Dare to Dream

By Emily Walker and Joel Newman

The history, the science and the meaning behind the question why do I dream?

To some a dream is a manifestation of their greatest fear, to another a dream means their unlikeliest wishes for the future but to science they are an array of images, emotions and sensations conjured by the brain as you enter certain levels of sleep.

The process of a dream is allowing the brain to digest the past and prepare for the future while you yourself are not in a conscious state to decide and lead your mind’s path. It could be that a dream is allowing you to contemplate the day’s events, finalising and retaining the memory as your mind refreshes for the following day. Alternatively, it could be that your dream is fuelled by a future threat, exploring possibilities and outcomes as your instincts result in a fight or flight response.

In order to attain the level of sleep required to summon dreams you must enter the REM stage of sleep. This is the deepest stage of sleep known to humans, the body remains still as the eyes can dart around behind the protection of their lids conjuring and sourcing images that we then refer to as dreams. These sometimes bizarre and often illogical circumstances that our mind concocts account for 20-25% of our night sleep.

The random and sometimes irrelevant circumstances we dream often leave the dreamer with many questions. What does it mean? Why did I dream that? Did that really happen? This is a time when a magnitude of deep sleepers turn to the internet, to research the meaning behind their night’s experiences.

Scientists have concluded that dreams fall into one of 55 categories, these include flying, falling, being chased and having super powers to name just a few and despite struggling to make sense of your dreams it is in fact proven that they are linked to personal experience. An example of this is that between the year 1950 and 2000 there was a large increase in the number of people that dreamt

about flying. This is thought to be a result of flight being normalised as a human experience in this time.

Despite the brain slipping in and out of these strange scenarios between 4 and 6 times each evening you often wake to remember none of the brain’s visions. Scientists estimate that this is because within 10 minutes of the dream concluding 90% of it will have been forgotten. The most common ways people remember dreams have also been explored and it has been determined that the most effective ways to remember your dreams are the following:

• Waking up naturally and not with an alarm

• Focusing on the dream as much as possible when you wake up

• Writing down the dream upon waking

• Making recording dreams a routine “What does it mean to dream about falling?”

This common dream/nightmare is thought to indicate a lack of control and unhappiness in your life be that personal or in the work place. It could be that you believe everything is beyond your control and that you are not making integral decisions that effect your life. A suggested remedy to this is to find a new way of relaxing to put your mind at ease.

“What does it mean to dream about losing your teeth?”

A dream of losing ones teeth is often linked with concerns about appearance but also the inability to communicate. This again is a common dream prompting the person having the dream to assess and evaluate how they proceed.

“What does it mean to dream about flying?”

Dreams about flying can be linked from the feeling of freedom, soaring high and unrestrained but it can also be linked to the feeling of needing to flee, that you need to find that freedom and dictate your own path without restraints.

“What does it mean to be late in a dream?”

Being late in a dream is again a common reflection from your waking life. It is usually associated with fear about a deadline at work or school.

“What does it mean to dream about water?”

Water in any state represents our current form of mind, be that stormy and wild or peaceful and serene. To see stormy waters usually means you are not a peace, there is something making you unhappy or uncomfortable where as a peaceful body of water reflects your inner calm state of mind.

As can be seen with each of these regularly occurring dreams the meaning can be derived and identified by reviewing your current state of affairs. Sometimes this may require a more objective state of mind but ultimately the answer can be found from your thoughts and feelings and to address the matter of an unpleasant potentially recurring dream is to address the problem itself in your waking life.

There are also factors in life that can make you more susceptible to dreams such as pregnancy and bereavement. These are matters that it is not possible to address easily in order to resolve dreams and instead the intense emotion experienced in these circumstances may transport the mind to different places in their dreams.

It is always important to remember that dreams are merely your unconscious mind, they are thoughts that resonate with you without your conscious influence. Despite some worries and concerns they are not a definite indication of the future and are only representations conjured by your brain from previous thoughts and experiences.

Deborah set up BBR to help those people find somewhere they could report their experiences to and encourages them to investigate the cases and theories for themselves.

