What's in a dream?

Why do dreams recycle old faces and names? Why does the brain drudge up old feelings when in the waking world they haven't had sway in years? How do I dream of genie?                 


Hello everybody! Do you ever wake up from a dream and wonder why you had it? Why did you brain spit out those weird images? Why a crush from high-school starts talking to you in your subconscious? 

When I was young I used to believe that if you were in my dreams you were there for a reason. My subconscious mind was trying to tell me something and I had to listen. I also used to think that if I was in their mind the same was true. Thinking about one another in the silence of sleep meant that we needed to connect in the day. Try to make something happen.

As my years went on though I learned more about dreams and the mind itself. Turns out your dreams, research is always forthcoming, are used to recycle your thoughts from your conscious thinking and to redistribute your memory. Kinda like computer memory defragmentation. 

Dreams held your mind in coping with stress and loss, rebuilding the brain's pathways, and giving your conscious mind a break from the heavy lifting of wakeful thinking. 

As you drift into sleep your brain transitions through different phases or stages of consciousness until you hit phase 4 sleep also called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. In this phase your brainwaves go through a change and start emitting different wavelengths. 

All of our dreaming is done during REM sleep. 

Imagery appears, certain people appear, certain ideas appear. All with no real significance or order, or so it seems. Study into dreams and the human consciousness has been a point of interest since the days of the Egyptians. Dream interpretation has been the major study point for famous philosophers as well, such as Freud or Faraday. Looking into the inner workings of the human mind, conscious or subconscious, has always brought about more questions than answers. 

Why did I have a dream about a girl I haven't talked to in years? Was it just memory waste being pushed to the forefront? Or have I been subconsciously thinking about her or girls in general from my past and my brain brought her image forward? Or was I right all along back in school, should I try to pursue this with her?

Doubtful.

Dreams are hypothesized to do many things. Real and surreal from transporting our bodies across dimensions, letting us speak with the dead, showing us the future, or the past. Shining a light onto a path we need to follow. Or showing us the visage of our apparent soul mate. They let us speak with God or let us become gods for a night. The expanses of our brain and the mystery's within are boundless. 

Perhaps one day we will be able to transfer our brain waves to a viewing screen and finally see with waking eyes what our brains are seeing in the night. Or maybe we'll finally unlock the true purpose of such activity only evolution can explain. One can hope and dream.

Until then I'll silently talk to people from my past, fly in the open sky and dance with the proverbial devil that is wishful thinking related to prospective futures. Hoping some of these will come true.

As always. 

Keep reading. Keep dreaming. Keep learning. 

How many pillows should you sleep with?

Why do I always wake up with a stiff neck? Is it my pillow? Or is it me?

Hello again. Do you ever wake up with a sore neck? Or just feel sore in general after what is supposed to be a "good nights sleep"?

I tend to wake up feeling sore in my neck more times than I care to count and recently I've been wondering what's to blame. Is it my pillow? My bed? Or me?

Two years ago I bought a brand new bed from Ashley's' Furniture Home Store and thought, "Finally all my sleep woes will be over." I had been sleeping on a mattress that was 20 years past its prime and was frequently plagued by back pain and fatigue. I figured it was because my mattress wasn't comfortable enough for me.

So I spent the money ($1500) and got a new pillow top that was slightly firm and thought, "Yes! I'll finally sleep well."

Sadly, my problems weren't fixed overnight. My body had to adjust to the new bed and I didn't get a real good night sleep for a few months. But after that I thought I was in the clear, no more sore mornings.

That was not to be the case. Stupid ole me forgot one important thing. I needed new pillows to go with my new bed.

I've been using the same pillows for as long as I can remember. They are thinner than a fall jacket and have no more oomph. Probably why I usually double them up or fold them over to get any comfort from them. Turns out to be safe you should replace your pillows every two years.

Great, I'll replace them then. But how many should I use?

We all need different things from our beds and pillows, so what I need won't be the same for you, but let's see what we can find out.

Pillows come in more shapes, sizes, and materials than ever before. Originally used only by the wealthy, pillows were filled with feathers or straw or in some cultures were solid pieces with fabric over top of it.

