Are you feeling a little down or depressed? Would you describe your child as being lively or is he/she suffering from AHDH? At what point does feeling sad become a disease that has to be treated? And does that treatment consist of medicine or cognitive therapy? Is a psychological disorder genetically determined … Read full story
In her book My Stroke of Insight (2006), Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a 37-year-old neuroanatomist, describes how her life changed completely in the space of just four hours as a result of a stroke. It rendered the logical and clear-thinking left hemisphere of her brain useless. This half of the brain controls … Read full story
Last summer vacation I travelled around Norway with my family, moving from holiday address to holiday address, always cleaning the house before leaving. Every time we asked the owner to check if the house was clean enough, the answer was always something like: ‘Oh no, that’s not necessary, we’re sure you’ll leave … Read full story
Would you allow an unqualified surgeon without any medical training to operate on you? Probably not, unless… In around 1926, an African is born somewhere in a tiny village in South Africa. Till the age of 14 he goes to school but when his family can no longer afford it he has to … Read full story
By practising self-reflection, you get to know more about… yourself. By studying the way you think and act in different situations, you become more aware of the beliefs, feelings and thoughts you have in those situations. You will discover your innermost drives and how these mould your identity and behaviour. The more … Read full story
One of the readers of my newsletter recently drew my attention to the unique Portuguese word ‘saudade’. It is a mood state of the soul in which various emotions are experienced, all of which can be traced back to their origin in love. Among those experiencing the feelings of joy and sadness … Read full story
This time the newsletter is a special one, written for you by Gerrie Vogels. It is one of the entries I received in response to the challenge I issued to my readers to write their own newsletter. I chose this entry because of the personal story Gerrie tells and the theme it … Read full story
It’s Saturday afternoon and I’ve just come to the realisation that it’s really time to write my next newsletter. What shall I do: start on it straight away or leave it till tomorrow? Arguments for starting today enter my mind, as well as arguments for putting off writing it till tomorrow. But… … Read full story
What do you stand for? What’s really important to you? What do you believe in? What is your goal in life? Not only are these kinds of questions difficult to answer, we often don’t take time even to consider them. And that’s rather strange because the answers to these questions give purpose … Read full story
In one of the training courses I give, before the traditional round of introductions, I ask the participants to ask each other the question: ‘what is your most cherished dream?’ This is always a special moment. First there’s the sense of ‘confusion’ as they think: ‘what is my most cherished dream (and do … Read full story
