A dream came true

Illustrations also by Joanna Troughton

 

Tortoise had a dream….

 

He dreamt of a tree which
was in a secret place.
From the tree’s branches grew
all the fruits of the earth –
bananas, dates, coconuts, melons,
millet, yams, cassava, maize,
pineapples and oranges.

 

Grandmother Koko has heard about the tree and she told Lion where to find it. All the animals thought that Tortoise was too slow and they wanted to go instead. They all failed, as they didn’t see the obstacles in their paths. Lion was first, then Elephant, Hyena, Ostritch, Baboon and lastly, Giraffe! All of them were warned not to look around but to look out. Despite them going, Tortoise also went to look for the tree, though against a slower pace than the other animals. He didn’t look around like the other animals and was determined to find this tree he saw in his dream. On the next image you can see his obstacle! The most dangerous and deadliest! The illustrations in this book are amazing, I wish I could scan them all in.

 

So he saw the scorpion in his path
“Lucky I didn’t look round,” thought Tortoise.
“Omumbo-rombonga,” he said to himself..

 

“Have you remembered the name?”
said the animals, as they saw
Tortoise slowly and steadily coming.
“Look behind you,” said Tortoise…

 

“Omumbo-rombonga,” cried Tortoise

This book is an African Folk Tale. A plain simple story about a tortoise that dreamt about this miraculous tree. Like many other books  there is a message behind the story. What message does this story convey? – you might want to ask. From my point of view, a couple. Firstly, tortoise shows us determination. He dreamt this dream and he knew he could “follow” his dream. His “dream” was to find this tree he dreamt of and he did it “slowly, but steadily”. He also faced  the most dangerous obstacle of all the animals. All the other animals faced an obstacle that could easily be overcome and despite of it, they forgot the name of the tree. Tortoise’s obstacle was a deadly one and he bravely continued his “dream”, despite this dangerous scorpion. He wasn’t put off by anything, he kept a cool head and moved on. This is how we should be in life. We should follow our dreams and don’t be put off by any obstacle, however simple, dangerous or deadly. You should continue on your journey to reach for your dream. I have a couple of dreams, more than I think I can achieve, but I will slowly and steadily continue following my dreams. Some of my current dreams are: to publish my own book, to start my own school, to play the piano again! To play the violin, to play any flute instrument – again, to write another children’s story, to climb mount Kilimandjaro and to do another sky diving jump! I’ve done it once and it was amazing! I would also like to play one of the big chess “engines” like Anand or one of my favourites, Ivanchuk or Kramnik. Topalov looks too scary, I think he’s got a mind of steel. I think he will give you one look and  you will start shivering and lose the game even before you’ve started! haha…Oh, I forgot, my actual dream is to teach chess during school time only and to kids in primary schools. There should be a chess school and kids should play chess all day long! How’s that one! If I look back at this list of dreams, it seems to me they all are impossible, well – for the next year at least. I think I’m going to wake up one morning, shouting: “omumbo-rombonga!” and see what happens! haha…maybe, just maybe, my dreams will come true at once. The end of this story is brilliant. Tortoise shouted the name of the tree and all the different fruits came down and he shared it with all the animals and then tortoise announced: They all should plant a seed. So, those seeds grew for future generations to have food too. More lessons from this book! Share and care for one another!

The next song – “The impossible Dream” – is sung by Peter O’Toole and comes from the movie:MAN OF LA MANCHA

Lyrics:   The Impossible Dream
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I’ll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I’m laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star

Music here. Next you can listen to the  music of by Jim Brickman… Dream come true. This cd was sent to me by one of my chess player-friends in the USA!

Jim Brickman

Dare To Dream

Let nothing hold you back from
exploring your wildest fantasies,wishes, and aspirations.
Don’t be afraid to dream big
and to follow your dreams
wherever they may lead you.
Open your eyes to their beauty;
open your mind to their magic;
open your heart to their possibilities.

Dare to dream.
Whether they are in colour or in black and white,
whether they are big or small,
easily attainable or almost impossible,
look to your dreams,
and make them become reality.
Wishes and hopes are nothing
until you take the first step
towards making them something!

