Vienna

Vienna is one of the most beautiful and memorable towns along the Danube. This European city is distinguished by its elegance, its beautiful architecture and traditions in art and music. As the former capital of the empire, today Vienna is one of Europe's leading cultural capitals.

Traditions of Vienna are in art and culture and refers to theater, opera, classical music and fine arts. Their spirit is kept alive today in the Burgtheater, which together with its subsidiary, the Academy theater, are considered some of the best theaters in the German speaking world.

Vienna is the capital of Austria and one of the two provinces in the country. This largest city in Austria, has a population of about 2 million inhabitants located in the east, near the border with the Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In 2001 the old...[ More on Vienna]

Palace of Versailles

Since its construction prior to the 4th - 5th century, the Palace of Versailles is an emblem of power, dominance and entertainment of the French monarchy. From then until today this incredible castle is considered one of the most beautiful royal palaces, not only in France but also in Europe. Versailles Palace was built in place of the previous hunting lodge in today's rich suburb of Paris - Versailles. It is located in the western suburbs of the French [capital], about 17.1 kilometers from the center of Paris.

For a little more than a century, from 1682 to 1789 Versailles was the capital of the French Kingdom and the incredible Palace of Versailles is centrally located to the French rulers. The name of this castle is associated mostly with the management of Louis XIV - the Sun King.

The construction was a...[ More on Palace of Versailles]

More: ParisVersailles

Dobris Castle

Dobris Castle is an amazing and beautiful private chateau in the Czech Republic. One will remain amazed by the impressive size of the castle from its sophisticated architecture almost entirely sustained in Rococo style and warm colors, which shines in the facades. The Chateau is situated in the historic hunting area of the Bohemia area.

This area boasts a rich and intriguing history. Although it is privately owned, with one reservation everyone can have the chance to examine the Dobris Castle. If you choose to visit the castle, be sure to sit to eat lunch, and at the same time enjoy the beautiful views of its famous and picturesque gardens.

The castle is located about one hour drive from Prague. The beautiful Rococo chateau was erected in the second half of the 18th century. Until World War II Dobris was ow...[ More on Dobris Castle]

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Etretat in France

Etretat is a magnetic natural site, located in northern France. This beautiful place in Normandy can be reached by bus or car from the city of Le Havre, which is located about 32 km from there. The coastline is located west of Dieppe to the northeast of Havre.

The place where the village itself is built, Etretat, is known as the alabaster coast, which is famous for its large and high white cliffs, and beautiful natural arch. During summer the area is noisy and it becomes a bustling resort, but in winter it is more peaceful.

The beautiful natural arch is formed in the western rock called Falaise. The rock cavity is obtained under the pressure of the turbulent sea waves on soft rock, which by nature makes chalk. Another sight there is the so called Needle which can be seen if you take the special path to climb ...[ More on Etretat in France]

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Leaning Tower of Pisa

Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the seven wonders of the world and one of the most popular tourist attractions throughout the land. The town itself, Pisa is located in central Italy, in Tuscany which lies on the Ligurian Sea. The easiest way to get to the town is by train or bus from Florence. There is an opportunity to land at the local airport with direct flights from most major European cities.

Construction of leaning tower of Pisa on the cathedral began in August 1173. Five years later the third floor was finished and the slope was already beginning to become known, however, there was a long period of interruption of its construction because of the wars with Florence. The second phase of construction began before 1272, adding four new floors which are built at different angles from the previous three. During the 1284 ...[ More on Leaning Tower of Pisa]

Malahide Castle in Dublin

Malahide Castle

Malahide Castle is one of those medieval palaces that are lost in [mystery] and legends. It is located near the Irish village of Malahide, 14 km from Dublin in the north of Ireland. The castle stands on the Howth peninsula, north of Dublin Bay. In translation from Irish, Malahide means, on the beach. This property comes within the natural park, which extends over an area of 250 acres. For nearly 800 years since its creation Malahide function both as a fortress and a private home.

Malahide Castle is one of the oldest historic forts in Ireland. From 1185 to 1975 the palace was a private mansion and home of the Talbot family. This is one of the longest periods in the history of all Ireland, in which a family keeps for such a long period ownership of this castle.

