Tips And Ideas For A Stay At Home Vacation

Gas prices have come down from their peak during the recession, but they're still high enough to deter some travelers. Airline baggage fees are nickel-and-diming passengers, company bonuses and over-time hours are being cut across the board and a number of Americans are still without work.

Although, the dire economic situation doesn't mean that people can continue working 40+ hour weeks all year round without stopping. Economics aside, a stay at home vacation "can be enormously restorative and transformative," says Seattle life coach, Kristie McLean. She adds that this type of cheap vacation "fits much, much better into a lot of people's schedules and logistics."

The trick is to plan your stay at home vacation like a regular vacation so you don't become sluggish, says Diane Brennan, life coach and president of the International Coach Federation.

"Decide up front what you want to have at the end of the vacation," Brennan says. If you want to do absolutely nothing all week long, that's okay -- but it should be a conscious decision.

Dr. Ilene Serlin of the San Francisco Psychological Association warns that having too much downtime can leave you feeling more lethargic, so you may want to remain refreshed by planning a few local activities that will make you feel more productive and satisfied by the week's end.

A stay at home vacation doesn't need to be cheap. Sometimes it can be everything a vacation is, but without all the hassle of long drives, plane trips and unfamiliar territory. One of the best staycation strategies is to plan one based around a visit from an out-of-town friend.

You can plan to visit fun tourist destinations that you may overlook because it's right in your backyard. According to Matt Wixon, author of The Great American Staycation, "You need to create the environment of a traditional vacation.

It means getting out of the rut of your daily life. It means not planning a stay-at-home vacation that combines leisure time with cleaning out the garage, building bookshelves, and a trip to get the car repaired.

That's not a vacation at all." Instead, you need to avoid cooking, cleaning and technology. Instead, keep your days full of fun and activities, share quality time with a friend, and leave your stress at work.

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How To Flirt With Women With Charm And Humour

The key in learning how to flirt with women is to accept yourself, and let go of any desperation that might underlie your relationships with them.

You can be certain that few women are really going to be attracted to some guy who is clearly flirting just for the sake of picking up women to take them to bed. A guy who is flirting, on the other hand, to have a good time and see to it that the women are enjoying themselves, is going to be much more interesting and attractive.

So how do you change your attitude about how to flirt with women? Carlos Xuma at the www.datingdynamics.com website suggests that men feel and act desperate because of a feeling of scarcity, as though if they don't immediately hook up with the few women out there, they've lost their last chance.

He suggests flirting to give and not to get, making the atmosphere fun and then leaving without giving or getting a phone number for the first twenty times you meet women. This builds both confidence and a feeling of abundance, and takes off the pressure.

Your biggest asset in how to flirt with women is self-esteem. If you recognize your own value and refuse to sacrifice it just to pick somebody up in a bar or club, you will learn to flirt without worrying about the ultimate outcome.

Enjoy yourself, be humorous and charming, and just have a good time. Your comfort in your own skin and your willingness to accept that not every encounter will result in sex or getting a phone number will make you attractive right from the start, and create interest on the women's side.

To read more How To Flirt With Women Using Your Charm And Humour

Better Flirting Tips For Guys

What if there's a girl you're interested in, and you don't know if she's interested back? Maybe her smiling and touching her hair is her flirting with you, or maybe she's just having a bad hair day.

It's understandable if you start longing for some clarity, and wish that it was just possible for men and women to communicate directly. You really need some flirting tips to help you understand what you're seeing as a girl interacts with you.

Reading body language can provide much more information than you suspect. First of all, does she smile and make a lot of eye contact? Many a girl flirts that way to indicate interest, though she may just be a friendly person.

So check other signals coming in conjunction with the eye contact. These flirting tips can indicate whether you are the genuine object of her attentions. If her smiles happen while she keeps glancing at you from a distance, that's a better clue.

If she toys with her hair as she looks at you, or adjusts her clothing, she is subconsciously "preening" to make herself look better to you. Touching her lips is another very good sign.

Those are just a few preliminary flirting tips, yet even those simple signals could mean a lot. Once you've figured out if the girl is sending these messages, even if it's happening unconsciously, you may be more confident in making the first move.

