Do you know how to make a vision board? One that works? Vision boards, sometimes called dream boards, are fast becoming one of the more popular manifesting tools available. This is because they can help you attract your desires easier and faster. You have probably heard about them or you may have even seen them in use, but if you are not taking advantage of this powerful law of attraction tool yourself, you are missing out on an incredible opportunity to shorten your road to success. Follow the simple steps outlined below and you will learn how to make your very own dream board. 1. Define Your Theme – First, you need to define the theme of your board. Will it be about all of your dreams and goals? Or will it focus on one specific area of your life that you are trying to change? Either way will work, but for your first board you might find it easier to focus it on just two or three of your biggest dreams. 2. Choose Your Format – Making a vision board is a very personal experience, and the more creative and involved you are in the process, the better your results will be in the long run. Your creative choices start here. You can make your dream board any size or shape that you want. Poster board works well, and it comes in all sorts of wonderful colors. You can also use plain cardboard, or sheet paper, or anything at all that you can tape or glue things to. You can also buy empty picture frames for a dollar or two and use that for your dream board. The possibilities are endless! 3. Find Images of Your Dream – Now comes the fun part! Find pictures of the things that you want to manifest. You can look in old magazines or search online for images of whatever you want. But be specific. If you really want a silver Jaguar don’t use a picture of a red one or a white one or anything else. The images that you choose must match your desires exactly. This is pretty easy for material things, but what if your dreams aren’t about ‘things’? What if, for example, your dream is to attract a happy, loving relationship? No problem, simply look for images that you feel represent your desired situation. Perhaps an image of two people sharing a candlelit dinner, or strolling arm in arm along a beach. Whatever works for you. 4. Add Dynamic Words – Words are powerful, and adding some well-chosen words and phrases to your board will increase the power of the images that you use. What personal qualities are you trying to develop? Put them on here. Words can also serve as titles of different sections of your board. If you can’t find the exact phrase you are looking for, you can always print them yourself and cut them out! 5. Fill Your Board With Your Dreams – Now take all those wonderful images and words that you chose and start laying them out on your board. Be sure to work on a flat surface, and don’t glue or tape anything down until you are happy with the layout. Move things around, try different patterns and combinations of words and images until you are happy with the result. Then tape or glue everything into place. All that remains is to hang or place your new dream board somewhere that you will be able to see it often. Now that you know how to make a vision board you can create new ones as your current dreams come true and you set your sights on bigger and bigger dreams!

Am I dreaming, am I awake, I pinch myself, confusion, nope I am dreaming and yes I am awake. Lucid dreaming is becoming awake in the dream. That was and actual experience I had in a lucid dream. Over the last 40 years I have recorded over fiver thousand dreams and many have been lucid, in the lucid you feel awake and very alive able to take conscious control and manipulate what is happening in the dream. I have taught the techniques of dream recall to over fourteen thousand people internationally in a seminar structure. I remember hearing thirty years or so ago that if you fell from a high place and hit the ground in your dream it would kill you. A few nights later in a semi lucid dream, I indeed fell from about the eighteenth floor of a sky scraper hit the ground and laughed because I realized I wasn’t dead, so much for that myth. In this article I will share some methods to remember your dreams and also how to unravel the language in the dream to understand its meaning. First dream books that tell you what the dream symbols mean are worthless, they are booksellers and have no validity. Here let me give you a good example. Many years ago and attorney friend asked me to invest in a gold mine, I told John to let me think it over, that night I did a dream question on weather I should investment or not. In the dream I was running down the street with my pants around my ankles. It was simple to interpret, invest in this and you will loose your pants. I took the warning and didn’t invest, just a few months later the mine became under investigation and all invertors’ money was tied up for several years. Lets look at the metaphor, loosing my pants, good for this culture and my background, but if I had been from and Arab country I would have gotten something like my oil wells going dry. Dream language is unique to the individual and their beliefs, snakes in one persons dream mean fear, to someone who loves snakes it has a totally different meaning. What are the benefits of dream recall. Many they are a direct line to your psyche, and also a psychic line to the world around you. From this inner domain you can get answers to problems, dreams can aid you in the healing process, from showing you what is causing the problem to methods and ways of bringing about a cure. Plus its fun to go to bed at night knowing you are entering a realm of real magic where the norms of physical reality no longer exist, and this level of consciousness will give you insights into your own personality that will amaze you, it becomes and inner teacher. OK so how do you begin to remember your dreams, keep it simple. When you go to bed at night, pad and pen by your side, before closing your eyes write down on the pad, “Dreams, Dreams I will remember a dream and write it down”. That is the first step. When you have a dream during the night and wake up indeed write it down. Second step, once you are remembering your dreams fairly easily, now write down on your pad “Dreams, Dreams I will have a dream remember it, understand it, and write it down”. Note, the I will understand it, you are suggesting that you will understand and part of the time you will. Third step, when the first and second steps are working fairly good for you now you can start asking questions. “Dreams, Dreams, I want to have a dream, I will have a dream that give me and answer to, STATE you question, I will have this dream remember it and understand itSome can skip the first and second steps because they remember their dreams fairly easily, and sometime know their meaning. Lucid dreams will often come to people who have taken some control of the first three steps. Many claim that their lucid dreams happen later in the night and more toward morning. For me I have had them at all different times of the night. The way I program them is a little different that what I have shared with you here.

