The term psychic is very broad and inclusive. Almost everyone has some sort of psychic ability. One way to think about it is to apply the term music.  Almost everyone has some sort of musical ability. For example, some people listen, some compose, some play an instrument, some sing, some repair instruments, the list goes on and on.

The same applies to the term psychic. Some people have visual inspiration – clairvoyance. Some people hear an inner voice – clairaudient. Some people experience how another person is feeling – empathic.  Some people can see through the veil – mediums.  The term psychic covers a lot of territory.

The Original Solution Psychics at THE Psychic Line know for quality test our readers before they join the line in order to insure that their abilities are able to be applied in a way to assist clients with the insight needed to resolve issues in their lives.  Our repeat rate speaks for itself.  We screen readers, the clients decide who stays.

When paying to go to a concert, do you want to hear someone play CHOPSTICKS or listen to an actual musician?  The same applies to a psychic reading. Since most people have some sort of psychic ability, you have to be careful to choose a psychic with tried and true, tested ability. 

We are pleased to be able to assist our clients in obtaining the best psychic reading possible.  We have over 16 years of experience and are proud of our readers and service.  

Remember our tested readers, great customer service, wish to assist, and five-minute guarantee. Our psychic readers are available and ready to assist you.  We work hard for our clients and want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and send out a big THANK YOU for your loyalty.

The Original Solution Psychics at THE Psychic Line known for quality.

1-800-966-2294

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Hi everyone,

Just letting you all know that we are open today during our regular hours, 1-18-2010 MLK Day.

10 am – Midnight Eastern Standard Time.

Make sure to inquire about our coupons that are available. Hope you have a wonderful and productive day! We are looking forward to chatting with you.

~ Michelle

In honor of MLK day below is a his story. This information comes from the website: http://www.holidays.net/mlk/story.htm. Paramount Solutions celebrates diversity and the trials and tributes of Martin Luther King.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. His father was the minister of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, as was his father before him.

“M.L.,” as he was called, lived with his parents, his sister and brother in Atlanta Ga. Their home was not far from the church his father preached at.

M.L.’s mother and father taught their children what would become an important part of M.L.’s life – to treat all people with respect. Martin’s father worked hard to break down the barriers between the races. His father believed African-Americans should register their complaints by voting.

As M.L. grew up he found that not everyone followed his parents principles. He noticed that “black” people and white people where treated differently. He saw that he and his white friends could not drink from the same water fountains and could not use the same restrooms.

M.L.’s best friend as a child was a white boy and as children they played happily together. But when they reached school age the friends found that even though they lived in the same neighborhood, they could not go to the same school. M.L.’s friend would go to a school for white children only and M.L. was sent to a school for “black” children. After the first day of school M.L. and his friend were never allowed to play together again.

When M.L. was ready for college he decided to follow his father and become a minister. While attending the Crozer Theological seminary in Pennsylvania
he became familiar with Mahatma Gandhi, who had struggled to free the people of India from British rule by “peaceful revolution”.

M.L. was also inspired by the work of Henry David Thoreau, particularly his essay called “Civil Disobedience.” It stated that if enough people would follow their conscience and disobey unjust laws, they could bring about a peaceful revolution.

It was also at college that M.L. met a young woman named Coretta Scott and they would eventually marry. In 1954 M.L. received his PhD. and accepted the job of pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Martin Luther King, Jr. would now be addressed as “Dr. King”.

Dr. King’s involvement with the civil rights movement began with the arrest of Mrs. Rosa Parks on December 1st , 1955. Mrs. Parks, a African-American seamstress on her way home from work, was arrested for not giving a white bus rider her seat. Mrs. Parks was not the first African-American to be arrested for this “crime”, but she was well known in the Montgomery African-American community.

Dr. King and the other African-American community leaders felt a protest was needed. The African-American residents of the city were asked to boycott the bus company by walking and driving instead. The United States Supreme Court would end the boycott, which lasted 381 days, by declaring that Alabama’s state and local laws requiring segregation on buses were illegal. The boycott was a success and Dr. King had showed that peaceful mass action could bring about change.

