CHAPT18

~Chapter Eighteen~

LITTLE SPLASHES---

"How can anybody be enlightened? Truth is after all, so poorly lit."

---Peart

It seems to me that if there's truly any hope for our species and its future, then it will reside largely in our children. I should add too, that these children shouldn't necessarily be categorized in terms of chronological age either. Maturity, at least in the ways that count, is sadly lacking in today's culture. If that sounds too judgemental, need I draw attention to the fact that I have to this day, plastic dinosaurs filling my bedroom? In my defense, they're all highly accurate, scientifically. No tails being drug on the ground here. My point is, mental expansion shouldn't be relegated to just our youth. There are plenty of adults who could use a change in attitude too.

Becoming an adult takes discipline, but retaining our child like qualities is a life long joy. So I'd amend my statement by saying that not only does our future reside in our children, but also in those who've managed to retain their child like sense of wonder as well.

When we finally do allow ourselves to take that scary jump into adulthood, what happens after we master the high dive? I noticed as that skinny kid back at the swimming pool, how an adult will go to great lengths after a good dive, to slice through the water without making so much as a single splash. Of course, this takes great discipline. It's also quite boring.

Then there are the kids. The way they see it, technique be damned. They relish in an immense cannonball approach to their jump. The aim here is to make as big a splash as possible. It's very important that the lifeguard get soaked, and if you can get that hot chick sunbathing too, then you'll be heralded as a prepubescent god. It's also a good deal more fun. I'd say as a society, we need to start making some real waves again. Cannonballs all around. All of us need to start making bigger splashes if we expect any kind of change.

What of those things which transcend purely scientific or religious thought? You see a lot of people waving their arms around in the pool, trying to get each other all wet, but the water in the pool still reeks of stagnation.

Keeping things simple, the universe is divided up into 2 worlds, the physical, and the metaphysical. The so-called reality of the physical is limited to what our somewhat biased senses can pick up. Metaphysics too, have their limitations, but at least there's the chance of being able to start comprehending the incomprehensible. That's a start.

For the time being, we remain torn between those extremes of pure logic, physics and metaphysics. There's also their antithesis, that which some call faith. Once more, we need to understand that any real truth is in all actuality, non-existent. This is meant to be taken literally, such as it is. It's no prudish attempt at symbolism, nor is it purposefully enigmatic. It's not meant to weaken faith, and it's not intentionally worded to make you feel too insignificant or too stupid to understand. It's a simple statement of fact. Truth like everything else, is a matter of perspective.

Leaving everything we know behind in favor of some new ideology is enigmatic, and it does weaken some kinds of faith. Speaking for myself, I must admit to feeling pretty insignificant and stupid too. There is no truth? That's an unsettling thought, probably because of how we all need something in which to believe. If there is no truth, then where are we supposed to hang our hat?

Truth is skittish. The reason it's so hard to catch and to nail down is pretty simple. It's because like everything else in the natural order, even truth is subject to change. The universe (god) is in a constant state of flux, ever expanding. It will expand on forever, or collapse back into its original singularity, depending on whether there's enough invisible matter or dark matter for gravity to reassert itself and give us the big crunch.

Actually, the big bang theory itself is an old kind of truth. As we've gotten better at looking further into space, there have been some new observations that may help to make either an eternal expanse or a big collapse fall sharply out of vogue. Some cosmologists have discovered galaxies beyond the fires of creation that are seemingly younger than the suspected age of the known universe. This in itself isn't the rub, but when you consider the location of these younger galaxies, it seems we have quite a mystery on our hands.

Beyond the known boundaries of the universe, and past the oldest known galaxies, there are now some that are being detected which are actually much younger than we'd expect, when based on the big bang model. In other words, the further out we look, the older we expect the galaxies out there to be. This no longer seems to be the case. Galaxies that far out, and well beyond the oldest known galaxies, in combination with being so young --- makes no sense. It's possible we're seeing glimpses of the outer edges of a younger universe beyond our own. Add to that, the further out you look, the faster galaxies seem to be traveling from each other.

Might it be possible that a universe can come to be without the need for a big bang? What if there are countless numbers of universes each being drawn toward one another? You could picture every universe as a gigantic soap bubble. As any two of them get closer to one another, then their rate of expansion increases due to their mutual attraction. What if they mate, in a manner of speaking, and their coupling gives rise to the birth of a new universe?

