Sunday, April 20, 2014

CHAPTER 1-3 (FINAL)


BENEFITS OF DREAMS AND HOW IT CAN AFFECT OUR LIVES


   A Research Paper Presented to
  The English Resource Center
   School of Multimedia Arts
  Asia Pacific College
  Magallanes, Makati


In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirement of the Course
ESERWRT - Research Writing


Christian Earl Obregon Sabijon
April 2014


CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

A. Background Of The Study

Dreams are the images that during sleep. They have been with us since birth. Dreams can affect us in our everyday living. Even though we have been dreaming since birth, we still don't know why we do it.

Roberta Ossana, wrote on an article entitled, "The Many Types of Dreams & Purposes for Which Dreams Come to Us." According to it, dreams have many purposes and that dreams aid us in mental to physical health. They help us through different types of dreams.

Ossana says, "They come for many purposes.... and the majority of people agree dreams ALWAYS come to benefit our physical, emotional and spiritual health and well-being nightmares and equally disturbing dreams" (http://www.understandthemeaningofmydreams.com/cgi-bin/article/news.cgi?act=read&cat=18&num=3).

A lot of people have nightmares, they ask if nightmares can actually help them.
Kendra Cherry, wrote an article "Do Dreams Influence Your Daily Life" According to the article, Both dreams and nightmares can help us. They make us see things differently. Nightmares help us by making us aware of dangers and how we can overcome it. Dreams help us see the beauty in small things.

Cherry says that "Both nightmares and dreams can help us become more aware of ourselves. they bring strange ways of looking at things. They bring new perspectives, and in that way the dream is very creative" (http://psychology.about.com/b/2010/10/19/poll-do-dreams-influence-your-daily-life.htm).

Everyone gets depressed sometimes. People commit suicide because they get too depressed that they feel like they can't continue there lives. Some researcher say that dreams can cure depression.

Neil Osterweil wrote an article " The Health Benefits of Dreams" According to it, dreams can actually clear depression. Recently divorced women with untreated clinical depression who projects their ex-spouse or relationship into their dreams scored better on tests of mood in the morning.

Osterweil says that "It really shows that there was an ongoing working through the night in the dream material, and eventually that the depression lifted in those people" (http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/the-health-benefits-of-dreams).

All people get stressed. Some people sleep to feel calm and be less stressful. Can dreams really relieve stress?

 Jeanna Bryner  wrote an article entitled  "7 Mind-Bending Facts About Dreams" According to it, dreams can relieve stress. It makes us wake up in the morning smiling. It helps us cool down, it softens the emotional strength of some emotional experiences.

Bryner says that "We know REM sleep there is a sharp decrease in levels of norepinephrine, a brain chemical associated with stress" (http://www.livescience.com/17290-facts-dreams-nightmares.html).

The researcher observes that dreams can help us be successful and that dreams can also help us with mental and physical problems.

Dreams are very abstract. They not only help us through health, they also help us into some situations like survival. Dreams are also symbols that give us warnings, they help us see danger or the danger in the future.

The purpose of the paper is to show how dreams can give us good benefits and how dreams can affect our lives.

B. Statement of the problem

This study aims to answer the following question:

          1. Benefits of dreams and how it can affect our lives?


C. Significance of the study

Psychologists. The study is also based on some psychological problems that people experience in their lives.

Students. Students who are studying about dreams and how it affects us.

Dreamers. People who like to dream and want to know some benefits about it.


D. Scope and Delimitation

This study will focus on letting people know how dreams help us. How it affects our lives and some benefits that can be useful from time to time.

This study will no longer focus on the history of dreams and its origins. It only discusses a few benefits of how dreams can help us because of the time constraints.


E. Materials and Methods 

The sources that are used are articles that focus on benefits and effects on how people live their life and also some psychological problems.

Every piece of information that is taken will be put here, and those who made the articles will be credited.

F. Definition of Terms

1. Lucid Dreams - Conscious while sleeping and the ability to control dreams.

2. Nightmares - Disturbing or scary images that appear during our sleep

3. REM Sleep - A kind of sleep that occurs at intervals during the night and is characterized by rapid eye movements, more dreaming and bodily movement, and faster pulse and breathing.


