Law of Attraction - Wanting is Corrosive to Attracting What You Desire

Using the law of attraction to manifest what you want does not have to be difficult if you learn one key concept. The law of attraction is your willing servant and it will give to you what you first become. You must first learn to alter your perceptions of yourself and reality and then and only then will you begin to attract what you desire.

When you are in a state of wanting, generally you feel bad. You may feel empty and hopeless about not having the thing you want. When this is happening you are having a direct communication with your inner world and the universe that you do not have. The law of attraction does not care if this is what you want or not, it simply declares this as truth.

What's powerful about the law of attraction is that it makes you the master, it responds to you as you say you are. You have to begin to see that what you desire already exist in some form. First you may want to spend time seeing those things in your environment. The more you allow yourself to see and acknowledge those things as being present the more space you allow for them to come into your life.

The second step is to be aware that the mere fact that you dream, you have already begin to create. The more you trust in your dream and feed that dream with your intention the stronger it becomes. The law of attraction responds to that dream and your feelings towards that dream, accepts this as truth and then manifest it into physical fo7ECrm.

You may not always have faith that the law of attraction will work for you especially if its new to you. Your belief in the law of attraction has to grow. Over time you will develop faith in it and your ability to attract what you want will grow to amazing levels.

As you practice and learn you will discover more steps that you did not know before. You will discover more secrets that you did not know existed. But, in order for this to happen you must continue the learning process. With each new bit of information you read and each new technique you learn the better you will become at manifesting.

The law of attraction is a fraction of the manifesting process. The other parts depend on your learning and growing and practicing these powerful techniques. You truly can create miracles and magic once you learn to go deeper into this knowledge. Learn More Manifesting Secrets

Do you know that there are ancient techniques that can increase your manifesting intentions and attract what you want even faster than ever? Visit http://www.cosmic-wealth.com/lawofattraction to learn more about these secrets teachings. Daniel Hinds is the author of the powerful ebook Magic Money.

Self Help And Spirtual Guide
Action is the foundational key to all success

Using Law of Attraction to Deliberately Create Your Life - Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life

Why is it two people living in the same world with the same set of circumstances, can experience life so differently? Are you aware of how powerful a creator you are? Believe it or not, everything that has happened in your life or is happening now is in direct correlation with your thoughts and belief systems? Take an inventory of your life. You are probably confident and happy in some area while lacking and unfulfilled in others. Why is that? Every one of us has the ability to change any aspect of our life if we are willing to change our thoughts, beliefs and actions- it is then we can experience true cha4F4nge.

The Universal Law of Attraction states you attract to your life whatever you give attention, energy and focus to, whether wanted or unwanted. Simply put, like attracts like. We draw to ourselves energies similar to the "vibration" (feeling or mood) we put out. If you dwell on negative thoughts, you create negative feelings and you attract negative people and circumstances. In contrast, if you maintain positive thoughts and feelings you will attract positive people and opportunities to your life. Everyone has this field of energy around them attracting and repelling people and circumstances. When we begin to grasp the concept of "vibrational output," we can consciously choose our thoughts, feelings, words and actions in order to deliberately create the quality of life we desire. We can choose something positive or something negative. This is the experience of becoming a conscious and responsible "creator" of our world. This takes practice, but cultivating and mastering this awareness will affect our entire LIFE.

Last week I heard peak performance guru, Tony Robbins, illustrate a story about 8 time Grand Slam Tennis Champion, Andre Agassi. Andre came to Tony for help when he could not break a losing streak. Tony showed 5ADhim video clips when he was at the top of his game pointing out his physiology and the strength and clear confidence he showed walking onto the court. He asked Andre, "What were you thinking in that moment?" Andre said, "I looked at my opponent and I thought, why did you even bother to show up, I am going to demolish you." Then Tony showed him a clip of his physiology walking onto the court during his losing streak. It was in total contrast, walking slow, head down, shoulders slumping and Tony asked him, "What he was thinking in that moment?" Andre answered, "Well I was thinking I was going to get creamed and how embarrassing it would be." In both cases, it all played out as Andre thought it would. The game was over before it begun. Once Andre got back in alignment with his power of focus on winning and replicating all the physiology of a winner, he regained his status as the #1 player in the world.

