What do your dreams reveal?

Have you ever woken in the morning and thought "What a strange Dream, I wonder what that means?" Do you have a dream that repeats itself throughout your life? What is the message? What do you dreams tell you about your mental health?

Your Dreams can reveal a number of things.

1. They can tell you what is happening in your life NOW. You can see your current thoughts, feelings and how you are experiencing your life.

2. Dreams can show you a direction to take in your life. Dreams often give us signals about rhythm... slow down, speed up, go forward, pause, review etc.

3. If you have a Dream that repeats itself, it may even be the same theme with a slightly different story line, over and over. This means there is something  you need to paid attention to. If the Dream does not resolve or end in a way that is satisfying, then there is an issue in your life that needs  resolution.

4. Dreams tell you what is possible for you. If you can do something in a Dream then you have the capacity to have that experience. 

5. Dreams can reveal an upcoming physical problem. The Dream often proceeds the illness by 21 days.

6. Dreams inform you about your relationship to freedom. You have free will, yet your choices and actions can be restricted by self imposed slavery to certain thought, and emotional patterns. The Dreams reveal these themes for you and express your relationship to this habit.

7. Dreams also tell you about your qualities of self. At one level all aspects of a Dream are qualities of your self. Each person, each element of the dream is you. You are meeting parts of yourself in each person and object in your dream.

Since Dreams speak in symbol language, in order to understand the message you need to read the language. Numbers, colors, directions all have meanings. words in the Dream often have a double meaning, as homophones do. For example: If you Dream about a resort, is there something you need to resort too?

If you are interested in learning more about how to read your Dreams you can visit her website an and listen to a free download from her Dream CD. Visit http://www.debrajoygoldman.com.  Dream Groups are available at her office in North Palm Beach Florida. You can reach Debra at 561-602-8041.

7 ways to strengthen your will power

The power of your will is the energy that gives you the ability to make choices. Most people live their lives out of habit; they do not use their will to make conscious choices.

Do you want something different in your life? Do you struggle with having the will power to make a change?

Why do you want to make this change? Imagine how you will look, feel, and sound when this change happens. Imagining this can be a great motivator to generate your will. Remembering your motivation can give your will a direction, and help you make choices that support your intention.

Here are seven practices to help increase your will:

1.      Maintain a compassionate attitude toward self. Critical self judgment and guilt weaken your will. Missteps and slips are a natural part of the process of change. Be forgiving with yourself while you are learning to strengthen your will.

2.      Suspend negative self talk and negative attitudes. Be open to the possibility that you can be successful. Stop being cynical. Never give up.

3.        Laugh. Laughter will help you strengthen your will.

4.     When you are highly tempted to “give in” to a behavior (for instance eating chocolate) imagine yourself having the experience of eating the chocolate. Imagine how you feel after you have finished eating. Now do you still want the chocolate?

5.     Cravings usually pass after 20 minutes. Make a choice to distract yourself for 20 minutes until it passes.

6.      Eat a balanced diet to keep your blood sugar stable. Will needs mental energy to function; unstable blood sugar deprives you of the energy needed to use your will effectively.

7.      Sleep and rest. When you are tired it is difficult to activate your will. You are prone to want a quick fix when your energy is low. Aim for 6-8 hours of sleep a night.

Practice making conscious choices rather than following habitual patterns. Learn to relax, meditate, and move your body in ways you find fun. Having a calm, centered, peaceful frame of mind will allow you to receive the energy needed to strengthen your will.

Registration now open for new Kabbalsitic Healing Class: For a psycho/spiritual approach to healing.

Is your relationship breaking up? 4 steps to heal emotional pain

One of the big issues that brings people into psychotherapy is emotional pain. The emotional pain caused by the ending of a relationship is particularly common.



Here are four steps that will help you to heal from emotional pain.



1. Acceptance: You often resist what “is” especially when you are in pain. Letting go of the “if onlies” (if only he/she would call me, change, give me another chance and so on) will help you get unstuck from a merry go round of pain. Letting go of what you wish would happen and accepting what is happening is the first step. Recognize that you do not have control.

2. Feel your feelings and express them in ways that feel safe. Talk with friends, a therapist, your rabbi, priest or spiritual advisor, or get a journal write your feelings down. Expressing your feelings and thoughts will help you organize and understand what you are experiencing. This will bring you release and relief.

3. Be: Once you do the first steps you will begin to feel better. Breathe, relax and nurture yourself. Have compassion for yourself and provide experiences that are comforting and nurturing. (Take a nap, exercise; take a bath, lunch with a friend and so on).

4. Take action: Now it is time to literally move on. Take a bike ride, go for a walk, join a class, or start hobby. Get involved in your life.



When you are experiencing emotional distress you often relive trauma from the past, or feel that you will be overwhelmed by the emotions in the present.

Instead you can understand this experience provides a tremendous opportunity for healing. Follow these steps and you can move through the pain with a new perspective and a better attitude.



Interested in learning more? Visit my web site http://www.debrajoygoldman.com/ for free articles about relationships, dreams, spirituality, personal growth and more.

*as seen on examiner.com

Kabbalistic Healing Class

As a psychotherapist, student, and teacher of Kabbalah for over 20 years I have been studying how spirituality and psychotherapy intersect and interact. As a result, I am excited to offer this class which will provide psychological healing utilizing Kabbalistic principals.

