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Commit to change

Be willing to move in a new direction with your lifestyle and find ways to be more active. Lynda Johnson, R.D., specialist for Nutrition and Health Education with University of Missouri Extension, recommends identifying a successful role model who has made changes to improve his or her health by increasing physical activity and eating sensibly. Accept that change is all about making choices — like choosing to take a walk instead of watching TV. That doesn’t mean you have to stop watching TV, it just means you should find a balance between watching TV and being more active. Another way to be active is to take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Put these simple steps into action to add more activity to your day.

Believe in change

Believe in yourself and your ability to change. It’s easier to achieve a goal when you have a positive attitude. Make a list of successful changes you’ve made in the past and believe that you can make these new changes. Try not to get upset if you miss a couple of days of exercise — occasional lapses will not ruin your efforts.

“It’s important to give yourself some slack, not get discouraged and realize that missing a few days of exercise doesn’t constitute failure,” said Johnson.

Remain confident and keep a record of your activity on the calendar to help you stay on track. If you have friends who stay in shape with regular exercise, ask them for tips and suggestions that you could incorporate into your routine.

Focus on small changes

When it comes to exercise, it’s important to create a long-term plan that works for you. The goal is to make a lifetime commitment to staying active. Experiment and try various kinds of activities to discover ones you really enjoy. Fun activities you could try include line dancing, bowling, lifting weights, water aerobics, exercise classes or yoga. By choosing a variety of activities, you also have a backup plan if you need one. For example, if you can’t walk outside because of bad weather, use an exercise DVD instead. Try to make physical activity a part of your daily habits. Keep a pair of sneakers by your desk or the door as a reminder to walk, or place hand weights next to the TV to exercise while watching your favorite program. It’s important to do activities that are fun and make you feel good about exercising. Keep your focus on your accomplishments and feeling healthy.

Find a cheerleader

It’s easier to make changes when you have someone to cheer you on. Seek out a friend, co-worker or family member who will encourage you and keep you motivated. Regular phone calls, e-mails or visits could provide the boost to keep you on target. Your cheerleader could even become your exercise buddy, which can make exercise more fun. Reward yourself as you make simple changes that support your overall goal — celebration is part of successful change.

Too often people think they simply lack the willpower to change. Instead of being negative, try basing your plan on small, incremental changes that will improve your health over time. Charlotte Hayes, a certified diabetic educator, encourages people to ease into exercise by making the most of daily activities. In her book, The ‘I hate to exercise’ book for people with diabetes, she mentions walking, cleaning, gardening and stair climbing as daily activities that keep you moving.

Dr. Lisa Callahan, co-director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Center of Weill Cornell Hospital, suggests keeping a journal when you don’t have time to exercise. By recording what you do every half hour for a day, Callahan guarantees you’ll find 30 minutes you could have spent exercising.

A person’s weight is affected by hormone production. Two hormones in particular are responsible for stimulating and controlling appetite. Ghrelin is the hormone responsible for stimulating your appetite while leptin tells your brain that your body is full and does not need any more food.

Guess what happens to these hormones when you don’t get enough shut eye? They are affected in a way that is disastrous to your waist line. When you don’t get enough sleep your body responds by producing more appetite inducing Ghrelin hormone. This means that you will not only be tired, but have an increased appetite ast well.

Plus, when you do eat it will take you longer to feel full and satisfied. This is due to the fact that the amount of leptin hormone in your system has decreased. This wreaks havoc on your waistline as you eat more and more to feel full.

Don’t think ghrelin and leptin hormones play a significant role in your weight fluctuation? Think again. There is a link between lack of sleep and obesity. This link was found by researchers at Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin. The polls tell it all. A little over 6 out of 10 Americans state that they don’t get 8 hours of sleep each night. Also, a little over 6 out of 10 Americans are over weight. (Source: usatoday.com, 12/06/2004). The link is to close to ignore.

Now some people might be tempted to conclude that being up longer should mean that you are burning more calories. While this is true, the urge to snack and eat something during the hours that we should be in bed is greater because of the increased production of ghrelin. Plus, since we consume more due to decreased levels of leptin, the calories burned by being awake are more than replenished by the food we eat.