One of Tony's instant life transforming lessons is "By altering your body's physiology, you can achieve an immediate change in your emotional state. The mind will follow whatever state your physical body is in and not vice-versa."

I use several different tools to support my clients in shifting their state of mind and begin to transform their life. Below are five simple steps to change your thoughts and emotions by changing your physiology:

1. Become aware of your state of mind in the moment.

5BB

Notice what you are focusing on and how you are perceiving things. Are you in a negative frame of mind? Notice your thoughts and emotions are in the same vibration.

2. Bring that awareness into your physical body.

Are you hunched over or slouched? Do you have any tension in your shoulders, back, stomach or legs? Are your eyebrows furrowed? Are you frowning? Are you tired?

3. Make the connection.

Notice the relationship between what you are thinking and feeling and your physical posture, muscle tension, tightness in your stomach, etc.

4. Right now stand up and start to move around.

Jump up and down as high as you can in one spot, shaking out your hands and fingers at the same time. Raise your hands above your head as if you're jumping in celebration. Add some "hollers" and "cheers." Jump around wherever you are for as little as 30 seconds and as much as five or ten minutes. Maybe even put on some music if you can. Other options could be dancing to loud music (dance like no one is watching), go for a jog, or do some yoga-whatever gets you up and changes your state of emotions.

5. Stop and notice where you are and take one immediate action.

When you stop take a moment to notice how your thoughts, emotions and physical posture have changed. Also be mind59Cful they are still inter-connected and inter-dependent, then take one immediate action in opposition to your previous "low vibration funk" using your newly created high performance energy state. And, always remember to be grateful in that moment as well.

Tony Robbins says that "motion puts the 'e' in emotion" and by physically changing our state we can instantaneously shift into a positive state of mind to create deliberately with focus and intent.

I invite you to print this article or write down these 5 steps to changing your thoughts and emotions. Do this exercise right now to create an anchoring point so in any moment you know how to change your state and transform yourself from a negative place to a positive one. Then acknowledge yourself for taking an empowering action.

Jennifer R. Bailey is a expert law of attraction practitioner, spiritual life coach, trainer and teacher. She holds a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology and is a Master Certified Integrative Coaching Professional. Additionally, she is pursuing her PhD in Metaphysics.

She offers complimentary sample sessions.

For more information visit her website:

http://www.attractyourperfectlife.com

Wealth and Life Skills
Having Faith in the Creative Process

Simple Ways You Can Use To Date, Attract and Seduce The Very Beautiful Women

Beautiful women or the more attractive ones are the ha1249rdest group of women men can attract. Why ? Simple because of their good looks? I doubt it. I believe there is a big mistake in most of the mindset of men towards women. That is why I always mention "the right mindset to have if you want to have great success and relationship with women". Anyway, I will get straight to the point now, which is how and what you should do it so that beautiful women feel a strong level of attraction to you.

1. It is all about your mindset about women.

Guys, how many times have you seen a girl you don't know on the street so beautiful that you want to go and talk to her? Now, think about it, how many times have you failed to walk up like a man and talk to that cutie girl? Maybe you have seen a beautiful girl you dunno for a couple hundred times, BUT I'd bet that most of you has never walked up straight to that hottie and chat with her. Maybe you need a reason to do so? Then probably she's your destined lover. Ooops, you screwed up, you never walked to her and got to know each other. Dang, how many times has this happened to you?

Now we go deeper on why you never were able to have the guts to walk up to her and introduce yourself. One thing for sure that is because you are afraid of failure, afraid that she will comment on how ugly you look like. etc etc. But get this, if you don't try to approach her, that beautiful lady will just slip away from you, probably in the arms of a person who has the guts. That is what makes all the differences. Guts. Fear nothing, if you fear something, that should be your insecurity and fear of failure. Hope you get the point here.