Most of us, athletes included, are not born with the natural ability to jump really high. Yet most of those same athletes, not to mention all of the rest of us, have an explicit or secret desire to become leapers. The question is this: can they make that happen or is it just a pipe dream? Virtually everyone in the non-leaper category believes in their heart of hearts that they will never have a big vertical jump, regardless of their dreams or aspirations. Worse yet, when they are told that what they believe to be impossible is in fact doable, they scoff at the source and consider such claims to be false or wildly inflated. For those who have never gotten the memo, understand that belief is an incredibly powerful force. For instance, for those who firmly believe that they will never win the lottery actually never do. But the dirty little secret to that self-fulfilling prophecy is revealing. Those who know for sure that they will not win the lottery, do not enter the lottery. Thus they cement their fate. Although a bit extreme, that example is emblematic of the power of belief. There are a zillion examples of that power but suffice it to say in this instance that if you know for sure that you will never be a leaper, guess what? Either you will not even try or your efforts will only be half hearted and fail due to lack of conviction, poor training, absence of proper knowledge and bad habits. The message here is clear. If you are among those who do not believe that you can become a way better than average jumper than you simply need abandon ship. There is no hope for you. But if you are among those smart enough to understand the power of belief, you will in fact grow yourself into an eye popping leaper. Guaranteed. Should you get into a quality vertical jump development program, the increase in your jump reach will be a minimum of ten inches. That’s right, close to a one foot higher vertical. Although it is true that if you do not believe in such outcomes you will either not attempt them or you will sabotage your own efforts. However, know for sure that things may start with belief but it will take a lot more than just belief to get to where you want to go. First and foremost you will need the proper training techniques. A quality program includes many and to get to a big increase in jump you will need to both know them and do them. It takes time, although not a lot, and it takes work. The very good news is that you will begin to generate measurable and frankly really encouraging results almost immediately. It is not unusual to move up as much as two to four inches in the first two weeks. When you have a valid, tested system and you stick with it the ten inches or more increase will come within three months. Note that does not mean highly intense and extensive training every day. Good vertical programs are not about endurance, they are about the development of explosive power. Proper training includes rest and recovery. Such training also includes nutrition and correct form along with a number of other key factors. Once you know what those factors are and how to train for each of them you will be well on your way to better hops. At that point you only need add the sweat equity to make the leaper dream a reality. One comprehensive jump development that meets these standards is linked below for your review. It provides an excellent example of the kind of program that will add ten inches or more to your vertical. All the while, keep in mind the single most important point in this matter. The only way to get to the next level of performance is to set that goal and believe there is a way to get there. Armed with that belief you will find what you need to reach the goal. Remember that without belief there will be no success. Set your goal, believe in yourself and start the journey.