In January 1957 the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLSC) was formed with Dr. King as their president. The following May 17, Dr. King would lead a mass march of 37,000 people to the front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

Dr. King had become the undisputed leader of the civil rights movement.

Partly in response to the march, on September 9, 1957, the US Congress created the Civil Rights Commission and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, an official body with the authority to investigate voting irregularities.

Dr. King and the SCLC organized drives for African-American voter registration, desegregation, and better education and housing throughout the South. Dr. King continued to speak. He went to many cities and towns. He was greeted by crowds of people who wanted to hear him speak. He said all people have the right to equal treatment under the law. Many people believed in these civil rights and worked hard for them.

Dr. King was asked constantly to speak. So in order to spend more time with his family he wrote his first book, Stride Toward Freedom which was a success. While signing copies of his book in Harlem, NY an African-American woman stepped forward and plunged a letter opener into Dr. King’s chest. Dr. King recovered from his wound and the woman was eventually declared insane.

In February 1959 Dr. and Mrs. King went to India, the homeland of Mahatma Ghandi. In India Dr. King studied Satyagraha, Gandhi’s principle of nonviolent persuasion. Dr. King was determined to use Satyagraha as his main instrument of social protest.

After his return to America, Dr. King returned home to Atlanta, Ga. where he shared the ministerial duties of the Ebenezer Baptist Church with his father. The move also brought Dr. King closer to the center of the growing civil rights movement.

In January 1963 Dr. King announced he and the Freedom Fighters would go to Birmingham to fight the segregation laws. An injunction was issued forbidding any demonstrations and Dr. King and the others were arrested.

Upon his release there were more peaceful demonstrations. The police retaliated with water hoses, tear gas and dogs. All this happened in the presence of television news cameras. It would be the first time the world would see the brutality that the southern African-Americans endured. The news coverage would help bring about changes as many Americans were disgusted and ashamed by the cruelty and hatred.

Continuing the fight for civil rights and to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, on August 28, 1963 200,000 people gathered in the front to the Lincoln Memorial. It was a peaceful protest, made up of African-Americans and whites, young and old. Most had come to hear Dr. King deliver his famous “I have a dream” speech.

1964 would be a good year for Dr. King and the civil rights movement. Dr. King was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as someone who “had contributed the most to the furtherance of peace among men.” Dr. King would divide the prize money, $54,000, among various civil rights organizations.

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law. It guaranteed that “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination”.

In the winter of 1965 Dr. King lead a march from Selma, Alabama to the state capital in Montgomery to demand voting reforms. 600 marchers would begin the march but after 6 blocks the marchers were met by a wall of state troupers. When the troopers with clubs, whips and tear gas advanced on the marchers it was described “as a battle zone.” The marchers were driven back while on the sidewalks whites cheered. 2 ministers, 1 white and 1 African-American, were killed and over 70 were injured with 17 hospitalized. It was the most violent confrontation Dr. King had experienced.

A court order overturning the injunction against the march was issued and the marchers were allowed to proceed. When they arrived in Montgomery the marchers were greeted by 25,000 supporters singing ‘We Shall Overcome.” On August 6, 1965 a voting rights bill was passed allowing African-Americans to vote.

Dr. King believed that poverty caused much of the unrest in America. Not only poverty for African-Americans, but poor whites, Hispanics and Asians. Dr. King believed that the United States involvement in Vietnam was also a factor and that the war poisoned the atmosphere of the whole country and made the solution of local problems of human relations unrealistic.

This caused friction between King and the African-American leaders who felt that their problems deserved priority and that the African-American leadership should concentrate on fighting racial injustice at home. But by early 1967 Dr. King had become associated with the antiwar movement.

Dr. King continued his campaign for world peace. He traveled across America to support and speak out about civil rights and the rights of the underprivileged.

In April 1968 Dr. King went to Memphis, Tennessee to help the sanitation workers who were on strike. On April 3rd Dr. King would give what would be his last speech:

“We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I have been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now.

