Are myths enriching reality, or are they our dreams in world that has become too dull and all too known nowadays?
I have both positive and negative experiences with escapism, high expectations, and false beliefs. I love ancient mythology, all things fringe or strange, as well as traditional stories that scare children. On the negative side, I was being blindsided by my own ego. I was using the standard blocking, filtering, and locking systems to fill my perception with fantasy and mythology, religion and the extreme desire for a real magical world with magical beings.
Those worlds are wonderful places, full of magical things, and can be much better worlds than this crappy shared reality and the limits and borders of this hateful, painful, petty world full of tragedy and struggle.
My own past memories, and those of others, were filtered into my mind during dreams and helped to support the mindset that I have been powerful, magical, and had special knowledge. All of that was my ego trying to derail me from realizing that the waking ego mind is a self-centered shit that wants me to stay blind to what actually exists, and what a person can actually accomplish. The ego is the ultimate prison.
I visited the Grand Canyon once, with high expectations, and after a 5 minute 'awe' session, I was no longer in awe, or as impressed as I thought I would be. The dust, the heat, the bugs and critters, and the horrible tourists, totally ruined the moment. I have much better experiences in most all of my dream environments, and they are full of wonderful and magical things.
Sure, escapism, but it is worthwhile for what it is, and likely better than most popular entertainment. But, when we drift too far into escapism and reality comes and bashes our teeth out, that crash can be overwhelming and disastrous if we are too invested in other worlds (that do nothing to actually protect you, feed you, or anything else of value here in this one).
I am reminded of a video of John Michael Osbourne (Ozzy) claiming he is the prince of darkness and trying to command the ocean waves to stay back, when one of the waves comes and knocks him on his butt. Drugs will do that, oh well. But the world is full of these types and that fake reality they live in is only another toke away.
On the bright side, without letting myself delve into all things fringe and strange, I would not have discovered all of the actual and worthwhile phenomena that does actually exist in this world, and I would likely have self-medicated to try and stop the real Psi phenomena I was experiencing regularly.
Now, as death approaches and is breathing down my neck, I am pretty sure I can see what is real, what phenomena are real, and what is fantasy nonsense and only worthwhile as entertainment or escape.
I wasted a lot of time in this life, some of it was fun. Even the scars were fun.
So, I guess my advice is to watch out for the traps and realize that this world and this reality don't need your input to exist the way they exist. The borders of this dimension are pretty clear, as are all the limitations that jump up like hard concrete when you trip and fall. All other forms of reality and the dimensions out there won't pay the bills, or fix your booboo's, or magically make you happy. Each of them has to be taken in context and purpose, including this crappy one we live in.
I did want to find dragons, and witches, and sorcerers and wizards, and trolls and many other things in real life, but the dream realm will do fine.
I did not want to find the actual evil cesspool that humanity always has been, but that one jumped up and bit me square in the sack. Luckily, nature and this world do not reflect the evil of humans, that is on them, and history shows us that this will likely never change.