by James Hallahan
January 18, 2019
from In5D Website





Image: Shutterstock




As the first consideration, it should be made clear that the traditional notion of the dream as "fantasy" is now, most assuredly, open to question.

 

In light of what has been revealed with reality and the nature of multi-dimensional experience, it seems probable now that the dreamworld is in fact an aspect of our universe - a type of "non-physical" plane which our consciousness seems to have access to while in lower brainwave states.

Presumably, this is something analogous to the astral, perhaps contained within it, but with certain notable distinctions:

There seems to be some kind of mechanism or energetic structuring which partitions it from that of the outlying regions, forming somewhat of an inter-realm between frequencies, which is in some measure exclusive to the individual.

The reason for this feature is up for speculation.

 

What seems most feasible is that this is something natural that functions almost as a kind of "safeguard" - containing the erratic manifestations of the subconscious and perhaps insulating us, to some degree, from the activity of the astral.

 

The point here is that this is not just a matter of chemical activity within the brain; this is truly an area of reality which we are exposed to on a regular basis - and in which, I would argue, we are still without a very complete understanding.

 

Considering that they likely play a fundamental role in our being, it would probably be wise to thoroughly investigate their nature and to perhaps re-examine the conventional wisdom to which we largely refer.

One of the central issues is of course the capacity that dreams have as a source of spiritual guidance...

 

As mentioned, the dream-state allows conscious access to a non-physical plane, which, contrary to the physical plane, has a kind of fluid nature in which thought can manifest instantaneously into various forms of perceivable phenomena (imagery, sounds etc.).

 

This essentially makes possible the conveyance of information.

 

The reason the information is conveyed by way of symbolic imagery - rather than, for instance, English lettering - is presumably in part due to the extreme fluidity of the environment and its tendency to fluctuate from our emerging thoughts, which can distort words and actually change them into what we mistakenly perceive them as.

 

Larger (pictorial) images, which we're able to quickly recognize, are less susceptible to be altered in this way.

 

So essentially what we're looking at here with dream content, in large part anyway, is information that has been deliberately encoded into a format that is more suitable for the dream medium.

 

The major question, which I think garners far too little concern, is where the information is coming from:

  • Is it exclusively derived from the divine, via the higher-self?

     

  • Or is it perhaps of more diverse origin?

The answer to the preceding questions, however disagreeable it may be, seems far more likely to be the latter.

 

As mentioned, the dream plane is likely intrinsic to the astral (or fourth dimension) and as is exceptionally known within alternative communities... it is inhabited.

 

The spatial realms of the fourth dimension are replete with a diverse array of conscious (non-physical) entities, and their nature we must concede is, at best, dubious.

 

We should bear in mind here that anything operating below fifth-dimensional status is likely not in complete accordance with Universal law. We know with certainty as well that deception is extraordinarily common and, owing to the current evolutionary phase, we're certainly more liable to be interfered with.

 

It therefore stands to reason that our approach to dreams should be that of maximum discernment...

 

Further than that, we should perhaps explore the possibility that the dream plane is not exclusively under our own private control, but is perhaps subject to the same regulations as the astral or even the physical plane - entailing that it is still a collective environment and therefore able to be influenced (or manipulated) by outside intelligences, without constituting as any kind of transgression or infringement of sovereignty.

The idea of dream manipulation, though I'm introducing it as hypothetical, is certainly more than just speculation. I think that with just a cursory examination its legitimacy is quickly uncovered.

 

To begin with, there are surely countless numbers of individuals who can attest to dreams that clearly exhibited an overt malignancy - not simply a foreshadowing of misfortune - but rather a definite pernicious display which tends often to incite emotional distress and worry.

 

Of course, what immediately comes to mind when suggesting this is the "nightmare" - and along with it the notion of its commonality and our perception of them as being altogether natural.

 

This seems on the surface to be common-sense, however, the foundation of this belief is of course stemming from the orthodox conception, which we all now know to be without basis.

 

From an informed perspective, bearing in mind what we've just covered, it is entirely conceivable that nightmares, for as back as we've known them, may very well be, at least in part, the result of deliberate psychic manipulation.

 

I'm certainly not suggesting that this is uniformly the case or that a negative mindset, carried into the dream, could not manifest frightful imagery - but I do feel confident to suggest here that a substantial percentage of them are in fact being externally generated.