Now it is time to bring all of the so-called ‘alternative subjects’ under the same roof and let’s share our knowledge bases in the hopes of answering some of the still unanswered questions...

‘They’ were observing me. I got the sense they were bipedal, but when they popped their head around the door to look at me, they were lower to the ground, with their arms down. It is the strangest thing, because at the time, just before they appeared, a calm came over me and I felt so much love. When they appeared I felt so safe and happy. Part of me questioned if I was seeing things, but at the same time, my cat, Stanley, turned around to look in the spot I was seeing the wolf. He’s usually a bit timid, but he too was so calm and relaxed, and could obviously see what I saw.

I meant to say- whatever that huge benevolent wolflike creature was, it’s face was almost like a wolf crossed with a bear and an alsation, but they were white and silver in colour. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It sounds completely bonkers, and I questioned if I was hallucinating or something, but my cat looked up at the same time, in the same spot I saw this Being, as he does when someone he’s comfortable with walks in. I still feel their energy around, and they seem to be observing me and also protecting me. This incident came on the same day as a significant healing of past trauma in my life. Is there a connection? On this day, I also hugged my favourite ancient standing stone. Interestingly, on the Island of Unst, there is a network of underground houses and tunnels from very long ago. The people who own the land made a livelihood from it, and didn’t want archaeologists disturbing what had been there for centuries or more. Could this be where he is from?”

- Holly James

...Until next time, Deborah

E debbiehatswell@gmail.com | D debhatswell.wordpress.com | T BbrDeborah

PATREON: www.patreon.com/DeborahHatswellBigfootReports YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/channel/UCYGn8pR90PO_oBzOjiZ23tA/ SPREAKER: www.spreaker.com/show/british-bigfoot APPLE PODCASTS: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/british-bigfoot-dogman/id1480592906?uo=4

Denise Mullen is a journalist, columnist, writer and entrepreneur.

Now I Never Thought of Doing That With a Leaf Blower...

By Denise Mullen

I’m the first to admit I’m not well up on what bit of the thinking the right side of the brain controls and what bit the left. And, now we’re on the subject, is there anything in the middle?

Apparently men have a ‘nothing’ box. You know, when you ask a man what he’s thinking and he says, “nothing”. And that’s where it is, it’s in between the day to day thinking areas.

Women are deeply suspicious of this because we never think of nothing. All our boxes are full. We’re like cats. See an empty box, climb in it and have a nap.

Women, instead, have some sort of evil chamber of lists dating back to palaeolithic man. These were the times when our pre-history sisterhood started as they meant to continue. It’s likely they inspired the confusion their mates encountered after revealing the badly drawn (and in the wrong colour/ place) antelope on the cave wall back in the day, and we’ve gone on from there. I’m not sure whatever the grunt for ‘Fine’ was, but I’ll hazard a guess it was wielded with much more finesse than a knobbly club.

But I digress.

So we have two rabbits. Hetty and Oberon. Hetty is a sweet little grey lop-eared female and, her husband Oberon - is an absolute sod.

If Oberon were human he’d be some sort of rock God who snorted or drank everything, raised hell, threw TVs (when they weren’t screwed to the walls) out of hotel windows and dated and dumped super-models with the speed of a revolving door. So you have to watch Oberon, he’s tricksy.

And there’s the rub. Husband (mine) is in charge of moving the rabbit run and hutch on wheels around the garden from time to time. So Heberon or Obetty, as celeb power couples’ names are re-engineered these days, are frequently treated to pastures new.

Last weekend he moved them, fortunately putting the hairy hound in the house first, and then let them out triumphantly to enjoy fresh grass and a new ‘twiggloo’. (twigloo, an igloo made from twigs for the enjoyment of undeserving rabbits).

Only he’d forgotten to link the mesh fencing to the hutch and the pair scarpered – straight under the summerhouse.

“Wife” he shouts. “Wife!”

I trot over and am told “The rabbits have got out, they’re under there’ (vague pointing to foot of summerhouse) ‘and I’m off to see my mum now.”

I counter, “Er, you’re going nowhere mate.”

Him: “She’s 93 and I’ve promised I’ll be there this afternoon.”

Me: “I’m sure you will be, just as soon as you’ve caught the rabbits, I’ll help.”

