Exhibit Eight: Acquired by the Dream Gallery 11 December 1998
'The Alien'
Feeling
The Picture
Your feeling reactions to a dream are keys to its interpretation. These are my feelings. If this were a scene in your dream or life, how would you feel about being there?
I feel that the woman in the doorway is me, yet
as I look closer I can see that the arched opening is more of a window than a doorway. Or
is it a mirror? I feel that this stone place is ancient - of another time - and my feeling
is that I am on the inside, in a room, looking through the opening at the woman who is
also me coming in. Although the place feels ancient, the woman seems modern: she feels
like me now, even though she doesn't really look like me. She feels gentle, peaceful and flowing. She is removing an outer cloak as she comes home,
ready for sleep, though she will sleep not so much because she is tired but because she is
ready to dream. Or is she the dream? Or is the room the dream and the woman myself,
dreaming?
Although Lyndall, the artist, named her painting
'The Alien', this is not the connotation for me. For me it is a homecoming spanning two
apparently different times. Perhaps this notion is alien to those who have not yet
experienced the fading of the illusion of linear time in the face of the reality of one
everlasting 'now'.
The pink colour stands out for me, in contrast to
the stone colours of the building, giving me the feeling that while stone is the physical
manifestation, the pink ethereal dress is the dream behind all that appears solid.
The Symbols
Symbols in your dreams often relate to your personal memories and associations, so always consider those first. Then let your mind play with other, more general possibilities. They will not all apply! Just open your mind and notice where the symbol seems to fit and make sense of the rest of your dream.
Buildings in dreams - especially buildings
unknown to us in waking life - tend to represent our state of mind. Views through windows
may symbolise our current view or perception of the outer world. Stone or rock can
symbolise ancient 'rock solid' thoughts, or feelings of stability and security.
There is great contrast, in this picture, between
the ancient security of the stone (and the firmly anchored building) and the half-formed,
floaty, ethereal woman drifting in air. Dreams often highlight contrasts, revealing our
conflicts over extremes. The dreamer of such a picture could be in turmoil about bringing
something new and half formed into his rock solid life, unsure of how the 'alien' new
influence will affect his sense of ancient security.
If the opening is a door it could symbolise
opportunity. Doors in dreams enable comings and goings and lead to different places,
depending on whether they're open, closed or locked. If it is a mirror it is most probably
reflecting an aspect of the dreamer.
Straight lines in dreams (shown in the picture in
the bricks and as the border-surround) tend to symbolise the left brain (or male side:
logical, straight-line thinking) whereas curved lines (the arch, the circle above the
doorway and the figure) often represent the right brain (or female side: intuitive,
creative, lateral thinking). This dream picture suggests to me that if the woman enters
the room, the male and female qualities will be better balanced. Integration between
extremes to bring the dreamer to a middle path of balance seems to be the point.
Finally perhaps the border (of the dream picture)
symbolises the dreamer's limitations. Will the border disappear when the woman enters the
room? Or will she call him out beyond the borders? Notice the DNA pattern in the border,
symbolising perhaps the limitations of the physical life - and the need to transcend the
physical to achieve balance?
The Questions
Here are some questions the dreamer of such a dream picture might ask to work towards a complete understanding of the dream.
Try these yourself: just give your 'gut reaction' answers to the questions - your answers will surprise you in the insights they deliver. The key thing to remember is, "Don't THINK about your answers - give quick gut reaction replies". Your unconscious will deliver.
If this process can work powerfully for this image, consider how infinitely more powerful the insights are when the image comes from one of your own dreams - direct from your unconscious!
* If the woman could talk, what message would she
give me?
* If these walls had ears, what would they have heard in all their years of standing and
listening?
* What does the colour pink mean to you?
* Is the opening a door, a window, an arch, a mirror or something else?
* What is the personality of the figure?
* How do you relate to this personality?
* Can you see aspects of this personality, or aspects in opposition to it, in yourself?
* What is the function of the room you are in?
* What do you think you were doing before the figure appeared at the opening?
* Which situation in your life has the same feeling as the room in the picture?
* Which situation in your life has the same feeling as the figure?
* What do you feel would be the effect of bringing these two life situations together?
* What feelings does this bring up for you?
* Spend some time contemplating the circle above the door. Does this contemplation change
your feelings about new possibilities ahead of you?
'The Alien' ~ kindly donated by the artist,
Lyndall White. View other samples of her work here.
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