My World Imagined

 Somewhere, I have been told that only incomplete dreams are remembered.  Dreams are part of the subconscious mind that gives way to conflict and/or desires.  To me, conflicts and desires are opposite ends of a spectrum.  In some cases, you can have conflict with what you desire, and visa versa, but when it comes to remembering dreams, remembering them rarely happens when the dream thought is complete, finished, resolved, done with.

 All this meaning that once the subconscious mind completes a dream sequence, the issue or desire is resolved or satisfied, leaving little room to revisit or remember.  It makes sense when you think of it in terms of problem-solving.  Once you solve a problem, yo no longer have to spend time or energy on that issue any longer.  See how that works?

 Doctors, scientists, and people that work in that field of study have many many theories, and they all consist of relating to the individual that's doing the dreaming.

 It's not alarming that some sleepers remember their dreams and others don't, many may question if they even dream at all.  I say that there is more than likely a chance that everyone dreams, but withing their dream, they tend to complete their dream whereas there is no need to remember.  Meaning their completed dream has gone to a place of satisfaction where it no longer have relevance.  

 I say, when a person is awakened by a dream or any outside distraction, it's more of a chance to recall what you were dreaming about because the thought/dream is incomplete and/or interrupted, but the mind doesn't forget, it just moves on to another subject. My theory for saying this lies within this question:  Have you ever been awakened from a good dream then attempt to go back asleep to recapture that same dream?  It never happens.

 There are life oriented or work related dreams that are re-occurring night after night and don't seem to really have a resolve.  I feel that it is due to a cycle in your daily awake life that is done routinely ...such as going to a job doing the same thing, or walking the dog around the same block night after night at the same time every evening and morning.  It isn't something that needs to be resolved in your dream, but can easily be altered in life.  Take on a mew project at work or take the dog on a new route... It may be the one thing that stops that re- occurring sequence of dreams.

 People who tend to remember their dreams also respond more strongly than others to hearing their name when they're awake, new research suggests.

 Everyone dreams during sleep, but not everyone recalls the mental escapade the next day, and scientists aren't sure why some people remember more than others.

 I do believe that dreams are our connection to the conscious and subconscious that allow us to be uniquely us.  I also feel that it is a good practice to pay attention to our dreams as they are guides that can lead us to our greater possibilities.  If ever dreaming, and you  grab hold to something in you dream, you can almost bet that you will remember that dream vividly because it contained something you felt you had possession of.

 With every dream, there is something that will be left behind.  ...Usually mental opposed to physical.  Never stop dreaming.  
The world is yours imagined.

Namaste'

10 Stress Reduction Tips You Can Use Now

 

  

 

 

We live in a microwave world where everything is wanted instantly... You don't need a spa weekend or a retreat. Each of these stress-relieving tips can get you from OMG to om in less time than you think.



1. Meditate
A few minutes of practice per day can help ease anxiety. Daily meditation may alter the brain's neural pathways, making you more resilient to stress, and helps to regain clarity and focus.

It's simple. Sit up straight with both feet on the floor. Close your eyes or find a neutral focal point. Focus your attention on reciting -- out loud or silently -- a positive mantra such as "I feel at peace" or "I love myself." Place one hand on your belly to sync the mantra with your breaths. Let any distracting thoughts float by like clouds.


2. Deep Breathing
Take a 5-minute break and focus on your breathing. Sit up straight, eyes open with a neutral focal point or closed, with a hand on your belly. Slowly inhale through your nose, feeling the breath start in your lower abdomen and work its way to the top of your head. Reverse the process as you exhale through your mouth.

Deep breathing counters the effects of stress by slowing the heart rate and lowering blood pressure. Inhale good, exhale bad.


3. Be Present
Slow down and enjoy a cup of green tea.

While sipping, you can talk yourself through whatever is causing the stress, first by identifying the source, dissecting it, then verbalizing your course of action to accomplish the task at hand. Green tea has micro and macro antioxidant properties that also promotes focus.

Take 5 minutes and focus on only one behavior with awareness. Notice how the air feels on your face when you’re walking and how your feet feel hitting the ground. Enjoy the texture and taste of each bite of food. When you spend time in the moment and focus on your senses, you should feel less tense.


4. Reach Out, Touch Someone
Your social network is one of your best tools for handling stress. Be careful, it can also be a primary source for stress. Talk to others -- preferably face to face, or at least on the phone. Share what's going on. You can get a fresh perspective while keeping your people skills and connections strong.


5. Tune In to Your Body
Mentally scan your body to get a sense of how stress affects it each day. Lie on your back, or sit with your feet on the floor. Start at your toes and work your way up to your scalp, noticing how your body feels.

Simply be aware of places you feel tight or loose without trying to change anything, For 1 to 2 minutes, imagine each deep breath flowing to that body part providing exactly what it needs to restore balance. Repeat this process as you move your focus up your body, paying close attention to sensations you feel in each body part.


6. Decompress
Place a warm heat wrap around your neck and shoulders for 10 minutes. Close your eyes and relax your face, neck, upper chest, and back muscles. Remove the wrap, and use a tennis ball or foam roller to massage away tension.

Place the ball between your back and the wall. Lean into the ball, and hold gentle pressure for up to 15 seconds. Then move the ball to another spot, and apply pressure.