 

Add to this, incidentally, the fact that "nightmare" derives from the Middle English word "mare" - denoting "female evil spirit" - and likewise that ancient cultures, almost unanimously, thought of bad dreams as being the result of negative spiritual influences, attributed directly to negative (or demonic) spirits.

This premise, for some anyway, will likely give rise to a certain degree of doubt.

 

Not only does it entail an enormously widespread effort to generate fear and distress, but clearly suggests as well a kind of coordinated strategy at work - which, very significantly to my point, strongly indicates that there is significant organization.

 

These features, it should be pointed out, very much contradict the common portrayal of entities being propagated by mainstream paranormal enthusiasts.

 

The negative entity, as conveyed by these enthusiasts, is essentially that of a mindless, roving beast who attacks seemingly at random for no purpose other than to self-satisfy. In response to this, I would suggest that this is perhaps far off the mark.

 

In truth, when we closely analyze the various components of what we can observe of their actions, there's clearly a level of sophistication here that hints at something much more than bestiality.

 

What we're really dealing with here, I would think unquestionably, are advanced intelligences - possessing, in most cases, a more proficient understanding of reality than that of humans.

 

From this, I feel that the following can be speculated:

  1. The underlying reason for dream manipulation is probably relatively obscure and more complex than we would initially suppose.
     

  2. The deceptive techniques which are incorporated into the dream are likely highly developed and very skillfully concealed.
     

  3. The overall agenda is of perhaps a much broader design of which dream manipulation is only one small aspect.

Now as for the purpose behind dream manipulation, I would say it's clear that there are at least several different underlying reasons.

 

Perhaps one of the most apparent would be the potential it has to influence our manifestation capacity.

 

To illustrate what I mean, I will draw the reader's attention to the following subject:

It is fairly well recognized that a substantial number of the spiritually-minded hold the view that dreams carry a kind of prognostic significance.

 

This notion is of course justified as we do possess a multi-dimensional constitution which enables a capacity to transcend time and space boundaries - which does in fact happen during the course of sleep. However, we should maybe question whether this is exclusively the cause behind prophetic dreams.

 

I would point out first that such dreams are more often than not a kind of simulated (or symbolic) representation of the portended event - and not the actual event.

 

How do we then account for this disparity?

 

To speculate:

perhaps it is the higher-self who is actually witness to the event and that it is then reconstructed as a dream - which, with this interpretation, suggests that precognitive experiences are not accidental and are divinely intended.

If we're to premise this, we should ask the question of why these prognostications are necessary:

What function or purpose do they serve?

With respect to this, we can perhaps query the notion of prophetic dreams as being a kind of "advance notice" - given so that we may circumvent certain outcomes.

 

This is a questionable supposition because of course it is common understanding that the vast majority of our dreams do not come true and, apart from that, are never known to be prognostic until the moment of fruition.

 

Because of this, it is unlikely that a pre-emptive action would ever be taken on account of a dream.

 

In addition, this "opportunity of circumvention" seems perhaps slightly at odds with what is normally understood of divine intention. If every experience, positive or negative, is divinely intended and has been calculated to be precisely what is needed for our advancement - then giving any kind of notice, or ability to circumvent, seems maybe inconsistent with this.

 

In addition, there's also the fact that a certain percentage of them foretell what seem to be very trifling occurrences, leading some to believe that the dreams are inadvertent - and due simply to our multidimensionality.

Due to these uncertainties - and the potentiality of extensive dream manipulation - we should maybe entertain some alternative possibilities:

As most are aware by now, entities, from their perspective in the fourth dimension, have the notable advantage of being able to see potential future timelines and are thus bestowed with the means to predict future events.

Given this fact, there is little doubt that this is something they would attempt to profit from.

 

In regard to the idea of influencing manifestation - which requires the inducement of beliefs and anticipation of outcomes - the widespread notion of dreams having a predictive quality would certainly constitute as a favorable condition towards this aim.

 

If we believe that our dreams may have some bearing on future events, then naturally this will, in some cases, give rise to a degree of expectancy (even if slight) - and thus have a latent impact on what we manifest.

 

Because of this, we can perhaps speculate that such entities (who engage in these endeavors) would have within their interests the object of reinforcing this belief and perhaps dispersing more evenly.

  • Could it perhaps be a possibility that organic prophetic dreams are less common than we have thought?