Him: “You can’t be so mean. Just sit there they’ll come out eventually.”

Me: “It will be dark in an hour; you need a rethink.”

My cousin and his wife turned up. Johnny – the mongoose - France leaves to offer a hearty greeting. Me and a young friend, Becca, are poking under the summer house with clothes props.

I can hear him telling our visitors he’s just off to see his mum – a bit like a Papal visit or a mercy mission from Mother Theresa apparently.

I chip in: “He’s not going anywhere; the rabbits are out and he let them out.”

He is then on his high horse, yelling at me, “Why are you telling people it’s my fault?”

Me: “Because it was!”

By now Hetty (the nice one, remember?) has hopped home, bored with all the shouting and poking. Oberon? Not a chance.

How long the husband (mine) has been rootling around in his ‘nothing box’ I’ll never know, but he decided a leaf blower would be just the thing for rabbit eviction.

Good idea, I acknowledge, go and grab the hand-held one, I suggest.

He emerges through the garden gate looking like one of the original Ghostbusters. Huge great back pack, a nozzle about four foot long. He’s already pull-started it. Sounds like he’s off to fell a forest. He’s doing the walk too, you know when macho Hollywood stars walk slow-mo in a line to go shoot Godzilla or put out an inferno. So we then have 15 minutes of him trying to insert the enormous nozzle under the summerhouse. It’s too long, it’s not bendy, it doesn’t fit.

And the rabbit. He’s just chilling in a light and playful breeze. Most of the gale is deflected above him.

I stomp off and get the smaller blower, shove it under the decking and go all full throttle.

Although Oberon did come out, he wasn’t exactly worried or rushed. He shambled out, all badass - whiskers blown the wrong way and backcombed ears.

He was pounced on and shoved in the hutch where his Mrs, I’m hoping, told him it had been ‘Fine’ and didn’t speak to him for the rest of the night.

The moral of the tale? When you have an evil and cunning rabbit under a small structure; always choose a noisy – but nimble - machine over clothes props and ectoplasm exterminators.

I think we all agree, it just makes more sense.

Hi I am Janet and I am your resident Positive Change Coach bringing you techniques and insights to help you navigate the changes in your life positively. I have 15 years experience and now work globally from Costa Rica to New Zealand and everywhere in-between.

See you soon, I’ll give you a bell, I’ll touch base with you

Three phrases all meaning the same but using different descriptors.

Visual, audio and kinaesthetic. These Representational Systems (RS) indicate the first sense with which you interact with the world.

A VISUAL person sees the world

An AUDIO person hears the world

A KINAESTHETIC person feels the world

Our behaviour and language differ according to our type.

Visual people when asked a question will look up at the picture to see the answer.

Audio people will tip their heads to the side to listen for the answer.

Kinaesthetic people look downwards and inwards to feel for the answer.

BREATHING: VOICE: SPEECH: GESTURES: VISUAL

Shallow - high in chest

High pitched

Fast

Expansive

AUDITORYAUDITORY

Even - across chest

Clear, precise

Medium

More enclosed

KINAESTHTIC

Deep - from stomach

Low & deep

Slow & pauses

Slow, rested

This all comes from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) developed in 1972 by a linguist and computer Programmer, Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the USA.

If in a relationship you feel you are not being listened to, as if you are speaking on parallel lines – that is because you are speaking two different languages, as in the example above. If you are struggling with communication listen and watch the other person and you will find for example one of you is visual and the other audio. Plus, your body language will be mismatched.

1Identify your own RS, start to understand yourself. For example, I am visual, and I cannot talk without my hands, I have to draw the picture for you, this often means I knock things over! Therefore, when giving a talk I keep my glass of water well out of reach, to avoid sending it flying when I am talking (something that happened frequently before I discovered NLP).

2Identify the other person’s RS– watch their body language and listen to their descriptors.

3Adjust your body language and speech to match theirs more closely. RESULT: Your communication in the relationship will improve and you will both feel heard.

When I teach yoga I demonstrate the poses – so the visuals can see me, I describe in detail so the audios can hear me, and I physically adjust those who are kinaesthetic – although since the onslaught of Covid I have to keep hands off and work one to one at a slower pace.

