, I could see the beautiful red rocks of a
desert. I was a bit scared. Across from me on another disk
was an old Indian Shaman. He held out his hand for me to
touch. I hesitated. He said to me, “Do you think that I
would let you die? Trust me.” So I gently reached for
his hand. As our hands touched, we were suddenly down on
the desert floor sitting in a circle of shamans. One
shaman was passing me a peace pipe. As I looked around, I
realized that they were all men. I got scared and thought
that I had invaded their dreamtime. Then the old Shaman
said to me that I was one of them.
The next day when I awoke I felt healed. I was so excited
that I searched my bookshelf for a book that I had on
Shamans for some future date to read. I remembered it had
pictures in it of some tribal shamans. The image of the
shaman from my dream was so vivid. I found his picture in
the book and it said that he had come to the U.S. to speak
to members of the United Nations about taking care of
Mother Earth. He was from the Huichol tribe and I read
that all the members of the tribe are welcome to be a
shaman in that they create sacred art and prayer art for a
time period. It was a tribe where all members shared a
sacred equality. I remembered in the dream how it was ok
for me to be in a circle with male shamans. I also thought
that it was my deep love for the people and their land
that drew this wonderful being into my dream or me into
his dream. Now I was compelled to paint an image of this
dream.
So the painting started with a female in the sky reaching
out her hand to an elderly shaman. I painted the red rocks
of the desert below with the shamans sitting in a circle.
The painting got started, but then it was packed away for
over a year when I moved to New Mexico. When I moved back
to CA, I developed a frozen shoulder and couldn’t paint
for 1-˝ years. Finally, I was painting again. I felt a
strong urge in 2003 to finish the painting. Now I wanted
to paint the man young and have his hand on her heart and
her hand on his heart. The painting was about trust,
especially since the shaman said for me to trust him. I
was having trouble finishing the painting because people
were showing up in my life that I had a difficult time
trusting. Then I realized that it was “The Most High”
or the “Cosmic Universe” that I needed to trust. I
needed to surrender to divine grace. I also couldn’t
understand why the image of the painting was changing.
Then one day during a drive I decided to record my
thoughts on the painting. I had a revelation. I remembered
that some time after the first dream, that I had another
dream. Before I went to bed that evening, I asked God,
“Couldn’t I do some work for you while I am sleeping?
Could my sleep time be useful to the universe?”
That night I dreamt that a young man was distraught and
crying. I asked him what was wrong. He said that his
girlfriend left him and he was depressed. I talked with
him and then asked him if he would like to be healed? He
said yes. So I put my hand on his heart and let the cosmic
energy flow through me. He became happy.
The next morning I woke up feeling good. I went to work.
At lunchtime, I went to a restaurant where I sat at a
table where the next table was close by. I started talking
to a young man sitting near me. He asked me if I knew
anything about dreams? I said that I had studied dreams
and paid attention to them. Then he proceeded to tell me
that a few days ago his girlfriend left him and he had
felt distraught. Then a woman appeared in his dream,
counseled him and gave him some kind of healing energy. He
said that he felt better. I encouraged him to listen to
his dreams and to write them down in order to give his
life a new focus. I felt emotionally grateful that the
universe was confirming to me that there was a conscious
reality to nighttime dreaming which transcends time and
space. So now I knew why the image in the painting
changed. It represented a full cycle. The shaman came in
my dream to help me and I went into the young man’s
dream to help him. The gift or grace was passed along. By
painting the painting I was reminded of the mystery in
dreams and to trust in “The Most High”. I hope that
the painting some how draws those who view it into the
beauty and mystery of other realities and into dreamtime.
May the “Divine Cosmos” bless you! |
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