2. Beautiful Women Are Approached So Frequently that A Counter Gets Overwhelmed Everyday

Okay if you are afraid to approach her. But there will be people with the guts to walk up and introduce themselves. What the heck, maybe they are just lonely and desperate. Most of the guy who approach her would probably say the same boring thing over and over again. Take this information and make it your edge over other guys. Most guys start with a question, that is fine. Most guys also start with a compliment, or a hundred. So be different and unique. When guys go round kissing her ass, you should spank her ass. Sound illogic to you? Read some of my other posts or visit the site below to find out more.

3. Do the usual stuffs, but only do it better than most guys

There are some set of skills involved in the "how to attract woman" game. You have to learn these skills if you were to be successful with women. Yes you can get them for free by reading articles either on the Internet or EzineArticles. But if you want it all, in a more organized form, please visit the site below to find more information you need. Some skills include how to use humor, body language, communication skills, how to approach women, how to follow through a date, how to progress on each situation, how to deal with difficult situations and so on. Again, this is something too wide to contain in one article. You have to do your due diligence to find more information. Trust me it is worth the price to pay.

There is a lot of things you need to know in order to be successful in a relationship with a hot beautiful women. For this reason, I suggest you to take your time to study books and information. Decide now that you need a change and get this area of life handled.

If you need any suggestion on which site/book/mentor I recommend then I am more than happy to tell you that all you need to be really successful in attracting any women you like is in this site.

This is the best recommended resources I can give you and I definitely want you to check out http://womensattraction.blogspot.com, if you want to be successful in attracting, seducing or dating any attractive women. And now is the time to get into the right direction so that you won't be lonely in Christmas ever again.

Believe youre highly creative
Game Of Life and How To Play

Fantastic Life

Our good buddy, lazy Yogi Ponchie, had just read a great blog on meditation, where the author had revealed the secrets of how to live a happy, meaningful and good life. This blog highly inspired Yogi Ponchie and he immediately went about implementing the recommendations, in his own special way of course.

The article, he read, explained that the secret to a happy and fulfilling life was to live life one day at a time. Not only that, the author had provided his thoughts on what 5 activities one should include in one's life on a daily basis in order to accomplish this. Here was how Ponchie spent his day, which he felt met the requirements laid out in the post.

5:00 am: Ponchie checked the time and smiled 5:00am Woo Hoo! The recommendation was to wake up early, but since waking up early was impossible for our lazy yoga friend, he had decided instead to stay up all night. Thus, he would be awake during the early morning hours and be able to take advantage of this most spiritual time of day.

6:00 am: Ponchie headed to the Gym to get his daily recommended sweat. He spent the next hour in the sauna.

7:00 am: Ponchie listened to a meditation tape in his car on the way back home from the gym, thus meeting the most important criteria for doing his daily meditation practice.

8:00 am: Ponchie watched Sunrise Earth on Discovery by sitting very close to the television... spending time with nature... done.

9:00 am: Ponchie called his dad and asked him to pay his credit card bills and help fix the leaky faucet in the kitchen. He told his dad that this had to be done today itself, since he was eager to meet the requirement of "completing your daily affairs" as had been suggested, that was easy.

Let's summarize this article that has so profoundly inspired Mr. Ponchie.

Essentially, the secret to a Happy, Meaningful and Good Life, the article said, was to live one day a time. This did not mean not to plan, it meant not to obsess with the outcome. Put money away in the retirement fund, enroll in an MBA program, start a daily fitness routine, launch a new blog, sure do all these things, but don't focus on the results. Instead, just go about the business of life by living each day as well as you can. In addition, the article continued, try to incorporate the following 5 activities into each day, as they would go a long way in expanding your spiritual and personal growth and ensuring that you really maximize your human potential. Here are the 5 daily suggestions that were made.

1. Wake up Early: This gets the day off to a great start. The early morning hours are full of spiritual energy and prana (life force) and are an ideal time for your daily sadhana (meditation, yoga or other spiritual practice).

2. Sweat Everyday: If possible try to break a sweat everyday, and a sauna does not count. This means to get some form of exercise and keep the body in tip top shape. The body is not you, but is the vehicle through which you live and worship, so treat it like a temple and take care of it.

3. Daily Meditation: This is the most important criteria. If you have come to the Mastery of Meditation website, something is stirring within. This invitation by the Divine should not be taken lightly. Not all receive the invite, or at least not all are aware of the beckoning, so if you are being roused from the dream by the gentle hand of your Divine Nature do everything you can Wake Up!

