Beyond Brushstrokes
By Maria Victoria Rufino
Traditional people think of time as a linear subject in a limited or given space. Using the chronological calendar, we aware of day one, day two, day three and so forth. We count the days, the hours and minutes. The clock follows a fixed pattern in minutes of 12 morning hours and 12 (afternoon and) night hours. Military time uses the 24-hour system. It is precise to the last second.
However, creative and imaginative individuals see time as circular in a broad, open, and infinite space. Time is not necessarily a straight line of past, present, and future. Thus, one can be freewheeling. It offers the possibilities of dreaming forward.
Their dreams are so clear and intense that they can virtually (almost) see, smell, taste, hear, and feel everything. They have moving dreams that are profoundly sad, frightening, bewildering, happy. While asleep, they tend to talk, sleepwalk, laugh, or cry.
In a trance or a dream, an individual with extra sensory perception (ESP) can “remember the future.” The dream would be considered clairvoyant or prophetic. This may seem odd but it happens.
A highly intuitive individual could solve complex problems or discover solutions while asleep. The answer comes as a “eureka” moment.
During the Alpha state, between sleep and semi-wakefulness, an automatic switch unlocks the brain’s data bank. Stored images of long forgotten memories flash onto the mind’s eye flickering like an old movie.
Dreams are the collective experiences of the past (and the future as in déjà vu.) In deep slumber, one’s imagination is free to explore other terrain, other dimensions — the imaginary world and the subconscious.
Most people nonchalantly say that they rarely dream. When they do, they recall indistinct forms and vague shadows. We all dream — in vivid color or dramatic black and white or blurry gray like abstract disjoined flashbacks from pre-war film clips.
We do not always remember our dreams unless we are suddenly awakened during the phase called REM (Rapid Eye Movement).
Psychologists say that one should keep a journal. It is possible to thread dreams to one another — like chapters in a book or sequences in a movie. Some dreams are “replays” of recent episodes in one’s daily life. Others are projections of the subconscious or surreal fantasies.
Hidden desires and repressed longings of the psyché emerge in symbolic form. Underlying problems, anxieties and fears, pervasive feelings appear in recurring, haunting dreams.
When people recall their dreams, they relate common experiences such as flying in the sky; falling into a dark tunnel or a pit; running after a speeding train and being unable to catch it; swimming against the current, sinking helplessly under the waves.
Dreaming of being naked amidst a crowd could indicate a feeling of inadequacy, vulnerability, or guilt. The individual could be afraid of being exposed and he/she is threatened by the possibility of disclosure.
Confusion is often depicted as being on a spinning carousel or a Ferris wheel. Climbing mountains and towers signify performance-anxiety in dealing with ambitious goals.
The phenomenon of déjà vu defies logic. There are individuals who, under hypnosis, can remember significant memories from a previous incarnation. They instantly recognize places or people they have never seen in this lifetime. Sometimes, the process of recognition provokes breathless inexplicable feelings of closeness or extreme dislike.
The accurate recollections of experiences may come in the form of dreams. Valid or not, these images may provide insights into an esoteric dimension
To the lay person, the symbolism and surrealism are perplexing. What appears to be is not necessarily so. Like an evanescent mirage or a translucent apparition in a desert.
Whenever one has recurring dreams, its means that an important issue or a lingering conflict needs resolution. Writing in the journal would certainly be a form of keeping track and eventually finding an answer. It would reveal hidden facets about ourselves that have been ignored or needed acknowledgment.
Dreams may unravel a puzzle, solve a mystery. By looking inward, one may glimpse an insight or see a flash of precious inspiration.
Who knows what the dreamer might discover beyond the realm of logic?
Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.
