Stress is one thing. Anxiety attacks are another. They cripple your daily life. They stop you from living. They paralyze your minds and thoughts. They send you into an emotional tailspin with no end in sight, but a complete crash. Anxiety attacks affect millions of people, keeping them from living productive, happy lives. The panic isolates loving, social people from their closest friends and loved one.

Yet, panic attacks do not have to be the crippling, debilitating force they are. For many people, learning to control them will help them lead longer, happier and more successful lives. The key, like stress, is learning coping mechanisms to hold back anxiety, before it morphs into panic and an attack ensues.

1. Breathe easy

A steady, calm breath in a heated moments cools an anxiety attack. Learning to breathe effectively steadies the blood flow, calms the mind, eases the nerves and ultimately clears the head. When you breath, take in all the air you can for several seconds, then slowly exhale, let the air go. Continue this steadily for anywhere from thirty seconds until several minutes, depending on how strong the attack is. When done, shake out your arms and legs to keep the blood flowing and relax.

2. Rethink the Situation

The tightness. The pangs. The anger. Mental stress manifests itself through panic attacks. Remember most attacks start in the mind as a response to external stress. Therefore, the solution is in your mind. Consider rethinking your situation before the attack takes over. If you’re feeling stressed, imagine yourself as someone else, another person watching you interact with the world. In this case, their perspective would often be that your situation is not as bad as it seems. You’re stressed, but more than you should be. Ask the third-party, all the positive characteristics about your life. A constant stream of positive thoughts is a key weapon when it comes to fighting panic attacks.

Imagining yourself as someone else opens you to a new experience where you see yourself more objectively for a few moments.

Some people create imaginary friends that fulfill the role of the third party. They imagine, “What would my imaginary best friend say to me?” Because it’s their best friend, the response will be soft and gentle.

3. Practice before you Panic

Simulating a panic attack might seem like the worst thought for some, but a fire drill is better than being unprepared for a full-blown blaze.

Imagine a panic attack before it happens. Imagine the worst panic attack. Imagine your thought process. Then when you think you might be at the brink of an anxiety attack, practice breathing. Think happy thoughts about your life. Remember pleasant childhood memories like the pies your grandmother made or the community park where you swung happily with friends. Grab a picture of a happy time and imagine yourself in that situation. Feel those pleasant emotions.

Do this several times and train your body to respond differently. By doing this, the next time you’re in an anxiety attack, your subconscious should give you better control over the attack. The mental trigger of a happy thought will trigger better breathing, a calmer state and stave off a full-blown panic attack.

The practice also teaches you the negative thoughts and emotional roots of your panic attack. Knowing the thought processes shows you where to let the healing begin.

Learning to cope with your panic attacks will help you cope with stress and the rigors of daily life. If you learn to cope, you will breathe joy into your life where stress used to live.

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Have you ever wondered why it is impossible to remember what groceries you need without a list? Why is it musicians can remember the lyrics to hundreds of songs and are able to recite them on cue? If you were able to remember trivial details about the people you meet in your every day life it would make quite the impression on your colleagues, business associates and subordinates. In fact, Jesus Christ used the very technique of remembering the names and family and friends of his disciples. It is a winning way of influencing your friends and making them feel they are an important part of your life. Never again will you have that embarrassing moment at a party when someone who remembers you comes up and says your name, but you can’t say theirs.

The reason that musicians can remember the words to so many songs is that rhyming song lyrics work as mnemonic devices. They tap into our brain’s natural ability to use the power of rhyme as a memory tool. By saying the rhyming word we are more easily apt to remember the word which makes up the second half of the rhyme.

From the time that we are infants we are taught things through the power of rhyme. Some of the first things we learn as children are how to tie our shoes and do other every day things, and we learn to do them using mnemonic devices. Some of the most memorable children’s writings were by an author known as Dr. Suess. What made him so popular? His I-Can-Read books used familial rhyming schemes to help children anticipate what words would be coming next. This increased the confidence of children who read his now immortal writings. Many of his stories can be memorized and recalled word for word at the drop of a hat because they use the power of rhyme.

So what are Mnemonic Devices?

There are two basic types of mnemonic devices. There are those which use rhyme as a memory tool and there are those which use the first letter of each word to form an acronym. Acronyms are great memory tools which help you to remember anything from complex formulas to the answers to common trivia questions. If I were to ask you to name each and every color of the rainbow in the correct order, without using any form of mnemonic device, you would likely be hard pressed to come up with an answer in under 5 seconds. What if I told you that I can answer this without even having to think? What if I told you my five year old can name the colors of the rainbow in the correct order without even pausing to think?

