I don’t have a solid founding in any of the religious communities. I should say that I grasp the gist of most (the long established ones in particular), and they just don’t make any sense -- on any level. We all have a reverence for the past -- “remembering the good old days” is an all-to-common mantra. But, to exalt fairy tales that have been handed down and tweaked to suit the circumstances of the time just because they come from the deep “mystical” past makes no sense to me.

Now, on the other hand, there are mysteries and mysticisms that are worth exploring and that do have impactful meaning in our lives. The most fascinating to me is bound up in the world of dreams. Lately, I have come to gain a kind of apotheosis-like sensibility towards dreams and the results that can be obtained by exploring their scope and their interactivity.

For many years -- all through my youth and teens -- dreams were a passive event. I slept, I dreamt, I awoke. If the dreams happened to be particularly scary or horror-filled, I remembered them well; if they were more benign, I sometimes couldn’t remember a single dream-state happening. More recently, my dreams have become more interactive. I have learned how to place a thought in mind at sleep-time and, then, how to call that thought into action when I enter the dream state.

The beauty of this phenomenon is that my dreams still have a random quality. While I plant the seed, what grows from that seed is almost wholly beyond conscious control. I can direct the action somewhat -- a good analogy might be entailed in the pinball game experience. I am in control of the flippers, but I have no clear idea where the path of the ball will lead, how many bumpers will be contacted, or how many lights and bells will flash and ring, respectively.

The interactive usefulness of this dream-control ability is manifesting itself in all aspects of my life. As an architect, I have begun to stretch the bounds of creativity in my design concepts. As a technology student, I have started to imagine bigger and bolder mechanisms. In my hobby-world furniture design musings, the creations border on other-worldly. I have even devised a quick-service restaurant concept with delicious new healthful offerings that will drive the burger places crazy. These are not the only changes.

I have learned to bridge the chasm between the earthbound physical life that is contained within my flesh-and-bones body and the “other” world, inhabited by the souls of long lost relatives and friends. I have gained the seer’s eye.

So useful has this ability become that I am now exploring ways to help others. I am thinking about demonstrating dream-connectivity to those with the openness of mind to accept the teachings, so that they can benefit from this interactive process and improve their lives, too.