     

  • Could the prevalence of prophetic dreams potentially be attributed to a manipulative design - intended to facilitate an avenue of influence over our creative capacity?

There may be enough basis here to at least consider this as a possibility.

What may be consistent with this is the fact that prophetic dreams seem predominantly to be negative. What they most commonly prognosticate are adverse circumstances, frequently involving death or terrible accidents - very much akin to "nightmares".

 

If we're looking at this from the angle that they're intended and not accidental - why then would this be the case?

 

We know there is small probability for avoidance; we know that apprehension can bring us more vibrationally in line with negative outcomes; we also know, with certainty, that negative emotions (stimulated by such dreams) can adversely affect our energy field.

 

This is not to say that there could be no legitimate reason for them, but only that there are valid questions needed to be asked, so that we can better ascertain the source of this phenomenon.

Touching back on our collective attitude towards dreams, we must admit that we do in fact have a latent sensitivity regarding their content.

 

We are affected by them and, when unfavorable, they do at times cause varying degrees of concernment. It must be noted that this sensitivity is not limited to the spiritually-minded but is present, to some degree, in perhaps the majority of the human population.

 

Accentuating this, I'll briefly highlight a conversation I had with my sister (who is not spiritual) just a few weeks back:

She remarked that she had a dream the previous night where she was in a car accident and had overturned her car.

 

I asked her, before anything else, how it made her feel.

 

Widening her eyes slightly, she responded,

"Like I might be in some kind of car accident!"…

I think we should reflect on this and bear in mind that this kind of reasoning is not uncommon - and maybe not accidental.

 

Lastly on this, I will just point out that I am not suggesting that prophetic dreams, in and of themselves, are necessarily a bad thing - but rather that an artificially induced inflation of their numbers (if they are in fact naturally infrequent) may precipitate an undue sensitivity regarding their significance - which, as I say, could be seen as favorable to the agendas of dream manipulation.

Please note that, at present, this is only speculation.

 

I am simply presenting, for the sake of open inquiry, an alternative hypothesis from which we can draw our own conclusions.

As another motive for dream manipulation, which could perhaps be the overarching reason, we should consider the principal source of sustenance required by dark entities.

 

Peculiar as though it may be, it seems that the nourishment needed by such entities takes the form of negative (low-vibrational) emotional energy.

 

The reason for this is presumably that, through some dubious feat, they have somehow managed to actually disconnect themselves from source-creator and thus have effectively rendered themselves cut-off from life-force energy.

 

I suspect this wasn't actually due to their being "banished", but rather that their energy fields, through their own actions, had reached a virtually incompatible wavelength with the background cosmic energy.

 

And now, in order for the continuation of their existence, unsuspecting host systems have to be found and clandestinely converted into production facilities - which is essentially a process of downgrading energy to a frequency that is in sympathy with their own vibration.

 

Obviously, once a source has been secured, the procedure would likely be to optimize its output, using any and all means to increase fear-based emotion and - most fundamentally - the negative manifestations which give rise to it.

As to the role that manipulated dreams play in this, I would say it's self-explanatory that the nightmare not only generates fear, but perhaps a relatively potent form of it.

 

Excluding people who live in, for instance, war-torn or dangerous parts of the world, it is probably nightmares that give rise to fear the most often. I have to say, for myself anyway, that nightmares are really the only time that I experience fear. And I should remark here, considering my own dreams at least, that there are definitely indications that some of them are purposefully designed to do just that.

I cite here my persistently recurring dreams of being stranded in inescapable darkness - one of which, the most noteworthy of them all, occurred conspicuously the night of my last birthday:

As usual, I suddenly find myself in my house in complete darkness - although this time there's an unusually foreboding atmosphere and, to my perplexity, I find that,

  • all my appliances are amiss

  • my fridge is wide open

  • my oven has been pulled away from the wall

  • there's an overly large trash bag in the middle of the floor (which I was uneager to open)

  • most portentously, my television has been turned on...

Immediately persuaded that this was paranormal activity, I rush in an attempt to turn on the lights, but as usual I'm foiled in this as the power has been cut-off.

 

As regularly unfolds, I bewilderedly struggle to find a source of light, discovering every contrivance to be mysteriously dysfunctional (even candles) - except this time, quite unprecedentedly, I find when I awaken that my real television has surprisingly been turned on, moderately loudly, to an irregular music station which, I further noted, was playing an exceptionally disagreeable tune.