7. OMG... Laugh Out Loud
Laughter doesn’t just lighten your mood. It lowers your stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, and boosts chemicals in the brain called endorphins, which help your mood. Lighten up by tuning in to your favorite sitcom or video, reading the comics, or chatting with someone who makes you smile. Laughing tricks your nervous system into making you happy.

Here is a 5 minute video to laugh:

8. Play Some Tunes
Research shows that listening to soothing music can lower blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety. Create a playlist of songs or nature sounds (the ocean, a bubbling brook, birds chirping), and allow your mind to focus on the different melodies, instruments, or singers in the piece. You also can blow off steam by rocking out to more upbeat tunes -- or singing at the top of your lungs!


9. Get Moving
You don’t have to run in order to get a runner’s high. All forms of exercise, including yoga, tai-chi, Pilates and walking, can ease depression and anxiety by helping the brain release feel-good chemicals and by giving your body a chance to practice dealing with stress. You can go for a quick walk around the block, take the stairs up and down a few flights, do your best shadow dances or do some stretching exercises like head rolls and shoulder shrugs.

Physical activities and routine movement helps to promote better sleeping habits, which in turn decreases overall stress.



10. Eat Right & Be Grateful
A proper diet and gratitude are closely related. Unfortunately, it’s when we have the most work that we forget to eat well and resort to using sugary, fatty snack foods as a pick-me-up. Fruits and vegetables are always great choices, and fish with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce the symptoms of stress. Fish really is brain food.

Keep a gratitude journal or several (one by your bed, one in your purse, and one at work) to help you remember all the things that are good in your life.

Being grateful for your blessings cancels out negative thoughts and worries, just as feeding your body with proper nutrition cancels out stress-related hunger

Use these journals to savor good experiences like a tasty well-balanced meal, a sunshine-filled day, and good health. Don’t forget to celebrate accomplishments like mastering a new task or a new hobby.

When you start feeling stressed, spend a few minutes looking through your notes to remind yourself what really matters. You Matter.

Naps are Nice

There are multitudes of benefits to napping, when done right.

I live in a pro-nap-happy world. (pun intended) ...for maintaining optimal mental health & clarity. Let's face it, we all go through periods of foggy-ness, irritability, mood-swings, and/or feelings of disconnection. Any of those conditions may be instantly resolved within a blink of an eye. Some may require a rather lengthy blink.

Which style of napping will work best for you and/or your situation?

Blink nap. This is a momentary power nap you can easily enjoy, even without realizing! If anything, they're certainly the most amusing of naps; we've all witnessed someone do their best not to nod off while tired on the way home from work. For example, when you fall asleep during a train or bus trip this is considered a blink nap.
 
The benefits of the Alert nap are dubious, since one is generally not asleep long enough to truly relax. In this case it’s like a 'sleep attack', similar to a Blink nap. Shown to be surprisingly effective at shedding sleepiness. This is a longer nap, ranging from 2 to 5 minutes. Studies indicate that a power nap of this length can significantly reduce tiredness for the remainder of the day and also help improve alertness. Even though this type of nap has benefits, it's not something to regularly practice or make a habit.

Sleep Fact:

Large companies in the U.S. are convinced by the benefits of power naps.  So much so that Google have adopted the power nap to their policies by providing 'sleep pods' for staff on their lunch break.

 

Nap Trick:

When doing the alert nap, it will be helpful to hold a pencil (or small object) in your dominant hand while drifting off.  As you fall into a sleep, the hand-held object will become unstable, allowing your auto-reflexes to gain a grip.  Your reflexes will disallow you to fall into a deep sleep.

For a Quick Boost of Alertness, experts say a 10-to-20-minute power nap is adequate for getting back to work in a pinch. This is probably the one that gives you the best bang for the buck. This naptime even work great with coffee drinkers. By drinking 4 to 6 ounces of warm coffee, the body gets more relaxed. The caffeine will take about 15-to-20 minutes to kick in. Although longer than the other two, it is still relatively short in length, limiting your rest to NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep, making it easy to hit the ground running when you wake. Sleeping up to ten minutes longer than this may cause 'sleep inertia' - the groggy feeling which takes considerable time to ease off before the power naps' restorative benefits shine through.
 
For Cognitive Memory Processing, however, a 60-minute nap may do more good, Dr. Mednick said. Including slow-wave sleep helps with remembering facts, places and faces. The downside: some grogginess upon waking.
 
For a Full Cycle of Sleep, the 90-minute nap will likely involve a timer to wake up to. A full cycle of sleep aids creativity and emotional and procedural memory, such as learning how to ride a bike. Waking up after REM sleep usually means a minimal amount of sleep inertia.

In addition to those recommendations, one surprising suggestion is to sit slightly upright during your nap, because it will help you avoid a deep sleep. And if you find yourself dreaming during your power naps, it may be a sign you're sleep deprived.

　

...............Required Sleep:...............

Newborn.................... Up to 18 hrs

1-12 months................... 14-18 hrs

1-3 yrs............................ 12-15 hrs

3-5 yrs............................ 11-13 hrs

5-12 yrs............................ 9-11 hrs

Teens................................ 8-10 hrs

Adults................................. 6-8 hrs

It is best to get regular sleep on a regular schedule at presicely the same time daily.