Daydream believer

One of the most interesting points Hughes mentions is the question of whether the person controls the creative process or if it is the creative process that controls the person. Hughes draws on the example Jackson Pollock's ability to control his alcoholism through his work, and Van Gogh's increase of self-esteem by receiving accolades for his painting (74).
The idea of daydreaming presented by Hughes as a necessary alternative to reality supports the ideas of altered states of consciousness. If whilst daydreaming one can archive ideas or solutions to problems that he or she may not have been otherwise able to achieve in a normal state of consciousness, does that make the daydreamer any different, in some respects, than a shaman? True, a shaman does enter these altered states willingly and intentionally, but it is possible for both to reach a conclusion that might otherwise have eluded them.
What is daydreaming but ignoring the clutter of the everyday world that your mind cannot otherwise filter? Meditating is the ability to block out all the white noise that distracts us from the ability to focus entirely on one thing; isn't daydreaming redirecting our concentration? Like any altered state, though, surely there is a limit. It would not do to forget about the reality in which our physical body exists in exchange for the altered state into which our mind has wandered.