The Influence of Culture on the Self-Concept

Clairgustance, which is clear smelling, indicating the ability to clearly smell something, like the perfume of a deceased relative whose spirit is nearby. Clairtangency, which means clear touch or the ability to hold an object in your hand and know the energy of its history, or to touch another person and sense their energetic state of being (ex: happiness, sorrow, anger). Clairsalience, which means clear taste, or the ability to perceive flavors from another energetic experience, such as being able to taste what someone near you is eating and tasting. Claircognizance, which means clear knowing, or your ability to just know when something is about to happen, or that you know when someone is lying or hiding something; Clairempathy, which means clear emotional feeling, or the ability to feel other people's emotions without verbal expression or explanation of how they feel. There are a variety of other kinds of psychic abilities, including telepathy and channeling, but the Clairs are the most basic reality you can begin to encounter with an open brow and crown chakra. Some other kinds of psychic abilities include telepathy and channeling spirits. Visions and Dreams Immigration could be a significant factor. Moving to the US from a war zone such as Syria, for example, can cause psychosis. It may be because, in addition to the new stress you face when you arrive in your new home, you feel as if your roots have been lost and because of the tensions that happened before you left! Sometimes a baby may experience a lack of oxygen at birth due to prolonged labor or forceps delivery. That can increase the likelihood of psychosis in adult life. Trauma can cause psychosis, too. Unfortunately, childhood abuse, bullying, and domestic violence can result in some to become fearful and paranoid and remain so. Both events are strongly linked to trauma-related hallucinations. Sleep disturbances are very potent in causing psychosis. For experiments where participants were kept awake for prolonged periods, most began hearing voices and seeing things that didn't exist. Edith's description of her attraction to Thea reveals many of the same factors that influence heterosexual attraction. In fact, the factors that predict attraction in gay and lesbian relationships are quite similar to those that predict attraction in heterosexual relationships.

People, whether they are gay, straight, or bisexual, generally are attracted to people who provide affection, are dependable, and have shared interests (Peplau & Fingerhut, 2007). Edith Windsor (left) and her wife, Thea Spyer. The overall similarity between same-sex and opposite-sex attraction is evident in other ways as well. Whereas men, regardless of sexual orientation, tend to report emphasizing physical attractiveness, women, regardless of sexual orientation, are more likely to report emphasizing personality characteristics (Peplau & Spalding, 2000). This gender difference notwithstanding, there are some interesting nuances in what gay men and lesbians consider most attractive. Studies of personal ads reveal that many gay men look for masculine traits and partners who adopt what are typically masculine roles (Bailey et al. For gay men, physical appearance (in particular, a lean, muscular build) is especially important when evaluating prospects for short-term as opposed to long-term relationships (Varangis et al. In contrast, whereas lesbians look for partners with feminine characteristics, they don't necessarily want partners who assume what are typically feminine roles (Bailey et al. Many of the ways your energy attempts to communicate with you and help you on your journey are through dreams and visions. It is not uncommon for people to experience having visions or dreams of their past lives at this time, and although you may not realize that this is what you are experiencing, it can still have a profound impact on your energy and healing process. Many people look to the internet or articles to decipher or interpret their dreams, but let me encourage you not to do this. The best way for you to connect to your energy is to work with it without an outside opinion or influence. All you have to do is read your dream the best you can and interpret the energy and the feelings on your own. Anyone else is going to give you an interpretation based on their own unique reality, beliefs, and experiences. Doing this will just foster another idea about yourself or your energy that isn't real to who you are or how your energy works with you. Visions also occur and are different from dreams in the sense that they can occur while you are wide awake and not asleep. Visions can happen with your eyes opened or closed and can have a profound impact on you. Visions have a way of showing you your path forward and how you need to follow your own inner guidance and energy to continue your healing and growth journey. Sleeping eventually led to healing. The drugs are illegal.