You will have a dominant and a secondary RS. My dominant is Visual, and my secondary is Kinaesthetic. So, when buying an item, I have to touch it – no online shopping for me.

Before studying NLP I frequently bumped into things, and as I said knocked things over. I was worried that I had something physically wrong with me, so to discover that there was a reason and that I could develop strategies to manage it was amazing.

NLP allows me to communicate with my clients effectively leading to quicker results. There is much more to NLP!

CONTACT ME FOR A FREE IN-DEPTH ASSESSMENT OF YOUR REPRESENTATIONAL SYSTEM

Head to my website for more information D https://thepositivechangecoach.com For a complimentary 30 min., 1-1 Positive Change Discovery Session contact me E janetbroughton@thepositivechangecoach.com DRU Yoga classes available live online or via YouTube Y Janet Teaches DRU Yoga Claim your FREE Positive Change Personality Quiz to discover your Change personality, how it affects your life and how we can empower you to live your Best Life.

WE ARE THE RNLI

THE CHARITY THAT SAVES LIVES AT SEA

RNLI College, Poole

The RNLI has a mission - to save lives at sea. But, when an organisation is responsible for over 5,500 volunteers, who operate in a dangerous environment like the sea – in all conditions – the number one priority will always be to bring the crews back home safely. This is why the RNLI takes training seriously. The RNLI has always considered its workers and volunteers’ safety with the utmost importance.

Many years ago, the majority of the volunteers had careers at sea, either military, merchant or fishing. They were well versed with safety aboard a pitching and rolling ship. Their expertise within the RNLI, came from their experience.

But today, many volunteers hail from very different backgrounds. At Fleetwood RNLI, we have a policeman, a paramedic and a businesswoman amongst its crew, but are possibly more fortunate than most, due to its proximity to Fleetwood’s famous nautical college, as many lecturers are also volunteers. But having no experience at sea isn’t seen as negative to the RNLI. Everybody who volunteers brings with them different skills and experiences. Seafaring skills, like navigation or communication, for example, can be taught.

Neil Atkinson, who is the Principle at Blackpool & Fylde’s Nautical College in Fleetwood, is also the Training Coordinator at the town’s lifeboat station. He ensures the training modules presented to him by the RNLI Training Centre in Poole, are completed and each volunteer is up to date with their training. Most of the training at Fleetwood is completed at the station. This helps build up local knowledge and team work, both of which are important when on a service call-out.

Safety briefing, Fleetwood RNLI

Neil explained ‘Before we allow any recruit to set foot on a lifeboat, they undertake an extensive health and safety module. It’s important they always consider the safety of their colleagues, as much as they consider their own. Once the volunteers have completed this module, they move on to launch, recovery and seamanship, before they even look at search and rescue training. It’s a huge commitment to be a volunteer with the RNLI and that commitment is as important, as having a maritime background’.

When the RNLI pager is set off by HM Coastguard, there is an obvious sense of urgency. But that doesn’t mean safety is compromised. Before the volunteer crew even set out to sea, a safety briefing is completed at the lifeboat station, usually by the Coxswain or Helm. This ensures the crew are aware of the weather conditions, a change with local hazards, tides and a possible recovery plan for the casualty. This ensures there are fewer surprises once in the lifeboat.

Whilst most of the training is carried out at the local lifeboat station, the RNLI also have world-class training facilities down at their support centre in Poole, Dorset. Tony Cox is the full time Mechanic at Lytham St Anne’s lifeboat station and is responsible in ensuring their all-weather Shannon class lifeboat, Barbara Anne, is always ready to respond in an emergency. Tony’s RNLI development plan means he occasionally attends training courses at the RNLI Training College in Poole. His most recent course covered the electronic element of the Shannon class lifeboat, an extremely important part of the lifeboat set up these days. Whilst the training course primarily covered working on engines and solving electrical issues on the Shannon,

Tony Cox, Lytham St Anne’s RNLI

TO DONATE OR SUPPORT THE RNLI GO TO: https://rnli.org.uk/support-us

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a charity registered in England and Wales (209603), Scotland (SC037736), the Republic of Ireland (20003326) and the Bailiwick of Jersey (14)

Tony also found meeting other crew from around the country, just as important. Building friendships within the RNLI family, has become a vital part of the RNLI college experience.