Dare to dream,
Because only by dreaming,
will you ever discover
who you are, what you want,
and what you can do.
Don’t be afraid to take risks,
to become involved,
to make commitment.
Do whatever it takes to makeyour dreams come true.
Always believe in miracles,
and always believe in you!
+++
~ Julie Anne Ford ~

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Sea of Dreams

Sleep and His Half Brother Death
John William Waterhouse
http://www.illusionsgallery.com/sleep.html

Image: dreams.co.uk
 How do you feel about sleep? Sometimes I can go a whole night without sleep, but I will surely feel knackered two days later! I love being in bed at night when the rain is tapping on the roof. Weekends I like to lie in…and then get a nice breakfast in bed! …now to the music!  I’ve these wonderful music, two tracks from a chess friend and he also sent me the third track by Hennie Bekker and suddenly! I found myself busy with an entry on sleep!! I even found you an interesting link about the stages of sleep and one about sleep deprivation…that’s for me, actually…lol! It was truly not my intention to blog about sleep when I uploaded these snippets of music, but at the end, after  searching for some images, I came across these interesting info and sites and thought to share it with you as it was interesting to me.  I  blog about stuff which I enjoy/find interesting…apart from chess…my blog is sort of a “gathering space” for info I want to refer back to, but also in the hope that other people will find it useful too or will enjoy it at least. In the same process, I also found music for children with Aspergers! I’ve worked with children with Aspergers syndrome, Down Syndrome and also Autistic children and they are all a pleasure to work with!

I’ve come across music for  ASD– the link will open in a new window – which you will find in this post. You can read more  about ASD on the link and there’s another link in this post for you to follow up too, if you are more interested in Autistic children.
Seven hours sleep a night helps reduce heart problems. Read the article…the link will open in a new window.

Image…see more fantastic images here..http://photo.net/photodb/member-photos?user_id=941594

Firstly, enjoy “Sea of Dreams”…this track is about 5 min, but you get to listen to only a taster of it, as well as the other tracks. Tranquil Realms is about 11 min but the taster only about 2 min. For Afrikaans speaking people, I wonder if you can remember the Afrikaans poem about sleep! Please find it at the bottom of my post, a wonderful poem by DF Malherbe! In this poem he asks God to shut his eyes one day like the little girl’s when she falls asleep…
On my blog on this link you can read about dreams…the link will open in a new window.

Sea of Dreams..by Angelle

Sleepy Time…by Angelle

Hennie Bekker…Tranquil Realms

Read on this link about sleep cycles. The link will open in a new window. Read on this pdf-link on wiki about dreaming.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikibooks/en/e/ef/Lucid_Dreaming.pdf

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Brain and Behavior
Sarah Ledoux
Sleep deprivation is a commonplace occurrence in modern culture. Every day there seems to be twice as much work and half as much time to complete it in. This results in either extended periods of wakefulness or a decrease in sleep over an extended period of time. While some people may like to believe that they can train their bodies to not require as much sleep as they once did this belief is false . Sleep is needed to regenerate certain parts of the body, especially the brain, so that it may continue to function optimally. After periods of extended wakefulness or reduced sleep neurons may begin to malfunction, visibly effecting a person’s behavior. Some organs, such as muscles, are able to regenerate even when a person is not sleeping so long as they are resting. This could involve lying awake but relaxed within a quite environment. Even though cognitive functions might not seem necessary in this scenario the brain, especially the cerebral cortex, is not able to rest but rather remains semi-alert in a state of “quiet readiness” . Certain stages of sleep are needed for the regeneration of neurons within the cerebral cortex while other stages of sleep seem to be used for forming new memories and generating new synaptic connections. The effects of sleep deprivation on behavior have been tested with relation to the presence of activity in different sections of the cerebral cortex.
The temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex is associated with the processing of language. During verbal learning tests on subjects who are fully rested functional magnetic resonance imaging scans show that this area of the brain is very active. However, in sleep deprived subjects there is no activity within this region. The effects of this inactivity can be observed by the slurred speech in subjects who have gone for prolonged periods with no sleep .
Please click HERE more about sleep deprivation and brain behaviour…the link will open in a new window.

The music in ‘Sleep’ has been designed to be physically relaxing – the program features no distracting surprises and feels like slow, steady breathing, to help transport the listener away from the stresses of the day towards restful sleep.

This CD, with music composed by Hennie Bekker, incorporates scientific principles of sonic response, and is designed to nudge your mind toward deep and refreshing sleep.

On this link you can listen to more snippets of his music. The link will open in a new window.