I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land.

I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I’m not fearing any man.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord”

The following day, April 4 1968, as he was leaving his motel room Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed.

There have been many dreams which have been personal guides for me. If you think about evolution sleep, at some time, was a dangerous undertaking. You lie down in your cave or shelter and along comes a predator and has you for dinner. Many creatures do not sleep or sleep while standing so they can escape from dangerous situations. So I believe the reason we sleep is not just to allow our body to rest but that it is to allow this inner wisdom to speak to us through symbols. This includes the body or somatic problems as well as psychological ones. Dreams and drawings are useful in diagnosing physical conditions. Carl Jung interpreted a dream and correctly diagnosed a brain tumor. I have had similar experiences with my patient’s dreams and drawings.

Many years ago I experienced hematuria and my associates wanted me to immediately see a urologist as cancer could be the cause of the bloody urine. I was very busy and did not want to interrupt my schedule and caring for patients. That night I went to bed and dreamed that I was sitting in the cancer support group I ran. Those attending were all introducing themselves and telling why they were attending. When it came my time to speak and introduce myself everyone said, “But you don’t have cancer” before I could say a word. I awoke knowing I didn’t have cancer and that I could make an appointment that fit my schedule. The dream proved to be correct. I had an infection.

Next problem was my wondering whether I was running support groups for seriously ill people and a doctor because I feared death and wanted to feel invulnerable. That night I dreamt I was in a car with several other people. I can’t recall who was driving but we went off a cliff and everyone in the car was screaming in panic while I sat calmly observing what was happening. I awoke knowing that death was not an issue or problem for me.

Another dream I had was of an iridescent white cat I thought was called Diamond because of her appearance, but people weren’t pronouncing the name correctly. I went to visit the Jungian Therapist James Hillman because of that dream and a past life experience I had which was like lucid dreaming. A friend, over the phone asked me, “Why are you living this life?” when she heard how busy I was. I went into a trance and saw myself as a knight being told by his lord to kill someone. It was like watching a movie about me. In the vision, I ultimately did kill a young woman and her dog because — if I had refused — my lord said that he would take my life.

To make a long story short when I discussed these things with Hillman he said the cat was named Daimon and was about my spirit and the life I was to live and I should talk to the cat. And I did. Then he shared how I was talking about my Lord and I said yes the lord of the castle and he answered. No, it is your Lord. It hit me then how I had always wondered how Abraham, Jesus and Noah could follow their Lord’s instructions and not ask for other options. I learned about faith from that experience. Who my Lord should be and that my reason for being a surgeon was to cure with a knife and not kill with it.

For me consciousness is non-local, not limited to the body and can exist independent of it. I have had a near death experience and past life, as I described, and I believe all these relate to our connection with our personal and collective consciousness which never ceases to exist. For me creation comes from intelligent, loving, conscious energy. I believe what sees when we have a near death experience and leave our bodies is the same force which creates our dreams.

You can find this article here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernie-siegel-md/how-dreams-guide-our-live_b_426229.html

This article is from the website: http://www.hgtv.com/home-improvement/10-ways-to-live-greener-today/index.html written by Jason Pelletier, a LEED-certified auditor, shares easy things you can do right now to lessen your environmental impact.

1. Get a High-Efficiency Showerhead
A high-efficiency showerhead saves up to 3,000 gallons of water per person per year. You’ll also save $50 of energy costs and 1,000 .lbs of carbon dioxide per person per year. Today’s latest and greatest are specially designed to conserve resources while still feeling like a decadent showerhead. Sink aerator attachments also save major water and go for as little as $2 per sink.

2. Recycle Water in Your Bathroom
Use devices such as the Sink Positive system, which allows you to reuse sink water for flushing your toilet. Or keep a bucket by the shower or tub and fill it with the cold water that comes out before the hot water kicks in. Then you can take the bucket outside and use it to water your plants.