It sounds amazing, but it is just the simple use of a mnemonic device which allows her and I to remember such trivial facts as the colors of the rainbow. The colors, in the correct order are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. Can you take a guess at how I recall this so easily? The answer is with a mnemonic device. In this case I have used an acronym to recall the fist letter of each color, since there are only so many colors in the spectrum, it is quite simple to deduce the names just by knowing the first letter. The acronym for memorizing the colors of the rainbow is: ROY G BIV. It sounds like an interesting name for a person. That is probably what makes it so easy to remember. It sounds like a very strange name, and we rarely forget the very strange. The cognitive power of your mind is not to be underestimated. You will be surprised at how little it takes for your mind to memorize anything and everything through the use of simple memory tools and mnemonic devices.

If you have ever learned to read music (and you really should learn to read music, it is a great way to exercise your mind) you are no doubt familiar with these devices. Mnemonic devices using acronyms are the same tools which music teachers use to teach their students the notes on the staff. Guitar teachers even use them to help their pupils memorize the notes on the open guitar strings with greater ease. Who can forget the simple devices for memorizing the bass and treble clefs on a musical staff? Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge and Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always.

Mnemonic devices are also frequently used as learning tools by math teachers. The method for memorizing Orders of operations in mathematics is BEDMAS, for Brackets, Exponents, Division, Multiplication, Addition, and Subtraction. In fact, many of the mnemonic devices we were taught in school are so memorable they have become tiresome and annoying. Who can type a word like conceive or receipt without remember the old “I before E, Except after C” a mnemonic device using rhyme.

If you have attempted to use the power of memorization to amaze and impress people but have been unsuccessful you are likely approaching it in the wrong manner. Many people use the approach of Rote Memorization which is a method a shocking your brain into memorization through the use of flash-cards or another quick question and quick answer method. Many people think they can use this hard-hitting method of improving their memory but it is actually highly ineffective.

Your brain uses a large portion of muscle memory in your day-to-day routine. This means that when you are going through a typical cycle your brain doesn’t have to work as hard and uses its’ muscle memory as something of a “cruise-control”. This is also called muscle retention, and it can be a good thing and a bad thing. Muscle retention can be built up and augmented. The result of this is your brain is operating at higher levels when it is in this cruise control mode. The brain is a glutton for punishment and your brain is challenged, it grows as does any other muscle. A common practice of body builders is to to “shock” their muscles in order to produce higher ranges of muscle memory and promoting more rapid muscle growth. This works with fantastic results for most muscles and it is the concept behind using flash-cards for memorizing mathematics. However, Rote-Memorization is highly unpleasant and does not produce results as effectively as mnemonic devices.

Using mnemonic devices establishes new neural pathways in your brain, which allows you to more quickly access information with almost no effort. Are minds are naturally attune to word play such as rhyme, homonyms, acronyms and other literary devices. Most of the information that we need to remember consists of arbitrary sequences such as phone numbers, postal codes, account numbers, first and last names, dates and years, all such boring combinations of data. The human brain more easily remembers information which is spatial or personal. we remember things that affect us because they are either surprising, humorous, sexual or provocative in some way. Mnemonics can be used to memorize entire lists of information or single important details such as what year the Bill of Rights was adopted by Congress. It is one of the first ways our mind learns to absorb and store vital information such as how to tie your shoes.

Examples of Mnemonic Devices

Memorizing the number of days in the months:
Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November;
All the rest have thirty-one
Excepting February alone:
Which has twenty-eight, that’s fine,
Till leap year gives it twenty-nine.

When did Alaska and Hawaii become part of the United States?
the United States:

‘59 was the date,
When Alaska and Hawaii became new states

Mnemonic Device for remembering the order of the planets:
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

How to memorize the signs of the zodiac:
he Ram, the Bull, the Heavenly Twins,
And next’ the Crab, the Lion shines,
The Virgin and the Scales.
The Scorpion, Archer, and the Goat,
The Man who holds the Watering Pot,
And Fish with glittering scales.

Advancing the power of your memory is one of the most important steps you can take in improving your mind power. Once it becomes effortless to recall information you will be able to impress and influence people with your amazing memory. Memorizing trivial details about your friends, all the important numbers and dates you need to know, the names and phone numbers of everyone you’ve ever met, and even important business information can be a great way to get ahead in many aspects of your life. Advanced memory is used by many mentalists and hypnosis experts as the basis of many of the psychic effects that we see created on television and in theaters and street performances. You too can master the power of your memory with mnemonic devices.