As the event horizons of two universes merge, that is , when they encroach upon one another, a newly born universe will form in the cusp formed in this merging. (See illustration?) In any event, our universe is forever locked in unending states of metamorphosis. It's endlessly and always in the process of reinventing itself. Don't blink, or else you'll miss something.

In this respect at least, it can be said that truth (along with everything else we think we know) doesn't actually exist. This is so, especially if it's always presenting itself to us in a constantly shifting light. Only our perception of it is misleading. We tend to see only what we want to see, and ignore anything that doesn't allocate itself to our chosen belief systems. This is one way that might help explain the world in which you've chosen to live. Through your collective consciousness, the world as you think it should be, has been made into your own reality. Anything that's not immediately recognized by your dulled perception, is usually discarded. The result has been a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Having such a stubborn view seems to suggest that the reason the world is so rife with problems, is because we want it that way. I can't believe that any intelligent being would wish harm upon itself. I wonder if the honey bee beats itself up over how its colony as a whole, has sucked up all the nectar. Was there this one bee buzzing around, frantically trying to worn his fellow drones of how they're consuming too much of their food source, and therebye destroying their future in some little acre in the great beyond somewhere? There's a certain charm to the possibility, but this kind of worry is probably confined to the domain of humans alone.

No one else but humans have set this course. Once having done so, you've become ensnared by your own belief system. Your beliefs were, and are being projected collectively. This has evolved into the reality that exists outside of your own heads. Nothing real exists, save the reality that you've chosen to acknowledge.

It's at once, both comforting and scary to think that we can create whatever reality we choose. That suggests, in a fundamental sense, that the world is what we make of it. But for some, actually for most of us; this idea borders on blasphemy. To hint that it's possible to manufacture our own universe simply by wishing it into being is outrageous. I'm not remotely religious, and even I find this suggestion a little unnerving.

First off, nothing's been said about creating a universe here. That's already been taken care of by the universe itself, remember? What we're talking about now is perception. How we see the universe, and the way in which we've chosen to do so. Maybe it's time to use that quote from Mom again.

"Every thought is a prayer, and every thought infused with belief is an answered prayer."

Are we to take this literally? Not surprisingly, I'm not a big fan of prayer. It always feels false to me. For instance, every holiday, I'm forced to visit my family.

I say "forced," only because of how painfully out of place I feel when surrounded by tradition, and how easy it was for everyone else to just walk right into it. As we prepare to eat, and when I'm asked to bow my head in prayer, I feel a little silly. I'm just playing along. Frankly, it's a little annoying to know how everyone in the room pictures this god up there listening to the designated prayer. It's like listening to an Oscar acceptance speech. "Thank you lord and father for giving us this award. Thanks for keeping us all safe and together. Thanks for our health, and for allowing us to live in the best country on Earth. I couldn't have done this without you, so, to you god. This award is for YOU."

In my head, I'm thinking, "Hey, don't forget to thank him for stick deodorants and soft core porn." I just think MY values should be in there somewhere too. As I sit there with my head bowed, my stomach growels, along with my thoughts. I can't wait to start loading my belly with Mom's home made noodles. Maybe they'll help cleanse my mind, and the bad taste left over from my pretending to have been talking to an invisible man in the sky.

When all's said and done, I can't really believe that a bunch of people praying together can affect any kind of real change. Prayers are rarely answered. I'll give you an example. "PLEASE god, can you send that hot babe I saw yesterday at the Wal-Mart to my place now...? Now...? Ok, how about NOW?" 6 months later, and she's remained a no show.

I apologize. I can't help but be sarcastic when it comes to things like prayer. If our wishes are being heard, and if through these wishes, the world is created by those wishes, then why all the unrest and desperation? Apparently, there's an inordinant number of people praying for global unrest too.

Cant' you understand that the only reason the world exists as it does today, is because as a species, it's the world that you created? It's only one of an infinite number of choices that you could have made for yourselves. The trouble is, once people start acting as a group, and begin setting a course for themselves; they so often begin wearing a deep trench into the path they've chosen. They become trapped by it. The group mentality can be a dangerous proposition. It's hard for them to look up long enough to see where they're headed. As far as beliefs go, people come to think they're in the groove, but are actually in a rut.

