When I'm sleeping...

Where does my consciousness actually go when I'm asleep? Like, am I even alive while I'm out? Do I still have a soul during those hours? Where does the "me" part of me just vanish to? But then again, I’m always still me. If I can't remember a single REM cycle or any of my dreams... then I guess I don't really sleep. I just go to bed and then suddenly wake up and I'm myself again. It feels like it happens in an instant—well, maybe not a second, but in that tiny fraction of a moment where I lie down and then immediately I'm getting up from the bed. Is there some kind of jump between hitting the pillow and my consciousness waking back up? Does my awareness just shut off for a bit, or does it reset, or maybe it stays on the whole time? My clock shows eight hours have passed since I went to sleep, but all I can remember is that last REM phase. Am I even conscious during REM? I mean, I guess my consciousness has to shut off if I believe that time actually exists—like, the idea that this world keeps moving even when I'm not spiritually present... I have zero clue what happened while I was sleeping. No images, no memories, nothing. Where was I?

"Bio" means you’re completely existing outside of space and time itself! 😁

And just how much self-awareness are you actually rocking when you're wide awake?

Just enough to get by, I guess.

Ever had one of those dreams where the line between sleep and reality just... vanishes? What if you couldn't wake up? If you found yourself stuck in that haze, how on earth would you distinguish the dreamscape from the actual world?

It’s that nagging intuition you can't quite put into words, yet you feel it deep down. Most people carry it their whole lives—this sense that the narrative we're fed is fundamentally broken. You can't pinpoint the flaw, but it's there, lodged like a splinter in your psyche, quietly driving you to the brink.

Take the blue pill, and the story stays comfortable. Your browser window shuts, and you go back to believing whatever makes you feel safe. Take the red pill, and you step into the madness. I'll be the one to show you exactly how deep this rabbit hole really runs.

I'm not here to sell you anything; I only offer the truth, and nothing else.

One question, a million different answers. Honestly, isn't there a certain beauty in that chaos?

😎

Where does my consciousness actually go when I drift off to sleep?

Who's to say that consciousness even belongs to YOU?😉 🙂

The answer to all of this is right here in front of you.

There isn't really a profound shift in my state of being between when I'm asleep and when I'm awake—it’s mostly just that during my waking hours, my attention spans feels significantly more... fractured. Between the Java programming and those other... various things... 😉 😁

Honestly, I didn't really get much out of that answer either. It leaves me wondering... where does that consciousness actually go? Is it mine, or is it something else entirely?

Jonathan Brown6 said:I wasn't exactly thrilled by that answer either. Where does consciousness go—mine, or something else entirely?

Heh. Perhaps the "you" part evaporates, while consciousness simply persists.🙂

Jonathan Brooks8 said:There isn't really a huge difference between when I'm asleep and when I'm awake, except that when I'm awake, my attention just drifts way more... you know, like Java and all those other... things... 😉 😁

Oh, please. What do you mean there's no difference? Honestly, it feels like most of you have convinced yourselves you understand God, but you don't have a clue what you're even talking about. It seems incomprehensible to me, and everyone is just drifting further away from who they actually are. Maybe I've lost the plot too, but I still don't get this whole thing about sleeping. Obviously, there's no consciousness there. Well, maybe there is, but nobody can actually claim that, because that would just be stupid and impossible to wrap your head around.

Jonathan Brown6 said:I wasn't satisfied with that answer. Where does consciousness go—mine or otherwise?

It doesn't go anywhere. It simply rests from being constantly agitated by your daily grind. As you age, you'll find you bother it less frequently because you'll encounter fewer complex distractions. 😉

Einstein once mentioned how difficult it was to answer questions from kids during a school visit: where does the light go when you turn off the lamp. He wasn't facing a room full of physicists!😁

🙂 🙂 🙂

Jonathan Brown6:
"I have absolutely no recollection of what occurred while I was asleep. There are no images, no fragments of memory... Where was I?"
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Please try to understand that this inquiry isn't actually about you; rather, it concerns the phenomena that arise and subsequently vanish. You remain constant in your essence, yet you exist independently of time and space. Knowledge is a construct of time and space, but you are not that construct. Knowledge sleeps and awakens, all within the confines of your being. Much like how letters might be written and then erased on a blank sheet of white paper, knowledge simply manifests and fades within you.

Nothing that can be known truly pertains to your core self. To that fundamental identity upon which both dreams and waking states are projected, it is entirely immaterial whether these states are present or absent, or if one exists while the other does not.

