Real shapes and real patterns are things you would observe in nature like the marks on the back of a cobra's hood or the markings on a fish or a lizard. Imaginary shapes are just that symbols that come to a person in dreams or reveries and are charged with meaning.
Most of my actor friends don't believe it's possible to let go of it and be happy and for a while that was true for me. For the first two years I ached every day. And I had such bad dreams. But then I made the decision to start working on my little shop and all that went away.