Remember to keep things light, though, not touching her until it's clear she's comfortable with it, and not pushing yourself forward too fast. Let her know with your own eyes and open body language that you're just as interested, but let this flirting game proceed at its own cautious pace.

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Flirt Advice Helps Build Your Confidence

Girls, it's time to get yourselves out there to learn the art of flirting! The great thing about flirting, when you do it well, is that it can build confidence and get some attention from those very nice guys, and you don't even have to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Self-confidence, friendliness and character can have an aphrodisiac quality all their own. So get out there, read up on the latest flirt advice, and have a go! The boys will never know what hit them.

The first piece of flirt advice you should follow is to engage the object of your affections in some sort of conversation. Try to make your opening question or comment as natural as possible.

Then you might engage in a little body language to signal your interest. Touching your hair as you smile at him gives him the sign that you're interested. Leaning toward him as you speak to him is another sign, as is the occasional light touch on his arm as you talk.

Teenage flirting can be a lot of fun, partly because there are still a lot of things not settled in your life yet, so you don't have to take this process entirely seriously.

But if you follow some flirt advice and start getting to know the guys in school better, then it's going to be great practice for your college years and beyond.

You'll have learned to progress beyond the "just friends" stage and will prepare yourself for taking the plunge into full-on adult romance.

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Knowing How To Flirt With A Girl And Reading The Signals

How to flirt with a girl is a question guys have asked themselves through the ages. In fact, flirting has been an evolutionary mechanism that has helped humans delay sexual intercourse. Yes, you heard right.

Flirting evolved to keep men and women interested and to help them learn about potential partners before deciding on the right one. So some good guy flirting advice, even today, would be to use flirting that way, and save the sex for later.

Using body language is a good way to let a girl know that you're interested. Of course the primary language of attraction comes in the eye contact and the smile. She may respond by flipping or touching her hair.

If you stand straight, widening your chest, that's a very "alpha male" gesture, and shows both that you are strong and that you are open. She may respond with open gestures of her own, and off you go. Learning how to flirt with a girl involves learning this back-and-forth, unspoken language.

Showing a genuine interest in the girl and her own interests is a primary factor in knowing how to flirt with a girl. A young woman can usually tell if a guy flirts just because he wants something, meaning sex, or if it's because he's really interested in her.

To keep her respecting you, you must respect her, which means listening intently about her interests, her opinions and even her personal boundaries. That's what flirting is really for.

To read more Knowing How To Flirt With A Girl And Reading The Signals

Guys Seeking Better Flirting Advice

If you're a guy who'd really like some flirting advice so you can get to know your favorite girls a little better, then the very first word you need to remember is "respect."

Tattooing that word on the inside of your eyelids would be perfect, but if you at least keep that as your attitude, you'll be surprised at how successful you'll be. Recognizing girls as valuable people is the only way to get things started.

Believe it or not, when you start from a position of respect, you're already halfway there as you learn to flirt.

So what is flirting anyway? It's an exciting game of back and forth signals, as a guy and girl gradually start revealing that they're interested. Most importantly, it's moments of real contact.

If you get a chance to chat with the girl, listen to what she has to say and don't start pouring out your own life story all at once. An important piece of flirting advice is to listen, which is the best way to show her you're interested. And she'll respect someone who is willing to pay attention to her own opinions and interests.

Apart from being genuine and interested in what the girl has to say, the next best flirting advice you can get is to recognize when your attentions aren't being reciprocated.

Learn to start recognizing hints from body language. Part of respecting the girl is not pushing yourself forward if she's not interested. If you see signs of genuine annoyance, be gracious enough to withdraw gradually.

There's no need to feel desperate, as you'll notice other interesting girls and gain their attention soon enough. Mature flirting doesn't just involve respect for the girl, but self-respect too.

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Building Confidence To Flirt With Girls

It might be that you just need a little practice in the art of flirting. Sure, other guys seem to be able to flirt without much effort, and the girls respond immediately. But make no mistake, those guys were just as nervous and unsure of themselves their first few times.

If you follow a few simple guidelines about how to treat the young ladies you're interested in, you may soon find yourself just as able to flirt with girls as those other guys, with similar results.