If there's been one common thread through these writings, it would be that nothing is to be taken literally. It's this kind of shortcoming that's led to the world religions, along with all the division they've created. Anything which causes division like that is to be avoided, remember? Using religion as a metaphor is one thing, but the world religions have been taken too far as a literal truth.

People actually believe stories about Noah and the ark, Adam and Eve, or that when you die, there'll be 7 virgins waiting for you in heaven. What's that? Ohhhh... 72 virgins! Where do I sign up? Seriously, even I wasn't taken in by that last one. To put it bluntly, you can't be all that bright if you really believe in such nonsense. I once tested a person's knowledge about their faith. I asked him, how many animals could Moses get onto an ark, to which he answered, "Two of every single kind of animal on Earth of course." Then I asked if he literally believed that Noah parted the red sea. He did. I rest my case your honor. I'm a BAAAAAD boy Babbit!

To be fair, I've been fooled like that myself, but only because of how I tend to tune out where religion is concerned. No one likes being preached to, which of course, is exactly what we're doing here.

Still, it's really pretty sad, and also quite dangerous if we continuously have to keep playing by such feeble rules. The faithful get so entrapped by their own deluded belief system, that they can't even keep the major characters straight in their mind. It's like forgetting about the Oompa Loompas in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

Some even picture a god that would strike its own creations down, or have them war with one another in his name. I still believe that such narrow fields of vision are to blame for our current crisis. I can only imagine how much worse it will get if the fundamentalists ever regain total control. Rabid beliefs are often based on delusion, if not outright stupidity. Even worse, a person's beliefs are often an excuse to keep acting like an idiot. Religion and governments can act like a Doctor's note of sorts, making religion an excuse for behaving like strutting asses. "To whom it may concern: Please forgive this arrogant prick his stupidity. He's religious, so doesn't know any better." Since in many ways, I'm a strutting ass myself, that makes me qualified to comment on the others.

Here's what's being revealed to you now. Regardless of your beliefs, collective thoughts have been given a life of their own. This is largely because of how you continue to believe in how they can't be changed. In this case, your thoughts can be looked at as a kind of prayer, and just like with praying, your thoughts are a projection of will.

Hence, every thought is prayer. Your species has collectively decided (with some spoon feeding by those in power) that there's this vengeful god which is so much higher than you. You've come to accept on faith that this god is all-powerful. As such, it's only natural to assume that such a being is so much greater than any mere mortal or Earthbound weakling. To even question such a figure borders on heresy. You're taught to respect what others believe to the point where no one ever bothers to question such beliefs anymore. A world without questions is a pretty stupid one.

You'd learned long ago to humble yourself before the lord. In actuality, you've unwittingly supplicated yourselves to "him." This in itself, isn't such a bad thing. An arrogant species can always use a little humbling. What's worse than that, is how you've forsaken yourselves from that god. You've separated yourselves from it. That's precisely why you have trouble handling the reality of the situation, which is:

That which you call god, and all living things throughout time, are pulsating in unison. The original singularity which had existed before the great cosmic expansion, still exists. It's never stopped existing. The original "oneness" of all things hasn't been compromised in the least. Everything is still connected, and the perception of being apart from it is only an illusion.

One of the reasons this is so hard for many of us to fathom, is due to how we've always believed that such an inter-connected view of the universe was in itself, only another kind of symbolism. For us to think there's some kind of connection to the whole universe helps us to feel more important than we actually are. Now, this cosmic oneness is to be taken as an absolute?

Suddenly, I'm feeling no better now than those who still believe in gods and devils. Maybe it's only the skeptic in me letting me know that it's still around if it's needed. Even with my skepticism intact though, my gut still tells me that the cosmic link is true. Upon deeper reflection, I guess I've always felt this awareness that all is one.

To employ another commonly used metaphor:

You can't throw a stone into the calm of a pond without causing ripples. You could say that once those ripples are gone, then all is back to the way it was before you threw in the stone. But it's not, because the rock's still laying at the bottom of the pond. All is changed.

As a kid, I found the idea of being connected with the universe so appealing that I ended up in the back yard one summer night in l969. Under a canopy of stars, I was holding a flashlight. I aimed the focused beam skyward, and just stood there shining it outward for around l5 or 20 minutes.

It's already been established that I was a strange little boy (and an even stranger big one I suppose). In this case, there was a method to this particular madness.

