We spend a third of our lives asleep, and half of that is spent dreaming. Many say that lucid dreams are the perfect answer to winning back those “squandered” hours. Experts in dream research, however, have never suggested that ordinary dreams are a waste of time. Instead, we can envision conscious dreaming as a chance to unfold the significance of the dreams we already have.

lucid dreaming is the art of being aware in the dream state. Even though many assume that lucid dreaming means you can control your dream, this is actually only a wish of beginner lucid dreamers. Rather, dream control is best achieved as self-control: learning to modulate emotions, attention, and intentionality in the dream. In particular, emotions are so volatile that without vigilance the lucid dream can spiral out-of-control into fears and confrontations.

So most of the talk about “dream control” is actually in defense of these strong emotions. Lucid dreaming scholars, such as cognitive psychologists and psychotherapists, recommend that consciousness in the dream is directed towards these emotional calling cards, rather than against. No wonder dream control sounds so tempting! Awareness is a powerful force, but it can easily be used in defense of self-knowledge. Throughout the world and in countless countries, conscious dreaming is part of healing traditions. Learning how to face and deal with powerful emotions is the first part of the process of learning the healing path of lucid dreams. To sum it up, focusing on self-control is the best way to learn about the gift of awareness during dreams.

My home page for the internet is Louise Hay’s Affirmation page, so each time that I go online I have a great affirmation there waiting for me. Today [it|the affirmation[/spin] was “I balance my life between work, rest and play. They all get equal time.” Hmm. How true is this statement in your life? Do you balance work rest and play? I realised (somewhat to my horror!) that in my case .

In fact, playtime really comes in only if I’ve ‘booked’ time to play – like my day at the beach last week, or Hamlet in Stratford tonight – or if I have time ’left’ to play after I’ve worked and rested! The end result is that playtime is getting about 20% of my time at most. RUBBISH!

Enough already! It’s time to bump playtime up the priority list! I admin I have gotten into bad habits lately. I’ve been busy and working a lot…and because I am good at self care, resting a lot too…but at the expense of playtime! Shocking.

And even worse, I know that I am better at achieving this balance than most people . Many are very unbalanced (in terms of “work, rest and play” that is - not mentally unbalanced!), and the big missing ingredient is playtime. It’s heart-breaking to see, because playtime makes you come alive, playtime is fun, playtime is vital to you having a happy life – let’s face it, how much better do you feel when you’ve been on holiday? And why?
Because you’ve had uninterrupted playtime! Holidays are all about recharging your batteries and devoting yourself to having some fun…and then we come home and forget to play for another 11 months and 2 weeks. It’s foolish to neglect your fun muscles – if they get flabby you’ll get miserable. I’m sure I don’t really need to extol the virtues of play – you know yourself that when you take part in activities that you enjoy, you feel better.
So when was the last time you deliberately took part in an activity you enjoy and made a conscious choice to savour that playtime? Why not start tonight? Instead of sitting numbly in front of the idiot box, make an effort to do something playful and fun (if that’s tv for you, ok…but as long as you’re actively enjoying it, not just wobbed out in front of it!). You see people, it’s time to take playtime seriously!
Something to play with
Part 1: What is the balance of work, rest and play in your life? 60/30/10? 40/40/20? Have a guess at the proportions – your best guess will be quite accurate! What can you do TODAY to start restoring the balance (especially the playtime bit!)?
Part 2: What do you do to play? Aim to get a list of 100 things (it might take time, but you can do it!). Part 3: Do something off that list DAILY.

You and no one else are often responsible for most of your procrastination problems which you are facing today. As much as it hurts, still, it is important for you to realize that, if you want to be in a good position in stopping procrastination dead in its track.

To know but not to do is not to know.

Quite contrary to popular beliefs, everyone is a procrastinator in nature. Even very successful people are facing the same procrastination problems which you and I are facing right now. However, what makes them different is that they have learned to value long term successes over short term comfort.

In addition, they know in their heart and mind the things the truly value. Like us, successful people are also in the constant war against procrastination.

As we all know, the simple act of delaying a task unnecessary results in the procrastination problems which we are facing right now.

“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases, and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.” Wayne Dyer

Therefore, working on the root of your procrastination problems is one sure way to take back control of your life and improve your self esteem and self confidence at the same time.

In fact, there are countless number of books and online references out there where valuable information lies dormant, await for your discovery.

To help get you started in overcoming your procrastination problems, here are some simple tips which you can use in your daily life:

Pen down all your life-time goals on paper. A list of such should be kept handy for your reference as it can provide you with the necessary motivation and focus, especially at times when you are down and dejected. Personally, I have used this list to a great extent and I cannot recommend it enough.