The oldest part of the Malahide Castle dates fr...[ More on Malahide Castle]

More: DublinMedieval castles

Lalibela in Ethiopia

The stone churches in Lalibela are one of the destinations required if you decide to experience the Ethiopian cultural heritage. Located in the northern Ethiopian province today these rock monasteries have been described as one of the wonders of the Christian world.

Built in the 12th and 13th century and standing at an altitude off 2630 m, Lalibela today is a major religious center and a famous pilgrimage site. It was originally called, Rohan and was later renamed, Holy Monastery of the greatest king of the dynasty Zague Lalibela, who was a Christian.

Legends also say that he received a vision of how the ruler travels to Jerusalem, with that result he decided to build his Holy Mountain in the distant mountains of his homeland. Ten churches were carved out along the river that baptized Jordan and which still...[ More on Lalibela - Ethiopia]

Dublin Castle

The [capital] of Ireland - Dublin is where you can go walking around the pretty Dublin Castle, Dublin Cathedral and Chester Beatty Library which is also a museum of art where you will feel the aristocratic atmosphere of this [city] that is considered the bosom of the Irish writers. Dublin in 2003 was named the best European city to live.

There are no two doubting opinions that the main tourist attraction in Dublin is the, Dublin Castle, which is beautifully situated in the heart of old town. The palace is situated on Dame Street, and today it is headquarters of the Irish government. Earlier, until 1922 when Ireland was already a free country status, it was the headquarters of the British authorities in the country.

During the centuries of its history, Dublin Castle performed different functions. The first bui...[ More on Dublin Castle]

Tips for sound sleep

A healthy and relaxed sleep depends on the lifestyle of the day, especially in the evening and in particular the following factors:

I. NUTRITION
a) Chew
For a peaceful sleep it is important that we eat during the day and when and how we eat especially at night. Dinner must be between 17 and 18 hours to allow food to settle to 22 hours in order to sleep peacefully. After 17-18 hours the functions of the stomach and all organs reduce and fade away. In any event, the dinner should be 3- 4 hours before bedtime hours.

Assuming you eat your food later, much of it will remain undigested and then you will have contamination of toxins which result in the food being postponed as fat.

b) quality of food

The great importance to a peaceful sleep is what we eat in the evening...[ More ]

More: InsomniaSound sleepSleep Tips

What can we do with conscious dreams?

Flying
As you probably already guessed, flying is a very popular activity in conscious dreaming. Since dreams are realized as real, you can imagine how you would feel if you really did fly through the clouds, how the wind waved in your hair and how your stomach shrinks from that strange feeling of excitement when you fly up high like Superman. And the strange thing is that you can really experience all these amazing feelings when you actually laying in bed with your eyes closed.

Unbelievable that one can feel that of what you can not even normally experience in ones daily lives. So although the dream realized in nature is only a dream because, there is no external event in the world in which we live, the sensations you can experience using dreams realized are very true and complete.

Breathing under ...[ More ]

More: FlyingNightmaresTelepathyConscious dreamingDeceased relativesTeleportation

Several hypotheses about why we dream

Why do mankind "lose" 1 / 3 of their life sleeping? And why did people dream? At this point science has long sought an explanation, there was (and today there are) different assumptions, and opinions within the scientific community that continue to disagree.

Hypothesis:№ 1: To remember
In the past people were convinced that the night divides the soul with the body, achieved temporary freedom and made trips. Where is in a carefree childhood, worrying about yesterday's cloudless day or the future, it will be necessarily for these emotions to communicate through dreams.

Hypothesis № 2: Do you manage to wake up
Scientists have long thought that in the day people accumulate specific substances (conventionally called "sleep factors") that cause brain fatigue. According to this view during the dreams...[ More ]

More: DreamsDesiresDream explanationHypothesesFreud

Can we interpret our own dreams?

Interpretation of dreams is strictly individual to everyone therefore, a ready dream book could not help one to interpretate as the dream, is a dialogue between our internal aspects, conscious and our subconsciousness.

In this line of thought it is quite difficult to someone to knows how to the give the response and translation of these internal messages. Learning their language is actually apart of being self aware. It is true that there are people who could help us in the beginning, but not to give us ready-made formulas or vocabulary through which to deal with the transfer.