Also take into account that we burn 2/3 of all calories while we are resting. Therefore, only 1/3 of our calories are burned during physical activity and exercise. So just because you are awake doesn’t necessarily mean you are burning more calories. It depends on each person and their activity levels.

No, most of us do not believe that sleep deprivation has anything to do with our weight. But, with the majority of Americans overweight and with a growing amount of research illustrating the link between obesity and sleep deprivation, people should start making shut eye a priority.

Lack of sleep has become a global problem in the past decade. Everywhere around the world people are sleeping less. This trend has increased in the recent years starting a viscious cycle of sleep deprivation. Many shrug off lack of sleep and say they will only become irratible. Lack of sleep can also play a role in weight gain.

All age groups are affected by insomnia. Its incidence increases as age increases because stress is the most common cause of insomnia. Furthermore, women are more affected by this than men.

The cure for insomnia involves activities that would promote sleep and reduce stimulation. Several activities are advised to the insomniacs to prepare their body for sleep.

1. Exercise regularly. Studies have shown that regular exercise helps the body with its sleeping problems. It is generally important to attain optimal health. It is important to stress that exercise should be made early in the morning and not immediately before sleeping.

2. Avoid heavy meals and lots of fluids before going to bed. Large meals could lead to indigestion while a lot of fluids will increase the incidence of having to get up to urinate in the middle of the night

3. Maintain a peaceful and comfortable environment. During bedtime, turn off the lights, turn off anything that could create noise, and be sure you are comfortable with the room temperature. These factors affect sleep. Remove the clock from sight because it will contribute to your anxiety and frustration when you can’t fall asleep.

The following are excellent tips to put an end to your sleepless nights.

1. Decrease ingestion of stimulant-containing substances such as tea, coffee, alcohol, and cigarettes. Stimulants increase alertness, which are not needed during sleep.

2. Eat a very light carbohydrate snack before bedtime; or better yet, drink warm milk

3. Take a warm bath 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime. The immediate effect of a warm bath is sedation. When the bath is taken more than an hour before bedtime, an arousing effect would occur instead of a sedating one. Furthermore, warmth relieves body tension.

4. Stop watching TV, reading, or engaging in any mind-stimulating activities at least an hour before bedtime. These activities tend to prolong your wakefulness.

5. Use only your bed for sleeping (and sex). This will help your body associate your bed to just sleep. Thus, when you lie on your bed, it is a signal that it is time to sleep.

6. Engage in relaxation activities: listening to music, deep breathing exercises, meditation, etc. These activities slow down body processes and help the body to relax. Both functions aid the body in falling asleep.

7. Clear your mind. Remove all concerns and worries from your mind. You can do this through writing your thoughts and ideas in a journal.

8. Do not take naps. Try to sleep and wake up at the same time everyday. Taking naps will only disrupt your biological clock. On the other hand, sleeping and waking up at the same time everyday will help your body set your biological clock.

Through following these tips, a good night’s sleep is very much attainable. Remember that sleep is essential for the body’s growth and repair. Insomnia is not something that occurs naturally in your body. Thus, it must be treated.

They sleep too much…

If you’re having trouble getting yourself out of bed on time, and find yourself sleeping much more than you’ve planned too, you’re not alone.

I personally used to sleep up to 14 hours a “night”. Sometimes I’d hit the snooze button for HOURS.

Improving the quality of my sleep was absolutely necessary in order to reduce the amount of sleep I get. After replacing a few bad habits, I now sleep less and feel much more lively and energetic throughout the day, then when I had slept longer.

However, getting rid of some bad sleeping habits, and improving the quality of your sleep is only one part of the process.

As you know, when you wake up you’re not completely in control of your thoughts and your actions. At this stage your subconscious is more dominant.

You may have to admit having some kind of emotional issues, which are suppressed deeply in your subconscious. The simplest way to say it is that you have a lack of motivation to wake up and get up.

