Life as (a set of) dreams - a question about perception

Sorry for the somewhat awkward title; after yet another sleepless night I find it difficult to formulate the question in such a way that it doesn't seem too "philosophical", i.e. abstract.

Because it's not an abstract question - although it may sound very "strange" to some.

And because it is NOT an abstract question, I would be very grateful to all those who, even having very clever ideas on this, would abstain from replying unless they have had a personal experience - even a vague one, but real, legitimate - of what I am asking here.

It's quite simple:

Have you ever had a feeling - not a hope, not a fear, but a distinct feeling - that, at a certain point, you entered a parallel life-time (for lack of a better term - even though it may be quite appropriate, as far as I know)?
In other words, that you are living a "dream" - which has or had a definite entry point (and it may have an exit point)?

If you had, please, feel free to share anything you want about it.
Or just tell me your general thoughts about it.
All I am asking for is that they be real experiences (= really perceived - not thought about in abstract terms), not just philosophical musings about it.

Thanks.








[edit on 26-5-2008 by Vanitas]

reply to post by Vanitas


Well, when Lucid Dreaming, you are essentially living another life. You can see, feel, smell and touch things that are in a completely different reality than the one you were in when you went to sleep.

So, by that definition I have experienced what you are talking about. However, I don't think that is what you are getting at.

reply to post by Karlhungis


You're right: it's not.
But your comparison is useful to perhaps elucidate it a bit further: imagine that those "lucid dreams" happen during your normal waking time - and turn out to be your life "from now on"... :-)

Thanks anyway.

well, a few months ago i was dreaming/astral projecting ( not sure ) and i was looking into the mirror of the bathroom. When i looked i had the idea to put my head on the mirror and go through it. I closed my eyes, put my head against the mirror and felt myself going in to the mirror, then i woke up. So i had a pretty unreal feeling about it for a few days and thought exactly the same thing you are posting about. I shaked the feeling now but yeah, pretty weird sensation.

And one time i dreamt a whole mess of things that ended with the 'will you take the red or the blue pill?' of the matrix, only i took the wrong pill and woke up. So now i'll never know .

I am a bit confused regarding "parallel lifetime" and dream state. I do not get how the dream state relates to a parallel lifetime. But anyway, the dream state as existence thing (if that is what you are asking), if you are familiar with the term "lifting of the veil", or enlightenment, it is a moment or state of clarity that allows one to see the world as a dream, or projection, of the mind of God. And yes I have experienced that, for several hours one day spontaneiously (no drugs involved).

Edit -- to clarify my perception of everything changed dramatically but of course I was still in the same physical world, same car, house, family etc... Are you saying your physical world has changed? I don't think that is what you mean but the parallel lifetime thing makes me wonder.

[edit on 26-5-2008 by Sonya610]

(I am not replying "to" anyone in particular for the very simple reason that I'd like to clarify doubts from various posts at once. I am certainly not "ignoring" anyone.

And BTW, I may be wrong, but I think my mention of spending a sleepless night perhaps misled people to the impression that the subsequent mention of "dreams" had something to do with sleep-related states.
It does not.)


Anyway, I would hesitate to qualify my use of the word "dream" as a metaphor - because, for all I know, it may NOT be one.
And it certainly does not feel like one, either.

The closest (verbal) approximation of what it does feel like is WAKING dream: a life - normal, everyday life, comprising every minute detail of every second that passes, during which you function perfectly normally (or even much better than usually!), while being aware that it is a state of dubious reality, because you are aware that there is another life of yours - running parallel (again, for lack of a better term) to the one you're in.
A "parallel" life that you are very familiar with - because you had been living it until a certain moment, one of the many crossroads, when you (consciously or semi-consciously) took a crucial step in a direction different to the one in which the "law of probabilities", if you will, would have taken you.

As I said - or implied - only people who have experienced it would clearly understand what I mean. (Which is why there are no "wrong" answers - I hope that's clear, too. )

Thank you anyway.
The replies so far are already a set of perfectly valid answers to my core question. :-)






[edit on 26-5-2008 by Vanitas]

Okay well what you are describing does not sound like the lifting of the veil; that comes with profound emotiona/intellectual insights that leave one feeling less confused/analytical.

I have never experienced what you are describing, and have not read/heard about others experiencing it either, other than maybe de ja vu. I am a pantheist and believe that time/space is an illusion, so it would be quite possible for ones reality to shift, or to live in parallel places.

Sorry I could not be more help, fascinating topic though. It will be interesting to see what other responses you get.