What is a miracle? People say it is something that happens, which they never expected. To me it is a dream coming true, when our thoughts are given a shape of reality. It is when something, what we did expect or wished for, happens. Something that lies deep within our subconscious mind but certain insecurities and lack of confidence keep us from working on them. When they suddenly take a shape of reality we call it a miracle. It is actually our mind which reads the thoughts deep within and take us in that direction. Our power within gives rise to miracles. If we think positive, we get positive answers to our problems. We need to feed it in our minds and always think that ‘ this will happen’ instead of ‘this might happen’. The positive thoughts send signals to your mind, which then accordingly carries out the action plan through thoughts and will power. We hear miracles happening everyday. Here is a true story of a teenager who got paralyzed after a car accident and was told by his doctors that he would never be able to move his arms, legs, neck and spine. All he could do is move his eyes and talk with distorted lips. His neck was jammed and spine, legs and arms were fully paralyzed. Back at home, instead of encouraging him to face the situation family members showed sympathy. People would constantly ask him if he needed something like water or snack or food. This made him very frustrated because deep within he knew he had to get back to a normal life but no one was thinking on those lines. He was very close to his uncle who spent at least 4 hours with him every day. One day when his uncle offered him water he refused to drink. The glass was kept back on the table in front of him. The boy told his uncle to keep the glass near his hand. He then started staring at the glass and applied full pressure on his right hand to move it forward towards the glass. His uncle got his message and knew that he was ready to fight the impossible. His uncle then took the permission of his family and took him to a far away place where there was no one else except two of them in the house. Entire day was dedicated to his getting better. Mornings would start with body massages and then tremendous meditation and positive thinking sessions. Targets were set and most of the time they were not reached. The boy never showed a sign of distress. He would try to move his hand for glass of water for an hour every day. For 2 months there were no results. Family would call him back and he would refuse every time. A glass of water was always kept 2 centimeters away from his hand, which kept motivating him. One night his uncle woke up with a sound of a breaking glass and ran towards him and saw him smiling with a look of a winner in his eyes. He had done it, he had moved his fingers 2 centimeters. That was just the beginning. Distance was increased with time. Football was kept in front of his feet and he would concentrate on it for hours. The winning battle started and after 11 months of trial and isolation he was absolutely normal. Today he is as normal as you and me. He does have a stiff neck sometimes but is a small ailment. He is a very successful professional in a leading company. Never give up. Never get depressed if you do not get results, instead try harder. Your mind will give you strength and get you there. This boy emerged a winner, so can you!

One of the biggest lessons I learnt over the years of striving for my goal was the power of persistence. On my journey towards playing for Australia in the 2000 Olympics, I never would have gotten over the setbacks of injuries and partnership changes without persistence. Persistence is really just another word for spirit. Everyone has things they dream of becoming. We all experience setbacks and failures along the way. The person with the most persistence, however, always ends up reaching their goal. It helps to have a clearly defined goal and remaining focused on it. My dream to be an Olympian was like a magnet pulling me through and gave me the courage to keep going for it. Along the way I would often reassess the goals, questioning them and determining if they were really what I wanted. In my heart I believed I was good enough to succeed at the international level and play at the Olympics – even if nobody else did! Every champion has achieved their personal goal through persistence – persistence in training, persistence through the hard times and even persistence through the good times, striving to be even better. Michael Jordan needed to call on the power of persistence early in his career. As a sophomore in high school, Jordan was initially cut from his high-school basketball team in Wilmington, N. C. Although Jordan felt heartbroken for a time, this setback compelled him to work even harder and this is what it took for him to realize his dream. Every great athlete has had their fair share of setbacks and it is how you deal with these setbacks or obstacles that will determine your fate. There is no such thing as failure, only feedback. One can learn the most from one’s failures – finding out what didn’t work and trying something different will, over time, ultimately lead to success. We do this from the very beginning of our lives learning new skills as a baby. Learning to sit-up, to crawl, to walk, etc. If we gave up on the first attempt at walking, we would all be stuck crawling around. We learn from each attempt, each mistake. Through-out life then we will get results or outcomes. Some results we like, especially if they match our goals, and some we do not like. Our interpretation or judgement of the results will determine our next step – whether to continue as we are, to make some changes and still strive for our goal, or to change direction. How do I know that a poor result, or repeated poor result, is an indication to make some modifications and still continue on the same path OR an indication to change course all together?? Firstly, a poor or undesired result is definitely an indication to make some change. It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expect to get a different result. “Perhaps if I just try harder next time!” The best question we can ask ourselves is “How?” “How can I achieve my desired outcome?” When we pose this question to our unconscious, our unconscious can come up with the correct response when we are open to the answers. We also need to explore how important the end goal is to us. Is it something that is really what we want? If so, we must continue. Is it something that is achievable? I believe we all have the inner resources to do ANYTHING we set our mind and intention to. Marcus Aurelius said “Because your own strength is unequal to the task, do not assume that it is beyond the powers of man; but if anything is within the powers and province of man, believe that it is within your own compass also. ” What is important is how much you want it. How important is it that you achieve your goal. What is the value to you of achieving the goal? What is the cost to you if you quit now and go on a different path? Each time you take steps forward and dare to fail, you move closer to your end-goal. Even if it is two steps forward and one step back, you are still getting closer to the goal. Once you expand your awareness to new possibilities, you can never go back to your old limitations. The picture I like best to describe this is one where you imagine pushing something through a small hole in a wall. There is great resistance in getting through this hole and you may need several attempts to break through. You might even need some help from others to build up enough force to push through the barrier. Once you do push through the resistance goes away and you are into a larger room of possibilities. Though at times it seems futile to push through a barrier in your life, once you do, it opens yourself up to even greater success, more than you perhaps even imagined.

