The Deeper Dive

Part 1 – The Dream

The road up the spiritual mountain of return is rarely a straight climb. More often, it winds through gentle switchbacks, inviting us to pause, look back over the path we have traveled, and then look ahead with new eyes. Each turn offers the opportunity to release another layer of understanding and discover a deeper truth waiting beneath what we thought we already knew.

This past weekend felt like one of those sacred turns.

The invitation came in three unexpected forms: a dream, an old movie my husband suggested we watch, and a YouTube series created by a gifted storyteller. Although each appeared completely different, all three were quietly revealing the same lesson from a unique perspective.

It was a subject I have explored before, yet this time it arrived with greater depth. Curiously, I needed to experience all three before I could work backward—from the last to the first—and recognize the thread connecting them.

So let us begin where it all began…

A few nights ago, I dreamed I was walking with others across a barren landscape.

The ground beneath our feet was sharp and unforgiving. Spirals of hardened rock rose from the earth, piercing anyone who came into contact with them. It felt as though this harsh world was all that remained.

Then I realized what I was seeing.

The entire landscape had once been molten lava. It had cooled into hardened volcanic rock and ash, reminding me of the ruins of Pompeii beneath Mount Vesuvius.

As we continued walking, something unexpected appeared.

A section of the hardened rock had cracked open.

Beneath that thin shell of volcanic stone was another world entirely—a place of beauty, softness, and peace. Had the rock not broken, we might have continued our journey believing the barren landscape was all that existed.

Then I awoke.

As I reflected on the dream, I recognized it as a mirror of our own spiritual journey through the dense experiences of earthly life. At times it can seem as though the world of peace, unity, and Oneness we long for is unreachable, hidden beneath layers of hardship and limitation.

Yet perhaps it has never truly been far away.

Looking back, I realized the dream was showing how closely we walk beside beauty while believing only the barren landscape is real. The veil is often much thinner than we imagine.

Sometimes it falls away gradually, one layer at a time.

Sometimes it breaks open in a single breathtaking moment of realization.

Those moments—the quiet “aha” experiences—reveal what has been hidden beneath the surface all along.

For me, this dream became the first opening in that volcanic shell.

It allowed me to see myself more honestly. I realized that although I can perceive both worlds, I often allow the volcanic ash—the struggles, distractions, and harshness of the outer world—to occupy more of my attention than the beauty patiently waiting beneath it.

It is that deeper reality that my soul longs to live within.

The dream gently asked me a question:

Where will I place my focus?

Would I continue giving my attention to the hardened surface, or would I choose to live from the beauty that had always been waiting underneath?

I sensed there was still another veil to lift.

What I did not know was how profoundly the next two experiences would reveal it.

The next piece arrived through a YouTube video that unexpectedly captured my attention. It was created by a wonderful storyteller, Dougie Corrado. If you enjoy mystery, the supernatural, or stories reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, you may appreciate his immersive first-person narratives.

Little did I know that his story would become another key to unlocking the deeper meaning of my own dream.

Perhaps, together, we will discover that in Part 2.