A fantasy is an imagined scene, possibility or story that goes beyond what is happening now. It can express desire, offer pleasure, rehearse an alternative or provide an escape.
Not every fantasy needs to become a plan. You can enjoy imagining a life without wanting its administration.
But a recurring fantasy may be worth getting curious about.
What do you get to feel there?
In the imagined future, people finally take you seriously. You’re relaxed. Someone else makes dinner. Nobody needs a carefully constructed explanation before believing you.
Perhaps the fantasy concerns a new career or a different relationship. It may also contain a need that can be addressed more directly than waiting for an entirely new life.
I AWAKE makes room for imaginative pleasure while inviting you to notice what the scene gives you. The interest isn’t in confiscating your daydream. It’s in understanding the wish without assuming the first imagined solution is the only possible one.
Desire explores the wanting. Imaginal explains a different emphasis: participating in an image as an encounter, not only directing a scene towards the ending you prefer.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s entry on imagination introduces distinctions among imagining, believing and other forms of mental activity. It is useful when the word fantasy has been made to mean either meaningless nonsense or hidden truth, with nothing in between.