Remember that genuine respect is a must when you flirt with girls. If a girl gets the remotest idea you might be "trophy hunting," you'll lose not just your chance with that girl, but very likely with others too.

The female grapevine is a powerful thing. So show real interest. Ask her about herself, her likes and interests, and so on. After all, if you want to attract women and have them interested in those same things about you, it must be a two-way street. If you don't want to get to know this girl in a real way, move on.

One thing to remember when you flirt with girls is not to give them everything the first time. That is, if you know there will be other times to see the girl, leave her wanting more. Let your body language indicate your interest.

Yet if you're the first one to leave, departing with a warm smile and more eye contact, she'll probably find herself wishing she could talk to you again. If you reveal yourself and your interest just a bit at a time, there will definitely be more opportunities.

To read more Building Confidence To Flirt With Girls

Tips And Ideas You Can Use To Flirt With A Guy

If this is the first time you've wanted to flirt with a guy, get ready for a fun ride. There will be joys and disappointments from here on, but you're likely to enjoy your flirting experiences.

Remember, though, as you learn to flirt, that the most important thing is to be yourself. If you try to change too much about yourself, you'll become so awkward and self-conscious that guys are likely to be turned off rather than intrigued. So enjoy who you are, and let the flirting games begin!

Be playful when you flirt with a guy, though not to the extent of being goofy or laughing like a maniac over nothing. All this really means is that you should be relaxed and have fun, not worrying about being perfect.

Try to help the boy be at ease, because he might be uncomfortable too. Be casual and friendly, make eye contact, and touch him once in a while; maybe brushing a hair off his shirt or putting a hand on his arm when you talk. Learn to flirt in a way that seems perfectly natural and not pushy. You both need to be comfortable.

Flirting body language will send messages to the object of your affections that you might not yet have words. If you use open gestures when you flirt with a guy, he'll pick up on them, perhaps without even realizing it.

These gestures would be things like uncrossed arms, leaning forward instead of back, and standing straight and facing the guy rather than half turning away. And of course you want that friendly smile.

Learning to flirt in this open way will give him all the signals that you're interested.

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Breaking The Ice With Flirt Tips

You may look at that girl in the desk across the aisle and wonder, is she flirting with you? Or you may have a locker right next to the most interesting guy, but day after day, you can't bring yourself to introduce yourself or start up a conversation.

Are you stuck in a tongue-tied rut for the rest of the school year? Or could you use a few flirt tips that might help you finally break the ice and get to know that guy or girl who has caught your interest?

Flirting body language is one of the main tools of breaking the ice with that guy or girl you like. A smile, a few seconds of eye contact at a time, and open gestures can make a big difference. Face toward the other person, with your arms uncrossed.

Even leaning forward will indicate interest. And one of the best flirt tips is to initiate a conversation, say, by asking about a class assignment, or commenting about something that happened at school. Keep things light and casual at first, so the other person doesn't feel pressured.

Teenage flirting is bound to be powered by strong hormones, but both guys and girls will benefit from these flirt tips if they try to go beyond that impulse just to hop into bed.

You are practicing for future serious relationships, and if you don't learn respect and mutual interest in your school years, then you will either learn them the hard way later on, or have a pretty unhappy adult life.

Learn to relate genuinely to the opposite sex now, in a light and fun way, and you will benefit from it for the rest of your life.

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Reading Open And Closed Gestures When Flirting With Women

If someone tries to tell you that reading body language isn't an essential part of flirting, then that in itself is a sign that they aren't very experienced, or are very obtuse.

The subtle movements a woman makes when you are making your approach to her often let you know exactly how she's responding. In flirting with women, it's essential to your success that you learn what these gestures are and what they mean, so you won't be taken by surprise.

A woman can flirt physically with the smallest of gestures, so you need to be alert for them. The open, encouraging gestures could include things like flipping her hair before glancing at you, as though she was trying to do something that would catch your eye.

She might laugh at almost everything you say; when you know you're really not that funny. But on the other hand, when you're flirting with women and they sit back and cross their legs, with the knee pointing away from you, you might as well make like a tree and leave.

Most single men can use some good tips on how to approach women. And one of the best tips for flirting with women successfully is to learn to read their gestures and body attitudes.

