Have you ever heard about dream yoga or milam? The practice of dream yoga is one of falling asleep with awareness, aka lucid dreaming. It is interesting how we use that term ‘falling asleep’. One does not creep asleep, or climb asleep or jump asleep – one falls asleep. I always find language interesting, because it often talks about our experience that is hidden in the words at some level. Ultimately, finding common - but hidden - expirences/meaning/symbols in our dreams is the purpose of this community.
The picture is a fresco from the gallery of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence. It depicts Charon's boat, the sleep of Night and Morpheus by Luca Giordano (1684–1686)
The language is quite apt, too-- falling, crashing, careening-- into a different place. I generally find my dream-self dazed and in a state of passivity, where the dream acts upon me more than I act upon it.
However there is also 'drift' asleep, which is probably the most gingerly way to describe being thrust into these impossible situations and places.
The state of passivity that you’re talking about I think it’s quite common and quite useful from an evolutionary point of view. I once had built an entire fake city filled with fake people in my teenage years. Needless to say I was heavily depressed since I valued more the dream state than waking life. It’s all about balance.