There's the saying, attributed to Arthur C. Clarke, that 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'. It occurred to me recently that this is because people tend to think about magic as if it were an advanced form of technology. Magic is thought of as something that a person wields, like a tool. Magical people do things like shoot lightning bolts from a wand. I think that real magic is usually not so much like that, not so defined or easily controlled. And it doesn't depend so much on potions or incantations, it flows from who you are. Less like Harry Potter and more like Carrie, but a lot less conscious and obvious.

Why interest in what is beyond dreaming? We hunger for experience, for spiritual power, and to awaken who we are. We want to feel alive. I guess we have to do that, it's who we are, and we'd deform ourselves if we tried to be less.

But I think that if we're lucky, one thing we'll learn is patience, not to pry open that third eye, but to let it bloom on its own when its ready. Otherwise we force open a nightmare, though it may take many decades or many lives to be recognizable as such.

I'm out of time, so I'll just leave it at that.