Who Else Is Living A Life That Doesn't Exist---At All!

[FlyingMaster]

I have a question for all of you...have you ever wondered if dreaming could be enough of an escape from reality that it could be harmful? Could it be similar to the danger of self-medicating through substance use? Do you choose to dream over waking life?

Each day I tell myself that the next day I am going to go outside, get some exercise, maybe explore the real world a little bit (anything but sleep the day away)…but when it comes time to wake up, I don’t want to and its not because I am tired. I get plenty of sleep during the night, but I still continue sleeping long after I should be awake and then frequently dream that I am doing the things that I had set my mind to do earlier. I will wake a little to find that I am not actually doing anything at all only to become somewhat angry with myself and so fall back asleep to escape that feeling and live life again through my dreams. Some might not blame me. Where else can I fly and visit strange people in vividly beautiful lands for free?

I am basically wondering how many of you dreamers turn to your dream-lives over waking life as well? What do you do in these kind of escapist dreams? There are so many things I could be doing—reading, writing, studying, walking the dog, cleaning, exploring the new city, going to a book store, grabbing coffee..etc—but instead I dream.

[janeanne]

You know that is a good thought, and it could be that yes we or I myself love to be dreaming and not dealing w today and all the crap in my life. Reality tells me that yes i need to go do this, but I will sleep as long as I can. I have slept on and off for a week straight and then that even gets to be to much, and I crave life and outside. Like god is telling me to get out and have fun...a life...

[idgy]

Hello Flying Master, me again. I wouldn’t worry about enjoying your dreams over life. There is a lot to be learned in sleep if you use it wisely. There is an ancient Tibetan practice called dream yoga. Some Tibetan lamas would spend most of their time asleep practicing this. Because of the subtle nature of your lightbody, you can achieve much more spiritually in a smaller amount of time.

Also, have you ever thought that it is waking life that is the illusion? A bit like the Matrix film? Your true state is your spiritual self, not the physical body. That said, do not neglect yourself physically.

Enjoy your sleep, but if you are going to spend much of your time sleeping, learn how to use it for spiritual practice. Also, the more time you spend asleep, the more likely you are to be lucid and have OBEs, as your sleep will be really light.

[janeanne]

That is really cool how you explained that...

[The Exile]

Hi,
this post really makes sense to me at the moment. I'm worried there's something wrong with my body clock, as I'll sleep for anything from 9 to 11 hours every night and then obsess over a dream i had a week ago.

I find it VERY important in my day-to-day life to escape from reality as much as possible. It's not because reality sucks particularly (I have food... I have a roof over my head... I'm not in a war...) but because I don't want to be imprisoned in just one reality. Reality can be very monopolistic if you let it be the only world you live in, and I love all the other worlds I can travel to via dreams, role-playing games, the Internet etc. So I don't worry if I dont spend enough time in reality, only if I spend TOO much time in reality.

[idgy]

Janeanne,
Thank you for your kind response. It’s good to know that my post doesn’t sound completely crazy. I think sometimes our spirit years to be back where it originally came from, especially when life on this planet becomes quite tedious, and dreaming is the closest that we get to it whilst we are here. I would certainly be sleeping much more if my life would permit it.

Exile,
I know what you mean about escaping this reality, not necessarily because of problems, but simply because of the bordom. Our spirits are trapped in a world of matter, where we controlled on a daily basis by the economy (must pay the mortgage and all the bills etc etc). And I think we are crying out for freedom. Dreamtime is the only place here where you can really escape all that.

Enjoy your sleep all.

[Jennings]

Try reading Dr Stephen LaBerge's books on lucid dreaming which might answer your query more competently or go to: LUCID DREAMING.

[neotank]

Cool post. I'm kind of on the fence with this one. As much as I love dreaming, its still not COMPLETE like the real world. It's more of an escape, and like anything we enjoy, I believe too much can be a bad thing.

If you are dreaming of doing things that you wanted to do in the awaken world then you probably are being a tad bit lazy. I'm not trying to be rude I just think maybe it's easier to just think of doing something then actually going out and doing it.

I've had days where I've awakened from a dream that was so grand that I stayed in bed for an hour or thinking about it and trying to fall back asleep. That seems fine to me as long as it's not all the time.

I think maybe exploring the real world in some ways would be as good if not better then dreaming. I've gone exploring my lifeless city at night with my bro. The old buildings, abandoned places, cool exciting type of stuff that you sometimes dream about. Man, it's fun. But it's also a bit extreme.

[luciddreamer]

You almost sounded like me saying that you know you've slept well enough but you just want to continue for a little bit longer. I too have a bunch of task that I have to do each day, and if I'm too lazy to get up I end up dreaming that I'm doing what needs to be done. Because Im stressing my day so much I am able to dream that I am doing the things I need to do. Anyways, in 06 I preferred sleeping much more to being awake. I felt depressed over health issues and my college finances that life was getting the best out of me. I always felt shitty when I woke up, sad, depressed, like my chest was feeling heavy with stress and burdens. Maybe you're experiencing that too. Now, everything is great with me so I no longer wish to be sleeping then face my reality. Good Luck!

[TheNarcoLeptic]

I sleep alot too, and sometimes i just dont want to wake up.

but i think that when you sleep, everything is easier, because the astral plane is different from the earth plane, you have more freedom in doing whatever you want when you are dreaming!
but you are human, living on the earth, so you should spend your time dealing with earth problems because that is your "reality". If you get a control over your thoughts ( i know its freaking hard to do), or just a little dicipline, you will be able to do the things you need to do in life, that will eventually make you happy about living and then you dont need sleep to escape the "reality"

but of course you could find a way to use your other life in the dream world for something important.

for spiritual things, i think meditation is more effective than sleeping

but remember i'm dealing with this too!!!