"There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination."
That "dimension of imagination" resonates deeply with me. I seem to slip into it occasionally, remain there for a while, then return to the usual four-dimensional reality most people consider "normal."
The Radio Analogy
My therapist, who specializes in personal mythology, once explained my mood disorder using a perfect analogy: old analog radios. You had to manually adjust the dial to tune into your favorite station, but sometimes the signal would drift into static, and you'd either need to turn the dial to find it again or wait patiently for it to drift back into tune on its own.
That's how my emotional states work. Sometimes my "normal" mood drifts toward one extreme or another. I can either actively retune it by practicing certain intervention techniques. If I don't have the energy to expend a significant amount of work required, I can wait for my emotions to naturally drift back into balance. And it's anybody's guess as to how long that might take.
The Photograph That Changed Everything
Everything shifted last Tuesday morning when I discovered a photograph from my childhood—a picture of my first dog sitting on the porch of the house where I grew up.
In that instant, something extraordinary happened. I was suddenly transported back to that porch, feeling exactly as I had as a child. I was home—and there's no place better than home when you're young. I was with my dog, experiencing that complete, unrestrained, unconditional love that only a devoted pet can offer.
The sensation was more than memory; it was total immersion in a world of love and serenity.
The Discovery of Choice
That moment of transportation revealed something profound: I realized I could access that all-encompassing feeling of love and peace anytime I wanted. This wasn't just nostalgia—it was the discovery that I have more control over my dimensional shifts than I'd ever imagined.
Instead of waiting passively for my emotional radio to drift back into tune, or relying solely on external adjustments, I had found a third option. I could consciously choose to tune into frequencies of joy, serenity, and love by deliberately remembering what those feelings actually feel like and allowing myself to inhabit them fully.
A New Tool for Navigation
The key insight? We can learn to move deliberately between our different emotional realities, choosing serenity over chaos, joy over despair, love over fear. It's not about denying difficult emotions, but about remembering we have more agency in our inner landscape than we might think.
I plan to continue practicing this new form of dimensional travel—consciously choosing to sing in the sunshine and laugh every day. Because in the end, that kind of fierce, intentional living might be the most powerful navigation tool of all.
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