In the process of development, we gradually expand our ability to communicate with its other aspects and should simply be patient. This resolution called intuition and its development is in direct proportion according to the spiritual ...[ More ]

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Lack of sleep is a risk for mental and physical health

When you only sleep for 5 to 6 hours everyday, you put at risk your mental and physical health. Even when it has become a habit. Repeating a moderate deficit of sleep, like one to two hours per night, accumulates and may adversely affect the health, explains researcher Dr. Michael Grötsinger from the Deutsch Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and nervous Medicine (SGPPN) in Berlin.

Particularly affected are the heart, cardiovascular system, hormonal balance, regulation of blood sugar and the ability to respond and the immune system also changes. The concerned should not participate in traffic, operate machinery or enter the operating room. Unfortunately the concerned do not feel bad and do not recognize that they are tired, warns researcher Dr. Gryotsinger.

Other symptoms of prolonged lack of sleep...[ More ]

More: Lack of sleepSleepMental HealthIrritabilityConcentrationDepressionBad mood

Who, when, how and why we have dreams?

How long have we had dreams?

Since there are people. The earliest concrete evidence is dating back before 3000 BC. Then appears the Gilgamesh Epic with the transmission of dreams.

Prior to 4000 Egypt was created a book to decipher the messages of the gods, were it considered dreams. In ancient Rome more impressive dreams were considered by the Senate. Their modes of interpretation were both priests and sorcerers. Descartes was the first to enter the dream world of science by beginning research on the dreams and trying to find an explanation which led to the emergence of numerous books that also give rise to the emergence of a deeper psychology.

Who dreams?

Everyone and every night, even several times a night. With this feature on average three out of five have no memory of sleeping.

Where do dreams originate?

According to latest research, probably in the interior of the middle of the brain, the same place, which is responsible for our emotions during the day.

When we dream?

There is a fast and slow sleep, which in turn is divided into superficial and deep sleep. On the basis of brain activity we differ in different phases of sleep. After falling asleep, when one no longer hears, sees and feels the outside world, it deepens the sleep and brain activity is characterized by increasingly slow waves. From the surface goes into a deep sleep, and when the brain begins to become active it has the same pattern in order to wake. During this phase (rapid eye movement) eyes start to move around, like the state of alertness. It is believed that the eyes follow the pictures in this sleep stage.

Flying in a dream is a sign of your strength and will

Dreams in which one can fly falls into the category of "dreams of enlightenment". These dreams occur when you realize that you are dreaming. Many people describe the ability to fly in their dreams as refreshing and a fun experience.

If you fly with ease and enjoy the scenery and landscape below you, it implies that you are on top of any situation. Flying over a building could also mean that you start looking at things differently. Dreams of flight and the ability to control the flight show your personal sense of power.

If you have difficulties to keep flying, it shows a lack of power in controlling your own situation. You can fight to stay in the air to keep the course. Things like power lines, trees, mountains, may prevent you to further your flight. These obstacles symbolize specific difficulties or peopl...[ More ]

More: Flying DreamsFlyingStrengthDreaming

Does poor sleep have influence on the psyche?

Mental disorders such as depression and Parkinson's disease for example, adversely affect the development of sleep. Use of medicinal ingredients, drugs and alcohol in large quantities also disturb sleep.

Types of insomnia
- Primary insomnia is when a person experiences difficulty in sleeping, which are generally caused by a very high concern or fear.

- Central sleep characterized by frequent awakening during the night leading the main problem being able to stay asleep.

- Final sleep characterized by early morning awakening is often accompanied by depressive symptoms.

Is there a connection with violations in mental health and Insomnia?

When one is trying to make up missed sleep, they are acting upon a vacuum in the clock. The sleep at night is aimed at fin...[ More ]

More: SleepPoor SleepMental disordersDepressionParkinson's diseaseInsomniaPrimary InsomniaAwakening

Dreams related to prosecution are among the most common

Dreams related to prosecution are among the most common. As with most ordinary dreams, they are often the result of anxiety in your everyday life.

Running is an instinctive response to physical threats in your surroundings. In these dreams you can be pursued by an attacker, animal or stranger, who wants to hurt or possibly kill you. In turn, you run, hide or attempt to mislead the pursuer. Your actions in your dream reflect your reactions to stress and how you deal with your fears in real life. Instead of controlling the situation you are trying to escape from it. Ask yourself what you pursue, and maybe you can find the source of your fears and care.

Dreaming of a pursuer may also reflect a part of yourself. Your own feelings of anger, jealousy, fear, and possibly love, can occur as a menacing figure. This ...[ More ]

More: Prosecution dreamsAnxietyDreams

What impact flowers have on Dreams

Sleep with flowers in your bedroom, if you want sweet dreams, scientists recommend, cited by Air Force.