CHAPTER 2
DISCUSSION


                                     Benefits of dreams and how it can affect our lives?


I. Definition of dreams
Dreams are a series of thought, images, sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep. They are the images that move during unconscious state. Dreams expand our creativity, we can do almost anything in a dream. Dreams destroy the barriers of what a normal person can do.

Dreams usually consists of people who you may know, places where you might have been or places
that seem to be unrealistic. Dreams can also be pretty creepy and pretty disturbing, so be careful because some dreams can traumatize a person.

 In an article "Why We Dream, And What Happens When We Do"written by Dennis Rosen there is a solution in fighting nightmares, a technique called lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is when you're conscious while sleeping, making you control your dreams. Since you can control your dreams you can now face your fears.

Rosen says that "Some people are able to "take charge" of their dreams, and manipulate them in certain direction through a technique known as Lucid Dreaming" (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleeping-angels/200905/why-we-dream-and-what-happens-when-we-do).

Dreams are only moving images in our minds, anything creepy or hostile in our dreams cannot hurt us. The researcher wants to help people in overcoming fears using techniques in dreams.


II. Effects of dreams into people's lives


A. Positive

We now know that dreams can relieve stress, release depression, help us survive, overcome fears, Etc... Dreams are a big help to us. Without them we might be less cheerful in the morning and we won't have those magical and amazing images in our brains.

 Robin Nixon wrote an article "Naps and Dreams Boost Learning, Study Finds" According to it, dreams can actually make someone smart. They did a test on participants who had to take a test on a virtual maze on a computer. The others took a nap and the others didn't. All the participants who took a nap did better than the once who didn't.

Nixon says that "99 participants were taught to navigate a virtual maze on a computer screen. Half were then allowed to nap for two hours, while the other half remained awake. Later that day, all participants were re-tested on the maze task" (http://www.livescience.com/9874-naps-dreams-boost-learning-study-finds.html).

Dreams also help us by showing us symbols to what dangers might happen to us in the future, though it is hard to decipher those symbols.

Christina Sponias wrote an article "Positive and Negative Dream Symbols" According to it, all dreams give a message to us that we need to carefully examine, because it may hold clues to future dangers or future luck.

Sponias says that "All dream images contain very important messages. Everything in a dream has a symbolic meaning. The dream language is a secret language. It is hidden from your dangerous anti conscience."
(http://www.divinecaroline.com/self/dreams/positive-and-negative-dream-symbols)

Dreams can warn us if danger is coming. It is very helpful that dreams can give us information that hasn't happen yet.


B. Negative

Even though dreams are helpful, there is also a down side to it. They give us nightmares which can traumatize us and scar us for life. There is even a myth that some people die from sleeping, that a demon takes their souls. In the Philippines it is called "Bangungot"

David Hambling wrote an article "Nightmare death syndrome" According to it, a man died just because he went to bed. No one knew what the cause was because doctors couldn't find any physical injuries.

 Hambling says that "A man who goes to be fit and healthy is heard to cry out in his sleep, and the next morning is found dead. The same scene is repeated again and again" (http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/medicalbag/335/nightmare_death_syndrome.html).

People say that they  are demons from deadly dreams. Some people go crazy in their beds, kicking and screaming.


CHAPTER 3
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

This paper attempted to determine the effects and benefits of dreams.

The researcher design used a descriptive research method wherein data and articles are used to answer the research questions. Research findings are:

1. Dreams have different types like lucid dreaming, nightmares, Epic dreams, daydreams, healing dreams, Repeating dreams, Etc.,.

2. Dreams can cure depression and stress.

3. Dreams can traumatize someone. Someone maybe traumatized if they experience a very disturbing or a very scary nightmare.

4. There is a myth called "Nightmare Death Syndrome"

5. There is a cure for nightmares or any fear that has developed into a person. A technique called Lucid Dream.


CONCLUSION

Based on the finding of this study, the following conclusions are drawn:

1. All good things have down sides. Even if it is a beautiful thing or something that can make us powerful it will still have a downside.

