My father used to speak of the Byzantine Rule, which is that nothing is at it appears to be. I have always had a sense that something is missing in this world — that at the very least there is something important we're not discussing.

I believe that hunger for a "lost dimension" of experience is a natural yearning in all of us, and it doesn't go away just because we ignore it. It is evidenced among other places in the millions of children and adults who obsessively read the Harry Potter books. It is said that fiction is where someone gets to tell the truth. We are a bunch of silly Muggles, and we really do miss out on the magic of existence.

Marianne Williamson, Everyday Grace