Volunteers who participated in the experiment were allowed to sleep in the room with roses, and later admitted that they experienced pleasant emotions in their dreams. The smell of rotten eggs had did exactly the opposite effect and does not sound particularly surprising.

It is possible that odors can make their dreams more pleasant, believes Prof. Boris Glass and his team from University Hospital in Mannheim.

Scientists waited until the experiment participants entered the phase of REM sleep when most dreams occur, then in 10 seconds they put forward a strong dose of sweet air and a minute later they woke up.

Then the volunteers were questioned about their dreams and how t...[ More ]

More: DreamsFlowersREM

Obese people sleep less

People who sleep five or fewer hours per day, more often suffer from overweight and obesity. Weight gain is from the assumed volume of food, research shows.

Scientists tracked the daily regime of 70, 000 middle-aged women participating in the study of health. For 16 years the participants noted their actual weight every 2 years. The survey results clearly showed that participants who slept five or less hours per day are uploaded with 15-32 percent more weight than other women. The result is that inadequate sleep leads to obesity, the study conducted by Americans, is the largest in this direction.

Previously, it was believed that weight gain relates to the fact that when one does not sleep, one eats more, but it became clear that it is not so. Appetite and diet do not influence the weight of women who sleep ...[ More ]

More: Sleep lessOverweightObesityDuration of SleepMetabolismSleepObese People

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by a reduction or pause of breathing (airflow) during sleep. It is common among adults but rare among children. Although a diagnosis of sleep apnea often will be suspected on the basis of a person's medical history, there are several tests that can be used to confirm the diagnosis. The treatment of sleep apnea may be either surgical or nonsurgical.

An apnea is a period of time during which breathing stops or is markedly reduced. In simplified terms, an apnea occurs when a person stops breathing for 10 seconds or more. If you stop breathing completely or take less than 25% of a normal breath for a period that lasts 10 seconds or more, this is an apnea. This definition includes complete stoppage of airflow. Other definitions of apnea that may be used include at least a 4% drop in oxygen in the blood, a direct result of the reduction in the transfer of oxygen into the blood when breathing stops.

Apneas usually occur during sleep. When an apnea occurs, sleep usually is disrupted due to inadequate breathing and poor oxygen levels in the blood. Sometimes this means the person wakes up completely, but sometimes this can mean the person comes out of a deep level of sleep and into a more shallow level of sleep. Apneas are usually measured during sleep (preferably in all stages of sleep) over a two-hour period. An estimate of the severity of apnea is calculated by dividing the number of apneas by the number of hours of sleep, giving an apnea index (AI in apneas per hour); the greater the AI, the more severe the apnea.

A hypopnea is a decrease in breathing that is not as severe as an apnea. Hypopneas usually occur during sleep and can be defined as 69% to 26% of a normal breath. Like apneas, hypopneas also may be defined as a 4% or greater drop in oxygen in the blood. Like apneas, hypopneas usually disrupt the level of sleep. A hypopnea index (HI) can be calculated by dividing the number of hypopneas by the number of hours of sleep.

The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is an index of severity that combines apneas and hypopneas. Combining them gives an overall severity of sleep apnea including sleep disruptions and desaturations (a low level of oxygen in the blood). The apnea-hypopnea index, like the apnea index and hypopnea index, is calculated by dividing the number of apneas and hypopneas by the number of hours of sleep.

Another index that is used to measure sleep apnea is the respiratory disturbance index (RDI). The respiratory disturbance index is similar to the apnea-hypopnea index; however, it also includes respiratory events that do not technically meet the definitions of apneas or hypopneas, but do disrupt sleep.

Sleep apnea is formally defined as an apnea-hypopnea index of at least 15 episodes/hour in a patient if they do not have medical problems that are believed to be caused by the sleep apnea. This is the equivalent of approximately one episode of apnea or hypopnea every 4 minutes. High blood pressure, stroke, daytime sleepiness, congestive heart failure (low flow of blood to the heart), insomnia, or mood disorders can be caused or worsened by sleep apnea. In the presence of these conditions, sleep apnea is defined as an apnea-hypopnea index of at least five episodes/hour. This definition is stricter because these individuals may be already experiencing the negative medical effects of sleep apnea, and it may be important to begin treatment at a lower apnea-hypopnea index.