3. Compost
Use a composter to turn your food and lawn wastes into rich mulch. It’s a great way to reduce your trash production, and the combination of food waste and all of those falling leaves is the perfect mix for composting. Next spring you’ll have rich compost ready to go for spring planting.

4. Purchase Green Power From Your Utility
Most charge less than $5 per month extra. Not only will your power come from a renewable source, but you’ll use the power of your spending to show utility executives and government officials that we need more investment in renewable energy projects.

5. Improve the Efficiency of Your Existing Hot Water Heater
Tankless and solar hot water heaters are great, but simple changes to your existing setup can cut your energy bills and carbon emissions by 25 percent or more. Reduce the temperature of your hot water heater to 120 degrees, wrap it in a water heater insulating blanket and insulate the first 3 to 6 feet of hot and cold water pipes. These changes should take you less than an hour and cost less than $50 to complete.

6. Use High-Efficiency Outdoor Lighting
A typical 100-watt floodlight, if used for six hours per day, can consume up to $40 of electricity over the course of a year and produce upwards of 400 pounds of CO2 depending on where you live. For starters, replace those floodlights with compact-fluorescent versions — they’re just as bright and use 1/4 the energy. Next, replace low-wattage halogen landscape bulbs with LED versions. They cut energy use by over 80 percent and can last for 10 years or more. Finally, install motion sensors on any nonessential lights. New versions just screw right into your existing light socket.

7. Replace High-Use Indoor Lights with Compact Fluorescents or LEDs
Today’s compact fluorescent bulbs are better than ever. No long waits to get up to full power, high-quality light, sizes for almost any fixture and even versions that are dimmable for all of those recessed lights. They’re more expensive to begin with, but between energy savings and much longer lifespan they pay for themselves in less than two years. Also, consider LED bulbs for those non-dimmable circuits (especially for holiday lighting). They are true energy misers, and will last for as long as you live in your house.

8. Load Up the Washing Machines
Make sure you run dishwashers and clothes washers only when their full. Clothes washers are huge energy and water users, so make sure you’re doing full loads (or adjusting the water setting) whenever possible. And most of us use far more water (and soap) then we need to when hand-washing, especially when compared to todays’ high-efficiency Energy Star dishwashers. So save your time, water and power by putting those dishes directly in the dishwasher after a meal.

9. Drive Smarter
Hybrids, biodiesels, electric – today we have more choices than ever when it comes to efficient transportation. But, some simple changes in our existing driving habits can improve fuel efficiency by up to 25%. Tips include driving at (or near!) the speed limit, keeping your tires inflated, making sure oil and air filters are clean, and stepping on the gas / brakes carefully. Driving like a drag racer may be fun, but it has a substantial environmental cost!

10. Avoid the Daily Waste of Fast Food and Shopping
Next week, keep track of how much trash you generate by eating out and making trips to the store, I guarantee you’ll be amazed! All of those bags, cups, and containers really add up and are stuffing our landfills to capacity. Bring your own plastic/metal boxes to your favorite take-out joint. You’ll save resources and save them money. Use reusable shopping bags whenever you go to the store. Say “No Thanks” when the pharmacist or fast food clerk tries to put your one or two items in a bag. Use reusable cups for coffee and other beverages including for soda and fountain drinks. And, reuse some of the extras at home – keep extra napkins and reuse plastic cups and cutlery.

Find a Green Auditor in Your Area
Visit Low Impact Living’s website to find a list of green products and services. Or you can also e-mail them at info@loimpactliving.com and Pelletier says they’ll help locate an auditor in your area.

I have been interested in Feng Shui for quite a while, but I am always looking for new tips to make my home more comfortable and manageable. I found this website: http://www.circle-of-light.com/fengshui/fs-tips.html

I love these tips. They are really helpful in room design.

Feng Shui – Tips

* Make the first impression upon entering your home a warm and welcoming one.

* Above the outside of any entrance door (front door, back door, sliding door, etc.) hang a Ba-Gua mirror. Make sure it is a flat Ba-Gua. There are 3 different Ba-Guas, flat, concave and convex. The concave and convex are for temporary use in certain circumstance. The flat can be put above the doors permanently. If you can not put it above the doors then put it on the doors…..NEVER use the Bagua indoors.

