I first noticed something strange when I was unable to sleep for the fourth night in a row. My dreams had been of the nature of full moon dreams, the kind I would contemplate the entire next morning in search of some hidden transformational message. I was surprised when Francesco began to relate his own experience of sleepless nights. When we compared notes we realized we had in fact been dreaming each other’s dreams. I was not so calm as Francesco in accepting this paranormal experience into my relatively simple existence. He explained that a door had been opened to us for some unknown reason. Francesco’s experience had taught him that if we decided not to go through the door we would live in regret for the remainder of our lives. How could I possibly argue with such logic? I agreed to spend the night at Francesco’s so we could explore the unknown together. I trusted my friend to lead me safely into a world I had now consciously chosen to enter.

I finished my meditation class at 8:00 P.M. as I always did on Tuesday evenings. As I rounded the curve just before the bridge I noticed a body lying in the middle of the road. I slammed on my brakes but it was too late. I felt a huge thump as my front wheels hit the body before coming to a complete stop. I sat behind the wheel sobbing uncontrollably as I realized the responsibility of taking a human life. I was nauseous as I forced myself to get out of the car. I walked to the front and supported myself by holding onto the front bumper as I bent down to look under the car. What I saw brought me to my knees, then I fell onto my side crying hysterically. There was nothing under my car, not even a tiny pebble. The road was as clean as any country road could be after a shower. I rolled over to attempt to pull myself up, but got distracted by the small white cross at the edge of the road. I drove very slowly and cautiously to Francesco’s where I was able to find an understanding ear.

"You are just not accustomed to seeing!" Francesco told me. "You are seeing beyond the temporal world and reacting within the temporal."

I wasn’t quite sure I understood his meaning, but I was impressed by the calmness with which he spoke of something that had the capability to terrorize me. Perhaps the incident on the road was the lesson sent to strengthen my trust in Francesco. I had to admit that it had pushed me through the open door and I was glad to have someone standing beside me. Francesco had the confidence of a tour guide leading first time tourists in a new land. I wasn’t about to go off exploring on my own just yet.

We talked until we were both unable to hold our heads up any longer. I offered to sleep on the couch but Francesco insisted I sleep beside him in his bed. When I finally put my head upon the pillow I remember thinking I was not sleepy anymore. That was my last memory of being awake. I was conscious that I was dreaming and couldn’t remember ever having the experience of knowing this before. I felt Francesco take my hand in his then suddenly he was standing beside me in my dream. He led me to a door and left me standing there with instructions that I must enter alone. I reached for the handle with no hesitation, with no apprehension I opened the door and walked through alone.

I found myself standing in my bedroom in my parent’s home just the way it had been forty years before. I was in my pajamas in my six year old body with the memory of my whole life up to now. I climbed into my bed and pulled the covers over my head. I started to cry and I knew my father would come into the room at any moment. I knew what was about to happen because I remembered that night very well. My father would ask why I was crying and I would tell him that I had a bad dream and I was scared. My father would sit on the edge of the bed holding me in his arms to comfort me, telling me that dreams were not about real life. I would not have the courage to tell him what I had dreamed. I had dreamed that I was attending his funeral. That was the last time I saw my father alive, for he died in an accident the following day on his job.

I sat up in the bed and gasped. I was still holding Francesco’s hand but he was still sleeping. I kept my hand in his as I put my head back on the pillow and closed my eyes once again. I was again standing at the door. I opened it and walked to the bed. I was unable to stop the tears and once again I heard my father’s footsteps. When he told me that dreams were not about real life I was surprised when I was able to tell him that this was a dream.

"You are going to die tomorrow Daddy, please don’t die!"

My father held me even closer as I cried louder than before. "Dreams are only illusions and if you take the illusions too seriously you suffer."

I sat up in bed once again. This time Francesco released my hand and opened his eyes. "Your father is right you know!"

I didn’t waste any time asking him how he knew. By this time I was understanding the concept of timelessness and perception. I was understanding that what was happening to me was my choice. It was all happening inside my head because I had chosen to become conscious. It wasn’t about going back and saving my father from his death. No, I needed to go back and change my perception of life and death. This was my chance to change the way I choose to operate in the temporal world through expanded consciousness. The most important thing now was to be silent.

That morning Francesco and I drove to the place where I had seen the body in the road the night before. As we rounded the curve before the bridge I noticed emergency flares in the road. I slowed down then pulled over to the side of the road. Francesco and I walked toward the bridge together. There was a police car sitting beside the spot where I had stopped the night before. A fire truck was hosing down the pavement with water. The policeman was pounding a small white cross into the soil at the edge of the road. They told us a student from the high school had been struck by a passing car that morning and had died on the way to the hospital. The police placed the small white crosses to remind people to drive more carefully.

"Tell me," I asked, "was there a cross here before?"

"You know, it’s a real shame," he responded, "this is the first fatality ever on this road."