Drifting off one night, I find myself slipping into the void, a darkness so empty it seems to stretch beyond time. Everything is still until the distant thump of drums and a flickering flame catch my senses. I'm floating down, down toward the sound and heat, and suddenly, there's a bonfire blazing in the heart of a jungle night. Twelve painted tribe members chant and beat their drums in a steady rhythm as I hover unconsciously above the massive fire. The flames consume me, but they shift, morphing into a young man lost in a dancing trance. I freeze above him, mirroring his movements without thought.

The dark shaman moves, and I’m pulled along, following him to a distant lake. Now there’s a line of tribesmen on either side, chanting, drumming, keeping me locked in a daze as we approach the water. At the lake's edge, the men suddenly stop, and the shaman dives into the frigid water, disappearing without a ripple. I hover above the stillness, and then, in a blink, everything shifts. It’s a bright, warm summer day, and I’m walking along a cobblestone path bordered by a moss-covered stone wall. The path curves around the property of a grand two-story white house, a massive oak tree standing sentinel in the front yard.

I feel warm energy beside me, perceiving through layers of time leading to this place, empty except for the path I’m on and another—followed by a radiant woman with a sunny aura. She begins to speak as we walk near each other, but across different times, and I can’t hear her through the layers between us. We walk together, yet apart, until her presence fades, leaving me with the sense that she might be another version of me, from a different life, from the paths I once traveled. I remember my purpose and make my way to the celestial house, passing children playing in the yard on a tire swing.

I walk by them toward the front door, where a few women on the porch greet me warmly. But with the empty paths of reality cutting through, I pass them and go inside. In the kitchen, more women stand around,...