In One Dream and Out the Other

In One Dream and Out the Other
mixed media on canvas, 24" x 30"
private collection, Wayne, New Jersey

A lot has happened in the past year:

• I levitated about three feet in the air, circling the perimeter of a room in William Hurt's house.

• I met up in the Yucatan countryside with the Oscar Meyer bologna boy (from those 80s commercials). He and I walked a while. We came upon Marlo Thomas and her sister. Then things got really interesting...

• Hillary Clinton purchased a small artwork from my gallery, in honor of her birthday--she told me she wanted a special little treat.

• Unexpected guests showed up at my house. I was chagrined when one of my eyebrows fell off.

• James Spader did an extended and earnest sales presentation to me on paintings by African artists he represented.

• I was at a family gathering. George W. Bush was present. I held a baby in my knee. Bush looked at the baby. "Looks like me," he said. HORRORS. When will I waken from this nightmare?

For almost a year I've had the extraordinary pleasure of participating in a small dream-sharing group. The oddest thing about our members is we've never met each other in person--we're a private online blog. And yet, I feel as if I've known these people for a few lifetimes. And I don't even believe in multiple lifetimes! Must be because our dreams bubble up from that timeless, unfathomable ocean we call the collective unconscious. Don't misunderstand me. We don't always dream in Jungian archetypes, or about movie stars or ex-presidents. Some of our most interesting observations have been gleaned from ho-hum subject matter. I often dream about pedestrian occurrences at the gallery. A troublesome client shows up wanting to consign a pillow and a sleeping mat "for free." The group decides this is a warning to me--don't let this high-maintenance person invade my territory, keep my boundaries intact, or she will be setting up a little rest area in the gallery!

The dream group is an ongoing adventure. A quiet adventure. An adventure of the best kind. It was founded by Laura Lefelar-Barch, a therapist in New Jersey. She has a Master's in divinity from Duke. She has an Educational Specialist degree from Seton Hall. And she is working on her PhD in clinical psychology. Laura has many balls in the air and she keeps them up, beautifully. She's married and the mother of four young children, including twins. She has a busy private practice and an even busier dream life! Recently she appeared on MTV's "True Life Monday" in an episode with real footage from one of her remarkable therapy sessions. (In case you could use a little help getting through the holidays without your inner self getting trampled in a Black Friday stampede, I believe Laura does distance therapy with Skype.)

I'm paying tribute to Laura today, because I want to thank her publicly for the energy and focus she has given to our dream collective. Laura is stepping down from our group--the thrust of her work is now less dream-centered--and encouraging us to forge ahead on our own. We've decided to do just that, thanks to Laura's empowering insights.

And it is my sublime pleasure to know that my painting "In One Dream and Out the Other" now resides with Laura and her husband Michael, who saw fit to acquire it as an anniversary gift to one another. That's what I call a dream come true.