I wanted to give the beam of light some distance to work with before I shut the flashlight off. I figured I'd give the sky an unbroken stream of light for as long as I could. After around fifteen minutes, my arm started going numb. Besides, it was time to go in and feed my sea monkeys. As I continued about my evening, I hoped my signal would draw some increased attention as it traveled through space.

More important than that of course, was the attention that it might bring to me. I rushed back outside and looked into the sky. I closed my eyes. Even as I rubbed my now numb shoulder, I could still see in my mind, the narrow stream of light as it continued on through space. The exciting part was, I knew that it would continue to do so forever. I had started it on a journey that would never end. That's a pretty cool thought to a small boy who felt so bogged down by gravity.

Long after I die, that beam of light would still be out there somewhere--- soaring through a journey that I had got started. That night as I fell asleep, I dreamt of the day when that beam of light found its way into some other kid's bedroom window, on some other world. The light might even wake the alien kid up. He might then be prompted to wonder just like me. Were there other boys out there as lonely as him? We both had become interstellar pen pals. That's where my thoughts were anyway, as I drifted off to sleep all those summers ago. Where would we be without our imagination?

So many people sorely underestimate the power of the imagination. Even the word "imagination," has tricked you into thinking of it as some kind of boundary layer. Your imagination isn't real to you at all. You still fail to realize that if you can imagine it, then you can do it.

Imagination isn't real. It's just something we've created in our boredom as tool for amusement purposes. Imagination is our best friend. It holds the key to some of our greatest escapes. Just by imagining in my mind some better place than here, I've been permitted to actually go somewhere else. But when reality inevitably brings me back to my senses, here I am --- back in the real world.

On those rare occasions when I come back to reality, I don't imagine that we feel so alone in the world. My imagination isn't involved where militaristic and political agendas are the last word. Nor is it imaginary that countless droves of people are forced to live in this less than cheery reality that we've been so busily and mindlessly constructing over the past 10,000 years. The reality is, there's little room for imagination in a world that's dying a slow death.

As a species, you decided at some point that it was too late for change. You had made your bed, and must now lie in it. You still fail to consider that as long as there's life, then there's also hope. It's your definition of hope in this case which must be reexamined.

You "hope" that things will get better. It's your wish that a benevolent being will come down to Earth, and will bail you out of your self-made misery in the 11th hour. Some think that salvation lies in some god, or that god's son is coming back one day to redeem them.

But it doesn't end there. Since the late l940's, more and more have been expecting extra-terrestrials to come and save you from yourselves. I'm not saying that such things won't happen mind you, but you mustn't become too dependant on this kind of hope. In a way, god really does help those who have the courage to help themselves.

Here's another disturbing ideology which I believe has made people far too complacent. We're told that only through suffering, can we find a greater purpose for being. There are more than a few religious fanatics who literally flog themselves to find absolution. We must set aside these sick beliefs of ours before we can ask important questions. For example, how can a god help us, if the majority of us refuse to see how our own salvation is lying at our feet?

Being dependant on religion teaches that we're unworthy of being helped, and that the only chance for salvation lies in not deviating from the dogmatic script. Besides, it looks to me as if people would rather go on suffering needlessly. We're all slaves to our sadistic natures, and bow to a sadistic god. How to break such an endless cycle of misery and self-deceipt? You can't help an alcoholic, unless he or she wants to be helped. There are many who see their role in life as unavoidable. In all societies, there has always been a huge gap between the classes. But those who come up lacking status don't appear to mind, and quietly continue to suffer. Why is this so?

All thinking beings know that through struggle comes strength. The main source of conflict surfaces when people fail to make a distinction between struggling and suffering. A struggle implies that there's still the will to fight, while an insistence upon suffering suggests a general resignation from any further struggle.

Once more, it can all be reduced to semantics. Struggling means that there's an urge to bring about change, in order to no longer have to keep struggling. Otherwise, what's the point? It's useless to keep on struggling away, unless there's some vision of a better way at the core of all of this struggling. So far, such a vision isn't being pursued very enthusiastically. We'd still rather let someone else do the dirty work for us. We still insist in deferring responsibility to our leaders. This practice has become astonishingly stupid and dangerous.

