10 Common Dreams (And What They Mean)

September 6, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Did you know that the average person has 1,460 dreams per year? This equates to 4 dreams per night!

According to The Dream Encyclopedia, the word “dream” comes from the German word draugmas, meaning deception, illusion, or phantom, or from the Old Norse word draugr, meaning ghost or apparition. Some believe it could also be related to the Sanskrit word druh, which means seek to harm or injure.

Although the origin of the word “dreams” would have you think that all dreams come from a dark place within the soul, many dreams have positive messages for us that the universe wants us to know. Of course, interpretations of dreams are largely subjective, but the following dreams seem to be a recurring theme in many people’s lives, and provide answers to questions that the conscious mind simply cannot know.

Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, believed that dreams help us tap into the unconscious mind and offer us advice, like a therapist or counselor. The universe tries to communicate with us through many different mediums, so dreams serve as another way to learn essential soul lessons, even in our sleep.

Here are ten common dreams people have (and what they mean):

1. Dreams About Falling

This is probably one of the most common dreams people have. Dream experts believe that it means you feel you don’t have control over a particular aspect of your life or have hit some major road bumps in an important area of life. Usually, the dreamer never hits the bottom of the place they’re falling but continues to fall until they return to an awakened state. It might also mean that you need to let go of something in your life that holds you back.

2. Being Chased

Another very common dream, being chased can mean a few different things. The most popular interpretation is that you need to face something that you continually run away from; you need to confront your demons head on rather than finding ways to escape. Your subconscious wants you to focus on whatever you have put on the back burner, and tackle your fears instead of searching for places to hide from them. It could also mean that you feel someone or something is out to get you, which makes you flee in fear of getting hurt. Some people interpret this dream as a sign of imminent danger, since you probably perceive whatever is chasing you as a threat.

3. Being Nude in a Room Full of People

Many of us have probably had this dream at least once, and as you might have already guessed, it means you feel vulnerable and exposed. The fear of other people seeing you naked actually symbolizes embarrassment about a certain part of your soul that you wish to hide from others or a secret that you don’t want anyone else to know. It normally has nothing to do with body image, but rather, insecurity about how other people perceive you. If you have this dream often, take it as a sign to work on self-confidence and feeling comfortable in your own skin, despite what others may think.

4. Dreams About Flying

Flying is always a fun dream to have, especially if you have mastered lucid dreaming, so you can actually control your flight path through the universe! This dream normally means that you desire freedom, and want to break the chains that bind you so you can finally soar above these limitations. It can also be a symbol of success, suggesting that you have recently achieved one of your goals and now look down on the world with a feeling of accomplishment and pride.

5. Sexual Desires or Fantasies

While this dream could represent unfulfilled wishes of intimacy with someone, it can also mean you desire emotional closeness with another person. This dream can mean that you feel isolated or lonely, and crave connection with other people. It could also mean that you desire a greater understanding of yourself, and your unconscious mind could be telling you to venture deeper within your own soul.

6. Dreams About Death

Contrary to what you may think, death does not have to signify something negative occurring in your life. It actually can mean a positive shift in consciousness or a rebirth of the Self. It normally means the end of one chapter in your life and the beginning of another. If you have felt stuck in your life recently, this dream could signify a new start for you in the near future.

7. People

People that you know well and have a close relationship with might appear often in your dreams, which simply means that you long to get to know the aspects of yourself which they portray. Seeing people in your dream often means that you have certain aspects of yourself that you need to work on in order to become whole yourself.

8. Taking a Test in School

Life can be viewed as one giant test, where we learn lessons along the way in order to prepare for the big exam at the end. If you dream about taking a test in school, you might feel that your every thought and action are being closely analyzed, and you fear failure or disappointing others. Tests usually point to our own insecurities, and our need to compare ourselves to others. We don’t want to feel left behind or shunned from the pack, so dreaming of taking a test could mean that you have doubts about your own abilities and strengths.

9. Dreams on Traveling Somewhere

Whether by car, bus, train, or plane, this dream signifies your need to create movement in your life. You feel restless and bored with your current situation, and long to make a big change in your daily life. It could also mean you are running from yourself, fearing what you might find.

10. Being in an Out of Control Car

Just like the falling dream, this one symbolizes a lack of control in your life. It means you have let others take the wheel instead, giving up your own power to create a new reality. This vision means you need to reclaim your own power and start working on those aspects of your life that you feel you can’t manage effectively.