Over time and many changes we see pillows now filled with cotton, wool, down, beads, polyester, or foam, and are used not only for the head but the lower back, leg support and for the propping up of limbs. (There are also decorative pillows, body pillows, neck pillows and others but this conversation is strictly about bed pillows)

While firmness and size vary, it's hard to know what kind to use for yourself without testing all of them out first. (Probably why I've been using the same pillows for so long.)

You might be asking, "Does my sleeping position matter?"

Yes, it does. When you sleep on your back, stomach or side a different level of support is needed, to make sure your spine and neck stay in alignment. Back sleepers needing a medium firmness pillow to contour the neck, stomach sleepers needing a softer pillow for support and side sleepers needing a firmer pillow to keep the spin in alignment.

As I sleep on my back most now, I guess that means I need a medium firmness. But how do I know what medium is? And what filler should I get?

Knowing what the firmness is, is rather simple since most pillows have their firmness on the packaging. And sites online will let you choose how filled you want it. That is easy enough.

For the filler it comes down to how long you want the pillow and how much you want to spend.

This list breaks down the advantages, disadvantages and price points for multiple pillow types. I'll go over a few.

Down pillows are soft but they require constant fluffing to maintain shape and are costly. They last longer than polyester pillows (replaced at 2 years) but not much longer.

Memory Foam pillows last over 15 years if kept in good condition. They hold their shape and offer great support for back sleepers. (Yes!) They are however very expensive. (No!)

Polyester pillows are cheap, easy to clean, and did I mention cheap. Although they don't last very long (2 years remember) and don't offer much in the way of initial support. However they can be bent in half.

"But wait, how many should I have?"

I used to think I needed two pillows to sleep. I had done it for so long I assumed it was okay. The problem was I had the wrong pillows and they were long since useless for support and comfort. All it should take is one pillow suited for your comfort depending on your sleep position and your body contour.

That's it. Just one. That is, for your neck. People do choose to use pillows for their feet, for their back and so on. And that is okay, just make sure the pillows you use increase your comfort level. Not decrease it.

Personally, I'd spring for the more expensive reliable pillow since we spend about a third of our life sleeping. Why not spend the money on getting the most comfortable equipment for that practice? A good night's sleep can shape your whole day. No one wants to always wake up on the wrong side of the bed.

As always.

Keep reading. Keep learning.

What is Meditation and why should you try it?

Why is Yoga so big yet Meditation hasn't fully caught on in the west? What benefits does Meditation have?

Hello everyone. I'm here today to talk a little bit about the practice of meditation and mindfulness. A practice widely followed by peoples of the eastern religions Buddhism and Hinduism. 

Now I'm not here to prescribe a religious doctrine or ask anyone to join a temple. I'm simply here to shine some light on this rather obscure practice. 

Most of you probably do, have done or know someone who has done yoga. Yoga, for those who don't know, is a set of exercises that strengthen the core, improve balance, relieve stress and improve flexibility. All very beneficial for the human body. But why has Yoga become so popular a practice?

Perhaps it has to do with its rather immediate and visible show of benefits. After a few sessions of yoga you can feel yourself becoming more flexible or balanced. With someone like meditation the benefits aren't so easily seen. 

Where yoga is a physical exercise and decompression, meditation is a mental exercise and decompression. 

Taking 5, 10 or even 30 minutes out of a day to exercise is normal; some people would even say it is routine. But how often do we take time out to do nothing and just breathe?

Meditation was originally practiced for religious transcendence and deeper meaning of the universe. It has been practiced for thousands of years, originating in prehistoric India. From India it became a practice in most of Southeast Asia as  Buddhism and Taoism spread in the east. 

Now it has broken from its religious roots to become a mental health practice the world over and yet it hasn't seen the same popularity as yoga in the western world. 

Meditation in its simplest form is a set of breathing exercises and mental practices to relieve stress and to the help the mind become unclouded. According to the Mayo Clinic it has far reaching benefits which include reduced stress levels, helping cope with depression and even help with sleep.

Students involved in a mindfulness program reported reduced stress, anxiety and depression after six months of the program.