2. Dreams cannot hurt anyone even if there dreams project their worst fears.

3. Dreams have a ton of uses. It is not just an escape or random images that appear during sleep.


RECOMMENDATIONS

After drawing conclusions of the study, the researcher hereby makes the following suggestions/ recommendations:

1. People who experience a lot of nightmares should try lucid dreaming to overcome it. They can also use lucid dreaming as way to project real creatures that scare you and try to figure out what can help you overcome them.

2. People should try to read there dreams and decode the secret messages encoded to them. See what hidden messages are waiting for them.

3. Readers should try to sleep and dream to relieve depression and stress. A life with less stress and less depression is healthy.


REFERENCES

A. Electronic Media

Christina S. (2014) "Positive and Negative Dream Symbols" Retrieved April 21, 2014 from
http://www.divinecaroline.com/self/dreams/positive-and-negative-dream-symbols

David H. (February 2006) "Nightmare death syndrome" Retrieved April 21, 2014 from
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/medicalbag/335/nightmare_death_syndrome.html

Dennis R. (May 31, 2009) "Why We Dream, And What Happens When We Do" Retrieved April 21, 2014 from
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleeping-angels/200905/why-we-dream-and-what-happens-when-we-do

Jeanna B. (December 02, 2011) "7 Mind-Bending Facts About Dreams" Retrieved April 21, 2014 from
http://www.livescience.com/17290-facts-dreams-nightmares.html

Kendra C. (October 19, 2010) "Do Dreams Influence Your Daily Life?" Retrieved April 21 2014 from
http://psychology.about.com/b/2010/10/19/poll-do-dreams-influence-your-daily-life.htm

Neil O. (February 25, 2009) "The Health Benefits of Dreams" Retrieved April 21, 2014 from
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/the-health-benefits-of-dreams

Robin N. (April 22, 2010) "Naps and Dreams Boost Learning, Study Finds" Retrieve April 21, 2014 from
http://www.livescience.com/9874-naps-dreams-boost-learning-study-finds.html

Roberta O. (2005) "The Many Types of Dreams & Purposes for Which Dreams Come to Us" Retrieved April 21, 2014 from
http://www.understandthemeaningofmydreams.com/cgi-bin/article/news.cgi?act=read&cat=18&num=3




Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Blogpost # 8: Daydreams & Epic dreams: Both Awesome!

Daydreaming is when someone detaches from his surroundings and start thinking of random stuff like thinking on who your future love will be, or what you will look like in 20 years, what will happen if you jump of a car, Etc... Pretty much everything that you desire answer from. I was always caught daydreaming because my mid is just filled with so many things it would take 10 years to write them down on paper.


Epic dreams is where we dream of adventure, re-enact battles from old ages, go on adventures, explore the world with action following you, danger in every step, but you are powerful and magical that no one can withstand your power. Counting all my dreams, I think 90% of them are epic dreams, It's so cool being in a fantasy style environment where you have super powers and other magical entities. You can be in a Lord of The Rings movie where you can fight Orcs and Goblins, ride an Ent, Fight with the Rohirrim. It depends on the capacity of your imagination.


In an article " why do we day dream " on that site " psych.answers.com ". Laura Freberg says that people daydream so they can think on what the future, present or past can be while they're changing it in their minds.  They're trying to understand past problems or they're really just fooling around and aimlessly making up stories in their minds in order to think of a possible outcome.

She says that " Daydreams do not have a clear, direct link to the dreams that we experience when asleep. " Of course, we do day dreams while we are awake but both are the same in the switch of consciousness.

In an article " 10 More Amazing Facts About Dreaming " from that site " listverse.com ". Jamie Frater says that Epic dreams are really vivid dreams that seem to follow a continuous story, It can be life changing. Some of the dreams are so compelling that it creates you a new ability to have a greater awareness of your natural surroundings. Epic dreams will give you an epic perspective about how to run your life. Every time you wake up after an epic dream, you'll feel like you discovered something new. Experiencing these dreams will scar you for life, you'll remember a dream for years. It can help you write a novel about Fantasies, Adventure, Sci-fi, Etc...