The preceding dream, for the record, exemplifies what I think are some of the classic hallmarks of an "overt" manipulated dream, which I would characterize as a sort of mischievous trickery.

 

However, as far as a fear producing dream, this of course in no way typifies their standard form. Some of them, which surely many can bear witness to, are to a far degree much more malicious.

 

For the record, I have evaluated the dream in the sense of it being natural and symbolic, however, due to its association with the subsequent paranormal event, there seems a strong likelihood that this was attributable to manipulation.

Returning to the idea of their generation of fear, I would also draw attention to the fact that most dreams go unaccounted for - perhaps as much as 95% of them.

 

So the impression we have that only a small amount of dreams incite fear is perhaps not substantiated.

 

We could really only speculate as to how many dreams are actually fear producing and, as should be pointed out, even the most acute and severe nightmares, as I have discovered myself, can go entirely under the radar and all memories of them rendered completely irretrievable.

 

In addition, we should bear in mind that fear is only one particular variety of negative, low-vibrational emotion.

 

We should contemplate all off the other dream scenarios which evoke negative emotions other than fear - of which there are undoubtedly plenty.

 

Furthermore, it should be made clear that I am not at all suggesting that manipulated dreams are the primary stimulus of negative energy, but rather, as I alluded earlier, are probably more intended as a supplementary derivation, used with the aim of elevating it to more optimal levels.

The last practicable reason for dream manipulation, which is likely to be the most incontrovertible, would be as a means to corrupt one's spiritual guidance. In regard to this, it should be taken for granted, given the methods of the opposition, that virtually every source of multidimensional information will be seized upon and compromised using advanced methods.

 

It follows from this that the procedure used in evaluation of dream material would necessarily have to be up to par with such refined techniques.

 

I would think it should be somewhat comprehensive and, of course, gauged according to what we understand of higher dimensional principles:

Is its guidance in complete accord with oneness?

With this being said, I would further suggest that it needs to be somewhat analytical and not entirely based on intuition.

 

My estimation is that they have taken intuition into account - and have likely devised ways to circumnavigate its perusal.

 

One such method - which is universal and could certainly be applied to dream content - is to immerse the deceptive portion of information into an overall context containing distinguishable truths.

 

This would mask the disinformation and through sensing the validity of the surrounding information may potentially cause your intuitive faculty to misfire and resonate as genuine truth. In view of this, I would consider some minor analysis advisable - not to exclude intuition - but to supplement it so as to fail-safe against such techniques.

So with dream-based guidance, depending on the wariness of the individual, the foremost role of the corruptive entity I should think would be to maintain the belief that the source of information behind the dream is secure.

 

This would naturally be a very delicate task of implanting dream content which always, on the surface, seemed to be benevolent and never going too far with the corruptive elements so as to not arouse suspicion.

 

As I've touched on in the preceding, it would be to package the deception into a very wholesome, auspicious-looking dream, however, the intendment of the message (if correctly deciphered) would divert the individual away from his true interests.

 

One of the most common tactics to corrupt guidance in this way is to introduce "distractive" elements.

To illustrate what I mean, say for instance a novice spiritual initiate goes to see a medium for a reading. Completely unbeknownst to the initiate (and the medium as well), the entities which are channeling the information are clever imposters who, through a sleight of hand, reveal to him that he is none other than the long-awaited reincarnation of King Tut.

 

Intrigued, but in no way convinced of this, the initiate leaves and during his sleep that night (unaware that dreams can be manipulated), is bestowed with imagery of pyramids, obelisks and hieroglyphics - and upon awakening is seen as glorious confirmation that after all he was indeed the long-awaited King Tut.

 

And thus, instead of focusing on genuine spiritual attainment, he embarks on a long drawn-out journey to rediscover his past as Tutankhamen - much to the satisfaction of the entities.

Where dream deception gets a lot more complex is in situations where the dreamer is aware of the reality of manipulated dreams. In such situations, what seems to unfold is that the entities will attempt to shape your impression of what "the manipulated dream" looks like.

 

Depending on the individual, they will first hold fast to the hope that you retain the impression of manipulated dreams being exclusively negative in appearance.