5 Signs Your Third Eye Is Opening

September 6, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Since ancient times, the third eye had been revered by all kinds of cultures.

Today, we know it as the pineal gland, but it is still called the third eye in the spiritual realm.

The third eye is viewed as a spiritual sign representing our capability to conquer all kinds of challenges in daily life by tapping into our inner wisdom.

But there is much more to the third eye than that. In most Eastern traditions, the third eye is undoubtedly real; a thing that anybody can perceive and obviously feel if they have a strong sense of self and mindfulness.

It is what is often referred to as the connection between our body and our spirit.

When we meditate with any consistency, the third eye opens and your inner guide becomes stronger and a more present guiding force in your life.

Here are five signs your third eye is opening:

1. A dull sensation of pressure between the eyebrows.

Generally when the third eye starts to manifest on a much deeper level, there’s a related consciousness of sensation between eyebrows.

It could seem like somebody is lightly touching us at that moment, or you might feel a spreading of warmth.

Sometimes this sensation could appear from nowhere; whether we have spiritual feelings or not. It’s as if it’s a signal to pull us back in that spiritual state of mind.

2. Increased foresight.

Among the most obvious signals of third eye opening is an increase in foresight or intuition we start to experience – if we are paying attention.

Intuition is the capability to know something might happen before it does or knowing something is right or wrong because of a feeling or sense.

It often comes and goes without notification. However with time, this feeling could get stronger, and turn out to be a guiding process in our daily lives.

We might start to sense warning signs or what our next action should be without explanation.

Don’t dispute your intuition. Use it! It might not always be right; however it most certainly will put us on the right path.

3. Prone to light sensitivity.

With the opening third eye, we could find ourselves a little more sensitive to light and seeing colors more brightly.

Vivid colors and our awareness of light may begin subtly; they are not always instantly obvious or overwhelming.

However, the sensitivity to light often brings further awareness of what is happening around us. When focusing deeply on the third eye (like in meditation), the lights of the third eye might appear.

The third eye and it’s reference to light has been talked about for years in many traditions worldwide. It is well-known in many forms of art and religious works. If you study the works, you can often see the light reference in circular shapes and star-shaped lights peeking through the clouds.

Our eyes will change over time, and we might feel like we just can’t get enough sun on our skin. This is normal. Soak it up! Just make sure you are not harming the skin.

4. A feeling of gradual and continual change.

Most importantly, fostering a healthy third eye steadily changes our perspective and personality in life. It results in beneficial changes because we want, and maybe even crave them. We can usually see it in the way we treat others. We might become more tolerant and less selfish.

5. Increased headaches.

A headache pressure is stronger than the pressure talked about earlier that happens between the eyebrows. At times, that pressure can begin to ache a little.

Consider it a little bit of energy overload. Go outdoors and do a thing you cherish, like meditate or walk.

Head pressure is an actual sign of the spiritual eye opening, particularly in the center of the forehead. It is an indication that one’s pineal gland is developing energetically.

Tips to Engage The Third Eye

When our Third Eye is opening, we’ll begin body-to-soul discussions in our mind with an understanding of our place in the Universe and that we are the creator of our reality!

We will encounter greater states of mindfulness, enabling us to visualize a better life and take focused action to help us live up to our potential.

We’ll become very intuitive, possess a good memory, and we’ll have the ability to understand without any problem.

We can help foster a strong sense of intuition by activating our third eye. Start by doing these things:

Meditate.
Stay away from sugar and dairy as much as possible.
Meditate outside, naturally, sitting on the grass or natural ground.
Be mindful of our senses.
Drink more water.
Walk in nature for not less than half an hour every day.
Display and wear indigo and purple.
Let go of limiting beliefs.
Do aesthetic activities: Make visual art, drawing, coloring, working with memory, photography, hypnosis, and even some daydreaming

3 Ways To Spot An Undercover Narcissist

September 5, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Have you ever felt negative energy from someone without exactly knowing what it was? The undercover narcissist may have been at work…

A narcissist may have pent-up hostile feelings towards people that have more success than they do. They look at someone who is both popular and intelligent as a threat to who they are and how others perceive them.

Narcissists are usually indifferent toward other people and are characterized by dominance, arrogance, self-centeredness, and manipulation of others for self-promotion. They usually display little to no caring or emotional sympathy.

