Another theory of time

I wonder how long Einstein's Dreams really could have been: how many more theories of time might Alan Lightman have floating around in his head? I came up with one myself the other day: Time exists in multiple channels. It moves at different speeds and in varying numbers of separate occurences which develop off of one central channel. This diagram of time would look something like a bathtub full of bubbles: the main channel is the water in the tub, the time experienced constantly by a person's body, and bubbles that float up from the tub are the renegade channels, short existences that occur simultaneously with the main one but are not necessarily experienced at the same speed. These bubbles float up and out, separating themselves further and further from the main body of time until they finally pop, that channel of time then disintegrating back into the big tub, leaving you in your bubble bath with a feeling of having been somewhere else. I came up with this theory while daydreaming in my bathtub: I was thinking about an event that occurred a few days before while also staring at the tile in the shower, my mind running off to ponder the color and structure. These two separate but simultaneous thoughts then seemed to pop, and I was suddenly aware that I had mentally been off in space while still physically aware of the warm water and steam around me, the smell of bath salts. Had I not read this book I might have overlooked the moment, but instead I made a new theory! In this culture which opperates on many of the not-so-poetic-and-dreamy theories of time laid out in Einstien's Dreams, I find it comforting to imagine that time does not necessarily follow the ridgid structures we impose upon it, and it upon us. Beyond illuminating these constraints specifically related to time, Einsten is an exercise of questioning what is assumed to be proven fact, an exercise in utter abandonment to the imagination and appreciation of the secrets of our minds. As a graduate student in art school, I see this book as a reminder to view my work from as many different angles as I can, to keep asking "what if", to assume nothing and try everything. As a human being in a very stressful and exciting time in my life, I see this book as a lesson in recognizing and understanding the various relationships I have with time and how they might hurt or help me in maximizing the life I have. I plan on critically rereading this book in a few years...I wonder if I might interpret it differently when I am in a new set of circumstances. Until then, I will try to remember to think less literally and more imaginatively: maybe I will document a few more time theories of my own.