There are some very potent drugs available, and in recent times, cannabis has become far more dangerous. Similarly, cocaine and amphetamines can trigger psychotic episodes. One or more of those conditions will affect many people with severe mental illness. They need to find out what they need in care, as psychologists and CBT practitioners. Does that person require to work on Bereavement? Want help getting better sleep? Did they have experienced a trauma they could not think about? Do drugs pose a problem? Indeed, perhaps because lesbians eschew typical gender roles, the physique they report as being most attractive is less close to the thin ideal promoted by the mass media and often preferred by heterosexual men (Swami & Tovee, 2006). Cultural and Situational Influences on Attractiveness Despite the cross-cultural consistency in what people find physically attractive, there is also plenty of variability. As you've likely noticed, there are considerable cultural and subcultural differences in what people find fetching (eg, Darwin, 1872; Fallon, 1990; Ford & Beach, 1951; Hebl & Heatherton, 1998). In some cultures, people like nose rings, in other cultures filed teeth; The list goes on. Cultures vary in the kind of ornamentation people use to enhance their attractiveness. In many cases, you will likely meet a spiritual guide or being in these visions who have helped you move ahead and is there to give you the best direction and information through your vision. It is helpful to keep a journal for dreams and visions to help you identify and interpret these energies.

You can include your chakra journal or keep it separate. Dreams and visions are an important guidance system for you, so do not ignore them. Pay special heed to all of the messages you are receiving as you open and heal. Spirit Guides As you become more conscious of your path of light and your soul purpose, you may start to encounter the energy of a soul or spirit guide. These are your helpers who have been with you all your life and have assisted you in many ways, whether you have known it or not. Your spirit guide is an energy that exists on another dimension and who provides you with encouragement along your path to healing and following your truth as a soul and purpose in this life. When you are engaged more fully in your healing work and have opened the gateway to the energy of all that is alive in the universe through your crown chakra, you become engaged more openly with the voice of your It's typically going to be some combination of factors. CBT works by helping you analyze how you think of a circumstance, how you behave based on your feelings, and how your thought and actions influence how you feel together. If your thoughts and actions make you feel bad or make it hard for you to work, therapy aims to improve them, thus alleviating anxiety and dysfunctions. The therapist's aim in the case of CBT is not to get the patient to doubt the nature of hallucinations or delusions, but rather to minimize the damage they could do. We're never trying to convince anyone that their experience isn't true, says Kate Hardy, a psychologist. She specializes in CBT at the INSPIRE Clinic at Stanford University that treats people with or at risk for psychotic disorders. With hallucinations, that's especially important, she adds, because they are real. There's no denying the person has a voice that tells them to do or say anything about them. But what can be challenged is their speech interpretation; Reducing Stress Standards of beauty also vary within the same culture over time. For example, a study of female models appearing in women's magazines from 1901 to 1981 found that bust-to-waist ratios varied over time, with a slenderer look becoming popular over the years.

Similarly, a study of Playboy centerfolds from 1953 to 2001 showed a trend toward thinner figures and a lower bust-to-waist ratio (Voracek & Fisher, 2002). How can we explain cultural variations in preferences? Status and Access to Scarce Resources Attributes that are associated with having high status in a given culture are often seen as more attractive. Consider the current preference for tanned skin among Caucasian Americans (Chung et al. In days gone by, those lower in socioeconomic status worked outside as manual laborers. As a result, they tended to be more tanned than their financially well-off counterparts, and it seems, at least for the upper class, pale skin tones were culturally valued and considered attractive. But the Industrial Revolution and the consequent proliferation of factories changed those standards by moving many low-paying jobs indoors. Again, this is not always going to happen to every person; Awakening to the energy of a soul guide is a very powerful experience. If you have ever gone to see a psychic or had a medium speak to a deceased loved one in front of you, that person is most likely working with a spirit guide who is counseling them through the ability of clairaudience. There are a lot of different ways this kind of energetic connection can be experienced, and it will not be the same for everyone who opens up to this kind of energy. Even if you never truly hear your spirit guide, they are always with you and want to help you on your road to healing. All you have to do is talk to them and listen for answers from your intuition. One of the easiest ways for your soul guide to communicating with you is through your intuition, dreams, and visions. All of the psychic capabilities you may encounter as you open up your chakras to healing and cleansing will come when the time is right for you. It may not come in this life even, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible at some point. Don't force it and just let it come naturally when you are ready. Here the operative word helpful is not true. Dr Hardy provides an example of a patient hearing voices.