Daydreaming

by

That daydreaming mode turns out to be restorative. It’s like hitting the reset button in your brain. And you don’t typically get into that daydreaming mode by texting and Facebooking. You get in it by disengaging.
Daniel Levitin

“Wir träumen, also sind wir. Und überhaupt, unsere liebe Dina träumt ja auch ständig von Seehunden und Hasen.” (We dream, therefore we are. And anyway, our dear Dina is always dreaming about seals and hares.)

We’re off to daydream land
When Siri and Selma suddenly disappear, there’s no need to worry. No, they haven’t been kidnapped, they’re not stuck in a parallel universe (well, maybe a little), and they haven’t hidden the chocolate again.
They’re daydreaming.
Later, Siri explains: ‘Our daydreaming breaks are not just fun; they are necessary. Our poor little brains cannot maintain focus and productivity non-stop.’

Wir sind dann mal weg ins Tagtraumland
Wenn Siri und Selma plötzlich verschwinden, müssen wir uns kaum Sorgen machen. Nein, sie sind nicht entführt worden, sie sitzen nicht fest in einer Parallelwelt (na gut, vielleicht ein bisschen) und sie haben auch nicht schon wieder die Schokolade versteckt.
Sie tagträumen.
Später erklärt Siri: “Unsere Tagträumereien sind nicht nur unterhaltsam, sondern auch notwendig. Unser Gehirn kann doch nicht ununterbrochen konzentriert und produktiv bleiben.”

Daydreaming – that wonderfully underrated, slightly disreputable art form that frees us from the confines of reality without requiring us to invest in psychonaut equipment or a yoga mat. All you need is a chair, a sofa or – in Selma’s case – her reading chair, which she sometimes lends to Kb for daydreaming (for an outrageous £5 per hour).

Tagträumen – diese herrlich unterschätzte, leicht verrufene Kunstform, die uns von der engen Realität befreit, ohne dass wir gleich eine Psychonautenausrüstung oder eine Yogamatte brauchen. Es reicht ein Stuhl, ein Sofa oder – in Selmas Fall – ihr Lesesessel, den sie auch bisweilen Kb zum Daydreamen ausleiht (für unverschämte 5 Fairy-Taler pro Stunde).

For a long time, daydreaming had a terrible image. Being a ‘dreamer’ was not exactly considered a desirable career choice. It was somewhere between ‘court jester’ and ‘cloud counter’. Yet even the greats of literature knew better:
E.T.A. Hoffmann daydreamed cheerfully in broad daylight, as did Edgar Allan Poe. And even Descartes – the arch-rationalist – is said to have secretly daydreamed while he was mathematically reorganising the world. He was probably thinking about croissants while he was formulating his famous sentences.

Lange Zeit hatte das Tagträumen ein fürchterliches Image. „Träumer“ zu sein galt nicht gerade als Berufswunsch. Das stand irgendwo zwischen „Hofnarr“ und „Wolkenzähler“. Dabei wussten schon die Großen der Literatur Bescheid:
E.T.A. Hoffmann träumte munter am helllichten Tag, Edgar Allan Poe sowieso. Und selbst Descartes – der Erz-Rationalist – soll heimlich vor sich hingeschwärmt haben, während er die Welt mathematisch neu ordnete. Wahrscheinlich dachte er gerade an Croissants, während er seine berühmten Sätze formulierte.

But what about our fairies, Siri and Selma? They love daydreaming and giggle as they say: ‘We dream, therefore we are. And anyway, our dear Dina is always dreaming about seals and rabbits.’
They declare with conviction that our reality is ‘often incredibly boring’ – although at this point, at the latest, any glimpse into their everyday fairy lives refutes this claim. And yet, with a little wink, they dive into their inner wonderland at any time, which is located somewhere between John Lennon quotes and little white clouds.
‘We are dreamers,’ they say proudly, solemnly putting on imaginary sunglasses.