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There are deep meanings of dreams that we can find in our nightly trip away from reality. Most people find their dreams to be unintelligible scrambles of mixed messages and cryptic symbols from things they encountered in their day. The subconscious mind is a much more remarkable machine than it is given credit for. Precognitive dreams are dreams that are designed by your subconscious mind to make you feel a certain way or even tell you something.

Disturbing dreams are often linked to tragic or traumatic incidents in your life. Situations involving trust can cause you to have bad dreams. However, a disturbing dream can also be tied to a significant risk you are taking. It is possible you are realizing just how bad a particular situation could become. Some dreams might just be reflecting your fundamental fears but others could be warning you that action is needed to prevent the worst from happening.

Some time before he was assassinated, it is said that Abraham Lincoln had a dream that there would be a funeral at the White House. In his dream, he asked an onlooker who was the person that had died. The onlooker replied “The President of United States has died.”

When Lincoln told his wife about having this dream she told him that he was going to be killed while he was in office. Two weeks later, Lincoln was assassinated.

The precognitive power of our minds is a very real phenomenon. The subconscious mind often relays these precognitions through our dreams. Our different interpretations of these dreams may adversely affect the outcomes of the situations they inform us about. The symbols in our dreams can have direct or indirect interpretation when it comes to the meanings of our dreams. That is to say that a symbol can be interpreted directly as it appears or it can be used metaphorically. Most often it is the latter which is true. In any effort to interpret what the subconscious mind is telling you in your dreams, you must be aware of the margin for error within the realm of dream interpretations.

Some of us are as different as night and day. As such our subconscious minds may communicate with us in different ways. Some people fear snakes. Within their minds a snake may be a symbol for fear or danger, where in the mind of someone who respects and idolizes snakes, a snake may be a positive symbol reflecting future accomplishments. What we make of our dream interpretations may reflect the way we deal with challenges in our normal lives.

Because our minds often work differently from person to person, it can be difficult to gauge the meaning of a particular symbol appearing in the dreams of one person to the next. However, there are many inherently similar common dream symbols with distinctive and sometimes surprising meanings. In order to help you understand some of the hidden meanings in dreams, here are eight commons symbols which appear in dreams and their different meanings.

1) Dreams of Death

To dream of your own death or the death of a family member can be very upsetting. If you believe the dream to be prophetic it can seem like cause for concern. Your subconscious mind often looks at death as a stage or phase that is part of life. A dream of death often symbolizes the end of an era or phase in your life. People who are approaching a graduation or certification often have dreams involving their death or the death of a loved one. Likewise people who are considering separation and divorce often have similar dreams.

2) Drowning and Dreaming of bodies of Water

Many people think that if they are drowning in their dream that it may be a precognitive dream and they should avoid exposing themselves to anything involving water or possible drowning. Water is a symbol in your subconscious mind for the portrayal of emotions. Dreams of drowning may in fact signify that you are overcome or ‘drowning’ in your emotions.

3) Fire

Fire is one of nature’s most destructive forces. People who dream of fire may believe there is some form of disaster approaching. They may even have fears that they will be burned to death. Although it is true that fire destroys, it also acts as a cleansing and purifying agent. Fire can often symbolize passion, intense desire and even sexual arousal.

4) Predatory Creatures

Although we often associate animal predators with fear or danger, different animals may have different interpretations. If you dream of a wolf which is in a peaceful state it could signify coexistence with a potential threat. However, dreaming of a wolf on the prowl may indicate possible treachery. Some creatures indicate a clear threat and the best way of judging the type of threat the symbol represents is by the attributes of the predator itself. A shark is a clear indication of an emotional threat, as their natural habitat is water and water represents emotion. Spiders, though they have the power to harm you, are tiny creatures who’s bite typically produces an irritating effect. Therefore a spider can signify small annoyances or irritants going on in your life.

5) Cats and other non-threatening Animals

Cats often represent femininity. A large cat, such as a lion or tiger can symbolize a woman in your life who holds a position of power or respect. With some animals it might be a simple metaphor. Dream about a rat: I smell a rat!

6) Falling in your Dreams

Almost everyone has had the falling dream in different forms. Some people have all different forms of falling dreams and there are several ways to interpret what it means. Falling can symbolize the loss of something. It can symbolize the loss of control or it can mean the loss of a material object. You might feel like you are losing out on a significant bonus at your job or you might be more deeply affect than you think about the loss of your teddy bear.

