...Most people don’t understand the meaning of dream catchers or even what they are, but they should learn because they are very powerful and important in Native American culture, particularly the Ojibwe people. In order to better understand dream catchers we need to know the origins of them, the proper way to use them, and the sacred materials used to make them. The dream catcher has been a part of the Native American culture for many generations but it wasn't always important until the Anishnabe people were being tormented by nightmares and couldn't handle it anymore. The medicine people and elders tried to find different ways to get rid of the nightmares but nothing seemed to work. After getting so tired of the nightmares they decided to have a meeting with all the people of the tribe to get everyone's ideas on how to fix...
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...Lang and Comp The ambitious nightmare Is the American Dream still alive today? It all depends on whom you ask, and how you look at things. Everyone sees things differently and will interpret it that way; to one person the American Dream is just that, a dream and when they wake up it will be a nightmare, and to another it is an ambition, that just makes them want it more. By definition the American Dream is: “a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.” So, the question remains, is it still alive today, and is this really how people are living their lives? As sad as this answer may be, the truth is, probably not, like all good things they must end. The American Dream is a great thing to wish for however, it has been lost in time with the unwillingness to pursue it. The saddest thing is that some people believe the American dream is something that exists today; whereas some people in society have no idea that this dream exists. What ever happened to the zeal that drove America to the top? What happened to the aspiration of striving for greatness and becoming that greatness? That may be a question no one knows the answer too or it is an answer that people are unwilling to give. George Carlin once said, “The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep...
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...Bonds 1 Kenneth Bonds Instructor Poff English 1302-184 February 22, 2013 Living the American Dream/Nightmare Robert Haydens’ “Frederick Douglass” talks about issues that Frederick Douglass the man endured and suffered through. To have been a “slave” (7), beaten to his knees” (8), while others, some who stand around encouraging this inhumane treatment are free. We can only imagine the thoughts that would race through our heads during times of cruel punishment, humiliation and mistreatment: Please KILL me so this Misery will END!? If I take my own life I won’t be subjected to the torture any longer? In contrast, Edwin Arlington’s “Richard Cory” tells us about a wealthy, educated, free, and we are going to assume that Mr. Corey was white. Was Richard Corey living the American Dream? We would argue – yes, yes he was? Did Mr. Douglass, yearning for freedom, civil rights and equality suffer the American Nightmare? Once again, our answer would be “Yes”. Here we have two men in America – one Black, one White at two polar opposite ends of a racial divide; two different worlds in this one world we call “America”. How can one man’s dream be another man’s nightmare? Depending on the source, the answer to this question will vary. Our answers to this question are simple: Race – the color of one’s skin and education. What makes America a great place to live; also can make America a viciously evil place to live? One’s race, national origin, religious beliefs and education...
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...Ever since the Reconstruction era after the Civil War there has been the issue of race and equality and rights. A movement occurred and two men gained power and influence the African American community. Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X two men having experienced different things in their lives held different beliefs and morals and influenced people based upon those things. Martin Luther King Jr., came from a Baptist home with a fairly easy childhood, he was educated when he was younger and attended Morehouse College, an all black college, where he had several role models that shaped his beliefs. Malcolm X, on the other hand, experienced a hard childhood and used drugs and committed other crimes in his early adult years. While in prison he found a father figure in Elijah Muhammad and joined the Nation of Islam. There are many differences between Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X in the way they acted and influenced the African American community. This paper will look to describe their differing views and analyze their actions and their lives. In most cases a person’s childhood has a lasting affect on the rest of a person’s life. In comparing Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X this seems to be the case. Martin Luther King Jr., was born January 19, 1929 and was raised by a strong supportive family. He had a somewhat privileged life and “never experienced the feeling of not having the basic necessities of life.”[1] His father “was a community leader in Atlanta...
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...The idea of the American Dream has been with us as long as we have been a nation. In Brandon Kings “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, Or On Hold?” he presents us with his version of the American dream. According to King the American dream is defined as “The potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and save for the future” (611). The American dream may differ between every individual and how they perceive it. To some, the American dream is to have a decent job and to be financially successful. However, to others, having a job is defined as just living each passing month. The American dream basically means opportunity. That opportunity is seen as the ability to make an impact in life through hard work and dedication. To me, the American...
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...The Story of an Hour In the short story, The Story of an Hour I was able to pull two main themes. Love and Alienation is depicted throughout the entire story. Not only is love the theme but romantic love. The first theme love is exemplified in more than one way. In the beginning of the story, it explains how Mrs. Mallard has heart troubles and that they try to break the news of her husbands death sequentially as possible. Stating “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.” (Chopin) The first sentence of the story automatically portrayed love; it was obvious she would take the new of husband harshly because she loved him. Upon hearing the news Mrs. Mallard had a “paralyzed inability to accept its significance.” (Chopin) The news hit Mrs. Mallard hard and she cried in her sister, Josephine, arms. After accepting the matter of circumstances, Mrs. Mallard left to be alone. This is where the alienation plays a part in the story. Instead of accepting the comfort of family and friend, she decided to be alone. Maybe this was her way of dealing with grief, being alone and silent was her best remedy. Sitting alone in a room consisting of a chair and a window, Mrs. Mallard sat there and continued to think about the event that just occurred. At first, it seemed as if Mrs. Mallard just needed alone time, but later on in the story it seems as if something is coming over her. She...
