Arthur Bernard, PhD – Two Images

The Great Fish

Watercolor, July 2008

I am at Winthrop Beach in Massachusetts, the home of my childhood. Standing at the shore, dressed in a simple off-white robe, I look out to sea. For some unknown reason, I stride out, thinking I can walk on water, and I do. With each step, I get further and further from the shore, heading for the breakwater about a half mile out. I realize this is not an extraordinary accomplishment, because the surface of the ocean feels like it is composed of a thin layer of a transparent rubbery material—perhaps a thin sheet of clear plastic that can support my weight. I know as long as I keep moving to deeper water, the surface will support me. As soon as I stop, though, I know I will break through and fall into the water. Slightly beyond the breakwater, I think, "What am I doing out here?" With that thought, I notice a sandbar that leads to a narrow, box-shaped wooden boathouse. The ocean’s surface has returned to its natural state. I walk onto the shoal and open the door of this plain, simple structure. Inside is a beautifully hand-carved, intricately designed, one-man Eskimo kayak. I hear a voice say to me, "Get in the kayak and paddle out to the middle of the ocean, and there wait until the Great Fish rises from its depth." In my mind, I picture the biggest and grandest fish in the sea, much larger than a whale. I start paddling out to sea, and then I wake up.

Initially, I had no idea what the Great Fish meant. The best I could do was to anticipate some big idea, perhaps the biggest in my life that would emerge from my unconscious if I were patient and centered. Then I researched the Great Fish in the Dictionary of all Scriptures and Myths. I learned it was a symbol of the higher self and primordial truth. In the dictionary was an interesting quote from the book Qabbalah. According to the Zohar, a classic of Jewish mysticism, "He (God) had his dwelling in the Great Sea and was a fish therein." Myth also has it that the Hindu creator God, Brahma; the Hindu preserver God, Vishnu; and the Egyptian God of light, Horus, appeared in fish form.

The ocean is a symbol for the source of all life. There are many mysteries in its depths, and my dream is trying to get me to go far from the shore, out into the watery vastness. Some secret is waiting to reveal itself if I can find the center of this vast body of water. Symbolically, the center seems to indicate an organizing principle—a point around which something revolves or rotates. A Hindu doctrine states that God resides in the center, where the radii of a wheel meet at the axis. Metaphorically, the center has a strong spiritual connotation and suggests identification with the supreme principle of the universe.

When it comes to walking on water, I certainly don’t equate my abilities with those of Jesus. There has been only one Master. He was the first and last person who could walk on water. In fact, walking on water was a small, almost insignificant part of the dream—except that it enabled me to keep moving to deeper water. As long as I kept advancing, heading for the ocean depths, I wouldn’t break the surface and drown. To me, the essence of my dream was the kayak and the command to paddle out to the middle of the ocean to wait for the Great Fish. This small, one-man boat indicated I had to go alone. At the time, I think I had been trying to find a group situation that would help me on my spiritual journey. But this dream indicated that in my case, the great mysteries of life could be revealed only to those seekers who follow their own inner compass—not from the safety of the crowd in a conventional setting, but from trekking the unique individual path whose signposts may be obscured but whose directional finder is true. Light from my own candle would have to illuminate my path.

The Great Fish Revealed

Watercolor, January 2011

I am standing on the shore of Winthrop Beach (approximately the same location of the Great Fish dream). I enter the water to about hip level. A small wave rolls in, just about one foot high, and I brace myself for a gentle jolt (because I have a bad back). This mild surge jostles me just enough to jar an idea loose. Unexpectedly, I recall the dream of the past, The Great Fish dream. Suddenly a voice speaks from the sky, "Do you want to know what the Great Fish means?" I immediately respond with a yes, I do. Then the voice says, "You are the anointed one! You are the anointed one!" In an instant, I understand that the Great Fish has surfaced, and the viewpoint that it represents is the single biggest idea of my life. I am so excited that I run out of the water looking for my wife, yelling, "Sondy, I am the anointed one! I am the anointed one!" I abruptly stop where the waves recede back to the ocean and say to myself and keep repeating, "We are all the anointed ones! We are all the anointed ones!"  And as I am coming up out of the dream, I start yelling, "We are all the anointed ones! We are all the anointed ones!"

I was astounded and felt honored and blessed that the spirit had granted me this revelation. It took several days for me to come down off my high so I could examine the dream in greater detail and reflect on what it meant. In its most basic sense, this dream was telling me that a divine influence is inherent in all human beings—but most don’t realize it. My dream is not just for me; it’s for everybody. Even Jesus said, "Ye are Gods" (John 10:34, KJV).

The Greek word Christ means the "anointed one." The word Messiah is the English rendering of the Hebrew "anointed one." Fundamentally, a human who is anointed is bestowed with the Spirit of Truth and with the primary purpose to help others discern what is true and what is not. In ancient Hebrew culture, anointed meant to be selected as the legitimate inheritor of leadership, whether as king, priest, or prophet. Elaborate rituals were conducted to sanctify the ceremony, especially pouring oil on the head as a sign of God’s special favor. That doesn’t happen now. Ordainment is part of natural human inheritance. The main mission of the biblical Messiah is to restore the relationship between man and God and usher in the kingdom of peace and truth. According to the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 23:3–6), the Messiah, the legendary long-awaited notable, would come and reign as king and deal wisely and do what is right and just in the land. But the truth is, humans are the true Messiahs, the rightful kings and queens.

The Messiah is anyone and everyone. Rabbi Arthur Green says it best: "The actual effort to redeem the world is turned to us in history, and is done by all of us, day by day. Messiah has been waiting on the periphery since the very beginning of history, ready to come forth when the time is right. According to one legend, he sits among the lepers at the gates of Rome—today we would likely find him in an AIDS hospice—tending to wounds. Only when redemption is about to be completed will messiah be allowed to arrive. Rather than messiah redeeming us, we redeem messiah." Maybe the time for deliverance is now.

Soloman Almoli, A 16th century physician, judge and rabbi stated that every person has approximately one great thing to say to the world in his lifetime, while the remainder of his ideas are merely echoes of other people's thoughts. Mine came in a dream.

Copyright 2011: All work contained herein is protected by copyright. Neither words nor images may be used, copied, transmitted or reproduced in whole or in part in any form nor may they or any part thereof be stored in a retrieval system of any nature without written permission of the artist.