Many of our viewers have expressed interest in lucid dreaming. Since this mysterious topic is still such an enigma today, we couldn’t wait to explore it with you! For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, lucid dreaming is when the individual is fully aware that they are dreaming while they are asleep. This is beneficial, because it allows you to have a certain degree of control over what happens in your dream when you know you are in one. Lucid dreaming can especially come in handy when you have recurring nightmares, have a desire to speak to loved ones who have passed away, or when you want to problem-solve creatively. Sounds cool, right? Psych2Go shares with you 7 steps that can help you lucid dream:
1. Keep a dream journal
Even if you don’t fully remember all the details of your dreams, it’s good to get in the habit of writing what you can recall. You can start off by jotting down fragments of sensory information that stood out to you. Who was in your dream? What were they wearing? Were there particular scents or fragrances that you remember? What was the environment like? Did you hear any music? What emotions did you feel? One perspective that may be helpful to adapt is to consider your dreams a memory that you’re stepping back in time with. When you get in the habit of writing down what you remember, you can start to look for dream signs or patterns, which can be a tool to analyze your thoughts…
Catching feelings is the easy part. Perhaps you found yourself falling for your best friend or someone you’ve got to know better over time. People often tell you life is too short to not take a chance. So, you go for it, even if it makes you want to vomit. You step up to the plate and make your feelings known. And to your horror, it doesn’t go the way you hoped it would. You wait for them to tell you that they also feel the same way. But instead, an awkward silence follows before they let you know that they never saw you as anything more than just a friend. Unrequited love is a special kind of hell. But no matter how painful it is, it can still be overcome. Psych2Go shares with you 10 ways to deal with unrequited love:
1. Allow yourself to grieve.
Rejection hurts. Your heart just broke —not literally, but there’s an aching in your chest that you’re experiencing and your whole body feels heavy and worn down. According to a research study led by psychologist Ethan Kross at the University of Michigan, there is evidence that shows emotional pain activates the same part of your brain as physical pain. In other words, the metaphors “broken heart” and “wounded feelings” aren’t exaggerations because …
Noting that science fiction is characterized by an investment in the proliferation of racial difference, Isiah Lavender III argues that racial alterity is fundamental to the genre’s narrative strategy. Race in American Science Fiction offers a systematic classification of ways that race appears and how it is silenced in science fiction, while developing a critical vocabulary designed to focus attention on often-overlooked racial implications. These focused readings of science fiction contextualize race within the genre’s better-known master narratives and agendas. Authors discussed include Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, and Ursula K. Le Guin, among many others.
Isiah Lavender III, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is associate professor of English at Louisiana State University. He is author of Race in American Science Fictionand editor of Black and Brown Planets: The Politics of Race in Science Fiction, published by University Press of Mississippi.
Why Frank Ocean’s 30th Birthday Party Was So Important
Whether @frankocean realizes it or not, his drag ball inspired birthday party was a major act of self acceptance, and an outright defiance of heteronormativity.
In a warmly lit room, filled with fine art, chandeliers, and Greek architecture, the ineffable Frank Ocean sauntered, strutted, and vogued in three outfits—all of them involving glitter. On his face he wore golden Gucci sunglasses in the shape of pineapples. Beneath the glasses? A face full of make-up.
The theme of the night was ‘Paris Is Burning’—a Jennie Livingston documentary following drag balls in 80s Harlem. Attendees packed on the shimmer, but what makes this even more noteworthy, is that many of the guests identified as men.
Mac Demarco, @illegalcivilization, Brad Pitt, Tyler, the Creator, Amine, and Luka Sabbat were just some of the guests who showed up in eyeliner and x-strapped jumpsuits to the “Legendary House of Ocean Ball”. This was a safe space. Outside the ballroom walls exists a world of soul destroying hyper-masculinity and homophobia—where trans women are murdered by the dozens, LGBTQ+ nightclubs are attacked, laws that allow gender neutral bathrooms are repealed, and shock therapy for LGBTQ+ youth is still an ongoing debate.
These truths are particularly prevalent in black communities, where black boys are usually disallowed to be vulnerable or carefree. When they are emotional they are told to “Man up”, when they wear tight or bright clothing they are told “That’s gay” (implying that gayness is something shameful), and understand the unspoken rule: “Don’t even think about showing affection to a friend of the same gender”.
Now, imagine being openly LGBTQ+ in these toxic, heteronormative, hyper-masculine, and homophobic communities. Children are ostracized, they commit suicide, they’re harassed in the streets and at school, and they get told that God is condemning them to hell from their family and priests.
These factors, amongst countless others, can make one feel alone and defeated, to say the least. Which is why when figures such as Prince or Frank Ocean, and images such as Young Thug in a dress come around, we treasure them. LGBTQ+ youth have the space to take a breath of fresh air. When a young, LGBTQ+, black person can scroll down their newsfeed and see Frank Ocean prancing around blissfully in iridescent pants with make-up on, a door opens for self acceptance and inspiration.
When there’s a room full of their favorite artists and actors wearing winged eyeliner and glittery highlighter, they begin to see that maybe, just maybe, the narrative of non binary people being unholy and set for damnation is false. Because it is. Maybe, just maybe, they can be gay and care free, trans and care free, bisexual and care free. So, on the night of October 28, 2017, when Frank Ocean twirled and posed and vogued, it was more than just a party. It was revolutionary. It was self love. Triumphant. And, it was protest.