Secrets of sleep

When we have a more hectic and busy day it influences our sleep. According to some studies one-third of the adult population on the planet has serious problems with this vital process.

We sleep normally for about 8.5 hours per day. However with increasing age, these hours decrease.

Sleep is required for the rebuilding of the tension stress, also exercise during the day aids in this process too. But too often we sacrifice something for those hours, working, meeting, party or just an interesting movie on TV.

As a result of which, allegedly without cause, we become apathetic, meaning we are constantly tired and this in turn affects our health and the immune system.

Some of us are trying to catch up with sleep at the weekend. But as a result of being in bed for a prolonged time...[ More ]

More:SecretsSleep habits

Not much sleep, less likely to get dementia

Attention, Sleepyhead! Too much sleep may harm your health.

Spanish researchers found that older people who sleep more than nine hours a day, have a higher risk of developing dementia.

Dementia is a disease of the nervous system which is characterized by a deterioration of mental capacity and impaired concentration. Dementia is a disease that can occur during old age.

The study involved 3, 300 adults who were subjected to periodic surveys over three years. The results showed that those who sleep ten or more hours per day, including during the day, run the risk of advanced dementia and the risk is increased twofold.

Conclusions have been made taken into account other factors such as age, education, bad habits, smoking and consumption of alcohol.

Threatened wi...[ More ]

More: DementiaSleepNevous System

Sleep Disorders: narcolepsy

If you have problems sleeping and it affects your mental, physical and emotional condition, then it is possible you are suffering from Sleep Disorders.

What is narcolepsy?

Chronic sleep disorder characterized by sudden onset of sleep and wasting drowsiness during the day.

People who suffer from narcolepsy find it very difficult to stay awake for a long time. Narcolepsy is often confused with depression,

What are the signs and symptoms of narcolepsy?

• Excessive daytime sleepiness
One of the main features of narcolepsy is uncontrolled sleep during the day with huge drowsiness. People who suffer from narcolepsy fall asleep without warning, anywhere and anytime.

• abrupt loss of muscle tone
This condition, is known as cat...[ More ]

More: NarcolepsySleep ParalysisHallucinationsSleepinessLifestyleSleep Disorders

What impact flowers have on Dreams

Sleep with flowers in your bedroom, if you want sweet dreams, scientists recommend, cited by Air Force.

Volunteers who participated in the experiment were allowed to sleep in the room with roses, and later admitted that they experienced pleasant emotions in their dreams. The smell of rotten eggs had did exactly the opposite effect and does not sound particularly surprising.

It is possible that odors can make their dreams more pleasant, believes Prof. Boris Glass and his team from University Hospital in Mannheim.

Scientists waited until the experiment participants entered the phase of REM sleep when most dreams occur, then in 10 seconds they put forward a strong dose of sweet air and a minute later they woke up.

Then the volunteers were questioned about their dreams and how t...[ More ]

More: DreamsFlowersSleepREM

Not really clear why we sleep?

For decades, scientists are trying to unravel the mechanism of sleep and still have not succeeded in clarifying this matter.

According to the allegations of U.S. experts in sleep and, supported by their colleagues from around the world, one thing is certain: mammals die without sleep.

Continued absence of sleep leads to hallucinations, changes in mood and in some cases even death.

There are two phases of sleep, in which the eyes move rapidly under the eyelids, and the other which do not move quickly.

That in which the eyes move slowly are to conserve energy, and virtually stops the aging of the body, this is something like quiescent sleep. Metabolism is slowed and the processes in the body are running very slowly.

In the other phase, which eyes are moving ...[ More ]

More: SleepHallucinationsDeathMoodAbsence of Sleep

Tea agains nightmares?

One of the many benefits for our body is a regular consumption of tea. This amazing natural potion, which is prepared from leaves, buds, flowers and fruits of certain plants helps against many diseases. It has been proven that infusions of black tea leads to melting of fat and is an excellent way to maintain a good figure.

According to recent studies regular consumption of green or black tea helps us not to dream nightmares. According to medical studies of Japanese people who drink one or more cups of tea a day , 50 percent were less likely to wake up at night due to a nightmare.

