Are dreams potentially portals to other people’s lives? Perhaps even to past lives?
The following post will appear in a future book, written by some unknown writer.

I used to have a dream journal, which I misplaced in a piece of luggage unused for over a decade. I would “wake up” without really being awake, and write some of the damnedest stuff, sometimes. Then, I would not even remember ever writing it. This is one of many that I never recalled writing. I found this one while on vacation in Japan in 2019

In April of 1987, after I had been sober for about one month after 16 years of hell, I had a series of three dreams, on three consecutive nights.

In the first dream, I was an early teenager, hanging out with 4 or 5 other boys, who were my buddies.  My name, in the dream, was Bobby Clements.

In the second dream, we are all enlisting, as a group, to enter WWII.  We told the recruiter that we all wanted to fly on the same plane, or we would not accept service.  We were promised that the Air Force would do everything in their power to make sure that we all were on duty in the same location, and, perhaps, share space on the same military aircraft

In the third dream, I am piloting an aircraft, with all of my buddies assuming support roles.  We are flying into anti-aircraft shelling turbulence, and I can no longer keep the aircraft under control.  My buddies stay in their positions, but apparently whatever hit us from below, is a fatal blow.  I know that we are all going to die.  The dream ends.

I researched Bobby Clements substantially for two months (prior to advent of the internet) later in 1987.  I drove to Philomath, Oregon with my wife Sharon, researching the Clements family there, but came up short.

Several decades later, my sister took up the search for me.  My sister is a STRONG BELIEVER in reincarnation, and she has memories from her own past life experiences.

In her research, she came up with Robert “Bobby” Kelly Clements, of Nova Scotia, Canada.. Robert flew a Lancaster bomber for the RAF out of England, and he was allowed to hand pick his crew, according to the records. He picked his five Nova Scotia friends!

His story was identical to what I saw in the three dream sequence, according to the family reports that she had read about “Bobby”, too.

Umm, Bobby was an electrician prior to his enlistment.  As an eight year old, I wanted to become an electrician more than anything, save becoming an Air Force pilot.  I had a full ride scholarship to the Air Force, was in the ROTC at the U of Portland, then dropped out due to my first wife’s severe health issues.

I eventually retired, as an electrician, in 2016,.

I tried to commit suicide in 1986, when I finally realized that my childhood dreams of being, first an Air Force pilot, and then an astronaut, were never, ever to be realized in this incarnation.

Eerie!

Here is my letter to my sister, acknowledging the experience:

Pam,
     Fascinating to see the photographs, and to hear his story.
Sounds like a match!  It is so sad, but it explains so much about
my childhood attraction to bomber planes (I built every version of WWII bombers available in plastic model kits)
12 O clock high, the program about B17 bombers over Germany, was one of my childhood favorites.
The three dreams, on three consecutive nights, were unsettling.
I have ultimate respect, and empathy, for these warriors.
I am also quite saddened.
Thanks!
Love,
your little brother.

PENTAX Image

Revisiting the Mysteries of Consciousness: A Case for the Interconnectedness of Lives

The Division of Perceptual Studies within the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia School of Medicine has amassed a formidable collection of case studies that might just be the Rosetta Stone for understanding human consciousness and its complexities. These case studies focus on children who seem to recall moments, events, and intimate details of lives that are not their own, seemingly pointing a finger at the possibility of reincarnation, or at the very least, challenging our conventional frameworks of understanding identity and experience.

At the heart of the debate is the compelling evidence these case studies provide—evidence that nudges the scientific community to reconsider rigid perspectives on the boundaries of individual experience and the linear progression of life and death. What becomes of our understanding of the self if indeed these children are sharing an identity with someone long passed into the annals of history? This phenomenon dares to suggest that consciousness may not be as individualized and isolated as previously thought.