Oversleeping can obviously CAUSE problems. The embarrassment when you fail to wake up on time, being late to work or loss of what could be your “free time”, and the tiredness that usually comes after an excessive sleep episode, all of those aren’t going to do you any good.

You should start putting your sleep system back to order, by going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day, no matter when you’ve gone to sleep, no matter what time you go to work, and even if you have a day off.

Practice it for at least 3 weeks (they say it takes 21 days to establish a new habit).

However, if you fail to wake up on time, you should focus on your self-discipline.

You see, most people wake up on time every morning, no matter how much or how well they had slept.

Don’t beat yourself up when you fail. Instead, try to think what went wrong. Try to remember your actions and your thoughts at that morning. Then come up with a plan for tomorrow.

If you can’t even remember what went through your head when the alarm went off, try going to sleep earlier or setting the alarm to a later time. The idea is to get yourself used to be in control of your sleep and wake up habits.

Most importantly, dig inside yourself to find the reason you oversleep. Ask yourself a simple, yet hard question: “What are you running away from”?

THERE ARE FOUR TYPES OF INSOMNIA

PSYCHO-REACTIVE INSOMNIA: This is caused by tension. The person’s mind is keeping them awake with worry. In addition, they may begin to worry about getting to sleep because they have to waken in the morning. The person may worry that they may become ill or die from lack of sleep.

ENDOGENOUS INSOMNIA: This is caused by a discomfort within the body ranging from indigestion to pain.

EXOGENOUS INSOMNIA: This is caused by external disturbances such as noise or a partner’s snoring. This is the easiest type of insomnia to cure.

FUNCTIONAL INSOMNIA: This is caused by a functional problem in the subject’s sleep-wakefulness center in the brain.

Many insomniacs develop an irrational fear of getting into bed because they expect to lie awake. This negative expectancy will bring about insomnia all by itself

HERE ARE THE FACTS

1. No one has ever died from or become ill from lack of sleep. The body and mind will get at least the minimum amount of sleep that it needs, no matter what. If you lose some sleep one night, the next night you will get some additional sleep to make up the loss.

2. Our internal clock brings about a valley of fatigue in cycles. Every four to six hours you will experience your maximum fatigue, and this is when its easiest to fall asleep. After the that you will experience a renewed feeling of energy and it will become difficult to fall asleep.

3. Even if you think you haven’t slept a wink all night, it has been proven that we all sleep during the night. Sometimes you feel that you’ve been lying awake thinking, but actually you have been sleeping lightly and dreaming.

4. Trying to fall asleep: There is a law of nature called The Law of Reversed Effect. It says that if you try to do something, you will get the opposite. and the harder you try, the more you will get the opposite. So, trying to fall asleep will insure that you will remain awake.

5. Alcohol will put you to sleep: This may be true; as alcohol is a depressant. However, as soon as it wears off, you will awaken abruptly and it will be harder than ever to fall asleep.

6. Sleeping pills can help: During sleep it is the dream phase of sleep in which you get your rest. Sleeping pills suppress the dream phase of sleep (REM sleep). That is why one generally awakens more tired than before going to sleep after using pills.

EFFECTING A CURE

1. See what time you feel most fatigued in the evening. From then on, every evening at least an hour before that time, take a bath that is slightly warmer than body temperature for 20 minutes. A shower won’t have the intended effect.

2. Have a warm beverage, preferably not coffee or tea because of the caffeine which will wake you up. Warm milk is the best if you can tolerate it.

3. Discontinue thoughts of problems that you have, or what needs to be done tomorrow. If you are worried about forgetting what you have to do tomorrow, write it down.

4. Stay away from stimulating thoughts and television shows. If you must read, then read something that is boring.

5. Reserve your bed for sleep. Read and watch television only from a chair or couch.

6. Get into bed at least 20 minutes before your valley of fatigue. Once in bed, if worries begin to pop into your mind, repeat several times to yourself, “I’ll think about it tomorrow.” This will help to eliminate excessive thinking. Do not try to make your mind blank and don’t try to fall asleep. Just allow yourself to rest.

