What About Antechambers and No-Man's-Lands?: Two Aspect of Mindscapes

There is an aspect of mindscapes which I'd like to tell you about, not because I understand it, but because I don't. I would like opinions given and to hear any personal stories which may shed light on this issue.

When Mirranda and I first started out exploring mindscape possibilities, we both wound up starting from a room or hall in our respective mind houses (differrent from my Relationship House), and we called this room the Ante-Chamber. We assumed everyone had one, and that it was the proper place to enter into someone's mindscape. Whether this is true or not, I don't know. I've never since seen an Ante-Chamber.

Most of our explorings were at first done in the houses to which these Ante-Chambers led. We didn't get tours, exactly, but we managed to wander around and find some interesting rooms.

Both places were huge, and mine included a weapons room. My house was rather quiet, mysterious, and winding, with much solid, carved hardwood woodwork and heavy doors. I know we saw a good deal more, but the Ante-Chamber and the weapons room are the only rooms I remember clearly.

What I want to know is, are Ante-Chambers typical? And if so, why haven't I scene one since my wanderings with Mirranda?

The door to my Ante-Chamber was a round stone disc, seeming not unlike Bilbo Baggins' door at Bag End, except mine wasn't wooden and wasn't painted green. It also had no marks from Gandalph's rapping with his staff, being quite smooth and solid.

Outside this door was an open green space, as neatly kept as a putting green, though not so flat - there were humps here and there, which I assumed held the doors to other houses.

At the time, I assumed this Green was a sort of no-man's-land, like C.S. Lewis's Wood Between the Worlds (from The Magician's Nephew). Whenever I went out, my door opened smoothly without my having to touch it, but did not always close so nicely. In fact, several times, I felt someone entering (the tickle in the forehead which Richard described), and visibly watched the stone roll further aside for them. I don't know whether they ever actually got inside my house, as I couldn't see them move. At these times, I at first mentally moved the stone back, but it nearly always rolled aside as soon as I let it go. I can't remember if all this happened before or after I knew about Mind Shields.

I never saw anyone else on the Green. I watched sometimes for a while to see if anyone else visibly came there, but the only presences I saw were silent and unseeable. This leaves me wondering if the Green was indeed a no-man's-land, or if it belonged to someone who had a habit of watching people. Probably a not very nice someone.

Have any of you ever seen this Green? Do you have any ideas about it? Please comment, below.