They have a strong wish to be liked by individuals they consider inferior to them, but particularly by people they consider superior. When liked, the narcissist’s emotions of superiority will likely explode.

Humans are good at keeping our emotions and feelings close to the vest. While social networks are making sharing secrets more common, narcissists have and will always love getting out in the open to get everyone’s attention.

It can be annoying and sometimes difficult to socialize with a narcissist. They monopolize people’s time, keep the conversation focused on them and have no problem sharing all of their most significant achievements in a “what have you done lately?” way. When we are around a narcissist, it can feel like everything revolves around them.

Vulnerability and arrogance are trademarks of a true narcissist. They are adept at playing the character necessary to focus their attention on them. Narcissists are not usually shy about their wish to be the center of attention, and it’s pretty common knowledge they like to speak about themselves to make them seem more important or relevant than they are.

So what’re we to do? How can we protect ourselves from narcissists if they are so proficient at slipping into our daily lives unnoticed?

Here are three ways to spot an undercover narcissist:

1. Narcissists like to seduce.

Emotionally, spiritually, and physically; seduction is a this toxic person’s tool. Narcissists play on heightened emotions to engage you in behaviors that benefit them. Narcissists gather people who will serve their need to be the center of attention, whether through a romantic relationship, a close friendship, or a strategic partnership. They make being with them fun and exciting at first. Then they shift the focus of the relationship onto them and their needs.

2. These folks move fast.

They get you hooked fast through sweet talk and a false sense of interest. That is how they build trust and form a bond. It enables them to use us emotionally once the real motive of the relationship becomes clear.

Among the more straightforward ways to find a hidden narcissist is to look for simple signs that show somebody only appears worried if something or someone will affect their image. Narcissists struggle to maintain the “right kind” of associations because appearances are everything to them, and they care what others think about them.

Take note of your friends’ feelings when you recommend something. Undercover narcissists could harshly react when they don’t agree with you or when criticized. Saying no to a narcissist could be interpreted as them being discarded, and negative behaviors will often manifest.

3. Take note of their money mentions.

Sick and tired of listening to your friend’s endless designer buys? Narcissists place importance on material things. They like to talk about the amazing things they have and do so in a way that hints they may be better than us. However, it’s just a way to inflate their self-worth.

If narcissists feel they do not quite measure up to the people around them regarding fame or status, they start talking about money. Money to them is a way of elevating their standing and their importance.

Keep in mind they always want to be number one. Thus, anybody who threatens their perceived place can cause narcissists to behave rudely and dismissively to protect their self-esteem.

Beware when you hear somebody change gears mid-discussion from their brand-new car to just how much they spent on that car. They are not trying to discuss their financial situation; they are using money and status to make them seem important.

Successful, attractive, intelligent, or popular individuals will most likely receive the most attention from the narcissist since the narcissist aims to build their self-image.

Final Thoughts on Spotting an Undercover Narcissist

These are only a few ways a narcissist might behave before we develop a relationship with them. Once this toxic person is certain he has captured us, he’ll use us to further his agenda and build his self-worth.

The best way to flush out a narcissist is to listen to your gut. It probably is if something seems off when you meet an overly-enthusiastic person who wants to be best friends immediately.

Most people understand that relationships take time to develop, but narcissists usually wants results immediately. Use that as a clue and take things slow. Time will tell the true intentions of any person.

5 Signs You Have Your Emotions Under Control

September 5, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Emotions are an important part of our daily lives. Whether we’re having a very good laugh over a text or feeling annoyed in rush-hour traffic, we all know that the highs and lows we experience from one moment to the next could significantly affect our well-being.

There are two essential emotions that each of us experiences–fear and love. Suicide counselors warn that other emotions are categories of the two emotions. Thoughts and behavior result from either a place of love or one of fear. Anxiety, control, anger, sadness, inadequacy, depression, confusion, loneliness, hurt, shame, guilt; are all fear-based emotions. Emotions like happiness, joy, caring, compassion, trust, truth, satisfaction, contentment are love-based emotions.

Obviously, there are various levels of intensity of the two types of emotions, a few being minor, others average, and others are strong in intensity. For instance, you might experience anger in a minor form as dismay or disgust. At an average level, it could be felt as exasperation or getting offended. And at a strong level could be felt as hate or rage; the feeling that usually underpins rage is fear.

We have all experienced various levels of feelings based on both love and fear at some point or another. When we are children, we get help navigating those emotions from our parents, friends, and even our teachers. Yet when we become adults, it’s up to us to keep our emotions under control while still continuing to honor them.

