An Endless Procession of Inter-Dimensional "Rooms" and a Psychedelic Dream

When I was a young child, I had a dream that was so vivid, so "real," and so unusual that I continue to remember it far better than anything that I actually experienced at that age. I have had other vivid dreams and I have had lucid dreams but this one was so alien and abstract in its nature that it stands out among the rest. It was purely psychedelic in its character and its content which is something that I have never experienced before or since that day without the aid of powerful, mind altering substances. Of course, I did not understand that this event qualified as psychedelic at the time. I was seven or eight years old and my first meeting with psilocybin was still seven or eight years away. However, when I look back on that dream I can't help but to see the striking similarity between it and psychedelic trips which forces me to wonder why it was so unique in that respect. I am certain that I attempted to describe the dream to someone when it happened but, as a child, I lacked the communicative skills and frames of reference that are necessary to do so in a meaningful way. That being the case, I thought that this might be a good time to present a long overdue discussion of my first truly psychedelic experience.

My family and I had driven out of town to visit my paternal grandparents. We were staying at their house and I was given a bed in a small and rather unstimulating room. I remember being overcome by childish fearfulness as I was lying in the darkened space at night. The surroundings were unfamiliar and that caused me to be uneasy. I played with my flash light and watched the shadow of my hand dance around on the wall. The light was calming and sleep began to take hold of my young mind.

When the dream came, I realized that my disembodied consciousness was being propelled forward through a series of gigantic "rooms" that were made of brightly colored patterns which formed the "walls." Some rooms looked like animated tie-dye and others had geometric designs that, occasionally, appeared to be the innards of an unfathomably large machine. One "room" was baby blue and white and reminded me of the sky on a sunny day. Another "room" was filled with neon pink fog that only cleared as I reached its back "wall." Unfortunately, I was being driven forward so rapidly that as soon as I began to examine a room I was already nearing its exit portal (for lack of better term).

I also had a strange sense of purpose during this dream. I knew that I must continue to move forward. As much as I wished to explore the unusual, beautiful rooms in order to uncover their secrets, I knew, without understanding why, that my destination was someplace much further and far more alien. I felt like some reward or revelation would be given to me in the unknown location that stood at the end of this journey. I pushed deeper into that psychedelic corridor. "Room" after "room" came and went, each seeming to be a unique universe onto itself, but I was compelled to travel ever further. What waited at the end of the seemingly endless procession of inter-dimensional "rooms?" What call compelled me to come speeding through space and time faster than the mind can comprehend? I wish I knew the answer to those questions but, sadly, I awoke before I reached the my ultimate destination so that knowledge is forever lost.

Needless to say, this dream was extremely psychedelic but it is also an experience that gives me pause when I try to dismiss reports of DMT or mushroom induced entity contact and inter-dimensional travel as a bunch of "woowoo" nonsense. The psychedelic nature of the dream is obvious. A disembodied consciousness, shifting patterns of color and light, the sense of forward propulsion, and the anticipation of an eminent revelation are all common features of extremely high dose psychedelic trips. While this psychedelic classification of the dream is important and speaks to the minds ability to induce a trip without the use of drugs, its raw and seemingly undeniable "realness" is what stands out after all these years. I genuinely felt like I had gone somewhere else and was flying through an unfamiliar but very tangible space. I really did feel like I was called and driven by some conscious force that existed independently of my childhood imagination. I'm not saying that I believe that psychedelic events enable supernatural contact or travel (there is no testable evidence of that claim) but, whether they are brought on by a drug or a dream, they can be difficult enough to explain that they keep me from writing off the possibility such things.

Peace.

All the images in this post are sourced from the free image website, unsplash.com.