A person's life is a journey full of mysteries and discoveries. For me, this journey began five years ago when I suddenly started seeing what had previously been hidden from my eyes. I began to see other worlds, other realities, and the entities that inhabit them. I'm finally ready to share with you everything I have seen over these years. I don't know if I'll manage to do this succinctly, or just how neat and inspiring it is going to be, so I'll simply relate it as it is — about myself, my feelings, and what matters to me.
Five years have passed since the amazing and the unknown entered my life; five years of thinking about how to communicate this to people and whether my experience is even worth sharing. And now, after all this time, sitting again by the ocean, just the same place where it all started back in 2019, I decided that it is time to show you my world. I am not quite sure how readers are going to respond to my story. But I suggest you try and find something useful for yourselves in what I am going to share.
This is how my story began: one day, as I was sitting by the ocean, I suddenly started noticing things an ordinary human eye is not supposed to see. Or perhaps, it is, but for some reason, our perception is closed. I began to discern other worlds and entities — first, in the sky and in the ocean, then in animals, in people, and, most strangely, within myself. I could not understand what was going on, as I grew up in an ordinary family that was far from being interested in anything spiritual or religious. That surprised me: how come? Why me? Why was I the one to receive this gift, and what should I do with it? At first, I was confused, not knowing how to view the world now. How to perceive the sky when you are seeing clouds alongside unfamiliar entities? Or when you begin to discern alien spaceships that, it seems to me, do not come from space, but emerge from somewhere up in the mountains or out of water?
Upon my return home, I began to see those entities in my pets, around my house, in the people surrounding me, and, most importantly, I could feel them within myself. I didn't know how to explain it or how to share it with anyone, because when I tried to, many looked at me in bewilderment or thought that I was in need of medical attention. I started photographing what I saw and, to my surprise, found that I was able to capture what I was seeing. But when I showed my photos to others, I realized that no one else could see what I saw. Time went by — a day, a month, a year. I met people who were able to explain to me why I am now seeing this and who they are — the ones I am seeing. That brought some relief, but not much, because upon coming home, I would again immerse myself into the ordinary atmosphere of a loving family that did not quite accept my newly discovered abilities.
At some point, I started experimenting with photography. At that time, I had a good friend who began processing photos on his phone, adding colors and contrast. I realized that many people started noticing what they had not seen before. But soon after our paths, mine and that person’s, diverged, and I carried on on my own. I used my iPhone to take pictures and I want to emphasize that none of those were processed on a computer. I never resorted to Photoshop and merely adjusted contrast and color to reveal the entities I sighted. I noticed that when I would "pull" them out of the photograph, even more entities would suddenly appear, in addition to the ones I initially spotted. I realized that in these worlds, the limitations so familiar to us are non-existent: up, down, and sideways — everything exists simultaneously and overlaps. Therefore, I want to tell you, do not be surprised by the fact that while looking at the same photograph, two different people may observe different creatures.
My life was gradually filled with new discoveries, and I began sharing them with others. I realized that we live not just in a multidimensional space, but in an infinity, where images overlap like in a computer game. I continued photographing and sharing what I saw, although I could never quite get rid of the feeling that people around me continued to view me with a lack of understanding and a good deal of disapproval. But eventually, I realized that this was all not so important. What really mattered was to share my newly found knowledge with all of you. We are the ones to project what we see, as our thoughts and fears are what shapes our surroundings.
I also noticed that when I was visiting big cities, like Moscow or Los Angeles, I often saw a great deal of negative entities. But in places where nature is pure, populated by kinder and more open people, I would encounter more positive entities. I concluded that we are the ones who really generate them. Therefore, when I first saw all those entities, they scared me, but then I realized that this was part of the surrounding reality, and was no longer afraid.
I began to accept them, see them just as I see other people, and soon understood that perhaps they too are seeking love, just like us. I decided against making a secret of my discoveries. I want to reveal to people that we are not alone, that there are many beings living alongside us, albeit invisible. I would like to explore the depths of the ocean and the infinity of the skies to try and interact with them. I hope I achieve this dream someday.
I went on to pursue photography, and sometimes my photos turned out to be merely beautiful shots. Sometimes I would not manage to capture the entities in them, but that was no detriment to their beauty. I hope that when looking at my photographs, you will also begin to see the world differently — not only through your eyes but through your heart. We are not merely our bodies, but rather we are an element of a vast universe replete with life.
I would also like to share with you the story of how all this began. It was a strange and astonishing story. And I hope it is going to help you understand what I saw and experienced.
It all started when I was sitting by the ocean, waiting for my son to come, as he was supposed to finish doing his homework at home and join me to play ball together. We would go out almost every day to play volleyball or soccer on the sand.
But that particular day turned out to be special and life-changing. Suddenly, a strong wind rose, everything around was instantly covered with sand, and something of a rotating throne appeared up in the air on which two creatures, a divine and a demonic, sat. They told me I had to stop blaming myself for my past mistakes, move on, and that everything was going to be fine. After this, I started seeing strange things. I saw the eyes of a dragon above the ocean. I saw a snake on the sand. And I saw my own face, as if made of red stone, above my head, up in the Sedona mountains, and many other amazing things. Those were strange and wonderful things, but they were real. And I knew I had to share that story with other people.
While sketching, I endeavoured to comprehend the reality laid forth in the book, to decipher the laws governing it. My aim was to be guided by the images themselves — to apprehend their dynamics and distinct atmosphere, and to discern a logic of action inherent to the material, rather than to impose my own upon them.
I was not, I confess, always successful. I found myself displeased with perhaps half of the artworks. Certain figures proved recalcitrant, refusing to be properly captured, which compelled me to abandon my initial idea to include more than a dozen additional tableaux. And yet, those sketches which were a success commenced to lead something of an independent existence, quite distinct from the lives they possess in the photographs.
In the attempt to faithfully reproduce this universe of images, I appear to have conjured a new reality which, having budded off from its parent, began to develop following its own trajectory. It emerged from which they originated.
This remarkable faculty of images — to “bestow animation upon the lifeless matter” of paper and digital media, and to thereby forge a world governed by its own laws, quite apart from the artist’s intention — leaves me on my own confronting a multitude of conjectures and hypotheses. In a state of bewilderment and admiration, I find myself returning to the book time and again, in the hope of discovering answers to my questions.
