Visions and Dreams

Starting out on a spiritual journey is very exciting.  We are filled with hope and joy.  Our belief is unshakeable and we have the determination of a conquering caesar to fight all opposition and come out victorious.

No problem.

But we have forgotten that the Enemy is age old and a master tactician.  So of course, he is not going to appear before us with horns, hooves and horny footed legs.  We have to be thoughtful and learn to recognise those things which are true and those which are chimera designed to pull us off course.  This is called discernment.  We are not very good at discernment in the modern, western world.  I am useless at it and have learned through making many mistakes and wrong turns.

During the Golden Age of Spanish Mysticism, scholars such as Fray Francisco de Osuna, St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross knew a lot more about the battle for the soul and a great deal about human nature.  We should consult them wherever possible and learn how to hear and see God in our daily lives.  Better still - go for a walk, enjoy nature and be joyful about cooking the dinner. 

In my About the Artist I have mentioned a dream or vision I had of Christ, many years ago now.  It was very clear, his instructions were explicit and he used very few words - two at the start, "Draw me!"  Then as he gave me a communion wafer, formed with his hands out of the picture I had drawn, he said, "This is my covenant with you." 

When I came to or woke up - I am still unsure which - I felt excited and exhilarated but then doubtful.  It is said that Christ often appears to people and I have seen or felt his presence on several more occasions since.  Yet there are times when this presence in a vision or dream is not very clear.  It is quite possible and more often probable that the vision is not him at all but something misleading.  This is where we have to take care of the wiles of the Enemy who uses our unwavering belief against us and causes us to go wandering off down various by ways that lead us nowhere or can be dangerous to our well being and family.

We can use a modern analogy of phishing.  Dreams and visions from down below are not quite right and have vagaries about them.  We are left wondering and unsure.  They look like the real thing but there is a little spelling mistake or the image is unfocused and unclear.  Afterwards we are overexcited. Our minds race and our egos start thinking grandiose thoughts.  We rush around telling people - they are already calling for the white coats.  Stop and think.  Reason is helpful and humility completely necessary to spiritual good health.

A true vision has clarity and economy of line.  Often we have to embark on a little spiritual purification after a true vision.  God is infinitely patient and will not hurry us or get cross because we have not acted quite yet.  He really just wants us to learn to listen to Him.  We do that by regular reading of scripture and holy books, regular prayer and surrender to his will.  These things are not exciting to the ego, the mind tries to make us bored by them and the various gurus that are all over the western world, think they are not easy enough or quick enough to give us the results we want in our lives - eg money and power and fame.  When you get like this go make some tea and clean out the guinea pig - you will feel grounded and happier.

There is only one absolute truth - God loves us.  If nothing else, we can be sure of that one fact at the very least.  That is a great reason to be joyful if all else fails.

Dreams are highly suspect, as are visions and voices.  We need to take great care with our interpretation and above all not act rashly, thinking we know or understand what is being asked of us.

I have chosen to follow my vision of Christ asking me to draw him, but not impetuously.  It took me two years of thinking and waiting to see how things panned out before acting on it.  Then I just painted one image.  I went through some stuff and found I could not paint him again.  Not until I had discovered the spirituality behind the writing of icons and the necessity of an artist of religious images to make efforts to put their life in order and learn to pray and read the Bible assiduously.  I do this more than painting some days.  My relationship to God and to Jesus is improving.   That is progress - it is personal.  I am finding reading stories of other religious people, such as the saints and their own journeys constantly helpful with guidance and wisdom.
It is not glamorous but I am content  and my guinea pig is very snug.

Image: Fire inspired by work of Hieronymus Bosch
Acrylic and Pastel.