Aber unsere Feen, Siri und Selma? Sie lieben den Tagtraum und meinen kichernd: “Wir träumen, also sind wir. Und überhaupt, unsere liebe Dina träumt ja auch ständig von Seehunden und Hasen.”
Sie erklären überzeugt, dass unsere Realität „oft ur-langweilig“ sei – wobei spätestens an dieser Stelle jeder Blick in ihren Feen-Alltag diese Behauptung widerlegt. Und doch: Mit einem kleinen Zwinkern tauchen sie jederzeit ab in ihre innere Wunderwelt, die irgendwo zwischen John-Lennon-Zitaten und weißen Wölkchen angesiedelt ist.
„We are Dreamers“, sagen sie stolz und setzen feierlich imaginäre Sonnenbrillen auf.

And honestly, we could all be a little more like Siri and Selma. Instead of just enduring the world, we could think beyond it, repaint it, expand it, enchant it. After all, daydreaming is the cheapest form of consciousness expansion in the world – with no side effects except the occasional dreamy expression on your face.

Und ganz ehrlich?
Wir könnten alle ein bisschen mehr wie Siri und Selma sein. Statt die Welt nur zu ertragen, könnten wir sie weiterdenken, übermalen, erweitern, verzaubern. Tagträumen ist schließlich die günstigste Bewusstseinserweiterung der Welt – ohne Nebenwirkungen außer gelegentlichen verträumten Gesichtsausdrücken.

With this in mind:
If you’re looking for us, we’ll be away for a little while. In daydream land.
See you there.

In diesem Sinne:
Wenn ihr uns sucht – wir sind dann mal kurz weg. Im Tagtraumland.
Man sieht sich dort.

The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂





© text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers & Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea, 2025

124 thoughts

  1. Daydreaming is good, I do it all the time. To live in The ‘World that might be’, rather than ‘The World that is’. Thanks for a lovely reflective post, with the perfect illustration from Hanne.

    Love from Beetley, Pete. X

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, dear Pete.

      First, there was Hanne-Dina’s illustration, and then we wrote a text that would fit. It was really fun to write this text.
      We all four are daydreamers.

      With love from the sunny sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  2. Dear friends,

    I love this uplifting post and wow, what a gorgeous collage by Hanne-Dina. It’s hypnotising!
    I had to chuckle reading about Siri and Selma, great writeup Kb!
    I daydream a lot but mostly with a focus. This weekend I decided to declutter my wardrobe and brought a big bag . I was not successful. After one wasted hour I ended up where I started, only minus one item. Hmmm. Then I sat down and daydreamed and try to visualise myself of today, how I want to be seen and how I want to appear. After one hour I had two full bags to give away!
    I think that intentional daydreaming is more effective when focused on creative thought processing, rather than spontaneous or disruptive daydreams.
    Thanks for putting a smile on my face.

    Kram
    Annalena xx

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Hi Annalena,
      I can vividly picture you sitting on your bed looking at garments from a past generation and finding it hard to let go. I’m glad visualising yourself today was a great help. I’ll try it out too! Big hugs to you! Per Magnus xx

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Annalena

      Focused daydreaming is very productive. Nicola Tesla was a master in such dreaming. He could even test his and Edinson’s invention by daydreaming. And I am sure that most of his inventions are going back to his daydreaming.

      We are all the time trying to declutter. Although Kb dreamt of big empty rooms, he is with Siri quite hesitant to declutter, especially when it’s concerning our library. There, he dreams of a library like Borges’ library of Babel.
      We use daydreaming quite often unconsciously and let our minds wander. We think they need that.

      Have you already had some snow in Stockholm? Here, it was much too warm until two days ago. Now it is getting cold to Kb’s birthday.

      With lots of love to you
      KRAM to
      Annalena
      XXXX
      from
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Danke, liebe Martha

      In der Tat, wir erträumen uns unseren Fortschritt und den der Menschheit. Im Barock, z.B. Calderon de la Barca, war man überhaupt der Ansicht, dass das Leben ein Traum sei. Also, frohes Tagträumen

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  6. Your mention of Descartes thinking about croissants got me wondering about the possibility or impossibility of that. According to AI:

     

    The modern croissant was developed in France in the early 20th century, evolving from an earlier Austrian pastry called the kipferl. The kipferl dates back to at least the 13th century, and its introduction to Paris in the 1830s by August Zang inspired French bakers to create the flaky, buttery pastry we know today.