4. Spend Time is Nature: The spiritual path can be described in 1 word -- CONNECT. That one word describes all the Vedas, Gita, Upanishads, Bible, Koran, Tantras, etc. One of the best ways to connect is to be with Nature intimately. Hopefully the author will write an article on this topic of Connection as well as is it a very interesting and powerful concept :-).

5. Complete Your Daily Affairs: Don't procrastinate, don't delay, don't put off what needs to done. The old proverbs are very wise. "A stitch in time saves nine" and "Don't put off till tomorrow what can be done today". Life, the moment, provides challenges to you and when you meet them, life opens up. If they linger, they are like blockages, they prevent your life from moving forward. Your inner voice will constantly remind you what needs to be completed. Heed this suggestion and you will be surprised at the rewards.

Anmol Mehta is a Yoga Teacher & Zen Expert. His extensive site, Free Guided Chakra Meditation & Kundalini Yoga Poses, offers Free Kundalini Yoga Pranayamas & Sets. Also find lively spiritual discussions on the Free Guided Chakra Meditation Practice, Kundalini Yoga Pranayamas & Zen Meditation Blog.

This article is available for reprint on your website and/or newsletter, provided it is not changed and you include the author's signature.

Focus On Success

Uncovering Your Dreams - Can You See Your Dream?

Your dream lives in your mind and is made up of images or pictures, feelings and thoughts.

Visualising is a powerful technique in turning your dream into a reality.

According to many personal development experts including Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, Tony Robbins, James Arthur Ray, just to name a few... the brain does not know the difference between actually doing something and just visualising something being done. The brain processes these two things the same way. Your brain will work to make happen what ever thoughts, images and feelings you have. In other words, what you think about, what images you have, you will bring about.

Three sayings you may be familiar with:
"Seeing is believing!"
"What you see is what you get!"
"If you can see it, you can achieve it!"

All inventions e.g. the aeroplane, all discoveries e.g. electricity, all great works e.g. Sistine Chapel, all success stories e.g. Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, Tony Robbins, all major activities e.g. Sir Edmund Hillary climbing Mount Everest, Jeanne May going to Outer Mongolia... everything begins as a dream... as an image in the person's mind.

In my dream of being in Outer Mongolia I could feel, see and experience myself there. I felt the grasslands... I immersed myself in the energy of Outer Mongolia. I had not seen any pictures of Mongolia so I had no visual cues to use in my 5B4dream -- my imagination filled in all the missing details. Amazingly, when we got to Outer Mongolia, I discovered that those details my imagination provided were incredibly accurate.

The key to visualising your dream is to do it in detail as if you are already living your dream... as if it is already a reality. Not how it would be like... but rather how it is now that it is reality.

Some people are able to see images very clearly in their mind whereas others have difficulty and are unable to "see" images... they are not good at visualising. But visualising your dream isn't only about seeing pictures in your mind... it's about the feelings you have when you are thinking about your dream, it's the thoughts you have when you are in your dream, it's about your spirit coming alive when you are in your dream...

Another powerful technique is to put visual images e.g. photos, newspaper or magazine articles and pictures, typed or hand written words describing your dream, play music or messages that you can relate to your dream, in your environment so that your eyes and ears are constantly reminded of your dream.

These send strong messages to your brain which, in turn, will open you to opportunities that bring you closer to turning your dream into a reality.

Jeanne May of Aspirations Plus, works with spiritu45Bally minded people providing information, inspiration, guidance and support to achieve their dreams and goals.

Can't remember your dream? Don't know how to dream? Then sign up for my free 5 step e- course "Uncovering Your Dreams" at: http://www.aspirationsplus.com/udpromotion1.html and learn how to find your dream, remember your dream and reclaim your dream.

Ascension

Make Your Dream Kitchen With Reviewed Plans

Home is where the heart is - just as the saying goes no doubt we want the best out of everything for it. Nothing can do it any better but pieces of furniture where you can reflect your own style. Most people like to spend their time in the kitchen; it is a common place for family gathering while at the same time enjoying your nice delicious home cooked meal. Kitchen plans can rejuvenate your home and turn your kitchen into a luxurious one.