You have in your possession a writing tool that is more beneficial to you than all other tools combined, and it’s likely your most underutilized—your subconscious mind. Learning to use your subconscious mind will open up avenues of creative inspiration that can benefit your writing in ways you may have never thought possible. There are three components to your mind, as studied and analyzed by Sigmund Freud, the father of modern day psychology. First is the conscious mind, the day to day thinking portion of mind. The conscious mind can only attend to one thought at a time, so you are limited in how much information is available to you using your conscious mind. The preconscious mind is a layer between the conscious and the subconscious. It’s a very concrete, “all or nothing” portion of mind that often causes conflict and attempts to interfere with the goals of the conscious mind. I call this interference the “anti-writer. ” I will give you a technique for dealing with your anti-writer later in this article. The subconscious mind operates independently from your conscious and preconscious. It is like a giant computer system with multiple input sources, constantly recording all of the details of your life. The subconscious has some very unique characteristics. For instance, it is always alert; it functions even during periods when the conscious mind is asleep or altered in some way, such as surgery. It stores material indefinitely. All of the information that you are exposed to on a day to day basis is stored in the subconscious. Think about how gaining access to this treasure trove of material can impact your ability to write scenes and create characters. Last, the subconscious creates your reality. Many people have spoken about this truth before, such as Napoleon Hill, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Zig Ziglar, and others—basically, what you think about all the time programs your subconscious mind to bring into reality. Learning to direct this power can help you achieve your writing goals. Easy Ways to Work With Your Subconscious Here are some easy ways to tap into the power of your subconscious mind. Ask for a Dream Solution Dreams are a spontaneous way that the subconscious gets information to the conscious mind. Robert Louis Stevenson is one famous writer known for using his dreams almost exclusively for material. He called his dreams “the stage” of his mind. He would go to sleep at night anticipating receiving the next chapter for his work in progress. He even credited his famous story Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde to a dream. You can use your dreams in the same way by asking for what I call a dream solution. You do this by asking your subconscious mind a question before you go to sleep, such as, “Subconscious, what is the next scene in my novel?” or “Subconscious, would Agent X be a good match for me?” or “Subconscious, give me an idea for a new book. ” Some people write the question on an index card and put it under their pillow. The gesture is symbolic, but writing down the instruction seems to increase the chances of a dream solution. Sometimes the answer may come to you first thing in the morning, other times it comes at an unexpected moment days or even weeks later. It takes time to learn how your subconscious mind provides you with the answer; some people experience hunches, others get flashes of insight, others get “feelings” that they should take some action. The more you practice with dream solutions the more attuned you will become to the unique way your subconscious communicates with you. I have used dream solution work with my own writing. The night before I handed in the manuscript for Time to Write, I asked my subconscious mind to alert me to any errors in the copy. When I woke up, I got a mental picture of three misspelled words and found the errors in the exact sections that my subconscious had indicated they would be in. The Hypnagogic State The Hypnagogic state is a phase of sleep that occurs naturally before falling asleep and before fully waking up. It’s characterized by altered consciousness; some people see flashes of light, others hear their name being called, and ideas that under ordinary conditions have no association are perceived as being connected. It’s a period ripe with creativity. Mary Shelley got the idea for the classic novel Frankenstein while in this drowsy state. One way to practice with the hypnagogic state without drifting into full sleep is to lay down and hold one arm straight up. You can learn to stay in the zone between sleeping and wakefulness just by balancing your arm up. When you feel yourself getting too sleepy, write down whatever was going through your mind at the time. Beware Your Anti-Writer! Everything that passes from your subconscious into your conscious mind must pass through the preconscious, which is where the anti-writer resides. If this anti-writer portion is not controlled, it can interfere with your ability to use your subconscious mind for maximum creative gain and thwart your writing goals. The anti-writer usually manifests in the form of negative comments you say or think about your abilities as a writer. To combat your anti-writer, record all negative statements you say or think about your writing abilities in a notebook. At the end of two weeks, note themes or statements that are repeated more than three times. Next, write countering statements on index cards and say these out loud daily, especially when you have a negative thought. For instance, if your anti-writer statement is, “I just don’t have the time to write with my busy schedule,” counter with, “I know there is time in my day to write and I will find it. ” Immediately countering the statement will set up a habit of neutralizing these negative thoughts. Your subconscious mind is your most powerful writing ally. Learning to tap into this vast creative resource will aid both your creativity and your writing career efforts. References:Moody, Dr. Raymond: http://www. lifeafterlife. comShelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein, third edition. Henry Colburn andRichard Bentley, London, 1831. Stevenson, Robert Louis. Across the Plains. Chattus & Windus, London, 1892Stone, R. Michael, Counseling & Consultation Services: http://www. unlearnsmoking. com