Hennie Bekker

African Roots
Bekker was raised in Mufulira, a Zambian copper mining town 10 miles south of the Congo border. In those early years, he was captivated by the symphonic sounds of the African wilderness, the haunting harmonies of tribal chanting and the rhythmic dialogue of drummers communicating between camps at sundown. He is a self-taught pianist who had his professional debut at age 15, spending the next decade performing with various bands throughout Zambia, Zaire, Zimbabwe and Kenya. His success as a fusion-jazz musician and band leader elevated him to become the musical director for one of South Africa’s largest record companies. Here, he added scores of film, television, radio and commercial music to his list of career accomplishments.
Read more about Hennie Bekker here, the link will open in a new window. If you click on “home”, you will find youtube-videos of him to watch.

On the “music” link you will find more albums, even some Africa-music and snippets to listen to.

Asperger’s Syndrome is a condition that was initially described by Dr. Hans Asperger’s 1944 doctoral thesis. It was not until 37 years later, in 1981, however, that Dr. Lorna Wing used the term “Asperger’s Syndrome” in a paper that helped to introduce this condition to the English-speaking world.

As described by Dr. Wing, the primary clinical features of Asperger’s Syndrome include:
naïve, inappropriate, one-sided social interactions
limited ability to establish relationships
poor non-verbal communication
a lack of emotional empathy
pedantic, repetitive speech
intense absorption in certain subjects
clumsy, un-coordinated movements
odd postures

Currently, the prevailing view is that Asperger’s Syndrome is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder which falls at the high end of the Autism Spectrum continuum.

BEHAVIORAL DEFINITION

The autism spectrum extends from “classic autism” — which lies at the lower end of the spectrum– through ASPERGER’S SYNDROME, which is characterized as being at the mildest and highest functioning end of the spectrum –or Pervasive Developmental Disorder–Continuum

The major source of stress in life for the person with Asperger’s Syndrome is social contact, and increased stress generally leads to anxiety disorders and depression Attwood, T. Asperger’s Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals, 1998, p. 148.
AS represents a neurologically-based disorder of development

AS reflects deviations or abnormalities in four aspects of development:

(1) Social relatedness and social skills
(2) The use of language for purposes of communication
(3) Certain behavioral and stylistic characteristics such as repetitive or persevering features
(4) Limited, but intense, range of interests

These dysfunctional features can range from mild to severe

“The Epidemiology of Asperger Syndrome: A Total Population Study” by Ehlers and Gillberg (retrieve citation) 2001), it is estimated that the prevalence of Asperger is 2.6 per 1,000 individuals. With the population of the U.S. currently estimated at 275 million (July 2000), this would mean an estimated 715,000 people are affected by Asperger’s syndrome in the U.S. alone”
Stewart, K. (2002). Helping a Child with Nonverbal Learning Disorder or Asperger’s Syndrome, p. 148

AS is characterized by:

high cognitive abilities — or, at least, “normal” IQ level
extending into the very superior range of cognitive ability
normal language function when compared to other autistic disorders
difficulties with pragmatic, or social language
a better prognosis than other Autism spectrum disorders
Please read on THIS LINK more…the link will open in a new window. Click on “products” and it will take you to the music page.

Image: babyzone.com

DF Malherbe (1881-1969)

Slaap

Wat is die slaap ‘n wondersoete ding!
Sag op haar bloue oë daal die vaak
soos maneskyn diep waterkuile raak
om daar te droom in silwer skemering.

Vir laas beef oor haar lippe ‘n fluistering:
“Nag, Pappie.” Ek merk hoe langsaam hy genaak,
wat drome soet tot werklikhede maak:
in vaderarms rus my lieweling.
Sluit so my oë, God, wanneer vir my
u Engel wenk ter laaste, lange rus
en ek van wilde woeling hier moet skei;
dat my dan stille drome huis toe sus
en sterke Hand deur duisternisse lei.
Sluit so my oë, God, as ek gaan rus.

To Sleep
by John Keats.
O soft embalmer of the still midnight!
Shutting, with careful fingers and benign,
Our gloom-pleas’d eyes, embower’d from the light,
Enshaded in forgetfulness divine;
O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, close,
In midst of this thine hymn, my willing eyes.
Or wait the Amen, ere thy poppy throws
Around my bed its lulling charities;
Then save me, or the passed day will shine
Upon my pillow, breeding many woes;
Save me from curious conscience, that still hoards
Its strength for darkness, burrowing like a mole;
Turn the key deftly in the oiled wards,
And seal the hushed casket of my soul.

