{"id":16053,"date":"2025-09-13T12:45:41","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T10:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dirkvanbabylon.com\/?p=16053"},"modified":"2026-03-04T15:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:47:11","slug":"the-empire-of-my-soul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dirkvanbabylon.com\/en\/patricks-stage\/the-empire-of-my-soul\/","title":{"rendered":"The Empire of My Soul"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Empire of My Soul<\/h2>\n

Dear Traveler,<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t need a ship or a train to leave my home. Just an armchair, a pile of maps, and this flickering arcade machine I found in a church cellar. The priest whispered to me:\u00a0\u2018Retrace the steps of the Magi, and you\u2019ll find the empire of your soul.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

He was right. The maze on the screen is no game\u2014it\u2019s a passageway. Each corridor leads not to ghosts or prizes, but to streets of forgotten cities and towers made of starlight. Last night, I crossed a golden gate and entered a city built entirely of constellations. Every building was a memory: some I had lost, others I had yet to live.<\/p>\n

I think I\u2019ve finally understood. This is not a journey through space, but through the eternity within myself. The Magi had their desert; I have my neurons, my dreams, my soul.<\/p>\n

If this message reaches you, know that I am still walking\u2014not on Earth, but in the 4th Dimension.<\/p>\n

Wish you were here,
\nThe Armchair Traveler<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is a story that originated from a marker poem in the series <\/span>Messages from the 4th Dimension<\/span>, in which blackout poetry was created on the basis of English-language correspondence, magazines, brochures, and other documents from the estate of Philip Coppens, writer and researcher of the paranormal and alternative history (1971\u20132012).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Read more about this in my book <\/span>Een magisch-realist in Mysterieus Belgi\u00eb, het Boek der Synchroniciteiten<\/span>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Empire of My Soul Dear Traveler, I didn\u2019t need a ship or a train to leave my home. 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