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...Is the American dream becoming the American Nightmare? Now a day, many people see success as being the same as someone else but we can’t be someone else. By trying to be someone else, the best we can be is an imitation of him or her. Being successful does not mean having Bill Gates’ wealth, Albert Einstein’s brain and Walt Disney’s brains. According to John C Maxwell, success is known your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential and sowing seed that benefit others. Billionaire Donald Trump said, “The real measure of success is how happy you are. I have a lot of friends who don’t have a lot of money, but they are a lot happier than I am, so therefore I say that they are probably more successful.” United States of America is known as the land of opportunity for many immigrants who dreams of a better life. There are many people who strongly believe that once they come to the United States it is almost guaranteed to find success. However, that image is wrong; it seems like this country is no longer the land of opportunity for those who are immigrants and the low class people. Many immigrants come to United States to achieve their America Dreams. They think that they can get high-paying jobs easily, but the reality is not. According to an article, The Land of Opportunity? (Los Angeles business Journal, 1999), immigrants cannot get opportunities for high paying jobs because: "The limited number of manufacturing jobs that they might have moved into in previous generations";...
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...| | The American Nightmare: Money's Hidden CurseThe American dream stands as a symbol for hope, prosperity, and happiness. But F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, examines the American dream from a different perspective, one that sheds light on those who contort these principles to their own selfish fantasies. Fitzgerald renders Jay Gatsby as a man who takes the Dream too far, and becomes unable to distinguish his false life of riches from reality. This 'unique' American novel describes how humanity's insatiable desires for wealth and power subvert the idyllic principles of the American vision. Jay Gatsby is the personification of limitless wealth and prestige, a shining beacon for the aspiring rich. Nick Carraway declares that there is "something glorious" about Gatsby, and that he is filled with "some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life"(8). It appears to mere mortals who are not blessed with riches, that Gatsby fulfills the American dream of achieving fame and fortune. But instead of being content with his greenbacks, Gatsby believes that he can replicate the "Platonic conception of himself" (89) and become the flawless god of wealth that he depicts. The American dream has many interpretations, but Gatsby latches onto the concept of wealth alone, failing to see that he can improve his character through hard work and toil as well. One understanding of the American dream, bettering oneself to achieve a higher social status, sadly spurs people like Gatsby to...
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... Martin & Malcolm & America, A Dream or A Nightmare, by James H. Cone and The Civil Rights Movement by Bruce J. Dierenfield. When we think back on the historical backdrop of America many events happened that are either disapproved of, or seen as the wonderfulness days. The occasions that are the magnificence days or the most astounding focuses in American life, for example, Independence from England served to make America what it is today. Those occasions that we think back on, that are not the best periods of time, for example, slavery and African Americans battle for Rights in the 1960's, likewise served to make the United States what it is today. Whether we agree it was right, it has had an effect. At the point when in the 1960's, pioneers, for example, Martin Luther King, Jr., and religious pioneers, for example, Malcolm X, remained forward to discuss the rights that were detracted from African Americans, they were look down upon. Even when society wanted to make it seems as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were battling one another rather than making a movement. In the book Martin & Malcolm & America, A Dream or A Nightmare, by James H. Cone, states “Although the media portrayed them as adversaries, Martin and Malcolm were actually fond of each other. There was no animosity between them. They saw each other as a fellow justice-fighter, struggling against the same evil- racism-and for the same goal- freedom for African Americans.” (Cone, pg 2) Today however, Martin...
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...State Of Consciousness State of consciousness, consciousness is variously defined as subjective experience, awareness, the ability to experience "feeling", wakefulness, or the executive control system of the mind (Google definition). There are many consciousness people face as in enduring issues with the mind body relation, sleep patterns as in why do we need sleep, rhythms of sleep , sleep deprivation, sleep disorders, dreams and why do we dream. Sleep, as a human or animal we need to sleep because our body regenerates its self when it’s at rest. Humans spend at least one-third in an altered state of consciousness. When we are tired we crave to go to sleep just as if we are hungry we crave food. We can’t live without both. No human can stay p past twenty hours without feeling like they are about to crash. No one knows exactly why we need sleep but it plays and important part in restorative function. When humans are asleep there are rhythms of sleep. Circadian rhythm is a biological rhythm that last about 24 hours. There are 4 stages the sleeper enters when they fall asleep. Stage one is when the brain gives you the signal your muscles to relax. It also gives off that your heart is to beat slower and when that happens your temperature begins to drop. Stage 2 is a light sleep. You’re not fully asleep but you can be awakening. Stage 3 you are in a deeper sleep. Your blood pressure begins to get lower because your brain gives off that message...