NOTE:
Flat Bagua – used to protect your home, yourself, your family, family pets, and/or business from negativity & harmful influences by balancing and adjusting the Chi (energy). The flat Bagua is generally sufficient; unless there are extenuating circumstances requiring use of one of the other two.

Concave Bagua – used to absorb negative energy (Shar Chi or killing energy) preventing it from entering one’s home and/or office.

Convex Bagua – used to diffuse and deflect negative energy (Shar Chi or killing breath) created by poison arrows (such as a tree in front of your door, sharp edges of a building or structure facing your front door. This one is rarely used as it can be harmful to your neighbors.

* Hang 3 Chinese coins tied together with red ribbon on the back of your front door handle. This will attract Auspicious money. (Make sure you cut the ribbon in increments of 9. Such as 9″, 18″, 27″, etc.).

* Fu Dogs are very important as they guard the home and/or business. Purchase a pair and place them on either side of the front door, preferably outside. If you can not place them outside then put the right inside on either side of the front door.

* Install a pond outside that has 9 goldfish or carp; of which 8 are red or gold and 1 black fish. The one black fish attracts all that is negative or undesirable. If a fish dies, do not fret. It is believed that this fish absorbed some bad luck that was meant for a resident of the home. Do not keep fish in the bedroom, the bathroom nor kitchen. There they will create material loss.

* Outside waterfalls are especially helpful in creating more cash flow. Especially, if they are placed in the far left rear corner of your back yard.

* Make sure your address is clearly visible from the street both day & night.

* Place items in your front and back yard that create motion or have eye catching appeal. Examples: garden gazing balls, pinwheels, hand painted garden stakes and/or figurines. The brighter the colors, the better.

* Add flowering plants, in groups of 3’s along the walkway to your front door. Red is best.

* If possible, light the walkway to your door at night. It will do what flowers do during the day. The combination of the two will light the way’ to your door. Thus, lighting the way to your wealth and prosperity.

* Get rid of any dried flowers in your space. They are dead and you do not want your wealth to be dead. Replace them with fake or silk.

* Clear away any clutter and trim over grown plants in all yard areas.

* Replace any cut down trees or vegetation with plants of equal or greater beauty and value.

* Have live plants in as many rooms as possible, if their leaves look like round coins, even better.

* Move your furniture around, it’s fun to create something new and exciting to come home to. You will also change the flow of energy, which is good to do every so often.

* Remember when placing furniture, less is always best. Too much furniture can make us feel cramped and can restrict the flow of our opportunities.

* It is best to have bookshelves with doors on the front. But if you don’t then either create make shift doors or move all the books forward so they are flush with the front of the shelf.

* Have a garage sale and clean it out at the same time. You will not only make some money, you will improve your ability to think more clearly. And/or you will have more helpful people assisting you along your life’s path.

* Keep the kitchen well stocked with food. When we have our cupboards filled with food, we feel more abundant.

* Keep brooms and mops out of sight; preferably upside down. This keeps intruders out and prevent from the family’s livelihood from being swept away.

* Clean out your closets and drawers. Give away, sell or throw away anything that you not longer use or no longer like.

* Playing calming music like ocean waves, forest sounds or rain falling to soothe a stressful working or home environment.

* Paint your mailbox something fun, colorful and eye catching, especially if your business is home based. This will encourage more business through the mail.

* Do something that lifts your spirit, like placing wonderfully smelling flowers at your desk. They will give you a fresher and a rosier outlook on things. Though not in the Love & Marriage corner. Fresh flowers clashes with the element of romance, which is Earth.

* Add mirrors to increase the size of a small room. You will create a feeling of more space and also endless opportunities.

