Awake or asleep? Alive or a dream?
The other day, I took a rare siesta. I remember the time I slept, after finishing all my morning chores. I was in a relaxed but aware state even in my sleep, when I was suddenly woken up by the beeping of the dishwasher.
As I switched it off, it felt weird because usually the dishwasher runs for around 2.5 hours and I had just put it on before I went to sleep. Also, it did not feel like I had napped for that long. Still puzzled, I checked the time and to my surprise, I found that more than three hours had passed since I slept.
"That's weird", I thought to myself and walked around the house but everything was in order. I could hear children playing in the garden below and I went to the balcony to watch them play. The sun was shining bright and the sky was blue scattered with white clouds. Thirsty, I walked back in, drank a glass of water and within few minutes I had to urge to pee.
Wanting to use the bathroom, I suddenly got up from my bed and realized that all the events preceding this moment were in a dream!
The dishwasher was still running, but the time indicated that only an hour had passed since I went to bed. I could still hear children playing in the garden below, and as I walked to the balcony, the sky was exactly the way it was in my dream - bright blue with scattered white clouds. I was thirsty and still had to pee!
Later in the day, I was still surprised at how real my dream felt - did I have an out-of-body experience? or was I just aware although my brain went to a relaxed state. Sometimes during regular, long bus journeys I would sleep off at the start and exactly 5 minutes before my stop arrived I would wake up, without any alarm or nudging from the conductor or the co-passenger. So, was it the sub-conscious at work?
After further pondering, I was left with another question, maybe philosophical or silly, depending on how you look at it:
We say we are "living" this life where we are awake and we sleep repeatedly. When we sleep we dream. But, could it be that right now this life is a dream and we will realize that when we actually wake up (when we "die")? Is that why the most common reaction on people's faces when they die is that of surprise?
Worth a thought, isn't it?
As I switched it off, it felt weird because usually the dishwasher runs for around 2.5 hours and I had just put it on before I went to sleep. Also, it did not feel like I had napped for that long. Still puzzled, I checked the time and to my surprise, I found that more than three hours had passed since I slept.
"That's weird", I thought to myself and walked around the house but everything was in order. I could hear children playing in the garden below and I went to the balcony to watch them play. The sun was shining bright and the sky was blue scattered with white clouds. Thirsty, I walked back in, drank a glass of water and within few minutes I had to urge to pee.
Wanting to use the bathroom, I suddenly got up from my bed and realized that all the events preceding this moment were in a dream!
The dishwasher was still running, but the time indicated that only an hour had passed since I went to bed. I could still hear children playing in the garden below, and as I walked to the balcony, the sky was exactly the way it was in my dream - bright blue with scattered white clouds. I was thirsty and still had to pee!
Later in the day, I was still surprised at how real my dream felt - did I have an out-of-body experience? or was I just aware although my brain went to a relaxed state. Sometimes during regular, long bus journeys I would sleep off at the start and exactly 5 minutes before my stop arrived I would wake up, without any alarm or nudging from the conductor or the co-passenger. So, was it the sub-conscious at work?
After further pondering, I was left with another question, maybe philosophical or silly, depending on how you look at it:
We say we are "living" this life where we are awake and we sleep repeatedly. When we sleep we dream. But, could it be that right now this life is a dream and we will realize that when we actually wake up (when we "die")? Is that why the most common reaction on people's faces when they die is that of surprise?
Worth a thought, isn't it?
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