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...111 Dreaming A dream is a succession of images, sounds, ideas and emotions that we experience involuntarily while sleeping. Everyone has dreamed at least once in their life, even if they don’t remember it. As a matter of fact everyone experiences six to eight dreams per night, and out of the eight hours of sleep we’re supposed to get each night, two of them are spent dreaming. People aren’t the only animals that can dream. Actually, every mammal is known to have dreams at night, and even some birds. Dreams usually occur during the “rapid eye movement” stage of our sleep, when brain function is high, almost as high as when we’re awake. We most likely remember the dreams that we have during the REM stage because the brain is functioning at such a high rate, but we also dream during other stages of sleep. Those dreams are just harder to remember because the brain is not functioning at the level that it would be during the REM stage. As we all know, dreams can range from exciting and pleasurable, to scary and terrifying. I know that I personally have woken up terrified from a dream, and didn’t want to go back to sleep because I didn’t want to encounter what I was dreaming about again. Usually, we can’t control what we dream about. However, it is a proven fact that a person can induce lucid dreaming if they work at it. Lucid dreaming is when the person who is dreaming is aware of the fact that they are dreaming, and can therefor control their dreams. Anyone can be a...
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...of the population of the United States. This is a much-diversified group of people. They comprise of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. These are further broken down to reserves and national guards. They also come from different ethnic backgrounds, race, male and female alike. Many reports have been made in the media about the soldiers that have returned about the various treatments they have experienced and care that has been provided them. The purpose of this proposal is to find out if medications have generated a false PTSD-like state in the current population of soldiers that have returned from war. This research will also determine the effects medications have on sleep. The causes of night terrors and nightmares on the deployed personnel will be clarified. During the time of war, soldiers were given medication and...
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...through the research I’ve gathered. First things first, for those who don’t know what I’m talking about. Lucid dreaming is a phenomenon that occurs when the dreamer is in a dream and realizes that they are in fact in the dream state. Typically the reaction is as follows, the dreamer freaks out and feels as if they will be trapped in the dream for a prolonged amount of time. This is followed by an attempt to recall when they passed out and where they were when they did. Most of the time unless this person is an experienced lucid dreamer they won’t be able to recall these things. For those adventurous ones the next step is to begin creating. The universe is the limit, you can create anything you want, build giant skyscrapers from nothing, fly around like Neo from the matrix, turn into the hulk, etc. Their really is no limit to what a person can do while in the lucid dreaming state. Some of this I take from research and some from personal experience, the idea may seem far fetched but training can be done to lucid dream whenever you want to or feel the need for an escape. Now having said that, this is no easy task and will take lots of time and perseverance. This can all be seen through work done by the lucidity institute. According to the lucidity institute, typically, when trying to train to lucid dream most all of the training is during the day believe it or not. Theirs no exact...
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...Dreams: What are dreams and what do they mean? Shanice Monteith The University of West Florida Abstract Dreams that take place while we sleep are one of the most fascinating aspects of human consciousness and are common among all of us. We all ask the same question, what is a dream? A researcher by the name of Sigmund Freud’s theory of dreams gives us a good insight about dreams. His theory is one of the best-known models of dream interpretation. There are also other types of theories that suggest to us what a dream is. Some say that dreams are simply random firing of memory neurons. Others say differently. I will try to show both sides of this controversy. This paper will examine what a dream is and what people interpret a dream to mean. It should also give you a broader perspective of dreams, go into detail of different theories regarding dreams and give you more insight of such a fascinating but complicated topic. There is also the case of nightmares which will be discussed briefly and why they occur when we dream. What are dreams and what do they mean There have numerous studies on what is a dream. A lot of controversy has happened because of this. Some people say it could be just simply random firing of memory neurons as stated earlier but not everyone thinks the same way. Others say there is a lot of detail that could go into finding out more about this topic so they begin to do more research to come up with different ideas about such a debating issue...
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...The key to Midnight is a novel that tells the story of a woman named Joanna Rand, a nightclub owner and singer who discovers that she is the daughter of an American senator that got lost about twelve years ago. Joanna had many nightmares for many all those years and found out the nightmares are really memories of a “doctor” who brainwashed her, making her forget all her childhood memories and creating a new girl to take their place. With the help of a detective named Alex, Joanna sets off on an adventure that is going to reveal the truth or leave her lost for the rest of her life. One day Joanna woke up from another nightmare and is too agitated to return to her bed, and she can’t understand why she dreams the same things over and over again, and it leaves her exhausted. After few days, Joanna had lunch with an American Tourist who scared her by telling her that he believes her to be another person. She doesn’t believe him and refuses to see him when he comes back to her club later in that night. When the detective showed her the proof of what he was saying, She is forced to face the reality that she is not who she believes she is. Alex finds that Joanna is a fascinating person. He was crazy with her beauty and her amazing...
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