7) Cheating Spouses

It is more common than you think to dream about your spouse having an affair or cheating on you. Your first instinct might be that your dreams are telling you to suspect your lover of cheating on you. These dreams can actually be your subconscious mind’s way of reaffirming your commitment to this person. Your dreams could be telling you that you care about this person by invoking one of your strongest and most primal emotions: Jealousy!

8 ) Sleeping with your Friends

We’ve all had weird sex dreams about someone we know and felt strange or even creeped out about it. People often wonder what a weird sex dream means. Sometimes you dream about sex as a way of expressing certain affirmations in your mind. It can often indicate that people on some level satisfy an emotional need for you.

An important thing to understand is that you experience hundreds of dreams every night and you could very well go through all of these dreams in one night. When you go to sleep you have three stages of sleep. The first stage is a period between awakening and unconsciousness. You may start to dream a little in this phase but you can be awakened easily. The second phase is REM sleep. REM stands for rapid eye movement and this is the phase where your subconscious mind is rapidly showing you dreams. The third is a phase of sleep is a deep sleep where your body rejuvenates and replenishes itself. During sleep you frequently drift back and forth through the latter two phases of sleep. During REM sleep very detailed and seemingly lengthy dreams are experienced in a manner of seconds. You could potentially dream up to a thousand times a night.

The dreams you remember are the ones which are most significant to whats going on in your life. When you are deeply affected by a symbol in one of your dreams it can likely be telling you of a major problem in your life that needs dealing with. Either physical or metaphysical.

What weird dreams have you pondered the meanings of? Have you ever dreamed of your spouse cheating or had the falling dream in a more extreme than usual way? Have you interpreted any of the dreams you’ve had?

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Charisma is defined as those magnetic qualities in certain individuals that enable them to dominate, influence others, and to win mass support. Since it is a basic trait of human nature that we all want to be admired, don’t hesitate to admit it. If we imagine about it, looking into many of our actions, we are really finding ways to validate ourselves and to satisfy this craving of being liked.

Have you ever found someone and immediately took a liking towards them? You can’t elucidate why, but you find a fondness and you wish to do things to help them. Here I’m not only discussing sexual attraction, but a real and guiltless feeling of affection towards another person.

In a job interview, you are more probable to be employed if the interviewer is attracted to your personality and unique look. In a business affair, you are more probable to get deals done and gain privileges. In a personal affair, you are probable to gain trust and loyal friendships.

When we make a decision that we like someone, it is a mental process that we cannot rather articulate. It’s not a mystery that we make decisions with regard to our emotions and rationalize them using logic. So, does this indicate that we can overpower an emotional decision that occurs subconsciously?

I suppose that decisions can be overpowered. I believe that the qualities of an admirable person can be figured out and developed in an effective manner.

Charisma – How to Get It

Apart from being gentle, polite and respectful, there are numerous other things we should care about. I’m not telling you to be a pretender, but be attentive to these traits when engaged in a conversation. These little qualities make quite a big difference in how others evaluate us.

1- Building a Presence

The primary component of charisma is “presence.” Presence, as described here, pertains to the ability of commanding gracious attention.

To shed light on presence further, look upon it more particularly as how you bear yourself. Imagine a Lotus in a parking lot of Fords. The Lotus stands alone – as a European sports car, it’s glossy and elegantly detailed as compared to the traditional and tedious Fords. It’s not in action, it’s not moving – it’s not doing a single thing and yet you’re attracted to it because of its sleek features. That’s what we call Presence…

Presence is very essential in the whole Charisma thing… It is the most basic step of creating a “first impression”. As various elements constitute charisma, so do various elements create presence.

When making up an aura of charisma, you’re making use of this instinct to your advantage (which most individuals can’t command because they’re unaware that it is something occurring in their subconscious). Let’s look at this analogy: If you look like a gangster, you’ll be evaluated as probably being a gangster. If you look like you’re gay, you’ll be evaluated as probably being gay. And if you look like a magnetic person used to respect and even admiration, you will be evaluated as a person who is probably charismatic and worthy of respect and even admiration.

2- Mirroring

Mirroring is defined as the habit of imitating the other person’s physical mannerisms, movements and facial expressions when engaged in a conversation. You become a mirror image of the person you’re trying to imitate.

Mirroring occurs naturally in social interactions, but when you are attentive of it and are conscious of its affects, it can be employed as a tool in effective communication for generating rapport.

Mirroring a person strongly will make you feel what they’re feeling (to a particular extent). I did a mirroring exercise myself, in a group of three, on a workshop. The first person initiates by envisioning a scene; imagination, feeling and experiencing it closely. The second person copies this person’s facial expressions and physical postures. The third person lines up the second person’s facial expressions and physical postures until he’s convinced that they are identical. Later on, the second person clears up what he/she was feeling. Not only does the second person feel the feelings of the first person, but will at times see what the first person is seeing in his imaginativeness. I was kind of astonished after trying this out, myself.