You possess more personal power than you can possibly imagine. The ability to manifest our own reality is the power of creation itself and our self-esteem is an integral part of how we wield that power. I have designed some activities to build self-esteem that I would like to share from an excerpt of a series of lessons I am designing on “mental self defense strategies”, it is on the topic of “Dream Busters ~ RecognizingResistance”. We have all suffered some forms of conflict or abuse in our lives. But here’s what I discovered: it is how we react to that abuse that will strengthen or weaken us. Everyone has dreams, right? How many of us have had a dream kicked to the curb? Can you remember what you wanted to be? Or do you have a dream right now tucked away in the back of your mind? Have you ever been convinced to walk away from your dream by people who managed to throw enough self doubt at you to win that war of attrition; the constant day in and day out negative input that pushes you to give up your dreams and conform to something you’re not! “What are you nuts? You can’t dothat!” “Oh there’s another hair brained scheme!” “Get Real! Go get a real job!” “Who do you think you are? You aren’t something special, stick to the things you can handle. ” “What are you stupid or something? Why do you think you can do that?” Lambasting you with negativity and giving you the message “Who are you to become an author, or an inventor, or any number of other things your dreams may lead you to?” The litany goes on and on. Often the words that sting the most come from the people closest to us, I once heard that negative words were sixteen times more powerful than positive words and especially if they come from people you love. Many of us have heard similar comments from our own families. And remember that “family” is not just relatives but our closest circle of influence, the people that influence you the most in your life on a day-to-day basis. We must learn how to reinforce our mental immune systems. As you are just opening up to re-affirming and re-discovering your dreams it is important not to leave yourself open to Dream Busting attacks. Often when you are in the early creative process you want to share that with the people closest to you, but too many times you get shot down by those around you and can be stopped before you even begin. We already have to deal with our own internal dream busters, voices from our past that can wreak havoc in our present. It is amazing how many of us constantly go through life creating speaking and thinking negative affirmations all day long to ourselves, instead of doing activities to build self-esteem, we practice actively breaking it down: “I always do that, I’m so stupid, etc. ” causing our ill emotional and mental states, yet we often have such an aversion to the idea that positive affirmations will have the same impact (but in the desired direction. ) Pessimism and negativity are a much more accepted form of self-talk. Recognizing it can be difficult. Sometimes it takes the form of a mental pause where suddenly you start to doubt yourself, and your dream seems to waver. Perhaps you start to wonder about your own ability. Become aware of this and catch it at that moment, realize that it is a trigger. Learn to recognize when you are being “infected” by those around you by noticing those moments of self-doubt when they arise. It is here that the use of positive affirmations can be very useful. Often we find that our three biggest enemies are “Me, Myself and I. ” Basically the limitations that get dumped on us from an early age get internalized so we then have to deal with internal as well as external “Dream Busters. ” So who and what are they? Activities to Build Self-esteem: Activities to Build Self-esteem: Exercise 1: Write down the 3 top Dream Busting phrases that really get to you, that make you contemplate kicking your dream to the curb, it is different for everyone, but usually there is at least one that just sticks in your craws so to speak. Activities to Build Self-esteem: Exercise 2: Write down the 3 top Dream Busters in your life (people who just don’t get it, they could be trying to “help” but only harming, or, as unfortunately can often be the case, they may be malicious and just trying to knock you down). These are usually the source of the phrases you came up with in the first exercise. Who says those things to you, where do they come from? Or if it is internal, where did it come from originally? The point of the exercise is to begin to recognize Dream Busters in all forms so you can build up defenses to counteract their influence in your life. Activities to Build Self-esteem: Exercise 3: Now finally, take a good hard look at these sources that you have written down and ask yourself, are these people where you want to be? Have they accomplished what you dream about doing? I will tell you now that the answer to that question is most often a resounding no! You can’t learn how to swim from a drowning man. Think about this: are these people who really have something to offer, or just people with so much to say and nothing to offer them selves? You are a power unto yourself, and nobody can truly take that away. It is only when we allow other people power over our dreams that we hand over the keys to our future. I will be adding more resources ad additional activities to build self-esteem as I develop my site high-self-esteem. com.