     Jamie says that " Many people sleep during their epic dreams, having a dream within itself. " A dream within a dream. That's got to be the most crazy thing I've heard, but still it's would be cool to try.

               I combined these two because I use them a lot. I even dream about Epic Daydreams, where I daydream about epic adventures.

Blogpost # 7: Dream: Why do we do it?


Dreams... It has to be the most wonderful thing that god created, you can explore, create, destroy, get scared, fly, go outer space, Etc...
It really depends on how big your imagination is.
I've discovered a lot of wonderful things because of it. I think I wouldn't be this person if dreams didn't exist. With all the beautiful imagery while sleeping, I never actually knew why people dream. Is it telling us something, is it teleporting us into another dimension and we see wonderful and beautiful objects, or is it a psychic power to see the future? Whatever it is, I have to know why we dream.



In an article " Why Do We Dream " from that site " psychology.about.com ". Kendra Cherry says that dreams have been studied for thousands of years, yet no one yet has the answer to why we dream. Some researcher say that dreams don't have any meaning, but some say that dreams have thousands of meaning, deep and wonderful meanings. People say that it is essential to our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. It says that dreams are unconscious desires, thoughts and motivations. It says that aren't meaningless, it says that dreams is our most creative state where we create new ideas explore places we've never been before or a place we can just relax and rest our body. It says that we dream so we can clean up clutter in our brains and it also says that we dream so we can connect to a different thought and emotion in a safe environment.

Kendra says " It is important to consider that science is still unraveling the exact purpose and function of sleep itself. " That's great news! I'll be waiting for the answer and be prepared to whatever answer it might be because dreams have been boggling my mind since the first day I dreamed.
In another article " 5 reasons why you dream " from that site " health.howstuffworks.com ". Victoria Plummer says that dreams are symbolic language designed to communicate our inner wisdom to us while we are asleep. the part the processes the dreams send symbolic messages which we turn into ideas.
There is still a debate over why we actually dream. Experts believe that we dream to assist the body with rest, repair and rejuvenation. Another reason in why we dream is to compensate with us, balance our feelings. For example, a very sad and unhappy person may dream more about fun and happy things to compensate. A successful and happy person may dream more about sad things to also compensate. Also another theory on why we dream is that it helps us cope with things like having a bad day or getting into a fight, your dreams will weave symbolic messages to help you cope with those problems.

Victoria states that " Research already supports the claim that sleep is fundamental to a well functioning mind and memory. However, some suggest that the key to memory consolidation lies not with a few hours of rest, but in the dreams we have instead. " That's true! In my opinion because I think my memory gained more power every time I remember my dreams. It helps me with recalling stuff.

Dreaming is a big mystery. It's a big topic to handle I hope someone can find the answer to why it happens. 

Blogpost # 6: Nightmares: Creepy!

Everyone has experienced nightmares. When I was young I always experience nightmares 5 times a week and I think i'm used to it.
I enjoy nightmares. I just love the adrenaline flowing into my body. Some people literally pee every time they get a nightmare. Nightmares are disturbing and frightening things that we see in our dreams. They are what make children cry at night, someone gets a nightmare after they watch a scary movie, or after bad events like; accidents, fights, murders, Etc....

Why do we get nightmares? In an article " Why Do We Have Nightmares " from this site " livescience.com " Remy Melina says that dreams may be caused by anxiety which we gathered mostly from our everyday living. Also it says that nightmares may have a beneficial purpose to us, they helpedus on our survival skill. Without them we may be done with evolution. Nightmares also helps us focus on problems that need to be address. How do we stop a nightmare? After we go to sleep, we can practice some acts to save us from nightmares like; being rescued by someone, or you gaining powers and attack the offender. After that, sleep and when you get a nightmare think of the acts that you did before you slept and do it while in the nightmare.

