The Dream is constant.

[Jarrod]

I made an observation and I'd like to see what you guys think about it.  My girlfriend falls asleep extremely quickly when she's really tired.  Last night she was sitting on the couch talking with me and then started to get sleepy, that eyeballs starting to roll up in your head but you're still talking kind of instant sleepy.  She pretty much turned off like a light bulb and was only out for two seconds at most and then came to and told me about a dream scene she'd just had.  She hadn't spent much subjective time in the dream, only a couple seconds, but it was a pretty complex situation she described to me.  It just struck me as odd that she got out/phased over (which ever way you like to think about it) and constructed a dream that fast.  Then I remembered something I read about a year ago that mentioned dreaming and said that "the dreaming" is always going on, even when you're awake.  It had seemed like a strange and unlikely idea to me at the time but it makes sense now.  She was able to slip into such a complex dream so quickly because it was already going on.  Her consciousness just shifted over to being aware on that level for a second.  So the dream is constant; we just shift our awareness over to it when we sleep.  That's confusing to think about though because if it's true, it means that a part of my mind is currently on some kind of crazy random astral dream adventure at this very moment as I'm typing that I'm completely unaware of and will never remember or have any knowledge of.

[Xanth]

I made an observation and I'd like to see what you guys think about it.  My girlfriend falls asleep extremely quickly when she's really tired.  Last night she was sitting on the couch talking with me and then started to get sleepy, that eyeballs starting to roll up in your head but you're still talking kind of instant sleepy.  She pretty much turned off like a light bulb and was only out for two seconds at most and then came to and told me about a dream scene she'd just had.

Oh man, I wanna do that right now... >_<

She hadn't spent much subjective time in the dream, only a couple seconds, but it was a pretty complex situation she described to me.  It just struck me as odd that she got out/phased over (which ever way you like to think about it) and constructed a dream that fast.

We think at the speed of thought... in the non-physical "time" doesn't exist so using concepts such as "instantaneous" don't really apply.  If you can think it, you can create it, regardless of "how long". 

Then I remembered something I read about a year ago that mentioned dreaming and said that "the dreaming" is always going on, even when you're awake.

I call it the "imagination". 

It had seemed like a strange and unlikely idea to me at the time but it makes sense now.  She was able to slip into such a complex dream so quickly because it was already going on.  Her consciousness just shifted over to being aware on that level for a second.  So the dream is constant; we just shift our awareness over to it when we sleep.  That's confusing to think about though because if it's true, it means that a part of my mind is currently on some kind of crazy random astral dream adventure at this very moment as I'm typing that I'm completely unaware of and will never remember or have any knowledge of.

We exist within the entire continuum simultaneously.  And as I said... how complex an experience is, can't be determined by how "long" the experience was, because we can create stuff, literally at the drop of a hat using our minds.  Whether it be a normal dream, like your gf had, or a full astral projection... we create on the fly using our thoughts.  Which are beyond instant.

[Jarrod]

So a part of my mind is off having experiences the whole time I'm awake that will never impact my awareness.  Seems like a waste of mind, or mental energy...a waste of something.

[NoY]

maybe the dream you is the real you and the physical is the waste of time

:NoY:

[Jarrod]

Haha.  Nice perspective.  From the apparent state of aimless randomness most of my dreams are in though, I'm not really sure the rest of my unconscious mind really has any idea what the heck it's doing or anything resembling goals or plans though 

[personalreality]

nothing else to say really.  all of existence exists all the time, it's just a matter of picking a place to focus on.

[Taoistguy]

I can certain;y get my head round that. And just because Our physical/conscious self is not aware of it on this level doesn't mean the whole thing is pointless. An aspect of our Self IS aware of it.

[Xanth]

Well now, that's really the question.

While I believe we exist in all areas of the continuum simultaneously... do those other focuses do more than just "nothing" while we're not focusing into them.
Do they require our conscious INTENT to do anything?

[CFTraveler]

Just one quick comment to whatever everyone else said- I think that's why we get transitional sensations.  The speed of thought is faster than the speed of brain, and this is the whoosh- synchronization.
Cheers.

[Jarrod]

Well now, that's really the question.

While I believe we exist in all areas of the continuum simultaneously... do those other focuses do more than just "nothing" while we're not focusing into them.
Do they require our conscious INTENT to do anything?

Maybe everything we experience on all focus levels is stored in our mind somewhere and we're constantly learning things subconsciously, and those things are our instincts and intuition and very slow spiritual evolution.  I've heard of the concept of astral schools where we're learning things subconsciously while we sleep.