One of the thing that comes to mind when we talk about style, looks, and design is that it should also have a high level of comfort. Before getting into a kitchen renovation plan here are some interesting tips to follow, which will surely assure to create your ideal kitchen:

Before getting started you have to do a little h5B4omework that will sure help make your life easier and assure positive results. Take the time to think as to what do you want your kitchen to look like. Make a list of all the areas you want to focus on. Such as kitchen appliances that needs to be replaced with the most latest and higher technology appliances available in the market, which suits your budget.

Besides the above-mentioned tips, another thing that you can keep in mind while making your kitchen renovation plan is to consult someone it may be a member of your family or friends about your ideas. They can be of great help in the absence of a professional interior designer. A good plan when you are thinking of remodeling a kitchen can guarantee to satisfy your needs and make your kitchen look spectacular and at the same time lets you cook and dine with great style and comfort. They can share ideas on how you can upgrade the look of your kitchen and at the same time reflect your personality. After all who would know you better than anybody else other than your family and friends. Therefore, the ideas for your kitchen renovation plan and new design is something that your family and friends would appreciate it too.

The suggestions that are given to you by your family and friends are enough to transform your kitchen with style associated with comfort but it is always advisable to open to diff597erent kind of suggestions too. At times a magazine can also give you new innovative ideas for your kitchen and this can provide you with options on shopping for the materials needed to best suit you new kitchen design through their catalog. Lastly, after you have made your kitchen plan and it is ready to be executed, you should first decide if you should go for professional help from experienced contractors, or go for DIY and the other option is to do-it-yourself option. The outcome of your kitchen will wholly or partly depend on your decision. These above mentioned tips will definitely help you meet your reviewed kitchen plan and would sure fetch what you want.

Being particularly interested in kitchen cabinet parts, Guy Morris has been publishing different online reports on this specific subject. Writing for publications, he expressed his experience on issues related to remodeling kitchen.

Yearn, Learn And Earn More Money Through The Art Of Pretending

"There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning and yearning." - Christopher Morley (1890-1957 - American journalist, novelist, essayist & poet)

I would arrange Morley's ingredients for the good life in this fashion: yearning, learning and earning.

Yearning is the catalyst to learning what you yearn to do, be and have and then earning an income from what you yearn. There are so many professionals in careers where they choose to learn based on the income potential rather than looking at a career more in alignment with what they really wanted to do. Unfortunately, this brings more suffering and stress in spite of the financial rewards.

Most people rationalize not doing what they really want to do: I would have to go back to school. I don't have the time. I don't have the money. I need the job to pay the bills - I can't quit. I am too old, too young, too fat, too bald, too many responsibilities. Okay, these are all self-defeating reasons to stay put. What is it costing you to live a life limited by boundaries of reasons based on fear, rather than tapping into your unlimited pB68otential?

TIP: Pretending is a great way to get in touch with yearning to better learning and earning. Here is a pretend exercise to take you on an imaginary trip:

Imagine you are taking the vacation of your lifetime.

• Where are you going?

• What are you doing?

• Why did you choose the location and activities?

• What excited you about this trip?

• What is there about this vacation you wish never would end?

• What if you had a career that was more like a vacation, then a "have to be there" experience?

Dreams are the beginning of something more. They are full of mystery, excitement, passion, self-expression and making a difference. However, most dreams are drowned by the chatter of reasons - reasons driven by fear. FEAR - False Evidence Appearing Real.

The other side of pretending is to pretend everything is ok when your heart is quietly yearning for an extraordinary life in doing what you love. Success is getting on your right track and not someone else's.

Imagine Having Success Doing What You Love

• What are you doing?

• Was this something you dreamt about doing?

• What did you do to make the dream a reality?

• How are you feeling? What are your emotions?

• Are you on your right track?

Benefits of The Pretending Exercise:

• There is no one to make fun or judge you.

• It is a remarkable way to dust the cobwebs off your dreams.