Sea of Dreams…Kelly King …I’ve found this book on google-books whilst searching for images and thought it might be on my list to read when I have more time…I’ve read a couple of books about wars…and for some reason I like to read about it…all part of history.

Sea of dreams by Martin Sramek

Dreams
by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

My Piano….by… artistnina.com

 

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Kyk hoe glinster die maan…dreams…

Image:eso-garden.com

This song is one of my favourites, sung by Laurika Rauch, also one of my favourite South African artists. Laurika is a legend in South Africa and many South Africans love her for her music…and I’m definitely one of them. If you click on the page-link that says…”don’t miss this song”, you can listen to her singing another song together with Valiant Swart…and I’ve translated that song for you to understand the song that’s about a sun catcher… This song is about her as a young girl, where she says she used to believe in Santa ….she saw Santa walking through the corn fields one day and her brother asked if Santa was from Clocolan….then one day  she saw Santa’s suit…and she realised that he wasn’t real…all her dreams were scattered… she also sings about girls having dreams about their future partners and she wrote a letter to Santa …describing him her dream partner…

WOW! This image is from THIS SITE where you can see more fantastic breathtaking images! This is the road to Clocolan…the small town Laurika mentions in her song…in her song her little brother asks her if Santa was from Clocolan…
 

EK HET IN MY KINDERJARE VAS GEGLO IN KERSFEESVADER
IN WERKLIKHEID RY HY MOS MET ‘N SLEE
MAAR HIER STAP HY DEUR DIE MIELIES, MET ‘N STREEPSAK
EN ‘N KIERIE
EN MY BOETIE VRA, “BOER HY BY CLOCOLAN?”
KOOR:
WAAR IS JOU RENDIER EN SILWER SPORE?
WAAR IS ONS DROME VAN GISTERAAND?
VLIEG OOR DIE BOME MET MY DROME
KYK HOE GLINSTER DIE MAAN

DIE WINDE VAN DIE WINTER HET MY KINDERHART ONTNUGTER
EK EN BOETIE KRY ‘N ROOI JAS IN DIE LAAI
JONK VAN JARE, OUD VAN DAE, HUIL EK HARTSEER
IN MY KAMER
WANT DIE FANTASIE HET SOOS ‘N DROOM VERDWYN

KOOR

IN ‘N BRIEF VAN LATER JARE, SKRYF EK “LIEWE KERSFEESVADER
ELKE MEISIE HET ‘N SPESIALE WENS
VIR ‘N MAN SO SOET SOOS SUIKER, MET ‘N MOTOR SONDER DUIKE
EN SOEN HY JOU DINK JY DIS NET ‘N DROOM”

KOOR

EK STAP TOE OP ‘N AAND LAAT, MET ‘N KÊREL UIT DIE VRYSTAAT
AL BESTUUR HY ‘N OU BAKKIE, SÊ EK “KERSFEESVADER, DANKIE!”
WANT AL SY SOENE IS SOOS SUIKER, EN IN SY HANDE ‘N DIAMANT
VLIEG OOR DIE BOME MET MY DROME
KYK HOE GLINSTER DIE MAAN

HIER’S ONS KINDERS OM DIE BOOMPIE, HULLE WAG NOU VIR DIE OOMPIE
MY DOGTERTJIE IS NET ‘N BIETJIE BANG
MAAR HY STAP SOMMER UIT DIE BRANDERS, JA DIE TYE HET VERANDER
MY SEUNTJIE VRA, “WOON HY IN JEFFRIESBAAI?”

KOOR
Read what Wipneus says in her post about “dreams” HERE , but it’s an entry in Afrikaans. The link will open in a new window.

Image:Childrenshospital.org

On THIS LINK you can read about dreams….The link will open in a new window.

From the book “Dreams”…by Olive Schreiner…

 And God laughed at me; and I wondered why he laughed.

God said, “Come, and I will show you Heaven.”

…

And partly I awoke. It was still and dark; the sound of the carriages had
died in the street; the woman who laughed was gone; and the policeman’s
tread was heard no more. In the dark it seemed as if a great hand lay upon
my heart, and crushed it. I tried to breathe and tossed from side to side;
and then again I fell asleep, and dreamed.

God took me to the edge of that world. It ended. I looked down. The
gulf, it seemed to me, was fathomless, and then I saw two bridges crossing
it that both sloped upwards.