Tony explains, ‘An important part of our training includes carrying out repairs whilst at sea. If you are out on a rescue and a problem crops up, it needs sorting. You can’t just call out the local breakdown service!’

‘Following training courses, we usually set up a WhatsApp group to keep in touch once the course has finished and we are able to discuss issues that other crew may have experience of. The group usually includes a few of the lecturers as well, who frequently discover new information from their classes. This information can then be passed on in following courses. It’s important that training is two way and that everybody benefits from information sharing. The lecturers are always available to help out. It’s a vital part of the support network we have in the RNLI.’

The RNLI College in Poole is instrumental in all aspects of training and helps develop plans for Training Assessors and local Training coordinators to work from. Whilst there is a small training team in Poole, there are many more trainer/assessors around the country, who visit individual stations to ensure all volunteers and crew are up to date with their schedules.

It’s not only lifeboat crew that benefit from the college though. There are over 1,500 lifeguards patrolling around 250 beaches in the summer and many lifeguard supervisors’ complete leadership courses at the college before the lifeguard season starts.

The facilities in the college at Poole include a sea survival pool, as well as workshops. Last year, the charity’s specialist training college held 569 training courses, covering lifeboat, technical and casualty care training, with over 3,300 attendees. In addition, a further 1,500 training and assessor visits were made to lifeboat stations on the coast. This ensured over 14,000 assessments were carried out on the RNLI’s volunteers and crew in 2021. A massive effort by the training department, which emphasises how important the RNLI consider the welfare of its team.

Furthermore, the RNLI have set up an online Learning Zone, which volunteers can access when it is convenient for them. The Learning Zone helps both staff and volunteers to progress through the various modules at a speed which they find comfortable. It takes on average about 12 months for a volunteer to pass an assessment, which allows them to attend call-outs and be available for crew selection. Of course, the training never stops and there are frequent refresher courses. In addition, the experience gained on search and rescue call-outs, is invaluable.

Whilst the world-class training facilities are used mainly by RNLI crew, lifeguards and their support, they are occasionally utilised by outside agencies, including independent lifeboat stations and the military, including the Royal Marines, who are based in and around Poole. They also accommodate the search and rescue (SAR) agencies from further afield and recently helped with the training of a visiting SAR team from Iceland, who’d purchased one of the RNLI’s decommissioned lifeboats.

Shaun Wright is a train driver and Instructor with Northern Rail. He’s also a volunteer at Blackpool RNLI. He has been with the lifesaving charity since 1997 and is now Helm on the town’s B and D class lifeboats. He is also a Trainer Assessor with the RNLI. In his role Shaun supports other lifeboat stations to ensure volunteers not only complete their training, but are competent and confident when responding to a sea rescue.

Sea survival pool, Poole, with upturned ‘B’ class lifeboat

Shaun, with partner Hayley, Blackpool RNLI

Shaun explains. ‘The RNLI training is more structured these days and it means all elements are covered and recorded. Nobody can miss out or skip a training module. That’s important because many of the crew don’t have any maritime experience. At Blackpool RNLI, we try to cover the theory in the training room and then go to sea straight afterwards, to carry the theory into practice.’

‘Covid has presented many problems, not least mixing with other households and social distancing, but the volunteers have risen to the challenge. Their enthusiasm and commitment have ensured we’re ready for whatever comes our way, which for a busy lifeboat station like Blackpool, is vital.’

Neil Atkinson, from Fleetwood RNLI has the last word.

‘Training the RNLI volunteers is an expensive business. On average, it costs over £1,600 a year for every volunteer crew and shore crew. But the RNLI training ensures their volunteers are given both the knowledge and the equipment to place safety of themselves and their volunteer colleagues, as their main priority. We can’t thank the public enough for their continued support and helping to keep the RNLI volunteers, safe. Quite frankly, without that support, we could not operate.’

Neil Atkinson, Fleetwood RNLI