Mindfulness/Meditation can change the shape of your brain and help with mental cognition.

According to a documentary done by NHK, 47% of our day is spent on mind wandering, where our thoughts are on the past and future instead of on the present. When this happens stressful events are multiplied by our own imagination and cause increased levels of stress. The stress hormone Cortisol is triplicated when under chronic stress. This causes brain cell death, memory loss, and emotional swings.

By doing meditation for 30 mins a day you can greatly reduce "mind wandering" and chronic stress induced Cortisol levels.

So let's break out the incense, sit criss-cross applesauce, and start chanting mantras!

Don't have incense? Don't think you can sit like that anymore? What's a mantra you ask?

Thankfully we don't need anything special to practice meditation. All it takes is a comfortable seat, about thirty minutes of time, and no distractions. This might sound impossible but how often are you sitting down watching TV, or spending an hour on your phone playing Candy Crush? If you translate that time into meditation you will soon feel the benefits.

"How will sitting here doing nothing help me?"

That's the thing you aren't doing "nothing". In meditation you concentrate on your breathing, let go of intrusive thoughts and just let your mind slow down from running 80 miles a minute.

So, take a seat in comfortable chair or even lie down. close your eyes, put on some soothing music, and just breathe. Or better yet there are guided meditations online for free. Many of which walk you through breathing exercises and visualizations.

It's rather simple once you take the time to try it out but just like everything else it requires discipline. Adding it to your routine, just like working out, will help you stay on a schedule.

So the next time you feel overwhelmed and stressed out by work or life, take a second to chill out and breathe. Once you make a habit of it, it will become easier and easier to unwind.

As always.

Keep reading. Keep learning. 

Why don't Americans travel?

Why don't Americans travel as much as the British?

Hello everyone! Matt here again and this time I'm bringing up a subject that has only recently piqued my interest.

This past summer I worked at a camp with a group of people from Europe and other places around the world. While we worked, one subject seemed to come up a lot. Travel. Where they wanted to go after camp let out, where they had been in Europe or Asia, and where I had traveled. Sadly I could only answer with a "nowhere" to their great surprise.

"Why haven't you been anywhere? Don't you have your passport?"
To which I would also reply, "No, I don't." To their even greater surprise.

After the end of camp my new found friends proceeded to travel across the US while I visited family in the area then promptly went home. They visited Boston, NYC, Philly, Miami, Orlando, DC, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Seattle, and some even traveled to Canada.

One of my closest friends and I talked about her travels as she toured the US for the second time of her life. I mentioned, "You've seen more of the US than I have." Which she responded with, "How? Why don't you travel?"

Which brings us to our question of the day: Why oh why don't Americans travel?

Before we get started you know I have to bring up some numbers.

According to Census results from 2011 83% of people from England & Wales have their passports, when only 46% of Americans have theirs.

Why is it so low in comparison?

A big reason is probably money. Flying might be the safest and fastest way to travel but it isn't the cheapest. I was looking up flights to the UK this year to see my friends I made from camp and one round trip ticket out of Cincinnati was $1400. This is outrageous! In comparison a flight from Manchester, UK to Paris, France is only $130 and a train from London is less than that.

So it's cheaper for Brits to travel. What else?

Time. American's don't have any time. Americans only having an average of 2 weeks of paid vacation when Brits have almost 6 weeks, Brits have a gap year, where  Americans move straight from high-school into college into the workforce. Leaving little opportunity for us to leave and spend time abroad.

We simply don't have the time to travel as much as others do. This in part due to the fact that the rest of Europe is closer for Brits making it easier for them to travel more frequently and to more places.

Americans don't travel abroad because we don't have the time and money. Drew from The Hungry Partier calls bullshit on these excuses for not leaving our own country, while citing more reasons for our lack of travel. But surely we travel our own country right?

Not really.

My good friend that I mentioned before who traveled the US for a month asked me why I haven't personally seen more of the US. And frankly the same reasons apply. Time and Money.

The United States of America is only 200,000 sq mi smaller than all of Europe (including Alaska). There's a lot here to see and a lot of land to cover. While flights to destinations inside the US are cheaper there is still a big fee if you fly to multiple places. My friend said she spent about $5000 on her trip around the US.