I said to God, “Is there no other way by which men cross it?”

God said, “One; it rises far from here and slopes straight upwards.

I asked God what the bridges’ names were.

God said, “What matter for the names? Call them the Good, the True, the
Beautiful, if you will–you will yet not understand them.”
Please click HERE to read the entire book …”Dreams” online written by a South African writer…Olive Schreiner….the link will open in a new window….and on THIS LINK  you can read more about her…the link will open in a new window.

Image:http://zar.co.za/schreiner.htm
other works of Olive include:

The Story of an African Farm as Ralph Iron, 1883
Dreams, 1890
Dream Life and Real Life, 1893
The Political Situation (with S C Cronwright-Schreiner), 1896
Trooper Peter Halket of Mashonaland, 1897
An English South African’s View of the Situation, 1899
Women and Labour, 1911
Stories, Dreams and Allegories, 1923
From Man To Man, 1926
Undine, 1928

 

Olive Schreiner rose to international fame as the first major South African writer of fiction, as an eloquent advocate of feminism, socialism, pacifism and free thought, as a trenchant critic of British imperialism and racism. Perhaps best known for her novel ‘The Story of an African Farm’, Schreiner wrote political and social treatises as well as allegories and short stories.

She was born into a poor family of a Boer father and English mother, the ninth of 12 children. She lived a life of incredible hardship: her father was a missionary of implacable religious zeal and her mother aggressively attempted to maintain a European sensibility as the family nomadically wandered from mission to mission throughout the Transvaal. Schreiner was self-educated; her early influences included the philosophers Herbert Spencer and John Stuart Mill, and the naturalist Charles Darwin.”..read on the link I’ve given about her…more…

On THIS LINK you can visit the site of the movie based on her book…”The Story of an African farm”…
The link will open in a new window.

by Gustavus Hindman Miller.
Fireside; 1st Fireside Ed edition, 1985 | 592 pages | PDF | 1.4MB  Click on the link to download the dictionary of dreams…the link will open in a new window.
the_dictionary_of_dreams_10_000_dreams_interpreted

 
What do you believe about dreams….read this interesting article if you want to dream like an Egyptian! I’ve got a Dutch dream book…more like a dictionary, but quite old…unfortunately packed away in SA…would love to have it so I could blog it..it was always interesting to read what they say if you dream about something, what it means… it has happened to me twice that I dream about people and funerals..then it was when there was really going to be a funeral in the family! The first time it happened was when I was a student…and a couple of days later, my beloved grandma died! After the second time, I really believe that there is some meaning we can attach to dreams!

 

Image: eso-garden.com

DREAMING LIKE AN EGYPTIAN

by Robert Moss

The ancient Egyptians understood that in dreams, our eyes are opened. Their word for dream, rswt, is etymologically connected to the root meaning “to be awake”. It was written with a symbol representing an open eye.

The Egyptians believed that the gods speak to us in dreams. As the Bible story of Joseph and Pharaoh reminds us, they paid close attention to dream messages about the possible future. They practiced dream incubation for guidance and healing at temples and sacred sites. They understood that by recalling and working with dreams, we develop the art of memory, tapping into knowledge that belonged to us before we entered this life journey, and awakening to our connection with other life experiences.

The Egyptians also developed an advanced practice of conscious dream travel.

Trained dreamers operated as seers, remote viewers and telepaths, advising on affairs of state and military strategy and providing a mental communications network between far-flung temples and administrative centers.

They practiced shapeshifting, crossing time and space in the dreambodies of birds and animals.

Through conscious dream travel, ancient Egypt’s “frequent flyers” explored the roads of the afterlife and the multidimensional universe. It was understood that true initiation and transformation takes place in a deeper reality accessible through the dream journey beyond the body.
Please click on THIS LINK to read the entire article. The link will open in a new window.

 DO BABIES DREAM?

Babies dream, says Dr. Charles P. Pollak, director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital in the New York Times.

In what seems like a rather gutless attempt to explain why he thinks babies dream, Dr. Pollack says, babies sleep because babies experience REM sleep (I have experienced REM sleep, too, any time you put in one of their last five albums). Because infants have REM sleep, Dr. Pollack says, “It is a well-based inference that babies are dreaming in REM sleep.”
Click HERE to read about babies’ dreams…The link will open in a new window.

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