The Meaning of Dreams

Many people dwell on the meaning of their dreams. On the other hand, there are those who do not dream very regularly. There is also the category of people who dream, but forget what they dreamed of the instant the wake up.

Dreams may have subliminal meanings because they are representations of your brain activity while you are not actively thinking. They do not follow a train of thought or logic due to your body processes being slowed and rested at that point. This may mean that they are gateways to the subconscious.

However, there are also theories that dreams affect people when they are in the most disturbed, or close to wakeful, state of sleep – the REM cycle. At this point, a person may dream of anything that has affected their conscious mind through the course of time, as well. For example, children who are under-prepared for exams may have dreams about the next day’s paper.

Whether they have a positive or negative dream, however, could possibly bring out some interesting understandings of the human psyche. It could even indicate that a person is inherently positive or not. It could also be indicative of the fact that people are greatly affected by their surroundings, and in that moment of affect (prolonged mood), their mind chose to show them pleasant or unpleasant dreams.

From a practical approach, it is best not to worry too much about what you dream of or try to read into them too much. They may just be an indication of your overall mood-state, something you can easily change if need be.  

Controlling Anger through Rational Thinking

Every individual feels angry at some point in time. Some people happen to get affected by this emotion a lot more than others. Rationalization can help you fight off the negative feeling. You must develop a single train of thought. All you really have to work on, is to develop the ability to take your mind away from the present situation, and identify the cause, effect, and likely outcome of the immediate event.

Force yourself to come out of the heat of the moment and reflect upon the various negative implications a simple fight could have. A healthy relationship with friends or family can be destroyed in just an instant if you allow yourself to give into your anger. Instead, try to see yourself slightly ahead of time. Picture yourself a little ahead of time, in a situation where you have already forgiven everything of the past. Would you really want to have hurt another individual just because you were in the spur of the moment?

Feeling regret is the harshest punishment of failing to take control of your emotions. Another way to look at things is to see what would effectively work in changing the situation for you. If a certain characteristic or behavior pattern of another individual upsets you in some way, identify the communication pattern that would be most effective in solving the issue. Only by expressing yourself will another person understand what it is that affects you. Mutual compromise and understanding leads to strong relations. 

Finding Inner Peace in a Violent Environment through Social Work

The world can be quite a chaotic place for some people. If you have been brought up with acts of violence and aggression all around you, you may find it nearly impossible to come out of the negative cycle of harmful emotions. Out of the eight basic human emotions, five are negative, two are ambiguous, and only one is positive: happiness.                                        

Though these facts have a dreary air about them, the truth is that this knowledge can simplify things in your life. You only have one basic emotional state to achieve. Attaining this, takes focus and calming of the mind. Though you may not be in a position to control your environment, you have the ability to distance yourself from it, at least in your mind.

Once you do this, you may look at things from an outsider’s perspective and even empathize with people who are suffering the consequences of a reckless environment just the way you are. The best and probably most gratifying work is social work. Absolute selflessness is rewarded by strong and healthy relationships and the materialization of the joy that has been caused by you.

Consider such work when you are in times of trouble. Whenever you find your social environment difficult to handle, go to a home or school for differently-abled children. Human beings are social animals. Helping others allows you to feel a substantial amount of happiness because it is deeply ingrained in our limbic brains. Providing assistance to someone in need is as basic as eating or sleeping.