Absolutely, perhaps we can reach and try to touch the shadows in Plato's cave. But of course we may have to descend to the underworld in this quest.
On a different level, but interconnected one, Aldous Huxley spoke about the quest for The Doors of Perception. This involved psychedelic substances. Many sought reality in this way. Jim Morrison tried to Break On Through to the Other Side, but ended up dying prematurely. Others have also ended up in tragic ends but this has always been the risks of the downside of the quest to go up, the shamanic path.