7. For Endogenous Insomnia, you should eliminate the discomfort to the best of your ability.

8. For Exogenous Insomnia, make the room as quiet as possible. If your partner snores, you can move to another room. Running a fan motor can also help induce sleep, as it will tend to cover up outside noises. The monotonous drone of the fan generally proves to be very relaxing.

HYPNOSIS FOR INSOMNIA – PSYCHO-REACTIVE AND FUNCTIONAL INSOMNIA

Practice self hypnosis every day. Stress exacerbates and can even cause a sleep disorder. Self-hypnosis can help you to quickly dissipate stress. Post-hypnotic suggestions for coping, and to instill the expectation of sleep can help. “I fall asleep promptly, and sleep soundly and restfully all through the night.”

© 2006 By Alan B. Densky. This document may be re-printed as long as it is not altered and the author’s name and web address are retained.

Insomnia is one of the more common symptoms of stress and depression. Whether you have a hard time falling asleep, or you fall asleep promptly and then awaken later and are unable to fall back to sleep, you have insomnia. THERE ARE FOUR TYPES OF INSOMNIA PSYCHO-REACTIVE INSOMNIA: This is caused by tension. The person’s mind is keeping them awake with worry. In addition, they may begin to worry about getting to sleep because they have to waken in the morning. The person …

Alan B. Densky, Pres. Neuro-VISION, Inc Video and Audio Hypnosis & NLP CD’s http://www.neuro-vision.us Mr. Densky is the developer of a very effective multi-session Ericksonian Hypnosis & NLP Insomnia program titled, “Sleep Like A Baby!” Visit our site and subscribe to our FREE hypnosis newsletters, or download our FREE Power Relaxation MP3’s.

Visit our site (easyhomeremedy.com) to learn more easy treatments for Insomnia.

Eliminating all sources of caffeine is essential for preventing and relieving insomnia. Some women are especially sensitive to the stimulating effects of caffeine, and even one cup of coffee in the morning can interfere with sleep patterns that night.

Make sure your bedroom is a quiet, peaceful haven for sleep. Even a dim light can disturb sleep, so make your bedroom as dark as possible. Invest in room-darkening shades if necessary to block out external light. If noise is a problem, you can try soft earplugs, but they can be uncomfortable to wear. A better solution is an environmental sound machine that creates soothing background “white noise” such as gentle ocean waves, that blocks out all disturbing noise. You’ll sleep better with plenty of fresh air, so keep your windows open at least a few inches, even in the winter.

Disrupted sleep is often caused by an unhealthful bedroom environment. Most mattresses, pillows, and bed linens are saturated with chemicals that release toxins such as formaldehyde into the air for years, causing symptoms such as headaches, nausea, fatigue, throat and eye irritation, and insomnia. When you consider that you spend approximately one-third of your life in bed, it makes sense to make your bedroom as healthful and comfortable as possible. Buy natural cotton sheets that have not been treated with chemicals (avoid any that are “no-iron” or “easy care”). Cotton-flannel sheets are also a good option, especially for cooler months, and are naturally wrinkle-free. Layer your bed with cotton or wool blankets and down comforters, and instead of synthetic foam mattresses and pillows, choose cotton- or wool-filled mattresses and cotton-, down-, or wool-filled pillows. For the most refreshing sleep, avoid mattresses that are too soft or too hard. A firm mattress that provides comfortable support for your back is best.

Avoid any activity in bed except sleep and sex. Don’t read in bed, watch television, talk on the phone, or work. If you are unable to sleep, don’t lie there and try to make yourself go to sleep or worry about it. Get up and do something relaxing, but not something that is too interesting-reading a boring book can be especially good for inducing sleep. As soon as you feel sleepy, go back to bed. If you again find that you can’t sleep, repeat the process, and do it as many times as you need to until you finally fall asleep. It may take a couple of weeks, but this is a good way to train yourself to go to sleep, because you aren’t fueling your anxiety about not being able to sleep. Avoid napping during the day, especially in the late afternoon, because it can interfere with nighttime sleep patterns.