 

They'll likely very early on deliberately stage a few "transparent" manipulated dreams, which will be negative and which you will latch onto and form a conception as to the tell-tale features of a manipulated dream.

 

And thereafter, you will evaluate the authenticity of dreams based on these learned clues.

 

Unbeknownst to you, however, the entities had all along possessed the means to replicate the exact characteristics of any quality of dream, even the most benevolent in nature.

 

So, by and large, it seems as though their procedure is to gradually condition our perception of dreams with the overall aim of camouflaging their deception. In addition to this, once the dreamer has been primed in this way and is consciously looking for the "false" clues of a manipulated dream, the entities may then attempt to undermine your legitimate dream guidance by using a process which can be referred to as "earmarking".

 

How it is achieved is through duplicating whatever your genuine advisements would be and then attaching to them certain details which will cause you to suspect its origin.

 

Such details could encompass a variety of things, but are usually slightly ignoble elements, based in materiality and unreflective of higher principles.

 

Ultimately what this results in is a disregard for your legitimate objectives - or at the very least confusion.

In return to the overall subject of dream manipulation, an important question that we should feel compelled to answer is:

to what extent are our dreams being manipulated?

If we know they have the capability; if we know they're already engaged in it; if we know they have rather strong motivations for doing so - then,

  • What safeguard is there to prevent their dominance over the dream landscape?

     

  • Moreover, what reason would they have to refrain from it?

I'm not presupposing this is our situation, but in such a scenario, deeper questions would need to be explored.

 

In particular, it seems fairly demonstrative that there is an inverse permeation that occurs with our conscious experience in the dream plane. To explain: It is fairly well recognized that our conscious experience in the real-world filters into the dreamworld via our subconscious. However, I feel confident in asserting that there's clearly an observable transference which occurs in the other direction.

 

Quite simply, our experience in the dreamworld has an influence on our consciousness in the real world.

 

This is exhibited clearly when we notice how different we feel in the morning after having a pleasant dream compared with that of a nightmare. This may seem obvious, and perhaps pointless to some, however, in light of dream manipulation, it has all new meaning and relevance.

The implications of this became clearly recognizable to me on the following occasion: I was in the midst of an important spiritual practice where one willfully abstains from sensory pleasure with the aim of vibrational enhancement.

 

I intended to go for at least a month with this and near to the halfway point, unsurprisingly, there came a climax of discomfort. I started to rationalize throwing in the towel, although, for the most part, was successfully maintaining.

 

However, very conspicuously at this low-point, I was besieged with a series of exhilarant dreams, full of excitement and people, and very markedly centered around material indulgence.

 

Upon waking from these, I was completely saturated with this desire to go out and luxuriate in material pleasures.

 

It was however no doubt spiritually inadvisable and of course irrational, because I had already embarked on this practice and would have rendered it null not going through with it the whole way.

 

Nevertheless, my mindset was so significantly altered from this, and the urge so strong, that I deviated anyway - and in so doing careened way of my spiritual path, as I didn't recommence with the practice for at least another month.

 

So ultimately what this seemingly benign dream ended up facilitating was the complete derailment of my primary spiritual endeavor - at which I would have been naïve not to realize as having been calculated.

So essentially what I'm hypothesizing here is that there may be a hidden subversive element to dreams that has so far gone largely unaccounted for. If it was in fact the dream which drove me off course, then what we have here, more or less, is a subtle form of mind-control.

 

The dream engendered a particular frame of mind which was clearly used in deliberation of swaying my decision making.

 

Additionally, the fact that it was premeditated suggests that such methods have already been in use. In consideration of this, it may be worthwhile to think carefully about the extent of how this could be utilized and its overall implications.

 

If, as I've suggested as a possibility, our dream scenarios are often being tampered with by interdimensionals, and we're submersed in these scenarios eight hours of every day, then perhaps there exists, to some degree, the possibility of conditioning (or subconscious programming).

 

Reflecting on this, I would remind the reader that virtually the totality of dream experience is lost to conscious memory, however, still exists alive and well within the subconscious and, as would certainly be agreed, has a latent impact on our psychological condition.

 

I'm certainly not prepared to draw any far-reaching conclusions, but as I think I've pointed out, there are reasonable grounds here which suggest this is something perhaps worthy of our attention and further investigation.

