Tending the Garden of Our Soul

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Frog was in his garden. Toad came walking by.  “What a very fine garden  you have, Frog,” he said.  “Yes”, said Frog. “It is very nice, but it was hard work.”  “I wish I had a garden,” said Toad.  “Here are some flower seeds. Plant them in the ground”, said Frog, “and soon you too will have a garden”.  “How soon?” asked Toad.  “Quite soon,” said Frog.  Toad ran home. He planted the flower seeds.  “Now seeds,” said Toad, “start growing.”  Toad walked up and down a few times. The seeds did not …

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When Threats Don’t Solve Conflictual Situations with Our Children

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Some time ago, I heard a frustrated parent telling their child: “Do this one more time, and I will take away all your toys”. Unsurprisingly, the child reacted with screams and cries. Far from me to judge this interaction, as all parents reach that exhausting point of running low on time, sleep, and energy, and for once, they just need some peace and quiet, and kids listen to them.   However, imagine the child reacts after a few fights like this: “Fine, take my toys. …

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How to Counteract Disinformation

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The last few years exposed more than ever the fragility of our information ecosystem. Elections, Brexit, social unrest, COVID-19 conspiracies, and the war in Ukraine have been used as disinformation operations by certain actors to undermine faith in governments, raise fear and anger, confuse and manipulate us.  Disinformation is information meant to deceive (trolls posting fake news). In contrast, misinformation is false information with no malicious intent (our friends and family genuinely believe in disinformative content and willingly share it).  Why is Disinformation Effective?  …

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Interoception, the Sense that Builds the Mind

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Our five senses are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. Proprioception is frequently called “the sixth sense”, which helps us with body position, movement and action. This sense allows for walking in the darkness without losing balance. The finger nose proprioception test is a bedside test to check if a patient can touch their nose with the finger while the eyes are closed. Patients with proprioceptive impairment will miss the tip of the nose.   The vestibular system is a sensory system occasionally called “the seventh sense”. This system …

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Healthy Methods to Handle Our Children’s Anxieties

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Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared. Edward Vernon Rickenbacker, an American fighter pilot in World War I  Some children are more anxious than others. For them, dangers seem to be everywhere: a new brother or sister, going to a new school, a change of routines, separation anxiety.   Consider that our children fear doing something. Which of the following answers do we usually say? (some answers are picked from Lawrence Cohen’s book The Opposite of Worry)   …

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Leonardo da Vinci: Between the Tongue of the Woodpecker and Mona Lisa

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Get hold of a skull. Nutmeg.  Observe the holes in the substance of the brain, where there are more or less of them.  Describe the tongue of the woodpecker and jaw of a crocodile.  Give measurement of the dead using his finger [as a unit].  Get your books on anatomy bound. Boots, stockings, comb, towel, shirts, shoelaces, penknife, pens, a skin for the chest, gloves, wrapping paper, charcoal.  This to-do list belonged to Leonardo da Vinci, written perhaps before a journey da Vinci took to …

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The Apgar Score and Its Hidden Lessons

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The first test newborns have to pass is the Apgar score, a rating system from zero to ten used by healthcare providers to determine how thriving a newborn is.  Appearance (skin colour), Pulse (heart rate), Grimace (reflexes), Activity (muscle tone), and Respiration (breathing rate), these categories are each rated from zero to two so that midwives, nurses or obstetricians can quickly assess a baby’s condition after birth. A score of seven or above indicates the baby is in good health. A lower score does not …

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The Wisdom of Children’s Book “The Missing Piece meets the Big O” in Describing Relationships, Breakups, and Self-Discovery

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Now and then, I come across children’s books that express profound life lessons through soul-stirring imagery and minimalist choice of words. Reminiscing about an age that thought in metaphors and spoke in rhymes, these books talk on different levels to small children, bigger kids and adults.  Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down. Children are demanding. They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth. They …

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