Chase dreams can exhibit themselves in a range of ways. Often the dreamer is being chased by someone that they fear will harm them or even kill them. These dreams are many times so realistic that the dreamer will be frightened for a few minutes even after waking up.

So what is it in our waking state that causes us to be chased in our dreams? Perhaps there is something that we know we must do but for whatever reason we have been avoiding. This action that we are avoiding could be the attacker in our dream. Instead of facing the task and taking action we choose to run away from it. So this dream represents the things that you are trying to get away from or avoid like a bad relationship, a job that we hate, maybe even a book report that’s due.

It’s said that if you have been troubled by the same reoccurring chase dream you can examine what is going on in your life that you are trying to avoid, confront it and the chase dreams go away.

Some times the attacker in the dream is not something that you are avoiding but can even be yourself. Unsettled feelings of resentment, anger and fright can often enter your dreams in the form of the threat of an attacker. Again, in reality the attacker is just a representation of your life.

Sometimes you can resolve a dream by confronting the attacker in the dream. This can be difficult for some people as they are unable to take an active role in the dream state, if you are able to though, give it a shot. Ask the attacker what they want why are they chasing you, you may find the answer to your wake state trouble right from the attacker.

Of course chase dreams do not always have symbolic meaning. Sometimes dreams where you are being chased simply represent a fear of being a victim to crime. This type of direct fear dreams are more common in women than in men. Women, in particularly those living in high crime areas, often feel in danger in their waking lives, and this fear just carries over into their dream state.

It doesn’t really matter why you are having these chase dreams, it is generally possible to reduce or eliminate them simply by examining the cause of these dreams in the first place.

The truth is, many nightmares are actually gifts that we should be thankful for because they are trying to help us.

Avoidance is the wrong response. The strong emotions evoked by these intense dreams are cries for help, and like a baby crying in the night for attention … they will not be denied. The longer you ignore them, the louder they will get! Therefore ignoring nightmares is not only the wrong response, it’s impractical in that it will make them worse.

Sometimes the subconscious mind will work with your nightmares to bring resolutions without you being consciously aware of the entire process. But when nightmares become recurring, then it’s a sign that your conscious attention is being sought.

It’s more common to wake up in the middle of a nightmare than during a regular dream. It’s also more common to remember a nightmare. This is, again, by design as a way of trying to get your attention.

The best way to get rid of a recurring nightmare is to deal with it – that is to deal with the issue it’s presenting. It will take some courage, but here are some tips on how to do it:

· Rather than turning and shooting a monster or “bad guy” that is chasing you, it’s better to turn and ask the aggressor how you can help it. Use such questions as “What is it you want to tell me,” or “How can I help you help me?”

· Come up with solutions by asking other “cast members” in the dream what resolution they would like to see.

· Bring your Spiritual Guide into the dream and ask for his/her suggestions.

Nightmares may also be caused by trauma, psychiatric problems or drugs (both legal and illegal). In such cases the care of a health care professional should be sought immediately.

Nightmares are the type of dream everyone fears and wants to avoid. By their nature, these dreams are fearful, but often they need to be faced. The mind may be presenting them to us in such a dramatic manner because we have ignored a message for a prolonged period of time and it’s resorting to more drastic means to get our attention. The truth is, many nightmares are actually gifts that we should be thankful for because they are trying to help us. Avoidance is the wrong…

Lucid dreaming is a challenging art to master, but there are steps that can be taken to help you achieve the state.

As you go to sleep, use the suggestion: “As I am dreaming tonight, I will realize I am dreaming” (use your own words).

It’s important to do this as you are drifting off to sleep, but you can do it throughout the day as well. Sometimes as you are making this suggestion you may actually have a memory of a previous dream come to mind! Your attitude should be one of positive expectation, but gentle inviting rather than insisting or applying any type of pressure or anxiety.

Next, work on remembering your dreams after you wake up. By getting the mind used to remembering your dreams, you are creating a more deliberate connection of awareness between the conscious and unconscious mind. In fact, it’s possible that you may already be having lucid dreams, but you aren’t remembering them!