Marquise is a third generation psychic of British and Parisienne descent. She has over 20 years of experience. Marquise indicates that she has many clients that include celebrities and political figures. Telepathy, astrology, tarot, runes and other healing and prophetic tools are available to assist clients. Marquise left a successful modeling career to devote heart and soul to her true calling. The results achieved has led Marquise to be a very much in demand reader. She is a nautropath, reader, counselor, healer and gifted psychic whose accuracy may astound you. She is now in Vancouver Canada studying with a Shaman to learn more of Aboriginal spirituality and expand her knowledge. Call Marquise to experience the “ultimate” spiritual journey. She will try to amaze you. She wants you to feel and share the “Magic of Marquise.”

How do you attune yourself to the voice of spirit? Spirit is hard to listen to if you are enmeshed in your old beliefs and social conditioning, for the following reasons:

Spirit is not verbal like other thoughts in your head. It comes as insight, an “aha!” that makes you see things in a new light. Spirit doesn’t argue or try to persuade. It shows you what is real in a given situation, pure and simple.

Spirit doesn’t say “If you don’t do this, that will follow.” There are no ultimatums or threats. Spirit doesn’t communicate in terms of right and wrong. Whatever you decide to do, spirit will support you.

Spirit always makes you feel better about yourself, but it may pose choices that take courage, patience, and faith. You can’t make spirit do anything. It speaks when it wants to, but you can be sure that it will speak at the right time. Spirit never comes from anything but love.

Am I angry or anxious? Am I suspicious or doubtful? Do I feel overwhelmed by what’s going on around me? Is somebody else trying to make up my mind for me? Is my body tense or feeling discomfort? Has this happened to me before? Am I just repeating a past scenario? So I have to have things turn out a certain way? Do I feel I’m in danger?

These are signals from your ego, far removed from spirit despite the fact that we act on such signals all the time. It is in the absence of these ego signals that spirit is speaking to you. One kind of signal can’t be converted to the other. If you act on spirit you will see results that you never expected, such as these: Your fears will no longer come true. Your happiness will no longer depend on expectations. You will feel safe. You will feel loved.

As you begin to heed spirit, you can only increase in love – passion for life will appear naturally. We are like empty vessels being endlessly refilled with spirit. To be in love with someone is to share this inexhaustible flow. Love shares awareness and being; it is a silent communication that unites two people more and more in a spiritual reality unknown outside their intimacy. They have reclaimed their lives by becoming authors of their own reality.

Adapted from The Path to Love, by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press, 1997).

This article can be found here:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/attune-yourself-to-the-voice-of-spirit.html

The dream is a little hidden door
in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul….
– C. G. Jung

We live in a world in which we are saturated by so much information, but how much of this information nourishes our soul or reveals the real meaning of our life? In a world of so many choices how can we know what is right for our true self? When we are asleep and are no longer caught in the chatter of the mind, dreams can speak to us about the mystery of our soul and its journey in life. They can guide through life’s maze and reconnect us with our divine purpose. And yet in order to understand the meaning of their messages, we have to reclaim this ancient language of images and symbols.

Spiritual traditions have always stressed the importance of dreams and their interpretation. Sometimes they speak about our inner connection with God, as in Jacob’s dream — in the Book of Genesis — of the ladder with angels ascending and descending, or they may speak symbolically about happenings in the outer world, as in the Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream of the seven prosperous years and seven lean years. Sadly our Western rational culture long ago banished the wisdom of dreams, disconnecting us from this deeper knowing. But in the last century psychology has once again given us access to our dreams, and in particular through the work of Carl Jung, we can relearn this language of our symbolic and spiritual self.

Carl Jung rediscovered the language of symbols in the Western tradition of alchemy, which he understood as a process of inner transformation, turning the lead of our darkness into the gold of our true self. Dreams can guide us on this inner journey, and anyone who has ventured into this interior world knows the value of their symbolic meaning. Our soul belongs to a world of images and symbols, and this is the language it uses to speak to us. Jung rediscovered the meaning its archetypal images, for example royalty, a king or queen, as a symbol of the nobility of our real self, while a mandala images our inner wholeness. Or we may find dark, threatening figures chasing us down nighttime streets, monsters hiding in our basement, bringing into consciousness our rejected, “shadow” self.