In conjunction with this topic, I would like to focus attention on the particular characteristics of the dream state of consciousness, which I feel sheds an important light on the nature of dream manipulation and perhaps the mechanism by which it is enabled.

 

When we actually take stock of our awareness while in the dream, there are many peculiarities which should be given some consideration.

 

Overall, what's particularly noteworthy is the nebulous and shifting nature of our focus and attention span. It's rather as if our awareness is perpetually fading in and out - acutely aware of something in one instant, yet, in the next, has shifted entirely to something else, leaving all recollection of the previous moment by the wayside.

 

What seems to be driving our sporadic attention is this incessant and irregular stream of thoughts, which on some level appear to be fairly random, however, when broadly examined, clearly show a definite design and planning behind them.

 

Ultimately, and rather interestingly, these emerging thoughts always appear to be generating the outline of a theme or story; a story which very often is curiously unreminiscent of our ordinary knowledge and experience.

 

When seriously scrutinizing these stories, I'm not very inclined to agree that it's only a matter of subconscious defragmenting.

 

There's too much that's extraneous; too much that's of a recondite nature and inconsistent with the human mind. As for the higher-self, I'm not discounting this source, but for it to be solely derived from there seems questionable, as there are just too many aspects of dreams that are unreflective of higher-dimensional attributes.

 

In consideration of this, I would say it's hardly implausible to suggest that, in some cases, this stream of thought which is shaping the stories is actually being telepathically projected from an outside source.

As is widely known now, the human mind possesses a natural telepathic capability, which essentially entails the faculty of more or less that of a radio receiver.

 

As a consequence of this, we're openly subjectable to externally originated thought-forms.

 

For the most part, this isn't easily perceptible because of the high activity of our normal brainwave state, which, because of its quick oscillation, congests our mind to the point of being non-receptive.

 

However, as we descend into sleep our brainwave frequency slows down and we become increasingly receptive to outside thought-forms.

 

Considering this reality and our obvious vulnerability in not being aware of it, it's likely this avenue of influence would be exploited.

 

In vindication of this, I'll briefly highlight a particular moment in a dream where I had apparently been asked about my broad views of society:

It was by a girl named Lauren, and I have little recollection of the context, but, as my response, I proceeded to give her a quite detailed philosophy but which, astoundingly, was in no shape or form resembling of my own views.

I suspect there must have been calculation with this, as these views were not only objectionable to me, but were the very views of which I disapprove the most.

 

It was essentially that of the "cut-and-dry" logic, typical of authoritarianism.

 

I remember saying something along the lines of:

"The biggest problem with society is the overburden of lazy and unproductive people" - to which I was absolutely stunned in recollection of.

Even more curious, and which should not be passed off, was the fact that at no point during this discourse did I ever recognize my extremely uncharacteristic behavior.

 

In review of this - underscoring the distinctive and tell-tale sentiment of the above - it seems more than probable that this was originating from a lower-vibrational intelligence.

 

Moreover, it's conceivable to me that this may very well be one of the central mechanisms by which dreams are being manipulated.

 

Very craftily, it is being done from the inside out. Thoughts are being projected inward and, through our own agencies, are then manifested outward into the dream.

In closing, we can perhaps conclude here that the conventional model of dream philosophy is, to some degree, incomplete. The reality of dream manipulation is a crucial factor and is most certainly a game changer.

 

Many of us not only take dreams seriously but are consciously deriving information from them, which is then at times implemented into a course of action.

 

It is therefore perhaps important that we are taking into account the possibility of deception. The notion of setting an intention, which could work to some benefit, may not negate entirely the potential of outside influence.

 

It may turn out that there are clever loopholes with this, and as I've mentioned the dream plane may still technically qualify as a collective environment, entailing that we may not be capacitated to disallow communal manifestation - just as in third dimensional reality.

 

Furthermore, I think we should acknowledge the fact that dreams are undoubtedly a means of influence over our manifestation capacity, and that our limited awareness of dream manipulation is primarily what enables this.

 

By becoming streetwise to manipulation, we are in a better position to discern their validity and less likely to be swayed by dreams that seem to denote negative portent - which, with many, are a frequent occurrence.

 

On a final note, I would suggest that we remain opened-minded with dreams and continue to explore alternative ideas.

 

Let us not go the way of the mainstream and become rigid in our thinking, dismissive of possibilities which we have not yet endeavored to rule out.