Jonathan Brown6 said:It’s obvious there’s no such thing as consciousness—or if there is, nobody can actually prove it, because trying to claim otherwise is just plain absurd and beyond comprehension.

You might find yourself reconsidering that theory once you get married... specifically when you're mid-dream, trying to get some rest, and your wife starts snoring like a freight train right next to you.

First, I suggest you attempt to resolve the fundamental question of where you currently exist and who you actually are in this moment. Once you have achieved that level of clarity, I am certain you will find that settling the mystery of where you go when you sleep becomes an effortless task—or perhaps you'll even find yourself questioning whether you are truly awake at all during your waking hours.
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By the way, Jonathan Brown6, you really ought to spend some time diving into the works of Rudolf Steiner.

He spent a significant portion of his life obsessively dissecting the very same question that seems to be keeping you up at night.
In that volume, *Philosophy, Cosmology, Religion*, there is an entire lecture dedicated solely to his specific insights regarding what actually transpires within our consciousness while we sleep.

Elizabeth Miller8 said:Maybe try figuring out where you actually are right now and who you even are first. If you get that down, I guess solving the whole "where am I when I'm asleep" thing will be easy. You might even start wondering if you’re even awake when you aren't sleeping.
👋

Honestly, I think asking yourself stuff like that is just plain stupid. There isn't a real answer out there. Anything anyone gives you is just pure guesswork. I feel like you really need to set some boundaries with philosophy. But, I don't know, right now I'm actually kind of curious about what happens when I sleep...

It isn't actually you who sleeps; rather, it is the persona you’ve chosen to identify with. Think about it—when a movie ends, do all the actors go to sleep? Not really, because none of them were ever truly awake to begin with. You are simply the witness to the entire unfolding drama. You merely imagine that you cease to exist while the film is playing because you've become so deeply immersed in one of the characters. Once the credits roll, you revert to that state of being "no one" and "nothing." Then, when the movie starts up again, the whole concept of being "nobody" feels like this profound mystery born from an identity crisis, leading you to mistake a gap in memory for your own "non-existence."
I dare you to say "I Am" during deep sleep! It’s impossible. It isn't because you don't exist during those hours, nor is it because you lack awareness; it’s simply because you are not that specific sensation of "I am" in that moment. That feeling is just one particular manifestation of your strained state of existence.

You are the witness to the process of thinking—to the thoughts themselves, the content, and the thinker. Thinking is a comprehensive process that encompasses the thought, the thinker, and indeed the entire world, for without the act of thinking, the world wouldn't exist at all. Since you are the observer of this thinking, you cannot be any of the constituent parts of it, much like how you aren't the entirety of the physical world itself.

The body exists within you, not the other way around. So, I ask you: who is it that is actually sleeping?

Look, I don't know. But who actually has the receipts to back up what you just said? To me, it all sounds like nothing more than a theory... a theory that just happened to come from some actor. I mean, how can he—someone who is stuck right in the middle of all this—claim to know anything about what’s happening on the outside, when he can't even get out himself? To break free, to actually wake up. Or maybe he can?

Near the spot where you were before you were even born
it’s a place where there isn't a single wave in sight.

Ptahotep said:The truth is, you aren't actually the one sleeping; it’s the persona you've chosen to inhabit. Think about it. When a movie ends, do the actors go to sleep? No. Nobody goes to sleep because nobody was truly awake to begin with. You are merely the witness to the entire production. You just convince yourself you don't exist while the credits are rolling because you've merged with a character on screen. Once the show is over, you revert to being a nobody—a blank slate. Then, when the film starts up again, you find yourself baffled by this supposed "non-existence," viewing that memory gap as some void, when really it's just the byproduct of identifying too closely with a role.
Try saying "I Am" while you're in a deep sleep. It's impossible. Not because you've vanished or lost consciousness, but simply because you are no longer that specific sensation of "being." That feeling is just one strained, temporary mode of existence.

You are the observer of the thought process—the thoughts themselves and the thinker behind them. Thinking is an all-encompassing mechanism that houses the idea, the thinker, and indeed, the entire universe; without the act of thinking, the world ceases to be. Since you are the witness to this process, you cannot be defined by any single component of it, much like you aren't defined by the physical world itself.

The body exists within you; you don't exist within the body. So, ask yourself: who is actually sleeping?

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