--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason why life is a sleep & dream…" description: "\"The reason why life is a sleep & dream for most people is because their awareness is caught up with past or future & not with what is.\" — Deepak Chopra" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/deepak-chopra-63_awareness_the-reason-why-life-is-a-sleep-dream-for_1700101.jpg" --- # The reason why life is a sleep & dream for most people is… ![“The reason why life is a sleep & dream for most people is because their awareness is caught up with past or future & not with what is.” quote by Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/deepak-chopra-63_awareness_the-reason-why-life-is-a-sleep-dream-for_1700101.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/deepak-chopra-63_awareness_the-reason-why-life-is-a-sleep-dream-for_1700101.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/deepak-chopra-63_awareness_the-reason-why-life-is-a-sleep-dream-for_1700101.jpg) > “The reason why life is a sleep & dream for most people is because their awareness is caught up with past or future & not with what is.” [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People miss living fully because they focus on past regrets or future anxieties instead of present reality. **In simple terms:** Living in past/future hinders present awareness. Key Takeaway Practice present‑moment mindfulness. Themes awareness time mindfulness Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - stress management - meditation - decision making - creative work Key Concepts Existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How often do you dwell on past or future? - What practices keep you grounded? A Different Perspective Balancing past and future is also essential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Sleep dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep-dream/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [What is life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-is-life/) ## Related quotes > [Tenderness between people is nothing other than awareness of the possibility of relations without purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/tenderness-between-people-is-nothing-other-than-awareness-of-the/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [“Working with people from awareness means to be available. It means to respond with the truth in the moment. It means to respond to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-dhyan-giten/working-with-people-from-awareness-means-to-be-available-it-means-to/) [Swami Dhyan Giten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-dhyan-giten/) > [The larger picture is really to swing people's awareness of what really is moral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-tomlin/the-larger-picture-is-really-to-swing-people-s-awareness-of-what/) [Lily Tomlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-tomlin/) > [Life is something to do when you can't get to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/life-is-something-to-do-when-you-can-t-get-to-sleep/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [You are by yourself for the best years of your life. You sleep in airports. If it doesn't kill you it makes you strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helena-christensen/you-are-by-yourself-for-the-best-years-of-your-life-you-sleep-in/) [Helena Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helena-christensen/) > [“Life is something you do when you can’t get to sleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/life-is-something-you-do-when-you-can-t-get-to-sleep/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [Let me be something every minute of every hour of my life...And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/let-me-be-something-every-minute-of-every-hour-of-my-life-and-when-i/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [And never, ever, no matter what else you do in your whole life, never sleep with anyone whose troubles are worse than your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/and-never-ever-no-matter-what-else-you-do-in-your-whole-life-never/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [If you must sleep through a third of your life, why should you sleep through your dreams, too?.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-laberge/if-you-must-sleep-through-a-third-of-your-life-why-should-you-sleep/) [Stephen LaBerge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-laberge/) > [Death is the veil which those who live call life; They sleep, and it is lifted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/death-is-the-veil-which-those-who-live-call-life-they-sleep-and-it-is/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [I find that when you have a real interest in life and a curious life, that sleep is not the most important thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stewart/i-find-that-when-you-have-a-real-interest-in-life-and-a-curious-life/) [Martha Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stewart/) > [I've structured my entire life around sleep. There's nothing I do in my life that influences my conscious existence more than my sleep. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-johnson/i-ve-structured-my-entire-life-around-sleep-there-s-nothing-i-do-in/) [Bryan Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-johnson/) > [Life itself is ... a sleep within a sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-itself-is-a-sleep-within-a-sleep/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The one thing I love in life is to sleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/the-one-thing-i-love-in-life-is-to-sleep/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I will move gently down the stream of life until I sleep with my fathers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/i-will-move-gently-down-the-stream-of-life-until-i-sleep-with-my/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) ## More by Deepak Chopra > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“Molecules form and dissolve, returning to the primordial soup of atoms. But consciousness survives the death of the molecules on which it rides. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/molecules-form-and-dissolve-returning-to-the-primordial-soup-of-atoms/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Unbounded awareness is the reservoir of possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/unbounded-awareness-is-the-reservoir-of-possibilities/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Spiritual awareness is not only one of the keys to the healing process. Spiritual awareness is the only way that healing can occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/spiritual-awareness-is-not-only-one-of-the-keys-to-the-healing/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [All experiences are either positive for your brain or negative. If you maximize the positive ones, you are shaping the brain you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/all-experiences-are-either-positive-for-your-brain-or-negative-if-you/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [There are only 2 responses to the world, fear or love. Your life depends on which one you choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/there-are-only-2-responses-to-the-world-fear-or-love-your-life/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [If you take the the insults of your fellow human beings personally, you will be offended for the rest of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/if-you-take-the-the-insults-of-your-fellow-human-beings-personally/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [A person desperately searching for love," Merlin said, "reminds me of a fish desperately searching for water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/a-person-desperately-searching-for-love-merlin-said-reminds-me-of-a/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Fighting your ego is a melodrama of the ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/fighting-your-ego-is-a-melodrama-of-the-ego/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The same faint song is heard in everything: "Behold yourself".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-same-faint-song-is-heard-in-everything-behold-yourself/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“All creativity is based on quantum leaps and uncertainty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/all-creativity-is-based-on-quantum-leaps-and-uncertainty/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The soul knows everything. Be who you are and your life will transform forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-soul-knows-everything-be-who-you-are-and-your-life-will-transform/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The willingness to reach inside every part of yourself opens the door to total understanding. You place your entire identity on the line, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-willingness-to-reach-inside-every-part-of-yourself-opens-the-door/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Be willing to redefine yourself every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/be-willing-to-redefine-yourself-every-day/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [To have weakness is not to be flawed--it's to be complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/to-have-weakness-is-not-to-be-flawed-it-s-to-be-complete/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) [Explore all 1,675 Deepak Chopra quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) ## More Awareness quotes > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-intoxication-of-the-ego-of-i-am/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [I know the importance of highly trained awareness of the “moment” and the immediate and intuitive response of the photographer. It should be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-the-importance-of-highly-trained-awareness-of-the-moment-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [I'm part of a team that raises millions of dollars and raises awareness of HIV and AIDS all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-evangelista/i-m-part-of-a-team-that-raises-millions-of-dollars-and-raises/) [Linda Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-evangelista/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. 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