The concept of reincarnation, once relegated to the realm of religious belief and philosophical speculation, receives a breath of empirical life through these cases. The remarkable detail with which some of these children recount their ‘past lives’ stands as a testament to the need for a broader interpretative lens when examining human experience beyond birth and death. Rather than outrightly endorsing reincarnation, these instances invite a studious inquiry into the possibility of shared identities—portals into past lives, carried within the thread of cumulative human consciousness.

The alternative explanations of psychometry and telepathy open additional pathways to understanding these phenomena. The possibility that individuals might access memories, emotions, and experiences of others—living or deceased—through objects or dreams suggests a level of interconnectedness and collective consciousness that transcends current scientific explanation. My personal experiences with dreams, where I’ve accessed others’ lives and memories, underscore the multifaceted nature of consciousness and hint at a profound, shared human repository of experience.

The reluctance to bridge the gap between the empirical and the experiential often stymies progress in understanding phenomena that don’t fit neatly into established scientific paradigms. The evidence calls for an open-minded approach, one that dares to question, explore, and, ultimately, expand the scientific narrative to include the extraordinary and the unexplained.

The investigation into these phenomena should not be quickly dismissed as pseudoscience but encouraged as part of the broader endeavor to elucidate the mysteries of the human mind and consciousness. By acknowledging the possibility of reincarnation, psychometry, and telepathy, and by rigorously studying these phenomena, we inch closer to grasping the full spectrum of human experience—perhaps even the essence of consciousness itself.

In a world where the known and the unknown dance around the edges of scientific understanding, the work of the Division of Perceptual Studies serves as a beacon. It guides us toward a future where the exploration of consciousness and the potential interconnectedness of our lives are not just acknowledged but celebrated as crucial to unraveling what it means to be human.

Categories: Musings

Bruce

Presently, I am 67 years old, and I am learning how to live the life of a retired person. I am married to Sharon White, a retired hospice nurse, and writer. Whose Death Is It Anyway-A Hospice Nurse Remembers Sharon is a wonderful friend and life partner of nearly 30 years. We have three grandsons through two of Sharon's children. I am not a published writer or poet. My writings are part of my new life in retirement. I have recently created a blog, and I began filling it up with my writings on matters of recovery and spirituality. I saw that my blog contained enough material for a book, so that is now my new intention, to publish a book, if only so that my grandsons can get to know who their grandfather really was, once I am gone. The title for my first book will be: Penetrating The Conspiracy Of Silence, or, How I Lived Beyond My Expiration Date I have since written 7 more books, all of which are now posted on this site. I have no plans to publish any of them, as their material is not of general interest, and would not generate enough income to justify costs. I have taken a deep look at life, and written extensively about it from a unique and rarely communicated perspective. Some of my writing is from 2016 on to the present moment. Other writing covers the time prior to 1987 when I was a boy, then an addict and alcoholic, with my subsequent recovery experience, and search for "Truth". Others are about my more recent experiences around the subjects of death, dying, and transformation, and friends and family having the most challenging of life's experiences. There are also writings derived from my personal involvement with and insight into toxic masculinity, toxic religion, toxic capitalism, and all of their intersections with our leadere. These topics will not be a draw for all people, as such personal and/or cultural toxicities tends to get ignored, overlooked, or "normalized" by those with little time for insight, introspection, or interest in other people's points of view on these troubling issues. There also will be a couple of writings/musings about "GOD", but I try to limit that kind of verbal gymnastics, because it is like chasing a sunbeam with a flashlight. Yes, my books are non-fiction, and are not good reading for anybody seeking to escape and be entertained. Some of the writings are spiritual, philosophical and intellectual in nature, and some descend the depths into the darkest recesses of the human mind. I have included a full cross section of all of my thoughts and feelings. It is a classic "over-share", and I have no shame in doing so. A Master Teacher once spoke to me, and said "no teacher shall effect your salvation, you must work it out for yourself". "Follow new paths of consciousness by letting go of all of the mental concepts and controls of your past". This writing represents my personal work towards that ultimate end.