When I am stressed, troubled or ill, I close my eyes and sit still on my bed for a few minutes, and let my mind take me to this place which I have created a long time ago with my imagination. This place is my refuge, and I am at peace here.

Has anyone tried creating a place like this in your mind? It can be a city, it can be a small tropical island, or it can be a little room where all your toys are. The mind is a powerful tool and utilizing it in this way can really remove alot of the stress we encounter in our daily lives. For me, that place I always go to in my mind holds such appeal for me because its a quiet, mysterious place- an alien world with the most beautiful forests ever, tranquil lakes, strange monuments that I love to explore...

Ya I have a nice waterfall setting surounded by warm springs and I just sit back and relax while listening and looking at colourful exotic birds in the rainforrest trees around me.

I haven't, but my dad relieves himself of stress in that way.

I'm prevented from being able to do that for myself, this place is supposed to be in my face 24,7 for some reason{no relief, even in fantasy} to make sure that i am off balance.

I used to try picturing peaceful things like you say, but i don't dream, never have, so i don't have a comparision within my mind to focus on. Except for the things i see, and i'm awake for that.

Been that way all my life. Whats odd, is that my doc can't find any reason for not dreaming, or any other reason for what i see or experiance. Done all the tests and then some.

According to them, i should'nt be alive in my condition. I should have been ash's 7 or 8 years ago. Yet i still linger.

I do this ALL the time.

A wonderful daisy field with a pond, snow capped mountains off to the distance. And I'm always wearing a yellow sun dress .

Realistically, a wonderful meditating place is at my grand-mothers house. She lives way back in the woods. Just today I sat on her rusty 80-year-old glider swinging back and forth. Listening to the wind chimes ring as the weight swayed back and forth in the slight breeze. The smell of honeysuckle filling my lungs. The sound of Blue Jay's, Cardinals, and other birds chirping. The sound of the little creek flowing infront of her house.

It truly is calming.

You do dream, you just dont remember for some reason.

The closest i've come to dreaming, is waking up in mid viewing, and it continue's without letup. I used to get angry because of the things sleep makes me miss seeing. And unlike dreamers, i retain what i'm seeing, it does'nt fade. Thats why when i have one where i'm a pilot or tech person, i don't have the specific knowledge coming through with everything else, just the experiance. It's rare that i retain knowledge like that. It always seems to dribble away{yes, thats why it sucks, knowing that and feeling it leave your memory like water pouring out of a cup, just leaving the experiance itself} Tell me were not controlled.

Controlled by what exactly? And we "were" not controlled or "are" not controlled?

The one's who generate your reality, the layers are the artificial belief systems that have been given substance by those who believe in them, nothing a real human wants to experiance, and why i am against the cults calling themselves religion{and pushing their insanity}

Everyone here is controlled, most never notice, they think it is themselves directing themselves.

There is no name for them here. They despise what has been done as much as i do.

But i'm done with this thread, have a good percieved life.

Peace, and goodwill, from another human, not something draped in deciet.

When I feel stressed out, I picture myself in a log cabin, isolated in the mountains, with the fire going, snow outside and reading a good book..

Not really, but I often lie in bed with a bed sheet over my face and try to remove all the thoughts from my head for a similar effect.

My place of refuge is a hammock. Theres nothing around the hammock apart from mists (dont know why as I have a pretty good imagination) and its a warm feeling place, not too hot but just right. If I need to get away from real life I just sit or lie quietly and place myself in the hammock. Whether Im there 5 minutes or half an hour I always return to reality feeling more relaxed than I was to start with.

My place is a garden paralleled by a waste land. There's a stream in between the two and an invisible bridge.

I've created two. So when I go to sleep in one place, I'm awake in the other. The first place is in a small city & I'm living in a house. With someone I like & a small infant. The second place can be anything. Like NYC or overseas like England.

I have such a place with in my mind, when i am there nothing bothers me, though in this place i am never alone...