Do you remember the couple of lines from that old song? It went something like: “When you’re alone and life is making you lonely you can always go … Downtown”.
Well how about modifying that to: “You can always go into another dimension”?
Yes, I know it dos not flow and sound anything close to that of the original. But I think there may be someplace you can actually go when fife is getting you down and making you lonely.
We spend about two thirds of our lives in this solid material world of ours. But when we lay down and close our eyes then we drift off into a different existence, our dream world.
It seems ever so real and meaningful as we float through it. It’s another universe, another space and time that seems to run parallel and coincide with this one.
It may well appear just as real as this world. It sure seems so when we are in it.
But then we wake up, look around and restart our existence in this universe. We rapidly nullify, disown and let slip into oblivion our dream world.
Some people have even told me “I don’t dream” That appears to me as a total denial of one third of their lives, their dreamland.
I’ve been realizing this phenomon more so recently as I observe my dog sleep. He seems to not have enough excitement and drama in this physical sphere. His walks, daily activities and interactions with humans occupy only about four hours of his day. For the remaining approximately twenty hours or so he goes off into his dream world to run , jump and play.
I see his paws twitch and I know that he is probably running in his dreams. He gives out occasional whimpers which I imagine are barks in his dream universe as he chases rabbits, deer or whatever critter may be inhabiting that world.
A loud noise, knock at the door or some perceived danger in the here and now brings him right back to awareness of his existence in this realm. His acute hearing and keen sense of smell still keep him on guard while he is off visiting other worlds.
So it’s quite evident to me that there are other dimensions, even if we don’t give them much credence. I won’t go so far as to say life is just a dream. But when you think about it, well it appears to opens up unlimited possibilities.
This is the area so often used as a playground by science fiction writers.
My dreams are quite pleasant for the most part. They are especially so when I am aware that I am in fact dreaming and I get to steer and direct the sequence of events and enjoy the experience.
Excessive heat, cold or discomfort from the physical plain seems to impede on my dreaming on occasion altering the plot and bringing some physical pain sensation into my dream experience.
I sometimes get brilliant bursts of enlightenment and awareness in my dream state but can only manage to pull bits and pieces of them with me into this world.
All this gets me to thinking there may be a great deal more in the area of unrealized possibilities than we find in this material physical form.
My conclusion is that dreams are not just fantasies. They are quite real. You see, feel and experience the sensation and emotion, even though you may not easily recall it.
Come to think of it - All of these man made wonders we see around us were at one time just part of someone’s dreams. That is until they were brought into existence in what we conceive of as our here and now reality.
Dan O’Connor can be reached at danhughoconnor@gmail.com