Try mirroring facial expressions, posture and body language when get a chance while engaged in a conversation with someone. You will soon discover that the conversation abruptly feels very friendly, open and favorable.

For instance, you are sitting across the table from someone. You see them holding a glass of water with their left hand and gently inclining forward, then to the right. You mirror them by taking up your glass of water with your right hand, leaning forward and towards the left.

It’s a fun thing to do!

3- Remembering Names

In person, I’m quite impressed when others I’ve just seen remember my name and use it in a sentence. Our family, parents, teachers, friends, and family, have hard wired the sound of our name in our brain since birth. It is obvious to attract your attention without any delay. It makes us feel authoritative and honored, filling our desire for attention, love and affection.

Remember the last time someone who you just met parted by saying “Nice meeting you, [insert your name]!” Didn’t you like it? They are actually paying enough attention to remember your name, and you naturally feel like showing them the same respect.

Always try to make an effort to remember people’s names.

4- Be Interested

As I’ve already discussed, people love talking about themselves, badly!

Don’t hesitate to ask questions that the other person will love to answer. If you’re talking to a complete stranger, start with the basics and dig deeper. Repeat their words to ensure you really understand what they’re saying. You can imagine this technique as verbal mirroring. When you’re asking questions about their interests or feelings, you actually mirror their interest in themselves.

Pay attention to the other person’s answers. Only when you are listening will you truly take up what was expressed and will actually feel interested. If you come across an uninteresting conversation, find ideas that do interest you and re-focus the conversation. Ask questions. Play it!

5- Allowing Others to Talk

Besides asking questions, it’s very important to allow the other person to talk. This says, stop talking. Stop talking about yourself, stop putting in your views, and avoid interrupting.

When you are engaged in a conversation next time, try not to talk about anything after asking a question. This means do not speak for a few minutes. Even when the other person appears to be finished, try not to speak for another 30 seconds. Most often, the person is still thinking, is actually pausing, and will start speaking again. With this technique, you are probable to dig up a lot more depth from that person.

Many females I know hain theve these interruption problems (males too!). Work harder on this skill; and you’ll be shocked at the wealth of thoughtful goodness coming from your partner. Being a humble listener is an excellent way to connect with and get to know other people.

Things to do: Ask a question and then zip up. Listen and learn.

6- Intention

Give out the intention that you would love to get to know this person better, to really listen to them and to be there for them. I’m always astonished at the power of intention, which I believe is the source of starting anything, whether it is an ambition or a relationship.

Make a wish for the other person you’re talking to/ interacting with. Give out a positive intention for your interaction.

7- Offer Help

We are naturally self-seeking and are driven by motivations that help us, leaving off some extreme cases and parent-child relationships. But let’s face it; we are mainly self-seeking because it is a natural element of our survival instincts. Yet if we are working on a good cause, we always have a reason for helping that is personally gainful.

When others genuinely offer their help, we feel particularly warm-hearted towards them. Why? Offering help is a positive gesture that involves a respect and admiration for you. And when we put ourselves in their shoes, wouldn’t it be beneficial to offer help to others?

I strongly believe in giving more than I take in return. Offer help to others accept help when you need it.

8- Smile

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh

Do you retrieve how you felt when you saw a genuine smile? Or clumsily standing in an elevator full of strangers and suddenly someone smiles at you? It is actually contagious and shifts your state to a positive one.

Smile genuinely. Take the first step by smiling at friends. Make an effort to lift the spirits of passing strangers.

9- No Fear

If you wish to have mystique, you’re going to have to drop all irrational fear and be a rockstar! That doesn’t suggest you won’t get scared if someone comes to you with a gun. It just entails if your life isn’t in any real or perceived danger, you don’t blench.

Don’t be terrified to say what other people are frightened to say, or do what most people want to do, but are afraid to. Don’t be nervous to be controversial, but don’t just do it deliberately. Controversy gets people thinking, and that helps you to be the center of attention.

10- Authenticity

Any of the above skills will work by themselves, but become highly efficient only when combined with genuineness.

Always be authentic and be your complete self, no more and no less. When you are totally sincere and speaking from your heart, you will triumph a kind of energy that people cannot help but to connect with. In that moment, you are perfect, expressive, and radiating your true self. When others find out that side of you, they are truly seeing a reflection of that part of themselves.

Just be yourself, and you will simply be awe-inspiring.

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