The final step is to attempt to stay in the twilight sleep state for as long as possible upon awakening. You will often have a dream just before you awake in the morning so if you can stay still and keep your eyes closed, you may be able to enter back into the dream, but with more conscious awareness – thus creating a type of lucid dream as you balance between the sleeping and waking states.

A common problem some people encounter with lucid dreaming is that they wake up as soon as they realize they’re dreaming. This is because the work of making conscious choices while sleeping causes the conscious mind is rise from its slumber, thus arousing the wakening state.

This can be overcome with practice, but there is a technique that can help. Before you go to sleep, plan on what you will do in your lucid dreams. This removes an element of conscious choice during your dreams, which may help you stay in the dream state.

Though we are each unique individuals, our commonalities are more pervasive and fundamental than our differences. Truly understanding this is the only cure for racism, jingoism and prejudice.

Most symbols in your dreams reflect a part of yourself. Some images common to all of humanity, along with their typical meanings are:

· THE PERSONA: A person’s “public mask.” The image of yourself you present to the public.

· THE SHADOW: The parts of a person they hide from the public, and even from themselves.

· THE ANIMUS: The male part of a person’s psyche (especially of a woman). Represented by men in one’s dreams.

· The ANIMA: The female part of a person’s psyche (especially of a man). Represented by women in one’s dreams.

· THE COUPLE: Represents wholeness and integration of the various parts of the self: anima and animus, inner and outer life, etc.

· THE HERO: Most people identify with the hero of stories, and so the hero represents the ego, which is the identification of the self.

· THE MAIDEN: Represents innocence, purity and beauty, but often an innocence accompanied by weakness that needs to be “rescued” by the hero, and so is more precisely naiveté.

· THE TRICKSTER: Sometimes represented as a clown or a magician, the trickster’s job is to hinder the mission of the hero.

· THE CHILD: The true, innocent self, filled with potential, but vulnerable.

· WISE OLD MAN: One’s inner guide based on the wisdom a person has accumulated over the years that often has to give guidance to the young inexperienced hero.

· THE FATHER: A guide, provider or authority figure.

· THE MOTHER: The part of a person that is nurturing, and promotes growth and fertility.

Beginning your understanding of dream symbols with these archetypes can give you a quick start before you delve into the more challenging (but also exciting and rewarding) work of learning your personal symbology.

Beyond these personal images, common dreams are also founded on emotions common to all of humanity:

· Fear
· The need to be understood
· The desire to be loved
· Lust and passion
· Thrill and adventure
· The pursuit of security
· A sense of belonging
· Personal journey of spiritual growth

Because humans have so many traits in common, many of our dreams are similar. These common dream symbols are the most easily understood as they have been analyzed and diagnosed by experts for years. Like archetypes, they are an excellent place to begin your journey in understanding the language of dreams.

If you are mystified by a dream, begin with the two lists above and ask if your dream contained any of the characters from the first list, or feelings from the second list. If so, begin there, and often the meaning of other more personal symbols will unfold their meaning as your mind begins to make associations.

Although there are archetypes of symbols common to most people, it’s usually better to go within yourself to discover the meaning of symbols in your dreams than to consult a dream dictionary.

Interpreting your dreams requires an understanding of yourself.

Most images mean different things to different people. For example, ask three people what the color “red” symbolizes to them and you can get three completely different answers:

· Blood
· Stop
· Love

Those answers couldn’t be more different! Most images in dreams are like this, which is why YOU are the best person to interpret your own dreams.

During a counseling session, a therapist will sometimes ask you about your dreams. But rarely will they tell you what they mean. Why? Because the good doctor doesn’t know what your dreams mean!

Rather he or she will ask you a series of questions to help you uncover the meaning of symbols and images for yourself. This will often involve free association exercises as well as a skilled discussion of your history with regard to the images and symbols in your dreams.

It can be a long process, but a very rewarding one that leads to life-enhancing revelations!