Learn to establish the CORRECT priorities. When everything becomes important, nothing is important. Focus more on issues that are important, not those which are urgent. In life, there are just too many such unimportant fires which demand our attention. Thus, recognizing them is a skill you will need to cultivate and practice.

“Just Do It!” There is something called sufficient planning while there is no such thing as a perfect plan. Stop waiting for all the circumstances, people and/or time to be right before you jump in to do what is needed.

Let the past pass. Winners win because they learn from the past and live in the present. Don’t blame the path, change the path. Don’t blame the situation, change the situation.

Do what you can, offer you very best and let go. Move on with confidence to the next tasks on hand. Admit that no matter how well you do; there will be always the existence of some minor flaws. You are not perfect, no one can be. You just have to accept it.

You certainly cannot eliminate all your procrastination problems overnight, but you can always change your direction. So, are you prepared to change your direction yet?

Read about how to cure procrastination and positive thinking attitude, and also try out the emotional freedom technique training - it has helped many people to get their power.

People who have been tremendously successful in life have often attributed their great successes to their ability to find and work out ways on how to break habits and acquire new and more empowering ones.

That certainly makes me wonder if there are really any secrets on how they develop positive habits to aid them in attaining all their desires in life.

After much intensive research, I have come to realize that there are actually no mysteries to breaking bad habits and keeping them out of your life.

And this article is written exactly for that purpose:

To dismiss your need to find new ways on how to break habits

Furnish you with concrete yet easy methods on developing positive habits in preparations for your future successes to come.

A habit is a recurring, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is learned through frequent repetitions.

Since it is us who acquire the learned, unconscious habits, it is also up to us to unlearn them. If the plan sounds feasible to you, then without further ado, let us go directly to the T.W.A.I.N steps, the 5 easy step by step formula on how to break habits.

1. Take Responsibility for All Your Habits

If you cannot control it, you cannot manage it. Any habits, good or bad are acquired by you, consciously or unconsciously. Thus, if you ever seek to stop bad habits, you must take ownership of them. Until you start recognizing that fact, you cannot go any further than where you are now.

2. Write Down All the Bad Habits You Want To Break Free Of

Next, look into all areas of your life and pick out all the bad habits which are hindering you in life. What are your addiction habits? Write them down on a piece of paper. Do not proceed any further if you have not done that!

3. Acknowledge the Benefits Those Bad Habits Bring For You

As bad as those habits may seem, they actually bring you some benefits or gratifications. If not, you will not even acquire them in the first place. Thus, acknowledge them, write those rewards down beside them.

4. Identify Your Plan of Attack

Next comes the time to decide on what new and more empowering habits you want to acquire in replace of the bad habits. You can try incorporating those benefits you find in Step 3 into your new habits. Just words of caution, not all “benefits” you elicit from Step 3 can be kept as they may be conflicting with the new ones.

5. Nag on One, Ignore the Rest

More often than not, you may attempt to change too many habits at one time. You will know better that replacing a habit take perspiration, persistence and patience. Scientists say that it takes 30 days for one to gain a new habit, however in my opinion, just take as long as you deem suitable. Just make it a point to constantly work on a particular new habit for at least 30 days before making a switch. Also, remember to work on it every day, consistently, persistently and patiently.

That is it! Who says the T.W.A.I.N methods on how to break habits is complicated.

However, as simple as they may look, they are not easy. Though they require some hard work, they are still very much achievable, if you have the desire.

Read about stop bad habits and develop positive habits.

Also try emotional freedom technique EFT - it has helped many people to find their way to success and freedom.

Maintaining a positive attitude is probably what most of us are searching for in life. After all, the personal development gurus always mentioned that your attitude in life determines your altitude in life.

As easy as it may sound, however maintaining a positive attitude does required some hard work from our part. And in reality, many of us are actually struggling to attain that.

Do you know what exactly constitutes a positive attitude? I am quite surprised that many people do not exactly know what the word “attitude” actually means.

And thus, that brings us to:

Positive Attitude Help #1:

You cannot manage what you cannot understand. Thus, the first step to you improving on your attitude is to know what constitutes an attitude. Attitude is defined as a complex mental state involving beliefs, feelings, values and dispositions to act in certain ways. To change your attitude, you have to put work hard on your belief and value systems and your emotional IQ.

Positive Attitude Help #2:

Recognize who you want to associate more often and who you want to limit your association. As much as we want to, not all relationships are created equally. Birds of the same feathers flock together.

Positive Attitude Help #3:

Know how to deal with your time. Everyone is given 24 golden nuggets per day, no one is exempted. Therefore it is up to us to decide how we want to utilize them to further improve our life and the lives of others.