Here are 5 signs you have your emotions under control:

Do these behaviors describe you? If so–congratulations! You have excellent emotional intelligence. If not, then consider yourself a work in progress.

1. We address everybody around us with trust, love, and sympathy.

It will take an emotionally motivated person to react to poorly behaved individuals with trust, love, and sympathy. That does not mean we should always accept their negative behavior; we could still maintain control and be assertive while also remaining loyal. If we do not allow our emotions to control us, then an adoring, sincere and compassionate state of the mind and heart moves through our involvement and connection with others, regardless of their behavior.

We can take this approach because we don’t allow emotions such as fear and anger to control our reaction, like reacting to frustration with frustration, to anxiety with anxiety, or even indecency with indecency. As stated earlier, our emotions are a representation of our life, including our thoughts, beliefs, and memories. We should be motivated to ensure that we don’t permit our emotions to take total control of us whenever we’re confronted with difficult individuals or difficult encounters.

2. We can overcome our depression and anxiety.

Healing our mind and health through self-reflection and action is exactly what helps with some kinds of depression and anxiety. Sadness is the bottom emotion to depression and fear is the bottom emotion to anxiousness. It’s those feelings that we must address to make sure they will no longer control our major feelings about our daily life. Our feelings and beliefs play an important role in our emotional state, and we have the power to recognize and understand them to move through the major emotions that feed our anxieties and depressive moments.

3. We respond to our experiences instead of reacting to them.

Allowing ourselves that small space to accept what we’re experiencing gives us the time to completely integrate our emotions into our beliefs. As we encounter difficult experiences that conjure up strong emotions, responding rather than reacting to those encounters is self-empowering. When we do, we’re very likely to treat ourselves with healthful and beneficial energy rather than getting sucked into harmful states of pressure and agony.

4. We let challenging emotions go instead of holding onto them.

Emotions such as fear and anger might be destructive when we hold onto them. They’re definitely useful in some situations to make us aware of challenging situations, but those situations are often less challenging than our feelings would indicate.

We have to control reactions such as fear and anger so that they will no longer control our feelings and behaviors. Though it is a process; to start with, we need to accept them as part of who we are. Then, beyond understanding them, also ponder their meaning and use them to help motivate us to progress. After we’ve taken the beneficial parts out of difficult emotional encounters, that’s when we are able to let them go, particularly so we don’t allow setbacks to occur.

5. We know the main difference between our emotions and feelings.

Feelings are a combination of our emotions, beliefs, philosophies, ideas, and remembrances. Each one of these elements combines to not only influence the first emotions that we have but also determine how we feel about what is happening in our life. Thus, knowing the major difference between one’s emotions and feelings is important to apply our own emotions to a bigger vision of our daily lives.

This Is What Your Favorite Music Reveals About Your Personality

September 4, 2015 by Power of Positivity

“Without music, life would be a mistake” – Friedrich Nietzsche

We know that music has a positive impact on our brain, but it might be surprising just how much of an impact it has. It wasn’t too long ago that pregnant women everywhere went out and bought headsets and Mozart to give their baby an edge before he even took his first breath. And once they started breathing, we slapped a musical instrument in their hands because we knew they would do better in school.

Music is a big part of life. Whether we love it or not, we hear it everywhere, in the grocery store, while we’re waiting on hold and of course from the car next to us that is sharing its excessive bass levels.

Knowing that it has an impact on our brain, let’s look a little more closely at the incredible way music changes your brain.

The first thing to know is the type of music you like to listen to doesn’t matter, which is good news because everyone has different tastes. Research shows that regardless of the type of music, the repetitive, melodious and organized nature of music affects the regions of the brain that involve movement, planning, attention and memory.

Here are specific ways music impacts our brain.

1. Music can predict personality.

Professor Adrian North of Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK conducted the largest study to date on music in relation to our personality. He says,

“We have known for decades that people who like rock and rap are rebellious and that fans of opera are wealthy and well-educated, but for the first time research has shown that personality is also linked to a wide range of musical styles. ”

He also goes on to note that listeners of heavy metal, while typically younger have similar personality traits to classical music listeners.