    Kipferl origins: The kipferl, a denser and sweeter crescent-shaped pastry, has origins in 13th-century Austria. A popular legend connects its creation to a 1683 event where Viennese bakers supposedly created the pastry to celebrate the city’s victory over the Ottoman Empire, whose flag featured a crescent moon.
    Introduction to France: August Zang, an Austrian entrepreneur, opened a Viennese bakery in Paris in 1838, introducing the kipferl to Parisians. This sparked interest among French bakers, who began to imitate and adapt the pastry.

    Modern croissant development: French bakers transformed the kipferl by using a laminated, yeast-leavened dough, which creates the signature flaky layers. This development took place over the 19th and early 20th centuries, with the first recipes for the modern version appearing in the early 1900s.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • That’s the power of daydreams, Descartes looked daydreaming 300 years into the future 😉

      Thank you very much, dear Steve, for the history of the croissant.
      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Dear Alessandra

      Thank you very much.
      We often do the same at places we have to wait. And we have a little writing pad with us to be able to write down ‘great ideas’ we got staring.

      All the very best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Tagträume sind kleine Inseln in stürmischen Zeiten, das hast du sehr treffend ausgedrückt. Ja, viele Tagträume sind ursprünglich kompensatorisch.

      Mit herzlichen Grüßen vom Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  19. My dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley! Your reflection on daydreaming was perfect for our complex times. You gave us all a gentle invitation to step into that quiet space where the mind loosens, softens, and begins to wander on its own accord. I’ve been a daydreamer for as long as I can remember. Not to escape, but to listen to my thoughts. Those unguarded moments often reveal the ideas that don’t arrive when I am focused or purposeful. Hanne – your photograph will stay with me today. Extraordinary! It was a perfect image on which to meditate. Sending much love and many hugs to our dear friends The Fab Four of Cley.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Rebecca

      The dreams, daytime dreaming as dreaming at night, are a creative escape, a luxury and a nap for our busy brain. And when the brain lets go, we get new ideas. Actually, daydreaming is quite productive – as long as we don’t do it for being productive (one of the paradoxes of life).

      Thank you so much for liking Hanned-Dina’s collage. We think she is very gifted at doing such collages.

      Wishing our Canadian friends a great autumn time. Here we have temperatures near freezing right now. We love this clear weather.
      🤗🤗🤗🤗 and 😘😘😘😘
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Klausbernd,

      Your thoughts on daydreaming always give me something new to consider. I love how you describe it as a “creative escape, a luxury, and a nap for our busy brain.” That paradox you mention “that daydreaming is productive only when we don’t demand productivity from it” resonates. Vancouver now is wrapped in the soft beginning of the rainy season. Everything is misty and a little mystical, the kind of weather that quiets the city and opens a little more space for daydreaming. I’m have mint tea right now…. Many thanks for our conversations.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Rebecca
      We have sunshine but quite a strong wind. I always have the feeling that autumn and winter are the ideal times for daydreaming.
      Everything relating to dreaming follows this paradox that we have to want it, but on the other hand and at the same time, we have to forget about that we want it. It’s important for ambitious people like us to have times when we are not ambitious – otherwise we fall from one rationalisation to the other (concerning Freud).
      Lots of love and many thanks for our exchange
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Rebecca

      Kb read this Baroque play when he was a student.
      Thank you very much for liking our article. It was fun to write it. We are dreamers as well.

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  22. ” Instead of just enduring the world, we could think beyond it, repaint it, expand it, enchant it. After all, daydreaming is the cheapest form of consciousness expansion in the world – with no side effects except the occasional dreamy expression on your face.”
    Oh yes, dreamland in my land, both day and night, and has been all my life. A creative mind improves reality and enhances life, far more powerful, positive and life affirming than escapist movies, drugs, alcohol etc.
    Love this dreamy post. Dream on…….Dream until your dreams are true.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Cindy

      A world without dreams would be hell.
      We think – or hope – that in the end all dreams come true. It’s maybe a question of sharing one’s dreams.