In this class you will learn about The Tree of Life, a map of the universe and of your psyche. "Know thy self" is one of the important tasks for Kabbalistic healing. Enlightenment comes from studying yourself, understanding how your psyche functions, and why you feel and act the way you do. You can gain mastery over yourself by finding balance, being mindful, living in the moment, and making conscious choices. You will improve your physical, mental, and spiritual health. Kabbalistic healing will benefit your life and relationships (including your relationship with yourself).

In this six week course you will:

1. Gain a framework and map of the universe and yourself. This will deepen your awareness and understanding of the spiritual practices you have already developed.

2. Understand and experience The Tree of Life, a map that guides you in the evolution of your soul.

3. Develop and expand your awareness of yourself, your relationships, and your life.

4. Develop and reconnect to a practice of awakening and remembering.

5. Explore your state of being. Learn how to harmonize areas of discord in yourself and your life, both on a spiritual and mundane level.

.Dates:

• September 11th
• October 2nd
• October 13th
• October 23th
• December 4th

Tuesdays: 6:00pm – 7:30pm

For more information about dates, times, fees, and how you can participate, call Debra Joy Goldman at 561-602-8041.

Tough time in your marriage? 7 helpful tips

Are you angry with your spouse? Are there ongoing issues that try your patience, compassion and love? You may want your marriage to work, but are out of ideas of how to fix the issues. I have been providing marriage counseling for over twenty five years and have put together these helpful tips:


1. Communicate. There are different ways you can communicate. Talk honestly about what is happening. Each of you can share what you are experiencing. If talking doesn’t work, write letters or get a licensed therapist to facilitate a dialogue. Even if it is hard to communicate keep on trying.

2. Create a vision of the solution. If you made a video tape of how your marriage would look when your issues are resolved, what would be on the tape? How would you and your partner feel, what would you being doing and saying to each other? What would be different?

3. Express your authentic feelings, how you truly feel. To the best of your ability, listen to your partner’s feelings with an open mind and a lot of love. You may be surprised to find you both have similar feelings.

4. You may both want the same things, peace of mind, to be loved, appreciated, supported and respected. When I listen to couples fight, underneath the anger and stories I hear hurt and a longing to be accepted and loved. When you fall in love you often feel “now I have a safe place, someone who will be there for me, and support me”. When this does not happen, you feel disappointed and need to blame someone. To some extent, these unspoken expectations are there for everyone.

5. Work together. You can work together and share the journey as you move in an agreed upon direction. Continue to communicate and share your vision for the relationship. This is an ongoing process. Keep practicing.

6. Instead of looking at your partner’s behavior, look at yourself. What are you doing to block what you want in the relationship? Change your behavior.

7. Learn how to move past disappointment. Everyone will at some point in your relationship, disappoint you, (not live up to your expectations). We are only human. After experiencing disappointment, learn how to repair the martial connection and continue on the road towards your vision (what you saw on the video tape).

Make the commitment to work through the tough times. Having a partner who works towards a shared vision can bring many rewards. Having a companion who shares the tough times, as well as the good, is all part of marriage.

THE GOOD NEWS: Your marriage will often be stronger after you work thorugh the tough times.



*as seen on examiner.com

Does it feel like you and your spouse live in different worlds?

In a study reported in the book Rapt by Winifred Gallagher couples were given a checklist of events and activities and asked to mark ones that had occurred during the course of the week. The list included items like fights, lovemaking, issues with children and so on. The data revealed the percentage of agreement between husbands and wives was at the level of mere chance. Your spouse is experiencing an entirely different world from you!

How does this happen? Your experience of the world depends on where your attention is focused. We all have selective attention. What you focus on is what you will remember.

What determines what you pay attention to? Attention is determined by many factors, both conscious and unconscious. Each one of us is unique. Your past, your beliefs about the world and your self all influence what you focus on. This creates an individualized experience of the world.

For example if you get a new hybrid car, all of a sudden there seems to be many hybrid cars on the road. Your attention is now focused on noticing these hybrids cars. Before you bought one you never paid attention in this way and did not notice as many hybrids.

How can you benefit from this knowledge? Realize how important communication is for your relationship. Without communication, sharing your feelings, perceptions, and thoughts you lose the connection with your partner. You stay in your separate worlds.

Learn how to communicate with your partner, pay attention to them and listen to what and how they have experienced the world. Invite them into your world and be willing to enter theirs. Neither view is objectively “right”.

Communication will increase intimacy and satisfaction in your relationship and it just might expand your world.

How does your marriage affect your health?

How does your marriage affect your health?
When you marry your lifestyle habits become more alike. The November 2008 issue of Psychology Today presents research showing marital relationships steer our physical well being. Researchers are finding that spouses influence each others eating habits, doctor visits, use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana.

Couples can even develop the same illness over time the Yale School of Public Health did a study over four years of over 6,000 people. Results showed that in every single behavior there was spousal effect. For example if one spouse quit smoking the other was 6-8 times more likely to quit. If one quit drinking alcohol the other was five times more likely to quit. The one exception to this is exercise. Here there was an effect, but it was milder.
The good news: one of the best ways to change your spouse is to change yourself.

Nagging does not work and in fact can have the opposite effect. So look to yourself, and " clean up your side of the road", your spouse may follow. You may be pleasantly surprises what happens when you stop trying to "help" them change. Instead focus your attention on getting your own habits on track.