• By having the exercise be a fun activity, it keeps the Gremlins further away from giving you reasons why not to do something different. Gremlins are committed to opposing any thought that means change.

• It contributes to a state of well-being.

• New perspectives give new avenues to explore.

What do you choose to pretend? To pretend a new dream or pretend everything is okay as your gut yearns for something more? Get in touch with what you yearn; learn to be the best at it and earn more.

"When a man feels throbbing within him the power to do what he undertakes as well as it can possibly be done, this is happiness, this is success." -Orison Swett Marden (1850-1924 Founder of Success Magazine)

Would you like to get in on Theresa-Maria Napa's free monthly newsletter and teleclass? Visit http://www.RightTrackCoaching.com to register today! Would you like to take a free quiz on where your blocks to clarity may be? You can download the quiz 368by going to http://www.RightTrackCoaching.com/nowwhat.html
Copyright 2008 Theresa-Maria Napa

Plan a Dream Vacation With Cruise Ship Deals

Hawaii is one of the most popular vacation spots for vacationers, but not necessarily for those who call Hawaii home. For islanders wanting to vacation elsewhere, Royal Adventure Travel Cruises may be the perfect solution to visiting great destinations beyond the Hawaiian Islands. Actually, this company has been a top choice for decades offering many islanders the opportunity to cruise the world.

Logically, the only way to leave an island is by airplane or ship. Driving is simply not an option. Travelers seeking to leave their Hawaiian home for a vacation often choose cruises, the more economical way to vacation. This is especially true for those traveling within a budget. Royal Adventure Travel Cruises provides islands with a variety of destination choices depending on the time of the year. Why pay for accommodations, airfare or rental cars when you can vacation aboard a cruise ship and still visit fascinating destinations along the way? In fact, cruise ships have been described as floating hotels since the accommodations, activities and food are all in one central place.

Cruise sh5B4ips offer many activities to enjoy while sailing aboard the ship, such as spa treatments, swimming, movies and more. Another bonus to cruise ships is that you do not have to pack and unpack your belongings when traveling from destination to destination, which also means no delayed, cancelled or missed flights as well as no lost luggage. Cruises offer the traveler the opportunity to see many new places without tiring driving, but rather a restful relaxing cruise as the ship sails to the different destinations.

Royal Adventure Travel Cruises offers several different itineraries depending on your desired destination. Some of the popular destinations include Alaska, South America, the Panama Canal and Mexico as well as locations in the South Pacific and Caribbean. For those recently moving to Hawaii, the company also offers some great deals on free-style cruises allowing you to explore the Hawaiian Islands which may still be new to you.

Be sure to speak with representatives at Royal Adventure Travel Cruises since each itinerary is different on the various cruises. It is important that you know what destinations you will see, the anticipated shore excursions and related options, as some cruises may be identical in every aspect except for the shore excursions. Some cruises offer shore excursions involving casual shopping for souvenirs while other shore excursions include hiking, among other activity based possibilities.

Fort598unately, you can enjoy a cruise whether you are traveling alone, as a couple, as a group or have special needs. Royal Adventure Travel Cruises can help you find the cruise that best meets your needs and vacation wishes. This is an important part of cruise planning since some cruises and destinations are better for families while others are the perfect cruise for couples. No matter what type of cruise vacation you desire, Royal Adventure Travel Cruises can help you find your dream vacation as they have been doing for years!

Vince Paxton's short articles can be encountered on many web publications related to expense of living in spain and cost of living in spain. You can come across his contributions on living in spain at http://www.alicante-spain.com

Every Gaming Enthusiasts Dream Come True!

Ask most gaming addicts what their favorite career would be and you'll probably hear, "Computer game design!" This really would be work perfectly fused with fun. For most, though, it remains just that...a fantasy. However, it could be a career that someone with a passion for gaming should look at. The industry's massive and there's always room for people with the right skill sets.

What exactly does it take to break into this world and make it your life's work? It is a tough world to get into as it requires a very good knowledge of programming languages. You could start by getting a computer science degree which is a tough course to be sure but worth it if you can get through all the tedious subjects you need to do.