      Thank you very much
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  23. I love to daydream Klausbernd. It recharges my internal batteries and helps me keep a nonchalant attitude (my wife calls it a clear head LOL). Excellent post and surreal image 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  27. I love your post – it’s just what we all need – now more than ever. Reality is not just “boring”, it’s a great deal frightening today. Daydreaming, enhancing our daily life and struggles…what would we do without it? Amazing photo.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  28. Daydreaming is a lost art among young people, I believe. I was never much of one myself, but if I dreamed it was put into practice or reality quickly. However, I do enjoy looking back at old photos and remember those times. Beautiful drawing by Dina, KB! Geniesse deine tagtraume!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Terri

      Unfortunately, the power of dreams is outsourced to Netflix, Apple TV, etc. for many nowadays. We have to get it back.
      Great that you like Dina’s photo-collage.

      Wishing you a happy day
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  29. Well, I am going to read all of the above over and over and over . . . ’cause I need it ! I was brought up to regard any forms of daydreaming as a ‘waste of time’ and ‘immaturity’ and ‘being away with the fairies’ (the last perchance true in a way 🙂 !) . . . at the moment with far too many problems to solve, and a mind I accept as ‘over-active’, too many night-time hours are spent awake trying to work out the next needed steps only to get up when the sun next rises feeling totally wrecked and no wiser . . . I know it would help to ‘go with the flow’ – just have to get over feeling that is the ‘lazy way out’ . . . shall remember what people have said here and try go into a different dreamland when the skies darken again . . . 🙂 ! Lovely post . . .

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Eha

      Most changes begin with a dream. Daydreams and nighttime dreams are often compensatory to the reality of life during the daytime. And not only this, they quite often inspire us to solve problems. Einstein, Kekulé, Tesla, and many other scientists used their dreams to solve problems they couldn’t master while awake.

      Thank you very much
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you for the encouragement to delve into this further . . . and give references to look up . . . oddly I remember dreaming occasionally in my younger years but never ever seem to now . . . and yet I am regarded by friends as a very imaginative person . . .

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Eha
      We always dream, at least at night. We need that to keep our brains working. It’s like optimising your hard disk. If we sleep 8 hours daily, we have about 5 dreams. But we don’t remember most of our dreams. In brain research, one speaks of having a daydream every 5 sec., but we are not aware of it.
      Well, as more aware we are, as more dreams we remember.
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  32. I really enjoyed this post and the beautiful image too. Such wise words. Especially ‘Instead of just enduring the world, we could think beyond it, repaint it, expand it, enchant it.’ Absolutely!

    Happy daydreaming to you all!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  34. Love a daydream. I hope kids these days find enough time for a good moment off their devices for that needed mental exercise. (😶‍🌫️ This is the emoji that came up for the suggestion “daydream”.)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Yes, it’s a problem that many youngsters play with their devices instead of dreaming nowadays. We hope that they will find the creative power of daydreaming again.

      😴😴😴😴

      We didn’t even know that there is a daydream emoji

      Dream on …
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  36. This is such a wonderful post. I find that having a tool like daydreaming at our disposal is useful, especially when we deal with perceived threats or overly busy environments. I usually imagine myself at my favourite spot, where I like to hike in the woods.  After all, the brain can become exhausted from the effort involved in trying to ignore all of the stimuli, both internal and external, with which it is constantly being bombarded. So every time I need a reset, I go outside and let my mind wander, because I can never know what might happen in my stream of consciousness. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  40. Happy Daydreaming, friends!! As a creative person myself, I’m a BIG believer in the restorative power of daydreaming. I realize educators might find it challenging to reach students who are dreamers, but the world’s a better place for them. Look how many books, symphonies, paintings, inventions, etc. are born through time spent daydreaming!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  42. Daydreaming was my refuge as a child. Staring out the window and letting the sun, sky, trees and nature absorb my attention. A respite from the demands of me, bringing space and comfort to just be still.
    …. 50 years later it is what everyone seeks in meditation and is still my dearest companion. 🙏🏻

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Val

      Well, there are several ideas of meditation. One is to watch your mind wandering, and the other is to keep your mind from wandering. Daydreaming is just letting your mind wander around.