The reason for the favorable effect of tea infusions on the nervous system of humans lies in teanin amino acid which is contained in the leaves. The teanin has a soothing effect on the brain by reducing levels of stress and anxiet...[ More ]

More: NightmaresTea Teanin. Stress Anxiety

Silence against insomnia

Ancient East uses a very effective means of insomnia, regardless of its cause. And this is silence.

Try not to talk to relatives or acquaintances for 24 hours. If you work, limit your contacts to a minimum. But for this purpose better choose a day on which you are at home. If you remain silent throughout the day, you will relax your emotions, which have some control over your nervous system. As a result you will sleep peacefully. Refraining from speaking accumulates more internal energy in man, and he now has the strength to cope with some of his problems.

It happens to some when feeling torment and frustration as one never ceases to talk to someone. In this case, you can record your thoughts on tape. Thus, having conspired, you will have a better sleep.

If you are conversational in nature...[ More ]

More: InsomniaSilence

31 facts that people don't know

1. During 1918-1919 the influenza epidemic killed more than 20 million people in the U.S. and Europe.

2. On average 725 Km of hair grow on people during their life.

3. In men a blond beard grows faster than a redheads.

4. Human DNA contains about 80, 000 genes.

5. It is believed that the men are dwarfs in stature below 130 cm and for women less than 120 cm

6. During the life of a man his thumb narrows on average about 25 million times.

7. The size of the human heart is approximately the size of a fist and the heart weight of an adult is 220-260 g

8. For one day the human brain generates more electrical impulses from all phones in the world put together.

9. The total weight of all the bacteria that live in t...[ More ]

More: FactsHuman Facts

Purpose of dreams

Dreams are so compelling, and they often seem so weird and strange -- surely they must have a "purpose"; that is, an "adaptive role" in the maintenance of our bodily or psychological health. Furthermore, all the famous theorists who talk about dreams claim that dreams do have one or another purpose (although the famous theorists disagree on just what those functions are), but the best current evidence suggests otherwise. Dreams probably have no purpose!

So let's review the arguments and the evidence. We'll start with the claims made by psychoanalysts and clinical psychologists in the first 50 years of the century based on their work with patients, then turn to more recent claims, some of which are based on work in sleep and dream laboratories that flourished in the 1950's and 1960's. The views presented here are those of research psychologists who have studied dreams inside and outside the laboratory, especially David Foulkes and Calvin Hall.

The first and most famous dream theorist of the modern era, Sigmund Freud, said that the function of dreams was to preserve sleep, but that theory from the year 1900 is contradicted by the fact that dreams happen very regularly at least five or six times per night in an active stage of sleep called REM sleep (after the rapid eye movements that are part of it, along with many other neurological and physiological changes). In other words, dreams don't just happen as we are about to wake up due to hunger pangs, sexual urges, or the need to go to the bathroom, as Freud thought way back when, before REM sleep was discovered in 1953.

The other famous dream theorist of the modern era, Carl Jung, an early follower of Freud who broke away to develop a very different theory, claimed that the function of dreams is to compensate for those parts of the psyche (total personality) that are underdeveloped in waking life, but Calvin Hall's studies of two-week dream series from students and longer dream journals from adults of all ages strongly suggest that dream content is continuous with waking thought and behavior. That is, if we are outgoing and active in our waking life, and not very introspective and reflective, then so too in our dream life, which contradicts Jung's view.

Still other dream theorists say that dreams have a problem-solving function. Dreams supposedly deal with problems we can't solve in waking life and offer solutions. But a variety of systematic studies find precious little support for this view. However, this is one of those places where we have developed "uses" for our dreams as part of our cultural lore. Looking at them in the light of waking day, and believing that they may be full of insight, we may sometimes come up with new ideas or insights while studying them. That is, we have invented a "use" for dreams, but that doesn't mean that problem solving is a psychological function of dreams built into us over evolutionary time.

So much for the claims by clinical theorists. Now we look at claims that have emerged in recent years, but are tied to no particular theory or famous theorist. They are the new "common sense" of our day, based on a reverence for physiological findings and the awesome capabilities of computers.

When REM sleep was first discovered, it was thought that dreams only occurred during that stage of sleep. This led to many functional theories about dreaming that were based on alleged functions for REM sleep. But we now have reason to believe that plenty of dreams happen in non-REM (NREM) sleep, especially late in the sleep period.

