I was sitting last night editing my book. The process right now is basically just rereading stuff I wrote while making notes and some minor adjustments. As I was rereading one section, I thought of what someone’s experience might be when reading it on a printed page. The thought reminded me of my own experiences reading, and I felt profoundly humbled by the prospect of having my work being read by others.

To think that someone may sit down and read what I write is bewildering to me. That they would see the words I have set to the page in the same way that I’ve gazed upon words set by other authors—it instilled a surreal sense of wonder. I marvel that I live in a world where the products of my mind may find their way into homes far away and inspire wild flights of imagination whose permutations I can scarcely predict.

It’s incredible that people actually read this blog (not many, but a few). There’s still the stark realization that my mind is open to others’ perusal through my writing here. You get a glimpse inside this isolated little island that is my mind, and in a strange sort of way that is almost like divination, my imagination is exposed to your view.

This blog is an act of reaching across the boundaries of worlds. Each mind is a world, or an island, where only the scarcest forms of communication can be sent or received. All communication that we can manage only loosely approximates what happens in the mind, and when we see one another’s thoughts, it is only as if we see them “through a glass, darkly.” What you imagine when you read my words is beyond my ability to guess.

Yet here I am, reaching across that boundary, even if it’s with the fuzzy, imprecise signal of mortal words.

I imagine I’m weirdly anonymous to those readers who don’t know me personally. Even if you know my name, I am still largely going to exist in your mind as a mere figment of your imagination. The authors I read kind of feel that way to me. I can only imagine that I might seem that way through my writing.

Anyway, as you read this blog, I hope you enjoy these glimpses into my imagination. From one island—from one mind—to another, I send this communication in the hopes that it may bring you some measure of wonder. I bare it to you, and allow you to see the marvels that have stirred my heart and thrown wide the gates of imagination to the view of many.

Hopefully, it doesn’t give you nightmares. Or if it does, I hope those nightmares are supremely cool in the retelling.

The Astral Wanderer is brought to you by the thriving archipelago that is the sum total of all human consciousness. Thank you so much for reading this! If you want to support this blog, Patreon exists. Support for a dollar a month. All proceeds go toward devising means whereby one may experience your nightmares with you, like as a horror movie or something. Really.