But dreamwork is not about a right or wrong interpretation, but a process through which we work with the images of the psyche. Through dreamwork the energy and meaning of the inner world is made accessible to us, through its symbols our outer life is made sacred. It enables us to have access to the inner figures of wisdom and power, the wise old man or woman, the child with stars in her eyes, who inhabit our dreams and from whom we can learn the wisdom of our soul.

When we work with dreams it is important to know “from where the dream comes.” Some are just mind dreams which only repeat the happenings and impressions of the day, while other dreams come directly from our soul. Dreamwork is a part of our spiritual heritage, and if we are prepared to listen and be receptive, our dreams are here to guide us. In our masculine culture the feminine wisdom of inner listening is easily overlooked, as is the practice of being inwardly silent and attentive. But these qualities are needed if we are to access the inner symbolic world that gives sacred meaning and purpose to our daily life. How many dreams are lost between the bedroom and the bathroom? Do we have time to be present with our dreaming self, and learn its language?

What we rarely understand is that our spiritual self is waiting to communicate with us, to invite us to share in the wonder that is our deeper being, to give us its knowledge and understanding. Sometimes our dreams may give us direct guidance, as when a dreamer was wondering about a possible business relationship and he dreamt he was at the cleaners. He quickly realized that this relationship did not have good prospects! Or a dream may speak about the inner journey, as when a dreamer, being kissed by her lover, opens her eyes to discover that she was embracing a snake, and it was the snake’s tongue in her mouth. Rather than being an horrific nightmare, this image of embracing a snake describes the descent into the unconscious, whose primal energy and power would transform her.

We live in a culture that so easily distracts us, entraps us in unnecessary anxieties, draws us into addictions. Where are the signposts that can guide us on our real journey as human beings? They are within us, waiting to be read. But it is not always easy to understand this fluid world in which images change and evolve, whose symbolic language speaks in such a different way to words. We have also lost many of the wise women and shamans who traditionally interpreted the language of dreams. But there is a way to work with dreams, and the recent interest in Jung’s Red Book, in which he records in words and images his own encounter with the inner world, reflects a real hunger for a symbolic life. We need to reclaim the mysterious and magical depths within us and dreams are always a doorway to this world. When we feel we can no longer trust the outer world, no longer believe in its promises of material fulfillment, we can be nourished from within, from the numinous images of our own soul.

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Ph.D., www.goldensufi.org.
For a longer article on spiritual dreamwork, see “Sufi Dreamwork.
Or listen to “”Why Dream Work?.”

Have you ever noticed that, as a rule, children sleep better than adults? I have spent the last week with a five-year old girl and an eight-year old boy. Once they get their bedtime story and put their heads down to sleep, they are out cold. We have probably seen this many times in our life: children passed out in their parents’ arms; children sleeping on a couch in a room full of people. Not all children are like this all the time of course, but in general, the rule holds.

Why is this? Why do children sleep better than adults? Answers coming out of innovative areas of neurology and bio-psychology indicate that due to stress, lack of exercise, poor nutrition, and in particular the use of stimulants (coffee, tobacco, alcohol, prescription drugs, recreational drugs) adults are experiencing neurotransmitter imbalances and disturbed neurotransmitter receptor sites that are translating into poor sleep. On the other hand, children — especially well-fed, well-loved children and breast-fed infants — have a healthier balance of neurotransmitters and pure neurotransmitter receptor sites and thus sleep better.

The indication is that neurotransmitters play a crucial role in sleeping and how well we sleep.

What are neurotransmitters? They are chemicals that process information transferred from neurons (nerve cells) to other types of cells. These chemicals can carry messages that calm, or messages that excite, the nervous system. Chronic anxiety and depression can occur if certain neurotransmitter levels are too high or too low.