Remy states that " People should seek help for their nightmares if they are carrying over into their daytime mood and making them very anxious, or if they are making them afraid to go to sleep " People should really think that nightmares are just dreams. They don't have to go crazy and say that their dreams are telling them something.

Where does nightmares come from? In an article " Spooked Sleeping? Identifying nightmares and there causes " from that site "huffingtonpost.com". Laura McMullen says that their are to types of nightmares, one is the nightmares that come from our everyday problems, our phobias, our last seen scary movie, Etc... and ones is something we really don't know where it came from, it's just there. After you get nightmares, you won't be able to get back to sleep  immediately because we are still scared, and a bit emotionally aroused. A technique like deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation to meditate on positive experiences.
Laura states that " Research suggest than more than 85% of adults occasionally experience nightmares at least once a month for 8 to 29 percent, and once a week for 2 to 6 percent" I taught children were the only ones who get nightmares. I didn't expect all of adults to experience them.

I'm love having nightmares, well sometimes, depends, but when I do, I try not to panic and when I wake up I usually just laugh about it.






Blogpost # 5: False Awakening: The most annoying thing in the morning.


This has to be one of the most annoying thing in the dream world, it tricks us into thinking that we're awake, but then we realize that we're still dreaming and that we're gonna get in trouble. I experience False awakening everyday, it always gives me problems every morning. One time I thought I was already going to school and we did all our quizzes and checked all our assignment but after 30 minutes of school, I woke up still sleeping and I was 4 hours late. I missed 1 test 4 seat works and I didn't get to pass my assignments.
In a lot of articles, it seems like it's connected to lucid dreams, because you think you're awake but you're still dreaming, you feel conscious and it can somehow trigger lucid dreaming if you suddenly notice that you're dreaming.
In an article " False Awakenings and Lucid Dreams  " from that site " world-of-lucid-dreaming.com ". Rebecca Turner says that in false awakening we usually do the stuff we do while we're on autopilot, like eating breakfast, dressing  up for work, going to school, Etc... We don't notice that we're just dreaming because we don't recognize that we're dreaming and we just continue on to our everyday routine.The only way you'll appreciate false awakening is that it's so good in showing us fake reality and on how it fooled us into thinking where already doing our daily deeds. You can turn your false awakenings into lucid dreams, once you notice that your in a dream, do some reality checks like looking into a clock. Looking into a clock usually works because letters and numbers change constantly because language centers in the brain are usually shutdown. Look into a mirror. In dreams, reflections aren't normal look at your hands, if you happen to have extra fingers or extra hands, then you're dreaming. Once you do some reality checks you can then switch into a lucid dream state.

Rebecca states that " False awakenings can be hard to spot, but with practice you will become better at recognizing that curious feeling that something is not right with the world " I think I need practice because false awakening has ruined every morning of my life.


How do I stop false awakening? In another article " How to Prevent False Awakening " from that site " dreamstudies.org " Ryan Hurd says that we need to first do some reality checks after that knowing that we're dreaming, we need to close and open our eyes repeatedly and this will usually break the dream. Another tip is to focus and stare at an object and that object may change or morph, but it usually wakes the brain and put us into a waking state. Last tip, you can try to sleep in the dream again then try to move a pinky or a toe and it will synchronize the dream body and the physical body and wakes you up.
Hope this tips work because I really need them.


Ryan says " False awakenings can be frustrating, terrifying, and may even begin to impact your daily life, especially when they occur 5 or more times in a row. " Yes! They have are very frustrating and annoying. They've been the cause of my daily problems, so I don't want to experience them.

False awakenings are the devils best asset, it destroys a lot of time every day.

Blogpost # 4: Astral Projection: Dangers!

Astral Projection has a lot of myths and stories that it can be a dangerous and a treacherous thing to do. Some stories say that some entities might attack you if you panic too much, some stories say that there is a void filled with bad entities that if you go near it they will grab you and never let go, and you may never wake up again, some stories say that the devil may steal your physical body while you are away from it, and use it as a vessel to harm others. There are a lot more twisted stories about Astral Projection, but is it really dangerous?