You don't want to expend all your efforts in a fruitless situation where all the signals should have told you to go away yesterday. Instead, by understanding a woman's gestures, you can approach women who are clearly interested in you.

This won't just help in your flirting, but in your personal relationships too.

To read more Reading Open And Closed Gestures When Flirting With Women

Processing Human Emotions With Dream Interpretation

A June 15th, 2009 article in Time Magazine explores the role that dream interpretation plays in processing human emotions.

The idea is nothing new, of course, since Sigmund Freud began talking about his theories of dreams back in 1899 and ancient aboriginals have been deriving meaning from the dream world for centuries.

However, new research confirms the opinion that analyzing dreams can lead individuals to inner awakenings, revelations and powerful healing.

"Sleep essentially is resetting the magnetic north of your emotional compass," reports Matthew Walker, director of the Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab at the University of California Berkeley.

According to recent research into the world of dreams, Walker and his colleagues determined that REM (rapid eye movement) sleep influences our ability to read emotions in other people's faces. Some study participants were asked to take a sixty or ninety minute nap, while others took no nap.

They were then asked to interpret people's facial expressions in photographs. The participants who reached REM sleep were much better able to correctly identify happiness, anger and fear than those with no nap at all. Even if no dream interpretation occurs at all, it is important that people dream and reach that level of sleep to feel truly refreshed and emotionally aware.

Dream research scientist Rebecca Bernert of Florida State University examines the relationship between sleep and suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Her study of 82 male and female psychiatric hospital patients from 18-66 years of age revealed that the presence of severe nightmares or insomnia was a strong predictor of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Over half of the study participants had attempted suicide at least once, with 17% attempting within the last month who also had dramatically higher scores in nightmare frequency and intensity.

Researchers are also assessing whether dream interpretation and analysis would be a useful therapy for depressed, suicidal and anxious patients. "It may be that nightmares present a unique risk for suicidal symptoms, which may have to do with the way we process emotion within dreams," Bernert says.

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Participating In A Lucid Dream

By definition, a lucid dream is "a dream in which the sleeper is aware that he or she is dreaming." When the dreamer becomes lucid, he or she may then participate in the dream with the same responses and decision making capabilities that occur in waking life.

It's no surprise that a lot of dreamers would love to reach this state and that a number of marketers have devised products to help facilitate lucid dreaming. The "Brilliant Dreams" pill promises to improve dream recall, vividness, REM sleep and lucid dreaming for $45/bottle.

Progressive-wake alarm clocks that use sounds and lights to gradually awaken you retail for $70. Yet, sleep experts say you don't have to purchase anything to become a lucid dreamer, but rather, you must take a series of steps to build up to lucid dreaming.

After you improve your dream recall, you can take one step further toward a lucid dream by learning how to tell if you're dreaming, thus becoming conscious mid-cycle. The movie "Waking Life" demonstrates several ways of "awakening" within your dream.

Maybe you'll try to flip a light switch and observe that the lighting in the room doesn't change. Perhaps you'll look down at your hand and see that you have six or four fingers. Reading may suddenly become a challenge because the letters on the paper keep rearranging themselves.

Or you might notice someone begin to float, which signifies you're in a dream. Plausibly, you can practice these actions while you're awake so you are more likely to do so while you're asleep. The idea is that only when you stop to think "I'm dreaming" will you be able to then control your dreams.

The idea of controlling dreams appeals to many. Some people treat the lucid dream as a sought-after phenomenon, while others find them pleasant when they arrive but don't explicitly seek out lucid dreaming.

The final step is to try to restructure your sleep to wake you up several hours before your usual time, so you can fall back asleep and have richer, more imaginative dreams that are better linked with your conscious mind.

The power of dreams is indisputable -- you can go anywhere, be anyone and experience anything -- yet is it worth making lifestyle changes to achieve? The final answer is up to you.

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Interpreting The Meanings of Dreams

Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud once said that interpreting the meanings of dreams was "the royal road to the unconscious." He believed dreams always reveal something about hidden wishes and deep desires.

More modern research implies that our dream consciousness very much reflects our attitudes, biases, stereotypes and feelings about the people, places and things in our lives. While there are many theories of dreams, it's hard to deny that some dream scenarios come up more often than others.

