I have rescued a friend from prison (he was innocent).

While we hid on the third floor of an old house which stands along the canals of the city (like Amsterdam), we look out of the window to see if the police are coming. We are surprised with something else: from afar a huge painting comes flying by, passing our window. It is a portrait of my friend, in 17th century clothing (Rembrandt style). This was his "Life Painting."

As I wonder if God has made one for me too I see another one coming our way. It has a big, beautiful, golden frame. It is my "Life Painting" and portrays Pegasus flying through the sky with a monkey on his back. The monkey wears a red piccolo outfit.

--Regina van der Poel

EDITOR'S NOTE

That monkey bothers me. "Monkey on his back" is American slang for "addiction". Who, what? Has to be a major side of Regina--this is her Life Painting after all! The odd red "piccolo outfit" is surely a clue, but Regina doesn't say what it means to her. What we cannot assume is that the monkey is random brain-static or goofy dream humor. Consider her other dream-painting in the IASD galleries: White Horses, Five Talents. She knew in the dream that each of the five meant an ability--one of them, clairvoyance. Van der Poel dreams in explicit symbols.

So that monkey riding Pegasus... to me it's not just incongruous but disturbing. Who steers? Subhuman rider or superhuman steed?

Are we seeing a portrait of the dream self--huge, beautiful, magical, winged--and the little monkey-mind, the "conscious" mind, that thinks it's in control? That's my best guess.

--Chris Wayan

SOURCE: the International Association for the Study of Dreams (asdream.org) Psiber Art Gallery archive for 2005.

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