Job Opportunity at DreamTime Magazine

DreamTime is seeking an editorial assistant to help with production of the magazine, a tri-annual publication sent to all members of the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD).

This position may include:
• Reading submissions and making reports/recommendations to the Editor
• Copyediting manuscripts accepted for publication
• Proofreading each issue before it goes to press
• Compiling regular sections of the magazine (e.g., IASD News, Announcements, Research Calls)

The actual responsibilities of the position are flexible and we expect them to evolve in relation to the skills & interests of the person who becomes the editorial assistant.

For details, visit:

http://dreamtalk.hypermart.net/bb2005/viewtopic.php?t=2914

Dream Group Explores Dreams’ Healing & Growth Opportunities

Just came across this interesting article about a Denver-area dream analysis group:

Ferrimani, and other local “dreamworkers,” believe dreams are not random. They believe all dreams—even nightmares—come in the service of health and wholeness, and stopping to pay attention to them can help people heal and grow.

Ferrimani believes the root to all of life’s hardships and setbacks—and likewise peace and clarity—is inside. Which is where dreams live. Some people believe working through dreams with a group can be better than therapy. Dreams come tailor-made, filmed live and in person inside your own psyche, advocates say.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/apr/28/i-had-a-dream

Link Between Depression and Dreams

Experts are suggesting that people who are depressed experience more REM sleep than others. However, the question remains as to whether depression causes increased REM, or vice versa, or whether there may be other factors that lead to both.

…instead of blaming your brain for its alleged deficits and frantically popping pills to correct the chemical imbalance, you might be better off if you worked more assiduously on your belief system. But that still does not satisfactorily explain what causes depression in the first place.

Once you understand that, you can correct its maladaptive cycle incredibly fast; in just 24 hours, claims British psychologist Joe Griffin who has pioneered a revolutionary theory that links REM sleep and evolution of dreams to roots of depression and other neuroses.

For 40 years it’s been known that depressed people have excessive REM sleep, he writes in Dreaming Reality, co-authored with Ian Tyrrell. They dream more than healthy people. Griffin and his colleagues at The Human Givens Institute claim that the negative introspection or ruminations that depressed people engage in actually causes the excessive dreaming.

When you dream you burn up much more energy, and your brain cells aren’t refreshed because you are not getting enough slow-wave sleep. That’s why depressed people wake up feeling tired and drained. But once they understand the link between dreaming and depression they can begin to work on it immediately. For today’s worry is tomorrow’s depression.

Nip it in the bud and it will not bloom into tomorrow’s nightmare. That’s exactly why Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra recommends thought control (chitta-vritti nirodha). “Take physical exercise,” Griffin adds (echoing Patanjali). “Keep your mind focused outwards off the negative introspection. Know the importance of bringing in a bit of pleasure and challenge back into your life.” The Gita gives exactly same advice: balance right amount of work, play, and fun with the proper amount of dream and thought (yukta swapnavbodhasya) to banish pain.

The complete article can be found at:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorials/
Work_assiduously_on_your_belief_system/articleshow/2856317.cms

Put a Little Curious Dreamer on your Site

We’ve developed a new Google Gadget that you can place on your site or blog. Just follow this link to Google and get the code. Paste the code into the HTML on your page…that’s all there is to it.

Try it out!

Want to Lose Weight? Be Happier? Try Sleeping More!!

According to an article in the Contra Costa Times, sleeping too little can cause weight gain and diabetes. The article says:

A recent study published in the journal SLEEP found that people who reported sleeping five or fewer hours a night were much more likely to develop diabetes than those who reported sleeping seven hours. In fact, chronic sleep deprivation can lead to obesity, because the sleep-deprived body produces less of the hormone leptin, which makes you feel full, and more of the hormone grehlin, which makes you feel hungry.

The article also mentions that sleep boosts your immune system and improves your mood and, according to some accounts, can actually lengthen your life.

According to the article, our non-REM sleep is important for repair of the body, while REM sleep (during which dreams occur) can help us cope with stress:

A good night’s sleep follows a distinct pattern, alternating between so-called REM sleep (characterized by the rapid eye movements that accompany it), and non-REM sleep. During non-REM sleep, our breathing slows, blood pressure drops, muscles relax, and our bodies release hormones such as growth hormone, which builds and repairs tissue and helps keeps skin healthy. In REM sleep we dream, which may help us cope with stressful events.

Read the full article at:
www.contracostatimes.com/ci_8404779?source=most_emailed

New Free Dream Dictionary for your Website

We just finished development of a new web widget that anyone can install on their website.

It is free and provides a search of The Curious Dreamer’s dream dictionary. The results are displayed immediately on the same page.

Here is an example of the widget:

All that is necessary to do to install it is to copy a small block of HTML from http://www.thecuriousdreamer.com/widgets/ and paste it into the HTML on your site. It works fine in most blog systems including Wordpress and Blogspot.

Cherries: Food for Sweet Dreams?

According to Dr. Russel Reiter, a nutrition researcher, eating a handful of tart cherries 30 minutes before bed can lead to a good night’s sleep (and hopefully also sweet dreams) due to their sleep-inducing melatonin.

The article, which focuses on reducing stress around the holidays, also suggests skipping carbs until 5pm. Apparently, carbs are supposed to “encourage a rush of seratonin which calms the brain, helps you relax and can aid sleep.”

Read the complete article at:

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/
display.var.2131831.0.dont_get_caught_in_a_holiday_stress_trap.php

A Plethora of Tips for Better Sleep

If you’re looking to improve the amount or quality of your sleep, you might find some helpful tips in the many articles offering tips for better sleep and for dealing with insomnia. White noise, no noise… eat certain foods, avoid others, avoid food altogether before bedtime….hot water bottle pillows, warm baths, soothing music, and many other suggestions are provided in the following articles. Most of the tips are listed at the bottom of each article.

Getting Adequate Sleep Can Improve Quality of Life
www.southtownstar.com/lifestyles/846866,031808toyourhealth.article

Insomnia: Sleep You Can Only Dream About
www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/
health/2008/03/29/hinsomnia129.xml

Tips to Get the Sleep You Crave
www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/03/04/good.sleep/

Proper pillow contributes to restful sleep, ache-free days
www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_557313.html

Sleep well, and pleasant dreams!

How to Use Dreams to Solve Work Problems

Many people purposefully defer problem solving to sleep time, using dreams and the subconscious as a powerful tool in difficult situations. Some reported examples include Paul McCartney waking up with the words to Yesterday in his head and Robert Luis Stevenson dreaming of the main themes of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde before writing the book.

In a lengthy and detailed article in The Globe and Mail, author Randi Chapnik Myers explores this concept with practical advice, primary sources and examples of dream interpretation as pertaining to work life.

From: The Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/
LAC.20080220.CADREAM20/TPStory/Business 

9/11 Changed our Dreams

Ernest Hartmann and Tyler Brezler MD of Tufts University School of Medicine; Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Boston, MA conducted a study of dreams, comparing dreams before and after September 11, 2001. The study compares dreams of the same person before and after the 9/11 attacks by the same people, beginning with the assumption produced some level of trauma or emotional arousal in those that lived in the US at that time.

The study examined the journaled dreams of 44 people who had been keep records of their dreams before September eleventh. Study subjects had recorded at least 20 dreams prior to 9/11.

The results of the study showed a “highly significant increase in central image intensity, as well as central image proportion (number of dreams with scorable central images) but no change in dream length, dream-likeness, overall vividness, or content involving airplanes or tall buildings. There were no “exact replay” dreams picturing the actual events of 9/11 seen repeatedly on TV. “

From: Sleep Journal

http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?citationid=3465