Not to say American's don't travel. I know plenty of people who've been to the same places she has at least once. But I also know people that have never left their hometown. Not once in their entire lives (80 years for some of them).

Americans have a problem with leaving their comfort zone. Even to see places inside their own country. People from the south don't venture to the north. People from the east don't venture to the west. Most people from my own community have never left the county they live in. Neither have their parents, or their grandparents. Generations of people living in the same small town not seeing anything.

This seems more prevalent in more rural or southern areas and I think this has to do with their mentality. And the American mentality to the world in general. We don't want to leave our comfort zone.

Issues with other languages, issues with unsafe zones, and a lack of understanding of culture all make travelling abroad seem scary and not worth the trouble.

Now the last thing I want to touch on is Citizenship before I end. A large number of countries accept Dual/Multiple Citizenship, which means you can be the citizen of two or more countries and receive the benefits of both.

While the US does accept Dual Citizenship the government doesn't promote it to its people. In comparison in countries like Switzerland and Australia, multiple citizenship is encouraged. They want their people to travel the world and see more things beyond their borders.

Americans, not all but most, have had a very isolationist stance when it comes to the world. "It's happening over there," "It isn't our problem." "They are a world away."

And it's easy for an American to say, "I can't afford it." or "I don't have the time." and just stay in their small community. While there isn't an issue with wanting to stay in your comfort zone, having a close minded mentality towards travel and the world outside our own walls isn't healthy. Considering how interconnected the world is.

Americans of all ages should strive to see another country, and experience another culture even if it is as close as Mexico or Canada. Leaving the safety of our borders will help us grow as individuals and a community of people that cherishes its relationships with the world.

I got my passport this fall and I plan to have it filled before too long. Here's to joining the minority.

As always.

Keep reading. Keep learning.

The Printed Word : 3100 BCE to 2017 CE?

Why haven't physical books gone the way of the dodo? Will we ever see the death of print?

Hello all. It's Matt again and I have another few questions about the industry I have found myself in. As you know I'm an author and keeping my eye on current trends is very important, as I've stated before.

The current question is: Should I publish digitally or physically?

While that question is ultimately up to the publisher and the agent, it isn't a bad question to ask and analyze.

People have been speculating the "death of print" since the advent of the radio in the 1920's. And while there has been a steady decline in value of the newspaper pre-Internet and a rapid decline post, the newspaper is still alive and littering the sidewalks of America; for now.

According to this report by Ross Dawson, America could finally see the death of the Newspaper by 2017. That's only next year! What does this mean for other print sources such as books and magazines?

Sales for physical printed books in 2015 were up by about 2% but according to Nielsen Bookscan (a report that shows numbers on the book market) a majority of those sales were from adult coloring books, not novels. This kind of figure doesn't help out someone like me who wants to make a living on writing fiction.

Even more reports done on Amazon sales of E-books and Print books show a lose in the print market on a monetary scale. As we all know digital is cheaper, quicker, and easier to promote. You can access a digital book from anywhere (if you have a phone or tablet that is) and you can carry every book in your collection on your device.

It's simple economics.

So I should go digital right? It's not that simple.

In 2014 tablets showed a decline in sales for the first time since 2010 according to a report by the IDC despite a general upswing for the whole year. There has also been a substantial collapse in the E-book market as well according to reports by Author Earnings.

A decline in E-book and tablet sales, an upswing in print (sort of), a fluctuation of the life cycle for print vs digital.

While it's hard to say which one will win out in the end, we must start to look at our own lives. Where I'd like to look is the library.

While most libraries cater to not only book readers by having audio books, movies, video games, and online resources, they do still carry in their majority, books.

"But Matt aren't libraries on their way out too?"

Not at all. In Lexington, Ky they are building a new 33,000 sq ft library with a drive through and will house 30% more books than the current branch library in the area.

In the whole US there are an estimated 119,487 libraries of all kinds across the nation. So it's safe to say that libraries are still needed and used by many people.

However, how do I answer my first questions? Will the book die out?

