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List of all articles published on DrAngelAdams.com. Click on the titles to read full articles.

Articles

  • How to Cultivate Patience | Dr Angel Adams, Dr Patricia Papciak
    May 18, 2009

    I'm late, I'm late! Does this sound familiar? We live in a world where our schedules are hectic and today's technology bombards us constantly. It seems more difficult then ever to cultivate patience when we are accustomed to and reinforced for having things instantly available. In addition, we often feel pressure to react immediately to interruptions from our e-mail, phone calls, or texting. As a result we resort to multi-tasking to decrease the impact of being overwhelmed from all of this while juggling family, work and social relations. There is a downside to multitasking. According to researchers at the University of California and Kings College, London, multitasking can actually lower your IQ (as does smoking marijuana) because the “lack of focus prevents information from reaching the brain's memory stores.

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  • "Walk the Walk": How Walking Together can Create Memories that Last a Lifetime | Dr Angel Adams, Dr Patricia Papciak
    May 11, 2009

    How long has it been since you and your children took a walk outdoors, with no destiny in mind, for no specific reason, with no bikes, no scooters or footballs to accompany you, just simply with the goal to enjoy your time together while admiring the world of nature? You may be surprised by the countless splendours you can encounter together when you become mindful of all that is around you.

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  • "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile": The Importance of Laughter and Humour in Daily Family Life | Dr Angel Adams, Dr Patricia Papciak
    May 4, 2009

    Would you like to laugh more with your children and spend less time fussing and arguing? In this article we want to tell you the important reasons to add more humour into your interactions, encourage your child to develop a sense of humour and explain why it is crucial for you to increase your own entertaining repertoire.

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  • "Through the Ear of a Raindrop": Thoughts about Listening | Dr Angel Adams, Dr Patricia Papciak
    April 27, 2009

    Listening can be one of the most important tools for living. If we listen attentively when others are speaking, we often learn something we've never considered before. We are given new food for thought. When you are speaking, some people listen and then give you a thoughtful answer to whatever you are talking about, but others interrupt before you have finished your sentence. Some listen to your sentence, but as soon as you have finished they take what you have said and relate it to themselves. They can only hear what you have said if it means something to them personally.

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  • Transforming Depression: How Using Courage and Thinking Skills Can Change Brain Rewiring | Dr Angel Adams, Dr Patricia Papciak
    April 20, 2009

    Mark Twain once said that "Life doesn't consist so much of facts and events. Instead, it consists mainly of the storm of thoughts blowing endlessly through my mind". What thoughts do we allow to blow through our minds? Some people feel like they don't have a choice when depressive, negative or intrusive thoughts arrive without invitation. It is our belief that we all have a choice in how we relate to our uninvited thoughts, emotions and pain. Most of us are simply doing what we have learned to do to survive dark moods, but we can also learn the tools to help us relate to them differently.

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  • What Can the Hornbills Teach Us About Sharing? | Dr Angel Adams, Dr Patricia Papciak
    April 13, 2009

    We would like to tell a few stories about sharing. First, we have a friend who works at a zoo who recently told us about the hornbills. They are very exotic birds that come from tropical forests in Thailand, Malaysia, India and Africa. The hornbills are extremely interesting because they have monogamous relationships that last for life. The main reason for this is that their reproduction process requires the female hornbill to trust the male hornbill to feed her for 4 months during the incubation period of her eggs. Before mating, he offers her a food gift (an insect or a fruit). The nest is usually made in a tree hole. She, in fact, muds herself into it! She closes her nest completely with mud and dung and leaves open only enough space for her partner to give her food through this opening during the time she is inside the nest. Can you imagine that Mr Hornbill can bring up to 24,000 fruits for Mrs Hornbill during the whole period of nesting? Wow!

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  • Ways to Teach your Children to Value and Conserve Water | Dr Angel Adams and Dr Patricia Papciak
    April 6, 2009

    Last Sunday, March 22, the United Nations General Assembly designated this day as World Water Day because 1 billion people around the world lack access to improved water supply. We all know that we could not survive without water, and yet we use it and throw it around as though it were something worthlessly disposable. We rarely stop and appreciate its unimaginable value.

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  • Why Family Rituals are Important | Dr Angel Adams, Dr Patricia Papciak
    March 30, 2009

    The concept of grace is different for different people. For some the idea of beauty is what comes first to mind, while for others the image of movement is what they begin to imagine. Some might hear the song Amazing Grace in their head, a well-known 18th century hymn by John Newton or others may think of the child's book they read called All About Grace. For yet others the idea of the prayer we say before eating might be the meaning of grace. We would like to focus on this concept because it is associated with the importance of family rituals. Why are family rituals important? ...

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  • The Courage To Rise; The Courage To Live | Dr Angel Adams, Dr. Patricia Papciak
    March 23, 2009

    For some people it takes a lot of courage to get up in the morning. It takes courage to try and just survive through another day. I am sure you can think of many people and circumstances in your mind's eye right now that fit that image — from a neighbour down the street to someone on the other side of the world. It's almost impossible to fathom where that person can find such enormous amounts of courage.

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  • Respect is the Key to Your Child's Success | Dr Angel Adams, Dr Patricia Papciak
    March 16, 2009

    Last week in the newsletter the word Respect was mentioned in the framework of meditation. Respect is such an important concept that we decided to write more on this subject. Parents are the most important role model in their children's lives, and it is crucial that they set the example of being respectful to themselves, to their children and to all others. Children are like mirrors because they reflect back to us much of what we say and do. 95% of everything learned by children is through what is modelled to them, with only 5% learned by way of direct instruction. What we communicate is what we teach and our language is the language that they will speak.

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