Then there's all this suffering that's going on. Generally, when you suffer, you do it apathetically. You put up with pain, because you're ignorant to do anything in order to combat it. However, you can struggle in resistance to this pain. Any struggle should always bring with it the promise of liberation. As a species then, which of these two choices has your world made for itself? Do you struggle, or do you suffer?

I think we prefer to suffer. It's easier to suffer, especially if you're taught to believe that this suffering leads to some sort of redemption. I think the reality of the situation is, people in power want the masses to believe that with suffering comes a greater reward. While the placated are praying, the rich are spending with a clean conscience. Regarding the imbalance of status though, a kid with rich parents is said to be spoiled. You could argue that rich kids are robbed of the privilege of struggle though, as it's been conveniently removed from the equation. The "brats" haven't had to work to get the best toys, clothes, or education. In their sloth, their lives grow stagnant.

On the other side of the status tracks, poor kids yearn for clothing which hasn't been handed "down" to them, or are ridiculed for wearing styles that aren't hip or trendy. Poor families often go broke in order to give their kids a chance to improve their lives through a good education. You could argue that poor kids have more opportunity for growth through a struggle just to survive.

But, in a culture where there's such a tremendous gap between rich and poor, both classes stand to lose. With a lack of status, you're denied potential growth because all of your precious time is spent pursuing the basics in life. True goals are replaced by a desire for higher status. With a life of extravagance, kids have a good chance of becoming stagnant. There's an equally good chance that wealthy parents are often too busy to bring up children with the kind of love and attention all kids need. Often, wealthy parents replace love and attention toward their family, with a wealthy lifestyle.

Who's happier? The rich kids, or the poor? Maybe both are equally unhappy. Children of the wealthy want love and affection, because without it, nice wardrobe becomes more drab, and golden spoons loose their shine. So, while the poor kids might never have felt such a lack of love and support, they too are unhappy. Maybe not unhappy, but certainly lacking.

In a society where class is utterly important, love isn't enough either. All of those missed dates and a lack of popularity can also be easily traced to a simple lack of funds. If this is the case, then it's going to be difficult to believe that we all made this mess for ourselves, and that our suffering could have been avoided to begin with. It could be that by the time we identify the source of our limitations, it'll be too late. It doesn't matter then, whether or not we're victims of our own short - sightedness.

There's a way everyone can have both love and wealth. There's more than enough potential for both in an entire universe. We've pretty much established at this point, that the problems threatening you today were self-propagating. This is true anyway you look at it. Please remember though, that the only way to grow is to change.

And bear this in mind as well...

The need for such change is created by having problems. Problems give the dynamic that's needed for struggle, as you rise up to meet a given challenge. The potential for growth comes from accepting that challenge. You need a cause, something to do, a goal for which to struggle. Where you went wrong is when you began buying into your own game of deception, both of yourselves and others.

Somewhere along the line, you've come to believe that the dire circumstances plaguing your world are real, and not imagined. This belief was founded on your having allowed yourself to imagine how separate and alone you are from everything else. Combine that with a feeling of apathy. If you come to accept that nothing can be done to change anything, then you've got real problems.

You've been duped (oftentimes by your "elected" officials) into believing that the causes you've supported for so long now would have no direct bearing on the world as a whole. The current environmental crisis is but one of the ways that teaches you otherwise. Your original intentions as a species was well-founded, since they were based only on the desire for pure survival. What you did in the past were necessary rites of passage. The group dynamic served you well.

The challenges being presented to you now reside more with the fact that your more modern causes are overpowering the desired effect. To rephrase: your cause for the last 2000 years or better has been to establish your species as the dominant life form on the planet, even if only subconsciously. That was the challenge allowing you to grow.

You've met that challenge well. Too well in fact, which leads us to the effect:

You've decreed yourself as so dominant, that you've forsaken the Earth and its life sustaining balance. Whenever such a transgression is made against nature's unspoken will, there comes the inevitable consequence of being rejected by it. In order for a species to have unlimited growth potential, it becomes necessary to abandon outdated ways of thinking and doing, in order to adapt. This principle must first be recognized for further growth to be attained. Only when a species denies this fact, is it made to pay a penalty.

Like digging up a hornet's nest, we already know that when provoked, nature has a way of fighting back. But when we paint such an unflattering portrait of nature, then we just end up right back into the gloom and doom mode. All of this is starting to sound like another bible story, where people are being penalized for ignoring god's rules.