Neurotransmitters associated with healthy sleep include:

* Dopamine

* GABA (Gamma-Amino-Butyric-Acid)

* Norepinephrine

* Serotonin

There are three problems that can occur with these neurotransmitters that can affect our sleep:

* The development of an improper balance of these neurotransmitters.

* Sensitivity of our neurotransmitter receptor sites that does not allow the neurotransmitter to deliver its message.

* Recycling of neurotransmitters too early by monoamine oxidase and other enzymes.

Medical science approaches these neurotransmitter discoveries with manipulation through drugs. Natural science approaches these discoveries with more exercise (to release more calming neurotransmitters) and in particular better nutrition and innovative herbs. I prefer the natural nutrition approach, so that is what we explore here in order to create a strategy to sleep better.

The following natural two-step strategy is recommended for better sleep:

(1) Select a complete protein superfood (suggestions listed below). Take superfoods during the day as part of your diet in smoothies and as snacks. Because superfoods are known to have highly-bioavailable forms of amino acids and protein we do not need as much. Supplementing our diet with only five to 10 grams of protein from clean superfood sources is enough for each day. It is from these amino acids and protein compounds that we form healthy neurotransmitters and maintain neurotransmitter balance. For example, from volatile, heat-sensitive tryptophan, we form serotonin, melatonin (a hormone), and dimethyltryptamine (the dream molecule) all of which are associated with healthy sleeping.

(2) Select a calming herb (suggestions listed below). In the evening, as you wind down, take a calming herb. Calming herbs can help clear clogged or damaged neurotransmitter receptor sites. They can also increase the production of healthy neurotransmitters.

Some Popular Complete Protein Superfoods (friendly for vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores):

Goji Berries: An easy high-protein snack that tastes great. The goji berry is a 100 percent natural, real food.

Chia seeds: These should be soaked in pure water for at least 15 minutes until they “gel” up. Heating this gelatin-like chia seed water creates a wonderful alternative to oatmeal. Add honey and berries. Chia is a wonderfully-rich, complete, non-stimulating protein source that is gentle on digestion. The greatest runners in the world (The Tarahumara Native Americans) rely on chia as their primary protein source.

Hempseed protein: Another increasingly-popular, complete protein source that is free of stimulants.

Rice Protein: Rice protein is hypo-allergenic (friendly to those with allergies) and easy to digest. Rice protein tastes a little chalky, but when blended in a smoothie this taste disappears.

Calming Herbs: Passionflower tea (two to three cups) or Passionflower powder in capsules (2,000-5,000 mg): Passionflower is usually used for calming an excited nervous system. Internet and book research indicates that ingesting passionflower can increase levels of the sleep-friendly neurotransmitter GABA. Passionflower blocks the monoamine oxidase digestive enzyme and as a result can have a positive effect on dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.

Chamomile tea (two to three cups): Chamomile is a time-proven, effective, calming herb that can be safely used by children and adults alike. Chamomile tea is used regularly worldwide for insomnia, irritability, and restlessness.

Reishi Mushroom tea (two to three cups) or Reishi mycelium powder in capsules (2500-5000 mg): Reishi is well-known in Chinese medicine to great feelings of “well being” and spiritual calm. This is a personal favorite. Reishi mushroom is also high-regarded for assisting our immune system health.

St. John’s Wort tea (two to three cups) or St. John’s Wort extract powder in capsules (300-1000 mg): This common, yellow-flowered herb has become an important part of the new surge of interest in natural medicine. It has a long history of use dating back to the ancient Greeks. Scientific research has demonstrated that it can help relieve chronic insomnia and mild depression. Because this herb can sensitize the skin to sunlight, take it in the evening after the Sun has set.

*Special note: Organic superfoods and herbs are recommended. Help save the planet by shopping organic.

David Wolfe (http://www.davidwolfe.com) is the author of five bestselling books including Eating For Beauty, Superfoods, The Sunfood Diet Success System, Naked Chocolate, and Amazing Grace as well as numerous bestselling audio and DVD programs including The LongevityNOW Program.

This article can be found here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-wolfe/sleep-deeper-with-better_b_414911.html