From a personal standpoint, I don't think so. There is something about holding a book in your hands that can't be replicated by a tablet or smart phone. You can't get an e-book signed by your favorite author. You can't book note a digital copy. And while browsing online might be easier, browsing in a bookstore is an experience you can't find anywhere else.

Physical books might fluctuate in sales and become something of novelty over time just like Vinyl or VHS but I don't think it will ever truly become obsolete or outdated.

What are your thoughts on the print vs digital battle? Should we drop physical print for having costly antiquated methods? Or will it stay a positive reminder of our pasts?

As always.

Keep reading. Keep learning.

Why don't boys read more?

Why is it that 9 out of the top 10 books for teen males are made before 2005, when 8 out of the top 10 books for teen females are made after 2005?

Why aren't there more writers making books geared towards teen males?

Hey guys and gals. I'm Matt and I've been wanting to comment on this issue for a while now. I am an author and am currently seeking publication for my book Dreams of Machines. As a writer I have to look at current trends in the writing market and make sure that my endeavor, while fulfilling on it's own will be something the world will want to actually read.

I used to work at a library and one of our sections that always perplexed me was the YA section. For those of you who don't know YA stands for Young Adult and is a section separated out for patrons from the ages of 13-18. The section for younger than 13 is juvenile and after 18 is adult fiction. The problem I have with the section is this: Almost all the titles are geared towards girls.

When I was young my mother used to give us all books to read and if we finished it we'd get a toy and the next book in the series. I was 11 when she started this and I was reading The Seventh Tower series by Garth Nix. A good series, that I really enjoyed and fit my demographic. When I got a little older I obviously wanted to keep reading so I looked and looked for more books but nothing kept my interest. At least anything that was written within the past ten years. I read Ender's Game (on the list I have above) and The Hobbit. While both are great books I wished there was more out at the time.

When I got a little older, around 14, I went to the library to look for books with samurai in it as I watched old samurai films every Saturday and wanted to read some books. I came across Bridge of Sparrows and was immediately hooked. Only problem was, it was a book for adults. Something I probably shouldn't have read or at least something that wasn't intended to be read by a 14 year old. It was full of sex and gore and adult themes I couldn't possibly understand. What else was there for me though?

Before you ask, I was a 11 in 2001 and yes I did read Harry Potter. But one series isn't enough to compete with the saturated market of books geared towards girls. I'd peruse the shelf and come across two things: title after title about magic/vampires/school woes, titles with female leads with no perspective for a teen boy.

While I'm not saying a boy can't read and enjoy a book with a female lead (The Hunger Games is forth on the list above) a boy or girl or anyone wants to read a story that speaks to them with characters they can relate to and be in the shoes of.

I don't know about any other guy's I was in school with but I can't relate to Tris from Insurgent, Bella from Twilight or even Katniss Everdeen. I wanted male characters, since being a young man I wanted to read about young men and their struggles. Sadly the titles are few and far between. The list I provided above includes books suited for the low end of that age range and not much for the far end. I wouldn't even consider Lord of the Rings a series intended for teens.

So I ask, Why aren't there more authors writing books geared towards boys? Or am I asking the wrong question? Are there books out there and I'm just not seeing them?

In this report by OECD Observer , girls read more than boys for pleasure. Spending at least 30 mins a day reading. Why is that?

In this article in Great Schools! they talk of the issues with academic pressures on boys and the growing gap of achievement between boys and girls. Citing that although there seem to be more alternatives to reading for boys, this issue is long running. They also talk about how the gender inequality of titles and pressure from female role-models make the boys shy away from reading as being a thing for "girls".

I personally felt the same was a teen. After failed attempts to find books I liked to read and wanting more than what the Fantasy section gives, I stopped reading for pleasure for years. Was it mostly because of my societal formed disposition towards reading or was it the fact that there just aren't any books for boys outside of the sci-fi/fantasy realm? Or was it a mixture of both?

Perhaps society needs to change before more authors will start writing for that demographic. Or perhaps if more books existed for that group of boys and it wasn't stigmatized for boys to read the market will see a new point of sale.

Only time will tell. In the meantime I'm going to keep writing what I think I'd want to read as a young man.

Keep reading. Keep learning.