Furthermore, awakenings of children under age 5 in the sleep laboratory reveal that they only report dreams from REM sleep awakenings 20-25% of the time, so REM sleep does not automatically equate to dreaming. In addition, REM sleep can be found in all mammals, and it is unlikely that they are dreaming, i.e., imagining a world or story in which they are taking part and interacting with others. Dreams, as the pre-eminent American psychologist on dreams, David Foulkes, likes to say, are a "cognitive achievement." We only gradually develop the ability to dream. What all this adds up to is that REM sleep and dreaming are not the same thing, so whatever functions REM sleep may have cannot be taken as functions for dreaming and dreams.

5 main types of dreams

All dreams may be classified under five main types: there is the enigmatic dream, in Greek oneiros; second, there is the prophetic vision, in Greek horama; third, there is the oracular dream, in Greek chrematismos; fourth, there is the nightmare, in Greek enhypnion; and last, the apparition, in Greek, phantasma, which Cicero, when he has occasion to use the word, calls "visum."

Nightmares may be caused by physical or mental distress, or anxiety about the future; the patient experiences in dreams vexations similar to those that disturb him during the day.

We call a dream oracular in which a parent, or a pious or revered man, or a priest, or even a god clearly reveals what will or will not transpire... We call a dream a prophetic vision if it actually comes true... By an enigmatic dream we mean one that conceals with strange shapes and veils with ambiguity the true meaning of the information being offered, and requires an interpretation for its understanding.

Entered the world of dreams

Last night, as you slept, you entered the world of dreams. This world is sometimes magical, at other times horrifying, yet each night you return there probably four or five times. Each of us does this and we cannot stop ourselves from crossing the threshold into this world. Why? Is there a purpose to your dreams? Of the more than 2,000 dreams you will have this year are any of them meaningful? The answer is yes, all of them, and learning to interpret them will help you change your life for the better.

Take John, for example, who dreamt that Van Morrison was sitting on the floor holding a pint of Guinness in his hand and arguing with his wife. In reality John and his wife were having an ongoing conflict. With the help of dream analysis John learned that he was holding onto a black and white attitude (holding the black and white Guinness) which he had picked up from watching his own parents (adults in the dream) deal with conflict in his childhood (when John used to sit on the floor). John listened to his dream and made positive changes that helped resolve the conflict.

Dream Analysis is not new, but in our 'Western' pursuit of science has been forgotten or overlooked by many. As far back as the Old Testament, Joseph showed us that dreams contain important messages. Native American cultures hold dreams in high regard as messages from the spirit world. For the Irish, Saint Patrick admitted he was told to come to Ireland in a dream. We also find Shakespeare accepting that dreams could be used to warn Julius Caesar of his murder.

So what are dreams? Dreams are the language of the Soul. Through dreams the soul comments on all aspects of our lives such as health, relationships, career and spirituality.

Prophetic dreams depend on the pillow

If every 7 days you change the location of your pillow, then this will help you remember your dreams.

In practice it means that one week to sleep the top end of the bed and the next to sleep at the other end so to lay your head on the pillow where your feet would had been the previous week, and vice versa.

Photo: Grad.bg

Permanent change of posture of the body helps to remember especially those dreams that are important.

Most often dreams come true the next day or up to 9 months after you have dreamed them. If you've dreamed of something during the day, there is almost no chance of it to come true. Dreams which are seen after 8 pm and before midnight, come true within two months. Those you dream between 3 and 6 am, will come true in a few weeks.

Overall, prophetic dreams are fairly rare, so we should not attach too much importance to every dream and give more time to think about the prophetic.

What you reveal in erotic dreams

All men and women have erotic dreams. They grant wishes, eliminate fears and release stress. According to the study of French researchers, 70% of women and 80 percent of men have erotic dreams.

These dreams are starting from puberty to the emergence of first love thrills. Young people for example, dream of many snakes, which symbolizes the awakening of sexuality and stresses, according to George Romeo, Author of Dictionary of Dreams.

In the form of dreams, erotic fantasies are a sign of good health. Any man that has a dream of making love, is proof that you have a logical thought, are intuitive and have a strong imagination. The dream could also be a general rehearsal for the upcoming new stage in your love life.

According to theories of Freud the dream has a compensatory role, it reveals our subconscious desires and aspirations. Thus, releasing the accumulated tensions of the day, erotic dreams help us to overcome stress.

One of the functions of erotic dreams is to help us get rid of some inhibitions.