“People are so busy dreaming the American Dream, fantasizing about what they could be or have a right to be, that they’re all asleep at the switch. Consequently we are living in the Age of Human Error.” Florence King
Why Do We Fantasize
I think it is safe to say that many of us live in a world of fantasy. We use entertainment as a way to escape and fantasize; obviously we receive pleasure from it. Let’s briefly go into why we fantasize and the implications it has on our lives. You need to have an incredibly sensitive mind so that you can observe that you are always adding or deleting something, which is to constantly fantasize.
Constantly fantasizing leads to a corrupt mind, a mind that is disorderly and always in conflict. Whenever you mother your fantasies whether they are sexual, spiritual, material, financial, emotional, relational, it causes you to lust after them, to fight and struggle with them.
Anything you see is because of the fantasies you mother, if you learn to drop your fantasies you will see something as it truly is. What causes us to fantasize? If you go into it deeply, you will see that your greed and fear is responsible. Greed and fear are usually the causes behind how most people react to life. Don’t just read this and accept it, go into it your self, investigate it. Most never go into it deeply; never understand why they are greedy, why they are fearful, where does fear arise from? Why does it arise? I will go deeper into the nature of fear in another post, but this something that each of us needs to go into on our own.
Learn To See and Achieve Complete Freedom
If you are able to see something clearly, it it’s entirety, it will end conflict. So then the question becomes how do we learn to see ourselves and the world clearly, free of our conditioning and prejudices, is it even possible? I go into this briefly in my post, “Stuck In The Middle: Living In The Land of Observation“, and “How To See The World With New Eyes“, which hopefully can assist you in understanding why we fantasize.
Fantasizing leads one to always have certain expectations; it gives continuity to our experiences of pleasure and pain. You will come to see that anything that happens because of fantasizing is not worth happening.
To fantasize means to always label something in your environment, to not label is to see something with a childlike quality, free of prejudices. Without fantasying you become stress free because you don’t carry nearly as much emotional baggage in your memories. When you are extremely attentive and aware you will see that you do not create an image in your mind, you don’t fantasize about what your are observing. You are simply there seeing what is, just a state of pure being. You are whole because you are not separating your self from it. Whenever you see something through the image you create, you create space, you create a division within yourself. This division causes you to be fragmented, to be fragmented is to be in conflict, your understanding is never complete.
Just observe your sexual fantasies, they are never as fulfilling as the actual act, because it creates space, it removes you from reality. They keep you from being present in the act which is a purely physical act. Even in the act you are not present, you are adding your own juice to it, you are trying to create an image (memory) for later. But if you dropped your fantasy, where present, you would have an experience that is incredibly physically intense; you would experience what actually “is”. But we don’t want to experience what “is” we want to create a memory because we are unsure when we will have the experience again.
“The energy of the mind is the essence of life.”- Aristotle
If you really observe the movement of your sexual desires, you will see that your sexual energy is the most powerful energy you posses because it has the power to move you, to take action. When you learn to drop your sexual fantasies you will see your energy return to its normal state, and therefore be available for when action is needed in your everyday life. Yet most of us constantly waste our energy in fantasizing, and therefore when a situation presents itself we do not have the energy to be aware and be present. It requires great energy to have a sensitive awake mind, once you experience this you will see how important it is to stop fantasizing.
If you enjoyed this post, here are some more articles to assist you in your journey of self study:
- Discovering Your Life’s Purpose and Exploring Your Divine Nature
- What Time is It? Time To Reexamine Your Relationship To Time
- The Power of Discipline: Cultivating Will Power
- How To Increase Your Awareness and Expand Your Consciousness
- How To Make The Leap Into The Unknown
- How To Develop Your 6th Sense: Intuition
Related posts:
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January 13th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
wow! it’s like i got slapped in the face… but you’re definitely right, fantasizing is like living in future thoughts, something that keeps you away from the present…
but what if you’re fantasizing to motivate yourself, like you’re imagining something good out of what you’re about to do, is it still bad?
flip´s last blog ..The Philippines’ Hidden Gem
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January 14th, 2010 at 4:44 am
Interesting. I’ve never thought about it but it’s true that sexual energy can provide strong motivation. Maybe we should introduce sexual prizes as an incentive to get things done
Oscar – freestyle mind´s last blog ..The Law of Attraction
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January 14th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
I love your posts and have been reading them for many months, but I think this is the first one that talks a bit one sided at the end. Seems like you’re mostly addressing guys with that sexual energy thing..