In an article " Why astral projection happens " from that site " life.inquirer.net ". Jaime Licauco says that it depends if you astral project naturally meaning if you happen to just sleep and not noticing you're already astral projecting, then you're fine, but if you want to try it and you're unprepared, you might bump into some trouble. In the article it also states that there is a vortex in the astral plane called the " Phantasmagoric Plane " where highly negative entities may try to grab your astral body or desire body and never let go, this may cause you to never return to your physical body, this phenomenon is also called the "bangungot" where you die while asleep, it is also called the fatal sleep due to horrible nightmares.


He states that " One should not attempt astral projection in a place that is haunted or where there are lower negative entities , because there is also the danger of spirit possession while one's astral body is out. " This is the thing that's frightening me about astral projection, I'm scared of losing my physical body and someone seeing me and thinking that I'm a different person, because another new being is inhabiting my body. This myth of some entity stealing our physical body is also explained in the movie " Insidious ".
In another article " The Ten Astral Projection Questions Answered " from that site " erinpavlina.com ". Erin Pavlina says that Astral Projection is dangerous and that some entities in the astral plane can drain your energy and even give you psychological harm. However, if you do know how to protect yourself by making your vibrations high or if you're brave enough and not panic every ten seconds then you're safe. In the article it also states that nothing can take over our body whilst astral projecting, because we're connected to our physical body, it holds us in place, nothing can take it while we're enjoying our trip to the other angelic planes of the astral universe. So this article is pretty much bashing the other one and this article actually helped me with the fear of some entities possessing if I ever try astral projection. What if someone dies while astral projecting? In the same article it says that no one actually knows, because if someone did die while astral projecting, they won't be alive to tell us the answer, so... that question can't really be answered properly, but there are some theories that if you die while astral projecting you'll go back to your physical body in a millisecond.
She states that " If you're inside the plane, with  your seat belt on, with your tray table in the upright position, and you're familiar with safety procedures in case of a crash, then air travel is safe." She is saying that if you know the rules before astral projecting, then your travel in to a new world is safe.
It's really important to know the rules before doing things, because without knowing them, you might get into some some very life threatening problems.  
Astral projection seems to be a scary thing to accomplish, since some frightening unanswered questions about it, aren't really answered properly yet, so.. I have to know what i'm dealing with before I go full on on this.


Blogpost # 3: Astral Projection: What is it?


Astral projection or OBE (Out of body experience) is another dream phenomenon where one can separate his soul to his physical body. Meaning you can travel like a ghost and even see your life less physical body while away from it.
 I've never experienced it, but it seems like a very interesting topic to talk about. The more I learn about it, the more easy it is to do.
Is Astral Projection an ability that someone can learn and use daily, or is it a trait, where one can only do it, if it's in their blood.


In an article " Why Is Astral Projection " from that site " paranormal.about.com ". Stephen Wagner says that everybody leaves there body at night but before they do leave, they have to put their physical mind to sleep. It says that everyone astral projects they just don't remember doing it. It says that when you astral project, you can see a silver cord connected to you.

Stephen says that " Everybody does it, they just don't remember doing it." I might have done it before because there was this onetime while I was lucid dreaming. I saw my other half split apart from me. Maybe I was changing state to lucid dream into an astral projection state.


Why would i want to astral project?
In another article " Astral Projection: Why you want to leave your body " from that site " llewellyn.com ". Carl Weschcke says that you can explore more, you can see things you can't see while conscious. You can go outer space you can go around the world, pretty much everywhere. You can spy on anyone, be creepy as hell, you can go on cruise ships for free, you can even go to different dimensions.
In astral projection you can expand your learning's on everything, expand your awareness and gain experiences.




Carl says " Now that you understand this greater universe and the role that you can fulfill, you feel the responsibility calling for you to explore these new worlds and to grow to fill your father's shoes "  I feel powerful now, I feel like I uncovered some secret treasure from nine thousand years ago.

 Astral Projection seems to be a good topic to just sit and read more about it, because it showcase so many wonderful things. I hope I can simply learn the ability to Astral Project with just simple a click and use it to whatever need that it may be useful for.