“There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Shakespeare (Hamlet)
There are atheists and believers—each certain their view explains the nature of existence. But even within these broad categories, there are further divisions.
There are those who believe that only what can be measured or touched is real, and there are those who sense that the universe contains subtle worlds and layers of being that can be contacted; and even if they don’t sense anything, believers choose to have faith that those worlds exist. Each group holds tightly to its worldview, often convinced that the other is mistaken.
Yet human experience is more fluid than these categories suggest. Atheists sometimes feel a mysterious force they cannot name. Believers, if they are honest, experience doubt. And all of us, regardless of belief, confront moments in life—especially during deep challenge—when our worldview is shaken. In those moments, we are forced to look beyond the limits of what we thought, and hopefully can gain access to other more sustaining realities.
A more helpful question, then, might be this: Is there a fundamental Mystery that can’t really be contained in our attempts at certainty?
Even within each great faith tradition there is disagreement among co-religionists, and sometimes these disagreementshave led to violence and war. And many who reject faith are as certain in their disbelief as any dogmatic believer. Certainty does not guarantee truth.
We each carry narratives about who we are and what the world is. These stories help us manage the overwhelming task of being alive. But they also narrow our vision. They make it harder to notice the ways other realities brush against our own—quietly, subtly, sometimes unmistakably.
Across cultures and centuries, people have reported moments that do not fit within conventional explanations: knowing not to get on a plane that subsequently crashes; telepathy across distances, an early knowledge of one’s destiny, messages from other beings and so on.
Some of these moments arrive on their own. Others can be cultivated through stillness, meditation, or practices that quiet the inner noise long enough for something new to touch us.
Whatever comes—whether seen as ancestors, angels, energies, frequencies, or simply a widening of awareness—it is always filtered through our personal lens. A Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, an atheist, a mystic, a scientist: each describes mysterious encounters using a different language. None of them are wrong. They are simply translating the ineffable into grounded terms they understand.
What matters is the opening.
We need meaning in order to live. Without it, life becomes thin and colorless. But meaning does not require dogma or rigid belief. It can arise from direct contact—from sensing that life is more vast, more intricate, more generous than our daily routines reveal.
Just as other creatures hear frequencies and perceive dimensions we cannot, so too there may be layers of existence beyond our usual reach. When we soften our certainty and allow the possibility of surprise, a larger reality can begin to meet us. We need only look at the current science on the behavior of sub-atomic particles –where the future influences the past, where the behavior of a particle is determined by the observer — to understand the universe’s fundamental weirdness.
A Way to Experience These Realities Directly
One powerful way to enter these richer dimensions is through specific meditative vocalizations.
The sustained vibration shifts the nervous system, quiets the mind, and widens the inner field of perception.
You can vocalize specific tones on your own, and —the experience can be even more potent when done in a group.
There have been times, during group toning sessions I have led, when people clearly sensed the presence of “other beings”—subtle presences that seemed to enter the meditation and contribute their own sounds. These moments are unmistakable, and deeply moving.
Toning does not require belief, doctrine, or special skill.
It simply requires intention.
And that intention produces the sound that creates an opening for other realities to reveal themselves—gently, unexpectedly, and with great generosity.
©2025 Shulamit Elson