We've gone to great lengths to abdicate from such banality, so why get back into it? We're only human. It would be futile to protest our nature. Why should we be punished for doing that which comes naturally to us? There are a lot of people who already know about the importance of change. If the propensity for this change is built naturally into all intelligent beings, then why all of this difficulty in accessing it? When you have an itch, you should easily be able to scratch it.

Keep up with the times, because they are a changin'. The potential for transition wells up within you, but you've been conditioned to ignore it. The problem with present day humans, is that they protest and downplay those parts of their natures that they've been given. They ignore anything that can help them to experience joy, and the fruit of its labor--- growth.

Most everything that's natural is hidden in shame by humanity. All of the senses that were provided for you, especially those making you more able to feel the connections to everything, have been taken from you, in a manner of speaking. Power structures were created to deny individuals of their right to act on what's important, even crucial for spiritual development. You are made to feel guilt and shame for having any desires whatsoever. For every good feeling you've ever had, you were told that it's wrong.

The word that taught you this aversion to pleasure (and the freedom it can bring) is called "temptation." This was something to resist, and for eons, you've kept on trying. It hasn't worked though, has it? The dysfunction experienced today is directly proportional to how you've denied yourselves the very things you were given to make you feel alive. Despite the attempt to bottle up instinct, it expresses itself anyway. That's when people begin flipping through their books desperatly looking for loop holes.

Now there are so many such loop holes, that society has become riddled with them. Things get really dangerous when you find ways to cheat the system, especially where natural instincts are involved. When natural instincts are denied, then you see the perversions committed by those who keep trying to remove those instincts. Clerical leaders are taught that sexual yearnings are sinful outside the sanction of marriage. Does this mean they no longer feel sexual? Of course not. You can't bottle up something so primal as sexual urge. Thank goodness, there are loopholes in biblical text. Nowhere does it say that lusting after children is wrong. Soon, all these scandals start coming to light.

You can't ignore natural law. Nature never meant for things like sexuality to remain caged up for long. Often times, it's those institutions in which we have the most faith, that end up betraying us. Where ever you see self-proclaimed moral certitude, it's possible things are being hidden from a public that's far too trusting. We're taught to bow down to god and government, and never to question either.

I've learned from the best that honesty is the cornerstone of integrity. One of my childhood heros, besides King Kong, was Mark Twain. He said something by which I've lived my life:

"Always tell the truth. That way, you have a lot less to remember."

Politicians and the clergy probably never read it in their constant search for all those loop holes of theirs. Despite the sanctamonious heir, how can they even
possibly feel good about themselves?

On this world, to feel good about yourself is a sin. Far be it for anyone to feel proud of a good deed, where no good deed goes unpunished. Religion plays up being humble, but is outright hostile to pride:

"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."

---Proverbs

Effectively, religion makes it a sin to feel good about yourself and your will to do good. Even more a sin, is the need to FEEL good.

But the true sin (with sin itself being just another human construct) lies in a failure to acknowledge the needs of the soul. All souls need a challenge. That's the reason they sometimes choose the test of the flesh, because true spiritual betterment is found in the experiences offered by other dimensions, including this one.

Why would you choose this plane of being, unless you were ready to experience all the good things it has to offer? When you go to a candy store, do you choose not to indulge yourself with chocolate? You may refuse it, but that night; you'll dream of those sweet rewards of pleasure which you'd denied for yourself earlier in the day. It's same thing when you deprive the soul of what it wishes. This is one of the reasons for dreaming. On the other hand, if you've been negligent of your soul, it's also why you have nightmares.

Biologists tell us that dreaming is just a way for the resting mind to deal with unsettled, psychological issues. Actually, there are many suspected reasons for dreaming. During sleep for instance, there's the release of the hormone, serotonin. It's a neurotransmitter that can better increase the mind's ability to function. Yet now we're back to talking about how dreams are some sort of communication from our own souls. It's hard enough to believe that when we dream, it's break time for the soul. Now we're considering that dreaming is the soul's way of communicating with us.

The experience you call dreaming is in fact, the closest thing to reality that can be experienced while in this dimension. There are of course, many reasons for dreaming, including those that concern more down to Earth matters. There is in fact, a biological reason for dreaming. But the interesting ones, the ones that feel so real? These are the dreams of the soul.