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January 14th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
First of all, I find you to be a remarkably insightful young man, and I wish you much success in your quest. I also would like to thank you for your very enjoyable posts.
I am writing to suggest you also widen your research to include the concept of narratives. Fantasy has negative, unrealistic connotations, while narrative is either more neutral or positive. We all need fantasy/narrative to define our lives and the world we see unforlding around us. However, as you point out, fantasies/narratives ultimately are illusions. For many, a part of training is coming to terms with how everything is fantasy/narrative and how we need yet must let go of all illusions.
I discuss the concept of narrative in detail in a couple of posts on my blog, but I am no expert. You will find plenty of more insightful readings in articles written by scholarly experts on the subject.
All the best,
Rui
Rui Umezawa´s last blog ..Keeping Optimism Real with the Dalai Lama
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January 14th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
thanks for the feedback
soon I will write a post on how to use your imagination in positive way 
@flip:
Ivan Campuzano´s last blog ..To Be In Reality Stop Fantasizing
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January 14th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
I know that would be an incentive many would like
…thanks for stopping by oscar…hope your doing well…peace@Oscar – freestyle mind:
Ivan Campuzano´s last blog ..To Be In Reality Stop Fantasizing
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January 14th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
thanks I appreciate you coming back to the site…I did not intent to make it one sided…I am sorry if thats how it came out…It applies to both sexes
…maybe you could shed some light from a womans perspective 
…hope all is well…@Sabine:
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January 14th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
thanks so much for your great feedback…I will def. look into it…once again thank…I really appreciate you taking the time to read the post and comment on it….be well..namaste@Rui Umezawa:
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January 14th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Here’s something written by Lao-Tzu, that I kept after reading it awhile back called “Reason’s Realisation”.Spellings are direct from the book. I believe it relates to what you’ve written in the sense that it talks about desire and how wanting more can not fulfill one’s spirit.
The reason that can be reasoned is not the eternal Reason.
The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.
The Unnameable is of heaven and earth the beginning.
The Nameable becomes of the ten thousand things the mother,
Therefore it is said:
He who desireless is found
The spiritual of the world will sound.
But he who by desire is bound
Sees the mere shell of things around.
These two things are the same in source
But different in name.
Their sameness is called a mystery.
Indeed, it is the mystery of mysteries.
It is the door of all spirituality
Greg´s last blog ..Sunset approaches and a coyote just snuck across the road about…
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January 14th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
thank you
it relates to it perfectly 
…I love the Tao Te Ching…@Greg:
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January 17th, 2010 at 7:59 am
Interesting article, but I have a contrary outlook.
I believe fantasizing can be extremely healthy and helpful. Many adults fall into the trap of not consciously directing their thoughts. They may fantasize in a negative way by focusing on what they wish they had, thus creating a more lackful life experience.
But when you are in control of your imagination and you realize your creative powers, you can think, imagine, and fantasize your way into the reality of your dreams.
Nea | Self Improvement Saga´s last blog ..Peer Pressure and Conformity: Do You Fear Standing Out from the Crowd?
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January 18th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Great article. An old rough man who ran a restaurant said this in a TV show: The number one priority of life of person is to figure out that we are just a sack of crap. This sounds rough but it did mean a lot. Our fantasy makes us feel like we are so important. Actually, once we get rid of that fantasy and think we are nothing but a common person, we will be much more humble and we can achieve a lot more.
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