The great thing is that a career you can put your heart into is what awaits at the end of it all. What you study in no way prepares you for what will be getting into - a giant behemoth in most cases where you will probably be working on one small part of a massive game. Games are so intricate and complex today, they might take many people years to complete! It's a far cry from when a couple of people would work on one game. Needless to say, the remuneration for this kind of work can be sky-high what with the business of games so large globally.

It isn't only the programmers who can break into this industry, though they form the largest component. There is also a demand for artists and writers. These are very often the 'ideas' people who contribute to the visual and verbal aspects of the game - how exactly a character should look, what he should be called, etc. It is a young industry essentially as it caters to the young. And if your heart's in gaming, may be this is where you should be!

To find more tips about computer games and game design visit http://career-review.com

Introducing Dreams - An Owner's Guide

What are dreams?

Dreams are images that come to us during sleep. The content of dreams are as unique and varied as we are. Since we are in an altered state of consciousness when we dream, the content is not something we can usually determine beforehand. Dreams generally contain the contents of our daytime activity. Some people believe they contain something more. There are numerous theories of dreams, which consider what dreams are and the functions they serve the dreamer.

When do we dream?

Sleep is divided into non-REM and REM. There are four stages to non-REM sleep: stage 1 -- the onset of sleep, stage 2 -- light sleep, stage 3 -- deep sleep and stage 4 -- deep sleep. Finally we enter REM sleep. This is similar to stage 1 but is accompanied by rapid eye movement which is where the eyes move5B4 rapidly beneath the eyelids. We cycle through these stages throughout a nights sleep.

It used to be believed that we only dream when we are in REM sleep. Researchers discovered that upon waking participants during REM sleep were usually able to recall a dream they were having. However, it has since been discovered that REM sleep and dreams are probably two independent entities. The mechanisms responsible for dreaming and REM have been shown to be located in different parts of the brain. Also, there have been studies of brain injury patients who continue to experience REM sleep but no longer dream.

Dreams during REM sleep

Dreams can occur during the stages of deep sleep. We also sometimes dream early on in sleep, before the onset of the first REM cycle. However, it is likely that we experience the majority of our dreams during REM sleep.

Some argue that most nightmares occur during REM sleep. It is also thought that the dreams we have during REM sleep are the most vivid and the ones we are most likely to remember. Interestingly, medication that interferes with REM sleep has an affect on our dreams. For example, some antidepressants halt REM sleep yet increase dreaming.

Who dreams?

Despite what some people may claim, we all dream. It is just that we do not always remember dreaming. Some people are far better at recalling their dreams than others. The exception to this is when the area 5B4in the brain responsible for dreaming is damaged. This can stop a person from dreaming.

How often do we dream?

On average, we have four dreams a night. Yet we generally are only able to recollect a few minutes worth of the final dream we have before awakening. Bear this in mind if you find yourself agonising over a particular dream you had. It may not be as important as you think it is.

What are lucid dreams?

Lucid dreams are where during a dream you become aware that you are dreaming. With lucid dreams you can then go on to control the events in the dream and manipulate the situation to suit you. Some experts suggest that it is possible to increase lucid dreams.

How important are dreams?

Even today, very little is still known about the function of dreams. Different views persist however about how important dreams are to us. Some argue that dreams are just random brain activity and as such have no benefit to us psychologically or biologically. Therefore, dreams are not important and it is of no value to reflect on them. In contrast, some researchers claim dreams have a biological function. Dreams are what manifest from all the brain work that is taking place in an attempt to organise memories and process our daily activities.

A further explanation suggests that dreams are important to our health and wellbeing. They may aid mental functioning and help us cope with stress.58E It is known that during sleep, the instinctual and motivational part of the brain is highly active, so it is possible that this impacts on our dreams. As such, dreams may bring with them valuable information about our personal goals and motivations.

Whoever is right, I think the important thing is for you to decide how important dreams are to you. If you feel that they do have value, try to use them in a way that benefits you positively.

Copyright Julia Barnard 2007

Julia Barnard is a professional counsellor living in Adelaide, Australia. She provides an online counselling service through her website http://www.makethechange.com.au Julia also writes articles for the website aimed at enhancing wellbeing and promoting good mental health.

A13
A14