      Thank you very much for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  44. There is nothing more essential in my day than daydreaming—so this post is a joy to read this morning—a tribute to the art of daydreaming! While the world is a beautiful place, a little creativity that daydreams hold restores our minds and also transforms mundane reality into something more enchanting. Truth to this: “… daydreaming is the cheapest form of consciousness expansion in the world – with no side effects except the occasional dreamy expression on your face.” Add to this the humor and spirit of Siri and Selma (and the nods to famous dreamers!), and I think I’ll spend a bit more time dreaming today. Dina’s collage is a perfect place to begin. Thank you for a little magic this morning! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Randall
      There are two amazing worlds: The world of everyday life we live in and the world of our dreams we produce to entertain and understand ourselves. We are great producers, aren’t we? All these films we produce daily for ourselves – that makes Hollywood green with envy.
      Thank you very much for your comment 🙏 🙏
      Happy dreaming 😴✨💫✨
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • We spend a lot of time in reality as well as a lot of time in a dreamworld, and it is when these two world intersect every now and then when magic in life happens. As you say, these are the moments to treasure; when we produce above and beyond expectations. I like the idea of us being producers, and it is a perfect thought to have! Cheers to the many dreams yet to be discovered ✨… and happy dreams for the Fab Four of Cley 👨🏻‍🦳👩🏻‍🦳🧚🧚‍♀️

      Liked by 1 person

    • There was a research – I can’t remember if it was done by a group of Cambridge researchers – that found out that we are more or less all the time dreaming. I would agree. We dream our reality. At least one could say our so called reality is a kind of collective dream.
      It gets complicated if we want to differentiate between ‘reality’ and dream.
      The aspect of dreaming makes our reality magic.
      Just some ideas.
      Thank you very much
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • The idea you mention about this research makes a lot of sense. I am comforted by the thought that we are more or less always dreaming. It is interesting, this morning, I was thinking about this split between our worlds—in my work, I am very analytical and logical, where numbers and data dictate almost every decision… and I love it. It removes almost all emotion and bias from my decision-making process.

      But outside of work, I’m definitely more in-tune with my dreamworld, and dreams (emotions, bias, desires) dictate almost everything I do. I tend to ignore the analytical—where I often make decisions where I do not care about any financial return (in essence, over-paying to make an issue go away… such as my divorce 😂). In a sense, it is the exact opposite of how I manage business. Humans are very complicated creatures ✨. 🙃

      Liked by 1 person

    • Indeed, they are.
      I am an analytical, logical thinker as well. I was educated in a school for mathematically gifted students. My beloved math and physics teacher showed us that mathematics is quite creative as well. For me, being creative means seeing structures and comparing them – that’s what mathematics is.
      I suppose, to be happy, we need both sides, the dreamy one as well as the logical one. Both sides complement each other.

      Like

    • Yes, I can see this with you—having a talent/vision of mathematical understanding is akin to having a bit more insight into how the universe works. The rhythm and reasoning as to why things work the way they do, and “flow” into areas where, on the surface, one would think they should not. Physicists are some of my favorite creative people on the planet, as their way of thinking finds their way into music, art, business, and the evolution of our way of life… and dreams make it all come to fruition! 😊

      Liked by 1 person

  45. One of the great benefits of working on boats is that it’s quite possible to sand and daydream at the same time. With no one but the birds for company and no interruptions, it’s possible to be productive in multiple ways; my first poem was sketched out on the back of used sandpaper.

    Like

    Reply

    • Hi Linda

      I do my daydreaming during household work and cooking or washing our car. When I worked on our boat I usually let my mind wander as well.

      Thank you
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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