Positive Attitude Help #4:

If you noticed, having a great attitude in life involves great amount of mind power. Possessing a positive attitude all starts in the mind. A healthy, positively charged mind will atomically translate to a positive outlook of life.

And to own a healthy mind, one has to first own a healthy physical body which evolves from having a healthy lifestyle. Learn how to effectively manage the stress in your life, refrain from any potentially harmful drugs and getting a moderate amount of exercise very week are some of the examples how one can build a healthy mind and physical body to attain a positive attitude and outlook of life.

Like every other skills, nurturing a positive attitude in life requires some work from your part. You have to actively seek to replace your limiting beliefs and negative self talks with more empowering and positively-charged ones.

The 4 positive attitude help formulas can only lay the foundation for you. However, you still have to “do your own pushups” should you want to see astonishing miracles in your life, literally.

Read more about positive attitude and success and emotional freedom technique training.

They say that everyone has to experience the Christmas blues at least once in their lifetime.For me, I always thought that that’s impossible.I love Christmas. It is the holiday that I look forward to the most. they are correct really. I’ve got the Christmas blues. I am officially experiencing Christmas stress. I can’t even bring myself to hang the red garland.

I cant think of what has gotten into me. I am wiped out recently. I was planning on getting presents for all my list this week, but if I’m not in the right mood I just can’t go shopping.I always try to my best to have a cheerful demeanor because I believe that when you shop happy you buy gifts that make people happy. As if things couldn’t get any worse, mu husband Jim was talking to his boss who mentioned how much fun he had at last years dinner party so essentially invited himself.Jim must have “forgotten” to tell me again last night.

So aside from the gifts I still have to buy and the Christmas stress I have to get out of, I have to prepare a dinner party that will top the one I gave before. I’d like to switch the toggle to turn myself into Superwoman. Nothing’s happening. I’m just too tired. I hope I’m not coming down with the flu or something.That would be hard on the children. People have come to expect the happy cheerful me at Christmas time. I wouldn’t want to hamper their festive mood.

Ugh. I really, really don’t feel so good.Excuse me…. WHAT!? My Christmas stress is officially over.

I just got the news that me and my husband are having a baby! Bring on the festivities! I guess the pre lit garland might get hung this year.

I recently started asking myself a few questions when I found I no longer enjoyed my job. Why do I work, and more importantly why do I work a job that I don’t like? It’s just not worth it to pursue a career you don’t enjoy, and I think I need a new path. That just leads to more questions like what job would I like.

First I figured I should think why I work. The picture I always have in my head when I’m slaving away is the thought of my kids gather happily around the christmas wreath. I know that’s what keeps me going. The business world is not a gentle nice place, nor is it fun, and when I start to think of it as a means to a bi-weekly check then I come to the conclusion that it just isn’t worthwhile.

Next I thought about activities I enjoy. I like fishing! I could be a fisherman? No that doesn’t sound as fun as the fishing I do. Then I thought that I like coaching my son’s football team. I suppose I could be a school teacher. I actually probably would like that, but the idea of going back to school for two more years, at my age, just doesn’t seem worth it.

No I guess when I really think about it I’m stuck in my job for a few more years. Retirement is close enough that I really guess I can cope. My jobs not that bad anyway. It’s really participating in the rat race that is really hard for me, playing the game. There, that’s my solution! I’ll relax and let the world go by. Stop bringing work home with me, and stop checking my email before bed. My boss can’t can me. My severance package alone would take me past my planned retirement.

Maybe this year I’ll just slack off, hang a christmas wreath wreath with the kids, and make some real memories. Now I have something major to think about. While at work I can envision a nice relaxing holiday, and think of my new New Years resolution.

Lots of people think that the stress of the Holidays comes from the Christmas rush, or that people stress out from the pressure of the season, like decoration, the Christmas turkey or ham, or picking out the perfect present to make family members happy. For some of us we aren’t so lucky as for our main source of stress to be what goes under the pre lit christmas tres, but a lot of other considerations. But for us doctors, Christmas stress never ends when the clock strikes twelve, and the 26th of December was marked on the calendar. For us, Christmas is the entire 365 days of the calendar, or in short, everyday is Christmas day.

Christmas is about giving, and changing lives. Doctors like me are changing lives everyday, when we deal with our patients. We make them happy, especially if we can detect hope for their illness. Doctors do everything in their power to make clients feel better, when when recovery is near impossible, we just do our best to help them accept their situation and make them make the best out of the time they have left.

That is what makes everyday of our life a Christmas celebration, and it is stressful enough in our part, especially is we will be witnessing the last breath of our clients. There are times, you can’t hold long by being strong in front of a dying patient, and what you can do is just to empathize, or better yet, get out of the room and keep the sorrow for yourself. That is very nerve-racking in my part. It’s true when I say that holiday stress can be very different when you’re a doctor, because you can’t run away from it, it becomes a part of everyday normal life. So this year when you’re sitting around the lighted christmas garland just relax and think it could be worse.

