Mastering the Mind: A Perspective on Happiness and Success

Mastering the mind is a trait of successful people. They understand the workings of the mind's unlimited power. The trick is to focus on and learn to use the faculties of the conscious and subconscious. Joseph Murphy, Ph.D, in his wonderful book, "The Power of Your Subconscious Mind", compared the body to a large ship in the ocean with the captain and crew being the conscious and subconscious minds respectively. The captain - conscious mind - issues orders which are followed without question by the crew - subconscious mind.......read more

Overcoming Fear

Overcoming Fear

"Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions."
 --Albert Einstein

Fear is characterized by a feeling of uneasiness or apprehension that carries with it an intense emotional response to a threat either real or imagined. It is a painful emotion linked to the anticipation of impending doom, danger or dread.

Fear can be categorized into four distinct groups:

1) Fear of physical pain. This could be caused by an perceived aggressor but this type can also include the threat of starvation or lack of money to buy necessities to sustain you personally.

2) Fear of emotional and mental distress. An example of this would be the fear of losing a loved one either by breaking a relationship or by death.

3) Fear of physical pain suffered by others. A mother fearing injury to her child is a good example of this type of fear.

4) Fear of emotional and mental distress of others. For example, parents often feel an obligation to protect their children against others who might hurt their feelings.

The faceless demons of fear are ever present in many people’s lives, haunting their successes in the future and paralyzing them from any present efforts toward achievement. They are consistently warning themselves through negative self-talk about all that “might” happen. Does this sound like you? You are not alone. Millions of people suffer the effects of fear which often manifest as severe stress and anxiety.

How Fear is Learned

From early childhood, we develop patterns of fear in several different ways. We will discuss two of those ways here. ......read more

A Guide to Lucid Dreaming

Many people report being able to achieve lucidity in their dreams without even trying, even though for the vast majority of people, this skill must be learned with practice. The good news is that studies show that most people have the propensity to learn to have lucid dreams.

Lucid Dreaming

Lucid dreaming is when the dreamer becomes aware that he or she is dreaming while remaining physically asleep. Lucid dreaming can be achieved at varying levels. At the lowest level, the dreamer may be aware that they are dreaming but may not be fully aware that they can control the events and characters in the dream. With higher levels of lucidity, however, dreamers become fully cognizant that the dreamscape can be altered and controlled. People who are lucid while dreaming often report purposely having exhilarating experiences, like flying, that are only to be had in dreams.

Why Develop Lucid Dreaming Skills?

As people first learn that there is such a thing as becoming lucid in dreams, they often wonder why learning to have this type of dream would be desirable. The answer for most people is that when you become aware that you are dreaming, your dreams can take on an added dimension that is only limited by the imagination. Lucid dreamers can concoct their own adventure and excitement by traveling to other planets or conversing with loved ones that have passed.

Lucid Dreams as Therapy

Also documented is the therapeutic value that lucid dreams can have.

• People who regularly suffer with bad dreams or nightmares can use lucidity in dreams as a means of confronting the scary elements of the dreams that haunt them.

• Many people use lucid dreaming to rehearse awkward or fearful situation. For example, motivational speakers use dreams to rehearse their public speaking engagements. Sports enthusiasts, also, have been known to use lucid dreaming to enhance their competitive edge.

• People in creative arts professions like artists, writers, photographers and musicians, also regularly use lucid dreams to inspire creativity. The dreamscape can provide these artists a custom studio where they are free to create in ways impossible in the real world.

Steps to Having Lucid Dreams

The three basic steps to lucidity are dream recall, questioning your conscious state, and learning to identify personal dream signs.

• The first step is to develop the ability to recall your dreams. The reason is obvious. If you cannot remember your dreams, you will not know if you have achieved lucidity. Training yourself to remember dreams is simple although it may take some time. Simply intend to remember your dreams as you fall asleep. Record whatever you remember in the morning, even if it just a feeling or a sensation. Eventually, you will retain more and more content from your dreams.

• Learn to question your conscious state while awake. Much of what constitutes dream material is the residue of habits formed in waking life. As silly as it sounds, developing the habit of asking yourself if you are dreaming while you are awake will increase the likelihood of you asking the same question while you are actually dreaming.

• As you examine your dream journal, you will notice common themes. These are called dream signs. These signs will signal the dreamer that they are dreaming and will act as signals which make it easier to reach the lucid state.

Defining lucidity involves simply realizing that you are having a dream. Lucid dreamers report wonderful experiences and most people desire to achieve lucidity. Besides adding excitement and adventure, lucidity can be a therapeutic way to stop nightmares, inspire greater levels of creativity and otherwise help people with everyday challenges.

Aging with an Attitude

I am immensely inspired by what Pearl S. Buck, the author of The Good Earth fame and Nobel prize winner, had to say on her 80th birthday. It was published in the Modern Maturity magazine but I came across it through Earl Nightingale's Motivational Moments.

Many people are conditioned to think that after 65, one should sit down, relax and watch the rest of the world with amusement and pity as it goes through the motions of detestable jobs, demanding child-rearing and dreary household chores. Buck impresses me with her task-centeredness. She writes this note sitting at her worktable facing the window and saying, "I have much work to do and I enjoy myself and what I do."

As people advance into the senior years, many must deal with the loss of their spouses, friends and relatives and, yes, look in the eyes of that scary monster loneliness. After the death of a spouse, or seeing children or grandchildren move away, loneliness sometimes.....read more

Straightforward Inspiration for the Business Minded Person

Currently, I’m reading a new book about how selling is a part of every aspect of your life. I’ve read about this concept before, but reading it again written with new insights is a really good way to spend your time. It helps to refresh what you’ve already learned, and ingrain the fundamental aspects of success in your mind.......

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The Perils of Being Too Goal Focused

If you read many books or websites about self improvement in general, and success in particular, you will notice one theme, one concept, that appears more often than nearly any other: setting goals. I even recommend it myself, from time to time.

Setting goals can help you to focus your energy and effort, making it far more likely that you will get something accomplished. That, in general, is
............read more

The Nervous Breakdown: A Myth?

Nervous breakdown. We all know what it means, in a vague sort of way: one day you're more or less fine, then the pressure gets too much, and then, boom, off the rails. We all know someone who's had one, or had one ourselves. But what does the phenomenon correlate to in modern psychological terminology?....read more