Well. This one is a doozy.
How vast and encompassing a topic. From the afterlife of ourselves and loved ones, to ghosts, stars, star beings, aliens, fairies, goblins, dwarves, astral planes, dream worlds, the black market, next door, next universe.
The possibilities for other realms to exist are probably just as large as the possibilities for other planets like ours and intelligent life forms to exist. Call me a dreamer, but I have always been fascinated by other realms, pretending to be a fairy as a child, making up my own stories, exploring the other realms of my own consciousness as a young adult. I feel it makes my life richer in doing so. I bring back art, visions and feasts for the eyes. Other realms contain all of the mystery that lies at our finger tips. I guess the real question is, are they hallucinations? Do we completely fabricate them? Or do some perhaps lucky individuals break through some veil at a certain point of midnight to witness a solid realm like our own. Autonomous and completely of its own accord. Two scientific studies spring to mind as I type. One is more a theory, about something called "the shadow biosphere". First discussed in 2005, it queries that there may be other forms of life coexisting on this planet that we have failed to identify. Organisms that are built using different proteins, different building blocks to our carbon based life forms. A "microbial biosphere". It is not a widely celebrated theory, but it intrigues me greatly. It got me to wondering what types of life forms might be co-existing on this planet, and whether or not we can see them. See. Dreamer. The other scientific study that comes to mind whilst pondering "other realms", is Dr Rick Strassmans experiments with dimethyltriptamine, a strong psychedelic chemical which is found in our pineal gland. Many of the participants found themselves in contact with the same or similar "beings", on different "levels" or "worlds". As far as I could deduce, no real answers about these encountered worlds were found and the research stopped.
So who are these beings? Why are they there? Are they real? What does it matter?
None of these questions I can answer in clarity or certainty. But what I can say, is that interaction with other worlds in our every day life could very well be vital. To our self expression, to our creativity, to our happiness. We need to go there. to our fantasy worlds, to our inner worlds, the make believe section, and bring back some of the maps. The markers, those little indicators that end up speaking for generations. It could well be vital to our cultures, to our futures, that allegory lives in these worlds beyond grasp. Stories unfolding over millennia through spoken word of fairy tales, colloquialisms, myths and legends. It could well be that they are here to fortify us, silently, stoically, lending their well established foundations of right and wrong to support our movements. Helping us go forward, with the soft encouragement of the thousands who have told these stories before. Celebrate those "other realms" that exist inside your mind, elucidate them however you care to, and share them. This can sometimes be the strongest and deepest method of connection to others. A bond between dreamers who visit the same realms. Inviting other realms into your "now", or indeed, seeking them, adds potency to symbolic action. Connecting with the nature realm, to relax, the fairy realm, to dream, the water realm, to swim. I believe it is in "other realms" that the best things in life are found, and it might be that each realm relies upon the others for their existence. Really, in the interwoven nature of the universe itself, they are all entwined, and just as real as each other.
Thanks for reading,