Although now I don’t believe in God, heaven or hell, I do believe that there are more to dreams than just random firings of brain chemicals. Dreams hit us with the same force as reality, so dreams are just another type of reality.
All solid objects are an illusion. If you look hard enough with an electron microscope, you’ll see that solid objects are made up of atoms, which contain far more empty space than they do protons, neutrons, electrons or any other so far unnamed type of “tron.” Even cell walls are semi-permeable, allowing things that are small enough to pass in and out of the cell. Perhaps dream people like Peter are small enough to pass through our bodies when we sleep.
It has been said by John Keats that science takes the poetry out of life, akin to unweaving a rainbow, but science can add to the wonder of our brief lives. So dreams may not be direct messages from the Gods – so what? They are still glorious things.
On the other hand, to completely dismiss dreams as “oh, that’s not worthy of scientific inquiry” not only cheapens our own marvelously intricate brain, but also cheapen our openness to discovering the truth about our existence, no matter how improbable or bizarre.
It could be said that Dream Peter is nothing more than a part of my own subconscious. Still, that part has been extremely entertaining and extremely helpful. He is also the only person with whom I can share my deepest secrets without fear of the consequences or the fear of being overheard by a passerby.
If the Tibetan Book of the Dead is right and when we die inside of a dream, the perhaps dreams are the only proof, however slight or however illusory, of our own eternity. That is what religion is all about (at its best) – giving us a hope of being eternal.
Image of "Landscape with Dream of Jacob" by Michael Willmann (1691) from Wikimedia Commons.
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