When you decide to become truly self motivational you realise that attaining success is not a destination it is something within you. It is the self motivational attitude that you take to every facet of your life. Not just the major things but the every day simple things to. Success is not something you can reach out and grab onto, nail down then parade as some kind of trophy which some less than self motivational individuals have come to view it. Successful people don’t just attain success they live it on an ongoing basis. Many descriptions of success have it as a journey. However I am convinced it is more than a journey and is in actual fact a life style and indeed a self motivational life style choice.

Success always leaves clues, here is a list of a number of the success clues you should look out for:

1 Being focused on worthy goals
2 Self motivational enough to work towards them (not just looking for short cuts)
3 Perseverance is the self motivational watchword
4 Weighing up the need for big step change with incremental improvement
5 Striving for high standards but not weighed down in seeking perfection
6 Visualising the big picture while also focusing on the detail
7 Showing commitment to delivering on promises
8 Fundamentally aware that your goal is still there after the buffeting storms around you subside
9 Not surrendering control to others by getting uncontrollably angry
10 Holding the gains in success not sliding back into old behaviours
11 Assisting others, particularly less fortunate than yourself, set and achieve their goals
12 Establish alliances with those who will commit to helping you with your goals
13 Understanding that everyone has within them the resources to achieve their goals
14 Seeing abuse and hate from others as a gift you choose to refuse to accept from them
15 Do not acknowledge failure and see it really as a learning experience
16 Respect others and their definition of success even when you can’t agree with them
17 Living in the now and valuing every moment of every day
18 Being clear that success is a self motivational choice you make not one that is made for you
19 Seeing money as merely a scorecard to the wealth you create in the world not success itself
20 Seeing health as the great generator for a self motivational and successful life style

To be self motivational and live a success lifestyle you need to be a detective looking for clues. My list above is not meant to be comprehensive but merely a starting point to begin your quest. To get some further clues have a look at this self motivational booklist I compiled.

Foundational meditation

1. Sit in a comfortable chair or lie down on a comfortable spot and relax.

2. Imagine and will, with each inhale, not only your lungs are breathing, inhaling air, but also your whole body is breathing in energy. You inhale with your entire body. The breath acts as a focus for absorbing energy.

3. Know that along with your lungs, each single inch of your body simultaneously absorbs energy. Like a dry sponge when dipped into water absorbs, your body should absorb energy with each inhalation.

Since everyone is individual, how each of us feels the energy will be different in some respects.

To reverse this, exhale energy out. This can make you tired and shouldn’t be done regularly other than to get a grip on how to do it.

* Exhaling energy is for empowering talismans, healing, and just about everything when you want to put energy into something or to direct it.

Energy can also be inhaled and absorbed and then directed to a specific area of your body for healing.

In a very short time, you should be able to feel the energy when you breathe it in. As you advance, you will be able to see it without trying to visualize it.

Feeling in this exercise is most important, especially when you are new. Do not try to see the energy as this can be a distraction. Just get a feel for it.

This exercise is the most important for working with your mind and manipulating energy.

As you advance, you can use this technique of energy absorption to absorb energy from the Sun and from just about anything you choose.

Chakra Breathing

To perform this meditation, you should already be experienced with the Foundation Meditation which is posted.

Relax and enter into a trance state, then, instead of breathing in energy into your entire body as with the energy meditation, breath in energy into each one of your chakras, for seven breaths each. Seven breaths is only a guideline, you can do more or less, but it is important to keep your chakra’s in balance. It is important to not only breathe in the energy, but also to visualize it.

You can breathe in colour of the sun energy (the most powerful) or the color energy of the chakra.

When you are finished breathing each of the chakras, breathe in energy through all of your seven chakras, front and back to meet in the middle.

After this, perform the Foundation Meditation.

This meditation can also be done on just one chakra that is lacking in energy or that is blocked. Just apply the breathing one or more times a day. The rest of the meditation is unnecessary if you are working on a specific weak chakra.

Some may be familiar with drawing down energy from the moon and other planets. The sun is hundreds of times more powerful. The energy of the sun contains all of the colors of the spectrum in their purest forms. Performing this full meditation out of doors under the sun can give you incredible energy and is also very healing. Just affirm “I am breathing in powerful whitey-gold (or whatever color) energy from the sun, into my ______ chakra.” Repeat this several times and then visualize yourself absorbing the energy and brightening your chakras with it.

Additional readings: Merkaba meditation, emotional freedom therapy and emotional freedom technique EFT.