The Dream: My mom was dating the Joker, they were trying to have a baby and I walked in on my mom taking a pregnancy test with the Joker standing over her, holding the pregnancy test box. So I yelled at them about how they needed to take care of me and how irresponsible they were being. Then the Joker was making me scratch lottery tickets and save all of the winning ones, but I lost them and couldn't find them and was searching frantically for them even though they were only about $5 each.
The Interpretation: The part where I yell at my mom is a thinly veiled message that I don't think my mom is taking good care of me. The fact that she is dating the Joker means I think her boyfriends are clowns. Me scratching lottery tickets means I feel pressured to make money. Me losing them means I fail at making money.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Grateful for Today (2)
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-3047.html&fromMod=emailed
Peace of mind is in relaxed awareness of the present, not continually searching for something special. So says Hara Estroff Marano in this article. Acknowledging the fact that people are searching for ways to be happier, Marano consulted Josh Baran, author of 365 Nirvana Here and Now: Living Every Moment in the Enlightenment. Baran was once a Zen Buddhist priest, and was always searching for the truth. He didn't like it, because the process was exhausting. Then he realized that peace of mind was right in front of him, in his face.
Josh Baran suggests that you stop thinking about what is missing, and start thinking about what you have. He himself takes snippets of quotes from movies and books and writers about living in the now. To make your life seem more new, for instance, you can take a bath and feel the bath, notice how warm it is, and enjoying it. "Life is only lived moment to moment," Baran says. And once you start thinking that way, it will become more enjoyable.
I enjoyed this article and agreed fully with it. My own personal therapist often tells me that when I'm stressed out or feeling bad, I need to stop and think about what it presently going on, instead of thinking about the future.
This article doesn't bring any new research or ideas to the world of psychology. However it does educate people on how to live better lives and be happier. It's something psychologists can use with their patients, and something everyone can learn from.
Marano, Hara Estroff. "Grateful for Today." Psychology Today (2003).
Peace of mind is in relaxed awareness of the present, not continually searching for something special. So says Hara Estroff Marano in this article. Acknowledging the fact that people are searching for ways to be happier, Marano consulted Josh Baran, author of 365 Nirvana Here and Now: Living Every Moment in the Enlightenment. Baran was once a Zen Buddhist priest, and was always searching for the truth. He didn't like it, because the process was exhausting. Then he realized that peace of mind was right in front of him, in his face.
Josh Baran suggests that you stop thinking about what is missing, and start thinking about what you have. He himself takes snippets of quotes from movies and books and writers about living in the now. To make your life seem more new, for instance, you can take a bath and feel the bath, notice how warm it is, and enjoying it. "Life is only lived moment to moment," Baran says. And once you start thinking that way, it will become more enjoyable.
I enjoyed this article and agreed fully with it. My own personal therapist often tells me that when I'm stressed out or feeling bad, I need to stop and think about what it presently going on, instead of thinking about the future.
This article doesn't bring any new research or ideas to the world of psychology. However it does educate people on how to live better lives and be happier. It's something psychologists can use with their patients, and something everyone can learn from.
Marano, Hara Estroff. "Grateful for Today." Psychology Today (2003).
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Pursuit of Happiness (1)
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20081215-000001.html
The article "The Pursuit of Happiness" has two parts to it. The first part, the first page, is about the "happiness frenzy" and how it has spread through our society in the past few years. Not only were 4,000 books sold on the subject of happiness in just one year, but schools started teaching popular classes about positive psychology. Psychologists, neuroscientists, and behavioral economists have jumped on board and done research in their areas about what makes us happy. Research shows that this rise in happiness research may be because our nation as a whole is becoming sadder, or so we say.
The last three pages of the article are about real, proven ways to make yourself happy. They have ideas such as setting goals, living in the now, making enough money to live comfortably, and have strong personal relationships. These ideas are all general, but the author believes it is these methods that will help you live a happier life.
Considering the research this article has provided, it is apparent to me that this is a very relative topic to today's society. 15% of people are clinically depressed. It also offers a lot of good advice that I myself have been given, and would give, on how to have a happier life. However, the length of the article and the way it jumps around to different topics makes it hard to focus on and learn from.
This article isn't exactly useful to the field of psychology, it doesn't offer any new scientific information. This was basically just a guide for depressed people to get their lives together.
Flora, Carlin. "The Pursuit of Happiness." Psychology Today. Jan. & feb. 2009.
The article "The Pursuit of Happiness" has two parts to it. The first part, the first page, is about the "happiness frenzy" and how it has spread through our society in the past few years. Not only were 4,000 books sold on the subject of happiness in just one year, but schools started teaching popular classes about positive psychology. Psychologists, neuroscientists, and behavioral economists have jumped on board and done research in their areas about what makes us happy. Research shows that this rise in happiness research may be because our nation as a whole is becoming sadder, or so we say.
The last three pages of the article are about real, proven ways to make yourself happy. They have ideas such as setting goals, living in the now, making enough money to live comfortably, and have strong personal relationships. These ideas are all general, but the author believes it is these methods that will help you live a happier life.
Considering the research this article has provided, it is apparent to me that this is a very relative topic to today's society. 15% of people are clinically depressed. It also offers a lot of good advice that I myself have been given, and would give, on how to have a happier life. However, the length of the article and the way it jumps around to different topics makes it hard to focus on and learn from.
This article isn't exactly useful to the field of psychology, it doesn't offer any new scientific information. This was basically just a guide for depressed people to get their lives together.
Flora, Carlin. "The Pursuit of Happiness." Psychology Today. Jan. & feb. 2009.
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