What Dreams May Come

“for in that sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause” Hamlet, Act III, Sc.1

After life there is more…The end is just the beginning…If you are into parapsychology, metaphysics and the supernatural then this book is for you.

What Dreams May Come is the story of Chris Nielsen and his wife Ann. A love story that transcends death – a guy willing to spend his life in Hell just so he could be with his loved one. The story opens with Chris dying in a car accident but he does not realize that he is now dead. His main concern is his wife and family. He hovers within as a ghost until he finds himself in Summerland (the idea of heaven) and meets his dead dog Katie and his cousin Albert who serves as his guide in heaven. Summerland, more a state of mind rather than a place. Despite the beauty and splendor of Summerland, he still longs for his family specially Ann to the point of wanting to be reassured of when they will see each other again.

Ann could not accept the demise of her husband so she commits suicide breaking the ties forever and she finds herself in Hell. Chris,  in his desire to help Ann, goes down to the lower realm accompanied by Albert and there he personally witnesses what hell looks like but he does not find Ann there. She does not believe in afterlife so she is trapped in her own hell. He lets himself becomes part of her reality so they could be together forever.

The story flashes to Chris finding himself again in Summerland and they both move on until such time that Ann chooses a quick rebirth on earth. They are soul mates and the story ends with the premise that they will be together again in another life.

Okay, here’s my take on the story.

What really happens to us after we die? Do we really have soul mates? The imagery between heaven and hell is so vivid that you would prefer to be in heaven than anywhere else. Anyone can escape Matheson’s hell – they only have to recognize and accept their shortcomings. It’s a sort of temporary dwelling until such time that you eventually go to heaven.

There was a movie made on this book and Richard Matheson is the same author who wrote Bid Time Return which was translated into a movie called Somewhere in Time – one of my favorites.

Quotations from the book:

“It’s a painful thing to learn I know,”he said, “that every thought we have takes in a form we must eventually, confront”.

“Language is more a barrier to understanding than an aid. Also, we’re able, through thought, to communicate in any language without the need of an interpreter. Moreover, we’re not confined to words and sentences. Communication can be enhanced by flashes of pure thought”.

“I noticed you have no mirrors,” I said.
“They serve no purpose,” he told me.
“Because they’re mostly for vanity?” I questioned.
‘More than that,”he answered. “those who’ve marred their appearance in any way by their actions in life aren’t forced to witness that marring. If they were, they’d become self-conscious and be unable to concentrate on improving themselves”.

P.S.

I have read this book back when I was not a member yet of Goodreads.  Reread it again a few days ago. It has a new cover at Goodreads though. Today is All Saints’ Day,  a reminder to us that we all could be saints.  Doing good deeds without counting the cost.

A blessed All Saints’ Day everyone!

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Journeys

Some people say they read because of its entertainment value. Some follow authors they found to their liking. Some read because they just love reading, traveling to unknown territories, going to new places, just discovering how life is on the other side.

Lately I encountered two books that make me think about life itself.  The first one is all about soul mates and life of second chances, the other one is a struggle of a teenager with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).  There was only one time I read about soul mates and reincarnation when I read a book by Jaime Licauco, a Filipino parapsychologist. ESP, creative thinking, clairvoyance, the whole lot of it. It was just a small book but a very fascinating  one. Do you believe in soul mates? I really don’t but sometimes things happen in our lives that we could not clearly explain. How come sometimes, we become close to a person we just met? How come no matter what we do, we could not get along well  with someone who is just there to be a friend? Soulmates they say are not only your life partners, they might have been your brothers or sisters in previous life or your parents.

I digress. Going back to the two books I’ve read, the second book is also  a fiction story about a Japanese teen with ALS. ALS is a progressive disease of the nervous system. It might be inherited or developed at a late stage in life.  A long time ago, I read about the disease when Mitch Albom published his book Tuesdays With Morrie, one of my favorite books of all time. It’s an inspirational true story about Morrie, Mitch’ professor for twenty years.

When we are faced with life’s  ugly realities, we tend to ignore them at times but they are those same challenges that make us strong. Experience teaches us to deal with them the best way we can. It is not really a question whether we are brave or not to face them, it is more of believing that we could face the battles. Faith is such a beautiful thing. We believe, we dream, we live.

 

 

 

 

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