Being chased is another one of the most common dreams encountered. The meanings of dreams about pursuit are good indications that "you are avoiding something in waking life," says Loewenberg.

She adds, "When you get this dream, ask yourself, 'Self, am I trying to avoid a confrontation with someone? Am I trying to get out of a responsibility or obligation? Or is there something from my past that I'm afraid might catch up with me?'" Whatever you're running from, she advises that you face the situation to keep your dream time more pleasant.

According to www.dreammoods.com, the assailant in chase dreams may also represent a part of you -- whether it's jealousy, anger, fear or love -- which you may be manifesting as something that needs to be confronted. It's also possible that stories in the media cause some women to feel fearful of being chased or attacked, thus leading to this impressionable dream.

Though you can find the generalized meanings of dreams in a dream dictionary, you will need to conduct your own introspective dream research to see how the motifs of your dreams carry through into your everyday life.

There is no denying the power of dreams once you begin to keep track of them and analyze them. The majority of Americans feel there are lessons to be learned during those brief windows of REM sleep.

In fact, some of the greatest thinkers of our time -- including Einstein, Bohr, Churchill and Dali -- credit their discoveries with memorable and vivid dreams they had. You just may find that dreams are truly the window to the soul.

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Ability To Interpret Dream Meanings

Sigmund Freud once said, "The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind." While there are many theories of dreams, Freud's observation that dreams seem to reflect the subconscious mind prevails.

Dreamers from South Korea and India to the U.S. and Canada believe that their dreams have some valuable lessons to impart upon them, and that they should listen should a bad omen come to them in a dream. Many people are interested in acquiring the ability to interpret dream meanings so they can be more introspective and find greater fulfillment in life.

In your dream journal, you can start to interpret dream meanings by writing down your dreams as soon as you remember them. Try to recall all the details you can, even if it doesn't make sense. Write down people, places, colors and emotions.

Ask yourself, "How did this dream make me feel?" Respond to the question, "What real-life situation does this dream remind me of?" There are multiple layers to every dream, so it may take a few times of dreaming, recording and analyzing to start to see the pieces come together.

You may want to use a dreams dictionary to help you learn the basics about symbolism, although each meaning is somewhat unique to the individual.

Time for nocturnal dreams is important because it shows the emotional state of your mind, removed from the logical brain center. Being able to remember your dreams and interpret dream meanings can be an excellent therapy and a way of deriving additional meaning from life.

Throughout history, many of the world's greatest thinkers admit that they had been changed in some way by a dream they'd had. A number of therapists are using journal therapy to help discover new insights about their patients.

Even if you don't have an interpreter of your own, you'll find out a lot about yourself by chronicling your own nighttime journeys.

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Exploring Ideas About Lucid Dreaming States

There are many films exploring the idea of lucid dreaming, a state in which a sleeping person realizes he or she is asleep and is then able to control the direction the dream takes.

In "The Matrix," dreamers were able to fly through the air and manipulate objects. In "Waking Life," they talk about dreaming within the dream world and practice exercises like consciously flipping light switches. In "The Good Night," Martin Freeman tries to master lucid dreams to escape to a more sensual world.

People who really want to grasp the concept of lucid dreams can do so by reading books such as: "Lucid Dreaming for Beginners: Simple Techniques for Creating Interactive Dreams," "Between the Gates: Lucid Dreaming, Astral Projection and the Body of Light in Western Esotericism," "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming," Adventures Beyond the Body: How to Experience Out-of-Body Travel" and "Conscious Dreaming: A Spiritual Path for Everyday Life."

There are also online chats or cyber conferences with the International Association for the Study of Dreams. People who are really motivated may attend a nine-and-a-half-day lucid dreams instructional retreat from www.lucidity.com in Hawaii.

"REM-sleep dreams are much more visual," said Matthew P. Walker, the director of the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. "They have a strong narrative that runs through them.

They're hallucinogenic." During REM, the logical lateral prefrontal cortex part of the brain becomes inactive, while the visual and emotional centers of the brain amplify. According to Dr. Walker, individuals enter into lucid dreaming states when the lateral prefrontal cortex begins to awaken again, triggering lucidity. "

In the next five years, I think somebody will demonstrate that," the dream research expert explains.

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