Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005 Dear Readers: Lise LePage in Vermont has been editing Parallel Worlds, the 2006 annual edition, coordinating the articles by Planet Waves writers besides myself. She just asked me to post this request to our readers. You can reach her at lepage@musearts.com. Thank you kindly! Eric Francis --- Call For Contributions After weeks of editing articles for Parallel Worlds, the 2006 Planet Waves Annual, it suddenly occurred to me that the problem currently facing my family — aging relatives and 'dementia' — is an example of dealing with parallel worlds.   A person with Alzheimer's or other form of dementia often 'suffers from' auditory and visual hallucinations — it seems to be a standard feature of the disease.  In my case, a close relative is going through this and has told me stories about the visions he's had — a 9 foot tall 'Indian' man with a blue turban standing peacefully in the doorway looking at him; a beautiful lady wreathed in light looking at him through the wall; that kind of thing.  His visions struck me as weird, yes, but also archetypal and important, at least to him in his spiritual development.  And in a way, he's living in parallel worlds -- viewing things from some other dimension that are just not visible to people solidly in this world. I've heard other stories from friends and family about similar situations.  And now I'm wondering if any of you have had first or second hand experience with people who are either old or classified as having dementia and any visions they might have had or other unusual experiences.  I'm especially interested in the content of visions, not just the fact that someone has them.  Just to pique your interest further, the medical establishment sees the visions as nuisances and wants to medicate them away, but according to at least one article I read, the visions are really important to the patient.  First, several articles noted that the patient gets really upset if you argue with them about their hallucinations.  Even more interesting, in at least one type of dementia, if you try to medicate away the visions, the patient can get terrible side effects... I'm working on a story on this topic for Parallel Worlds so I'd like to be able to use some of your stories (with changed names) in the article.  If you don't want your story to be used, just let me know. Please include the best possible birth data for the patient. -- Lise lepage@musearts.com