Saturday, September 26, 2009

Lucid Dreaming

I read an interesting story in the New York Times concerning the upcoming publication of a heretofore unpublished work of Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology. The Red Book, as it is called, represents his dream journal and dream experiments, kept on and off for about 16 years. He never published it because he thought it would subject him to ridicule. Yet, "All my works, all my creative activity," he would recall later, "has come from those initial fantasies and dreams."

Dream are like that. They can embarrass us even as they lead us to greatness. To encourage your own dream work, I thought I would pass along these "7 Steps to Start Lucid Dreaming". Lucid dreaming is consciously being aware within your dream. When you are dreaming and you become conscious that you are dreaming you can start to influence your dreams and the direction they go in. Enjoy these tips and use them well!

1. Remember your ordinary dreams.
A lot of people say ‘I don’t dream’, everybody dreams, whilst you may not remember them you still dream. To start remembering your dreams try this simple technique. Each night before drifting off to sleep repeat the phrase ‘I will remember my dreams as soon as I wake up’. Say this phrase over and over until you fall asleep, after a few days you will start to remember your ordinary dreams.

2. Keep a dream journal
This can be tedious but it’s well worth the effort. Even writing a few short sentences about your dream is enough. This will get you into the habit of remembering your ordinary dreams and to start looking for dream signs within your dreams. It can also be a tool to analyze your thought processes.

3. Pick out dream signs
A lot of your ordinary dreams will have objects or people in them that could act as a cue to you waking up in your dreams. For example if you regularly talk to ‘Elvis’ in your ordinary dreams this is an obvious dream sign and can be used to ask yourself if you are dreaming because you know Elvis is dead.

4. Notice your waking world
To be conscious in your dream world means you have to be conscious in your waking world. That might sound crazy, as you are conscious when you are awake. But we must be "consciously focused" when we are awake. For example, we are consciously focused when learning a new task, we are thinking about every action we are taking to get the right steps. When we have learned the new task we no longer have to focus as intently as we did when learning it. Being consciously focused means looking around and saying what we see, feel, hear, smell and touch and voicing it. This has the added benefit of being in the moment and can guide us to inner calmness, it’s almost Zen like. If we start to consciously focus on the world around us, we will carry this over into the dream world.

5. Ask yourself; "Am I dreaming?"
Ask yourself just now "Am I dreaming?". Your obvious answer is to say no, of course you are not dreaming. How do you know? Don’t just say; "Because I know". Try and think about why you know that you are not dreaming. For example you could say, "If I was dreaming I would be able to fly". When you are dreaming you cannot read text for longer than a few seconds, so try reading text to prove to yourself you are not dreaming. This again will carry over into your dreaming world and you will start asking the same questions in your dreams which can turn into a lucid dream.

6. Your first lucid dream
Many people have their first lucid dream simply by reading about it. You might find that you become over-excited and lose the lucid dream. Often, however, your first lucid dream will be remembered for years to come.

7. Staying lucid
To stay within a dream, calm yourself down with self talk and dream spinning. If you find that you are losing your lucidity you can talk to yourself to calm yourself down and just start noticing the things around you in your dream. Dream spinning is when you feel you are losing control of your dream and you mentally spin like a tornado to stay within your dream. This is focusing the mind on staying lucid.

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your dream life? Do you write them down? Do you seek to enhance their influence through lucid dreaming? How could your dreams become more interesting and available as a resource for happiness? Who could you talk with about your dreams? Why not start tonight?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or email us at Coach@LifeTrekCoaching.com.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Broaden Your Focus

Sometimes it's hard, in the thick of the fray, to maintain a positive focus. On those occasions, it may be time to step back and look the situation over from a distance. Viewed from the right vantage point, opportunities become visible in ways that might otherwise be unimaginable. So do yourself a favor and unplug from the daily grind. Step back to the 10,000 foot level. Appreciate your strategic advantages. Then, once your mood has improved, reengage with the zest that comes from a positive outlook. Today's Provision shows you how.

