PHANTASMAGORIA - A HISTORICAL OUTLOOK

«What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.» —Ecclesiastes 1:9 

It is imperative that you integrate the concept of rediscovery into your schema. Phantasmagoria has been known by many names, the dreamworld or "sleeping dream" (as opposed to the "waking dream"). The lowerworld. And so on.

Time exists as a physical dimension. So-then, when one passes from one stage of the life cycle into the next, their perception of time changes. This is analagous to any mode of travel: Feet, car, plane, train—in all modes of motion, what is in front of you appears to be coming towards you. What is besides you appears to be falling away. So too with life and time. What is perceived as the motion of future become present passing into past is in fact the motion of a vehicle-for-the-soul-of-sorts; the human organism. When this organism completes its trajectory, the ride stops and time can be perceived more objectively. This is the difference between briefly seeing a tree as you drive past it and being able to step out, walk around it and see every pattern on its bark, appreciating its life and vividity. 

What is to be understood from the ancient texts on the subject of the world of dreams is simple: You cannot be in two places at once. The physical body, while useful, is simply a container. An easily harmed container that contains something that can only be damaged in the most superficial of ways. The subtle body can split itself to occupy two spaces at once, leaving perhaps a speck of itself in the host body to "find its way back later". The more strongly one projects their consciousness into the subtle realms, the more jarring can be the experience of return. Particularly if someone moves your body while you're sleeping.

All of the above is of course extraneous data. The only part that matters in Truth is the following: Practice pays off.