In his study of over 36,000 people in over 60 countries he found:

Indie fans have low self-esteem and are not very hard-working, but are creative.
Heavy metal fans are very creative and at ease with themselves, but not very outgoing or hard-working.
Rap fans have high self-esteem and are outgoing.
Dance fans are creative and outgoing, but not very kind or generous.
Country and western fans are very hardworking and outgoing.
Reggae fans have high self-esteem and are creative, outgoing, kind, generous and at ease with themselves, but are not very hardworking.
Classical music lovers have high self-esteem and are creative and at ease with themselves, but are not outgoing.
Blues fans have high self-esteem and are creative, outgoing and at ease with themselves.
Rock ‘n’ roll fans have high self-esteem and very creative, hardworking and at ease with themselves but are not very kind or generous.

The takeaway from this study is trying to understand someone might be as simple as taking a look at their playlist.

2. Music can improve creativity.

A 2013 article published in the European Journal of Neuroscience, claims moderate noise levels can help get the creative juices flowing. Ambient noise makes us struggle just enough to process things we normally would, but the difficulty promotes abstract processing. It’s that processing that ignites creative thinking.

It’s important to note that the noise level matters. Sure pumping up the volume might get help raise our energy levels, but when it comes to thinking, the high noise level overwhelms us to the point where it can inhibit our thought processes and impact productivity.

3. Music can improve attention spans.

A Stanford University study showed that music engages areas of the brain linked to our ability to pay attention. The study tried to mimic how people tend to listen to music throughout their day by incorporating small breaks in the music and including transitions between fast and slow moving pieces.

They found that music can keep the brain engaged over time, and the processes our brains use to listen to music actually enhances its ability to anticipate future events and while paying attention for longer periods of time.

Dr. Daniel Levitin, a co-author on the study and author of “This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of Human Obsession” explains, “The results of the study may put us closer to solving the cocktail party problem – how it is that we are able to follow one conversation in a crowded room of many conversations.”

In his book, Dr. Levitin showed how music impacts our brain through this image:

There is also quite of a bit of science that shows music affects our emotions and our social interactions. What we know for sure is music is different things to different people, but there is no denying that listening to it changes your brain chemistry.

Whether we listen to country or classical, rock or jazz, we often reach for music to put us in a good mood, motivate us and even relax us. And that is how music unites us.

Add to the discussion: What does your taste in music say about you?

10 Life Changing Lessons To Learn From Lao Tzu

September 3, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Lao Tzu, one of the most renowned philosophers and poets of ancient China, left behind many important lessons for our souls to learn. Best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching and the founder of philosophical Taoism, his remarkable wisdom and messages of peace, resilience, and living cohesively remind us what really matters in life, and how we can develop ourselves as a collective. He is a central figure in Chinese culture, but his words can apply to people all over the world.

Here are 10 important lessons that we can learn from Lao Tzu:

Read these wise words by Lao Tzu.

1. You hold the answers to all of life’s most pressing questions. When you look within, you will find everything you need.

“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.”

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”

2. By letting go, you become free. You conquer both yourself and the world when you allow, not fight, their existence.

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.”

“Therefore the Master acts without doing anything and teaches without saying anything. Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go. She has but doesn’t possess acts but doesn’t expect. When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever.”

“If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become straight, let yourself be crooked. If you want to become full, let yourself be empty. If you want to be reborn, let yourself die. If you want to be given everything, give everything up.”

“Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?”

3. Labels and egotistical desires will never grant you the pleasure of truly knowing yourself.

“He who defines himself can’t know who he really is.”

“He who has power over others can’t empower himself.”

“He who tries to shine dims his own light.”

4. Evil naturally crumbles away when you pay no attention to it.

“Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself.”

5. Kindness and compassion for others will always win in the end, no matter how long evil reigns.

“Treat those who are good with goodness, and also treat those who are not good with goodness. Thus goodness is attained. Be honest to those who are honest, and be also honest to those who are not honest. Thus honesty is attained.”

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

6. Have the confidence to be yourself without caring what others think.

“Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner.”

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”

7. Wisdom and strength come from remaining humble.

“The wise man is one who, knows, what he does not know.”

“All streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. Humility gives it its power.”

8. Change is inevitable, so embrace it, even if it seems uncomfortable.

“If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve.”

“New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.”

9. A great leader realizes he is not above his followers; his is merely one of them.

“The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, ‘We did it ourselves.”

“If you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them. If you want to lead the people, you must learn how to follow them.”

10. Strive to do nothing and be nothing; here, you will find true happiness.

“When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.”

“Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Non-being is the greatest joy.”

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