Remember – Dreams are meant to enhance your life while you’re awake. They’re important messages from the depths of your soul, and all dreams are meant to come true!

Learning from your dreams is powerful, but also fun!

While dreams are meant to enhance our lives and not just entertain us, there’s certainly nothing wrong with enjoying their entertainment value along the way!

As you start to remember more of your dreams, you’ll be amazed, and even dazzled, at the latent creativity in your mind. It’s like getting free movies every night … and they’re all produced personally for you and customized for your needs.

Dreams are a tool, like the proverbial “finger pointing to the moon.” Don’t focus on the finger or you will miss out on all the heavenly glory. Dreams are the finger and they are pointing to the dreamer. Interpreting your dreams is an exercise in self-discovery and self-growth. They are almost always referring back to you and every character, image and emotion is usually referring to various parts of your psyche.

The primary purpose of dreams is to attempt to balance the psyche. Keeping this in mind will help you understand the meaning of your dreams and prevent you from getting way off track in your interpretation.

Trying to understand one dream in isolation is like trying to understand a person by spending one day with them. By recording all of your dreams in a dream journal you will, over time, find it easier to understand individual dreams you have in the future.

Dreams are like plays or movies that we create every night, and they have a similar structure. It can be helpful to look for this structure when trying to understand your dreams:

oEstablishment of a LOCATION. Where does the dream take place? How do you feel about that place? What emotions arise within you as you think about it? Does it have any relationship with a real place you know?

oIntroduction of the CHARACTERS. Who are the characters? How are you presented? Who is the antagonist? How do you feel about each of those people (including the presentation of yourself), and how do they relate to parts of your own personality or to people you know?

oHow does the PLOT unfold? There is usually a beginning (where the story is established and begins to build), a middle (where a crisis peaks), and an end (where the crisis get resolved – though sometimes dreams don’t provide the solution and end in the middle of the story because it is up to you to provide the resolution).

Sometimes (rarely) dreams can be very literal and they are easy to understand. There is nothing wrong with asking whether the face value of the dream may have meaning for you.

Most often, however, dreams are shrouded in symbolism that points beyond the literal image. They can be trying to communicate a very specific message that applies to your waking life, they may be merely trying to balance your emotional life or they may just be hinting at some thoughts or emotions in progress without any final resolution yet in mind.

Dreams are often messages from our subconscious mind that are resisted by our conscious mind. For this reason, the subconscious often cloaks the message in symbols so the dream isn’t immediately rejected or simply avoided by the conscious mind.

Unraveling these symbols can be very difficult, but also a lot of fun. It’s the ultimate mystery and the most elaborate puzzle, but the answer is always within you.

Sometimes the answers are as simple as consulting a dream dictionary for the meaning of common symbols and archetypes. However, each person is different and has their individual “dream dictionary.” To make things even more interesting, your personal dream dictionary can change over time.

Interpreting your dreams can provide you a life-long quest that goes way beyond the puzzle solving of the Da Vinci Code, but can also be much more rewarding.

This article is a concise description of the method of dream interpretation that I use. There are several points/guidelines to take note.

1. The dreams are often symbolic representations of what we are experiencing or are about to experience in the near future. I have found that my dreams often convey messages of occurrences that will most likely happen within a month or so.

2. Usually the people that we encounter in the dream symbolize the different aspects/characteristics of ourselves. For example: a woman may represent a feminine aspect of oneself even when one is male in the waking hours. Much of our repressed tendencies also tend to manifest themselves as characters in dreams as well.

Have you ever wondered why we sometimes appear and behave so differently in our dreams. Well, my take is that dreaming offers an outlet for us to be ’somebody else’ that we never had the opportunity to be during our waking hours.

3. Often how we feel and the emotion we felt during the dream reveals and conveys much about the meaning of the symbols.

Intuition and the willingness to examine ourselves with brutal honesty are two very important factors for successful analysis.

Below is a list of commonly encountered symbols. In my opinion, we should always take into consideration the fact that symbols hold certain semantics and meanings that are specific to individuals. Thus the interpretations of symbols are not generic and therefore there can be no hard and fast rules with regards to dream analysis.

