BBC News recently reported the story of horticulturist and orchid collector, Tom Hart Dyke, who was kidnapped in 2000 in the Darien Gap in Panama by Colombian Guerrillas and held hostage for nine months in the South American jungle. He was on a plant collecting expedition with his friend Paul Winder when captured.

They experienced a horrific kidnapping ordeal and were both threatened with being beheaded. During this dark passage, in order to stay sane, Tom spent his time jotting down plans in his dairy and dreaming of a map garden containing exotic plants from around the world.

The original plan took root, he recalls, when he was threatened with execution: “My guards kicked down the door on June 16, 2000, my sister’s birthday, and said: ‘You’ve got five hours, mate.’ I started scribbling in my diary, drawing the shapes of my garden. It took an AK47 to focus my mind. It was: four walls, start drawing. The whole garden started with that threat. Five hours later the guards came back and we had iguana and armadillo for supper as usual; there was no more mention of being shot.” [Taken from Times Online, Aug. 4, 2006]

After his miraculous release, Tom set about building his dream garden and worked hard on cultivating a neglected two-acre garden at his family’s ancestral home in Kent. His dream garden is now a reality. Like something out of a fairy tale, Tom’s magical walled garden is situated in the historic Lullingston Castle grounds. He calls it “The World Garden of Plants,” which is divided into four continents and is now an award winning tourist attraction open to the public.

Think of this article as that AK47 to focus your mind on your dreams. Okay, so this article might not be as threatening, but it’ll spare you the nine months of captivity in the heart of darkness — sans iguana and armadillo.

But seriously, since most of us don’t have guns pointed to our heads and we live in a predominantly free society, there should be no excuses for not living our dreams. Take the time now to concentrate your thoughts and focus on your dreams:

* Write out your plans for your magical dream world in a diary as Tom did.

* Re-create your plans by sketching them on paper. Use colors to make your drawing memorable.

* Visit your nearest Staples and get a pin cork board to create a Vision Board. Tack pictures, quotes, magazine cut-outs, and drawings that represent the dream lifestyle you want to live or the BIG goal you want to achieve. Look at that board every day and see yourself living that lifestyle.

* Create a replica ‘vision board’ by putting similar pictures on your fridge with fridge magnets as a further reminder.

* Put another reminder photo near your bathroom mirror; create a screensaver of it on your computer; and discreetly, or not so discreetly, put that dream sketch or photo somewhere near your workspace where you can look at it daily. During your breaks, you can focus on these pictures with intensity and daydream about what it would be like to actually live out your fantasy.

* Kidnap yourself! Take yourself hostage and go into captivity for a while to focus only on your dream world and the new reality you want to create for yourself. Go on a two day or week long retreat (or longer) to refresh and renew your mind, body, and soul and use this quiet time of solitude to reflect on your dreams.

* Watch the DVD movie The Secret which provides a powerful and visceral experience of the magic that can happen when you concentrate your thoughts on what you want, visualize your dreams, and feel the excitement of what it would be like to actually be living your dreams right now!

Become obsessed with your dream! Write down all the steps you need to take, all the goals you need to accomplish along the way, and list all the resources you need to tap into to recreate that Shangri La in your mind.

By immersing yourself in an oasis of dream thoughts, your heart will overflow with positive energy that will seep through and permeate every pore, cell, and molecular structure in your body. This is the timeless Law of Attraction that The Secret movie makes so vividly clear, where what you want, wants you, and you attract the very thing that is top of mind. You can use these dream thought projections to penetrate the far reaches of space and literally create your own Garden of Eden on earth.

In recent years, researchers have been doing work to try and identify what causes gambling addiction. Like alcoholism and smoking addiction, gambling addiction can cause often life altering problems for a person if the problem goes unchecked. Most studies show that gambling problems arise because of a couple of things. Either that person has issues with competition and must be in the “action”, or the person has deep rooted problems with money. A less than fortunate childhood can sometimes prompt people to begin to gamble.

Compulsive gambling can be dangerous because it strips the compulsive gambler of all sense of reality. In a regular setting, they would never be alright with losing thousands of hard earned dollars. When they sit down at the poker table, however, it somehow becomes ok to lose this amount of money. This dangerous self-convincing act is what fuels gambling addiction to points where it becomes dangerous. As people lose touch with reality, they begin to lie, break relationships, and even deceive themselves. All of these things are extremely dangerous issues and can lead a person to do things that they normally would not.

Losing a big chunk of money is not even the worst thing that can happen to a person because of a gambling addiction. When people begin to get desperate, as gambling often causes extreme desperation, they will do almost anything to dig out of that hole. This can lead to crime, which simply compounds all of the problems that they are facing. Many gamblers have to fight off depression as they feel terrible about the pain they have caused themselves and their families.

Because gambling addiction is such a mental issue, hypnosis can be a successful treatment option. Hypnosis is known to help people regain their sense of reality and it can help people to have a different outlook on life. These are needed when a person is in the throws of a gambling addiction. Many people never consider hypnotherapy because they see it as something that is done on a stage in Las Vegas or something that only happens on television. Those messages are false, as hypnosis is a very real way to treat ailments like gambling addiction.

If you are suffering from a problem like gambling addiction, then you should consider hypnosis to help you get away from it. I have been serving clients for years that have successfully broken gambling addictions and other addictions with the help of hypnotherapy. Get the information that you need and change your life.

Compulsive and problem gambling is a problem that, left unattended, can ruin the life of any gambler and those close to the gambler. Like other addictions such as alcohol, smoking, or drugs, gambling addiction is a psychological disorder that impairs a person’s ability to make good decisions. Often, gambling can cause a person to lose their grip on reality, leading them to do things and spend amounts of money that would normally seem outrageous.

Especially in today’s day and age when gambling over the internet is so popular, there are many people who have a problem with it. The first signs of problem gambling are not serious, as they will probably include small amounts of money lost. Over time, the problem can grow out of control, though. As a person begins to lose more money, desperation sets in and they begin to make terrible decisions. The problem is compounded over and over again until there is no money left and all hope is gone. Gambling is dangerous because it is a gateway addiction. It can lead to things like depression and criminal activity.

Do you feel like you have to gamble each and every day? Do you feel like gambling has taken control of your life to the point where you cannot stop get yourself free of its grip? These are realities for many people and it is often difficult to admit that. Doing so is important, though. Treatments for gambling addiction are out there, but nothing has been noted as being extremely successful. Hypnotherapy is one of the more effective modes of treatment for gambling addiction, though.

People see hypnotherapy on television and in movies and they miss out on the reality of the situation. Hypnotherapy is no joke that is used to simply mesmerize people. It is a real psychological treatment that can set a person’s thinking back to the correct state. Hypnotherapy has long been an effective treatment for things like smoking, slimming, and stress, but it is successful in stopping problem gambling in a lot of people.

I have been using hypnosis for many years to treat different problems that people may face. If you want to get rid of a problem that is having a terrible effect on your life, I suggest you find out more information about hypnotherapy and get started on stopping your problem. Hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis treatments are excellent stoppers for life’s worst afflictions.