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, Email Us or use our Contact Form to arrange a complimentary conversation. To learn more about LifeTrek Coaching programs, Click Here.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Fueling Positivity & Creativity

I was very moved this past week by a story in the Washington Post titled "Running For My Life" by Daniele Seiss. It details her lifelong struggles with depression as well as her experience with running as the most effective and health-promoting anti-depressant of all. Although I have never struggled with depression, her story spoke to my own experience regarding the many benefits of running. I especially appreciated these paragraphs:

"I had once been warned that the type and severity of my depression made it very likely I'd relapse after going off medication, that it was just a matter of time. So I had somewhat expected the crash. But going back on medication didn't help. And finally I recognized what I should have seen all along, that running had saved me, and so I hit the streets again. At first it was three to five miles at a time, three days a week. My mood improved quickly. But it wasn't until I started running long distances -- 30, then up to 50 miles a week, regularly -- that I began to really experience its full benefits for health and happiness.

Now, if I am feeling down, I go for a run. I usually start feeling better almost as I head out the door -- in part, I believe, because I am taking charge and doing something. But by mile four, I can actually feel my thinking beginning to change, from negative to positive, as if four miles, or about 30 minutes, is some kind of threshold. On longer runs, by about mile 13 or 14, I start to feel a mild euphoria. If I run faster, I'll notice it earlier. If I'm doing an easier, slower run, it takes a bit longer.

On really long runs, of 18 to 20 miles or more, the nature of my thoughts go beyond just positive to creative. I start having brainstorms, one after the other, and I begin to feel "one with things," for lack of a better way to describe it. It's like deep meditation in which your personal boundaries open up and you no longer notice where you end and everything else begins.

I have figured out that if I run at least four miles, I feel relaxed, positive and clearheaded, feelings that can last from hours to days. And if I do so consistently, I won't fall into a really dark state."
Now you know the answer to that frequently asked question, "Where do all those Provisions come from?" Running! I often go from positive to creative, with incredible bursts of brainstorming on a wide variety of topics, on my longer runs. And it's not just running. Any extended endurance activity will do much the same. So if you want to benefit your brain, it's time to go for a run.

Coaching Inquiries: What stimulates positivity and creativity in your life? How could you get more of those things? What place does endurance activities play in your life? How might you incorporate some? Who might be interested in doing them with you?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Careful With NSAIDs

Today I was on a relay team, running the half-marathon leg of the Patriots Half Triathlon. One person swam 1.2 miles in the brackish water of the James River. Then, a second person rode his bike for 56 miles through woods, farmlands, and lakes on mostly flat terrain. Finally, I ran a half marathon -- 13.1 miles -- on a course that was delightfully shaded. Given that I was running at noon, on a hot and sunny day, I was very appreciative of the shade.

My time was an acceptable one hour, fifty minutes. I went in thinking it might be possible to average 8:45 a mile or better. I ended up averaging 8:27 a mile. That's better! It's time for me to think seriously about qualifying for the Boston marathon again (I've done that twice in the past 10 years, each time as I entered a new age bracket). 2010 would be the next time for me to do that. We'll see.

One thing is clear, however: I will not be using ibuprofen or other Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory painkillers (or NSAIDs) prophylactically. In other words, I will not be taking ibuprofen before, during, or after races to ward off pain or to prevent pain from developing. I never have taken many NSAIDs period, and now I have new reason to avoid them: a report in the New York Times makes clear the health hazards of such practices. To quote the article:

"Those runners who'd popped over-the-counter ibuprofen pills before and during the race displayed significantly more inflammation and other markers of high immune system response afterward than the runners who hadn’t taken anti-inflammatories. The ibuprofen users also showed signs of mild kidney impairment and, both before and after the race, of low-level endotoxemia, a condition in which bacteria leak from the colon into the bloodstream."

Yikes! The article concludes that NSAIDs are appropriate only when a person suffers inflammation and pain from acute injury. Some would even dispute that, at least as a first resort, preferring instead the age old recommendation of RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Whereas NSAIDs reduce pain, natural practices such as RICE give a body the relief it needs to heal.

Right now I am running injury free -- always a cause for celebration, appreciation, and gratitude. But if and when discomforts begin, I will not be trying to mask or run through the pain with ibuprofen in my system. The risks are just too great. I hope you will do the same.

Coaching Inquiries: What's your pattern when it comes to NSAIDs? What natural approaches do you try first? How can you be more attentive to and respectful of your body? How you can you push your body to the limit without going over the top? How can you find a rhythm of work and rest that will keep you going for life?

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