Common dream symbolism

Water- associated with emotion.

Ocean or any large body of water – often represents the subconscious mind. The state of the sea often is an indication of the emotional state as well

Eating/digesting- Trying to understand an issue/situation

Walking- associated with learning and assimilating.

Path, road or pavement- symbolises life or spiritual Path/journey

House- symbolises our self. Within the house, the various rooms could represent the various aspects of self.

Snake- symbolises knowledge.

Tree and forest – subconscious feelings that governs our emotions

Bridge- a transitional phase or period of transformation / change

Below is an example of a dream and its interpretation.

Dream

Miss A was visiting a foreign country. She boarded a train that has a stop in a shopping complex that meanders through mountains and terrains. She remembered telling the train driver that she wanted to alight in the shopping centre so that she can find her way home.

Instead of alighting at the intended destination, she alighted at a strange place. She had difficulty getting to her destination. She contacted her partner (boyfriend). Though they communicated through the phone, she was still stuck and lost in that unfamiliar place. By this time, she was starting to get depressed. In the moment of depression, she woke up from the dream.

Symbolism involved

Foreign country- unknown knowledge, new experience
Train- accelerated learning and understanding
Through mountains and terrains- ups and downs
Find the way home- spiritual path
Train-in-charge – guiding aspect
Her partner – male/ mental aspect
Queen shopping center station – an intermediate stage that must be attained.

Interpretation

Miss A is currently experiencing and/or learning something that is still unknown to her. It is something that is rather difficult for her to grasp and apply. She is/will be experiencing some feelings of ups and downs. However, if understood, the newfound understanding and knowledge could significantly accelerate her self-growth and discovery. However, for the time being, it is something not within her experience yet (as symbolized by alighting at a strange place instead of the designated station). When she tried contacting her male partner (which symbolizes using her mental reasoning), she was still confused and thus became depressed.

Well, that’s all for a quick lesson in dream interpretation. I hope it is informative and beneficial.

Happy Dreaming…

Most of us dream. But only a very small percentage of us understands that dreams hold much importance and opportunity for our self growth, improvement and self discovery. But many mystics of both Eastern and Western origins are aware of the fact that dreams hold a wealth of knowledge.

Every night, I used to wake up after hearing a sound of road-roller on my bed. Yes, you guessed it right! My husband used to snore and snore as if there was no tomorrow. I was unaware of his snoring habit before marriage, otherwise, I would not have to hear his mind blasting snores. I am sure that there are many other ladies as well as gentlemen who feel exactly the same way as I did, because of their spouses, who use to drive a steam engine during sleep. I was so pissed off his habit that I decided to research on snoring. The following account would definitely give you all an idea about the intriguing world of Snoring:

What is snoring? Just after hearing this word, the very first thought that comes to mind is of the irritating sound that affects the sleep of not only the snorer but also of all the other people around him. However, its easiest definition “Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures, namely uvula and soft palate, and the resulting sound, due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping”, may not be quite easy to understand. But it clearly refers to blockage in the throat, nasal passage or respiratory system which results in loud or soft but extremely unpleasant sounds.

Now the next question that comes to mind is “What causes snoring?”

Well! Basically it is caused by the irregular airflow due to blockage. However, the following are some of the chief snoring causes:

(1.) Nasal Problems: Nasal congestion or commonly known as obstruction/blockage of nasal passage make people snore

(2.) Dental problems: Misfit dentures or misproportionate jaws can also result in snoring

(3.) Sleep Apnea: It is related to the obstruction of airway by the throat tissues or due to Tonsils and affects breathing which results in the irritating sounds

(4.) Allergies can also play a vital role in snoring

(5.) Alcohol: Consumption of too much alcohol before sleeping also relaxes the throat muscles which could not defend the airway blockage and cause snoring.

(6.) Overweight: Excess of anything is bad and snoring is no different.

The above are the main causes of snoring. Hope you liked my research work!

There are also some of the easiest remedies to get rid of this highly condemned sleeping disorder.