As our group sat near our gate in the Sangster International Airport departure lounge, we tried not to attract any attention as our tears flowed. We were still unaware that people in Ottawa and Toronto were beginning to feel the shock waves that accompanied the news of Lauren's death. In …

I just wanted to make sure that, in my shock, I didn't say the wrong thing, or words that would be brought up in heated moments in the years to come. Goodness knows I have a long memory when it comes to things that have been said in the heat …

I was finding joy in the day-to-day routine and comfort of a radio show. But eventually, even that ran its course. In no way were the two stories comparable, of course; We live in a world that has become mechanized to an amazingly high degree. Irrational unconscious phenomena are always …

We'd taped a bit with a bartender--we'd nicknamed him Dr Phil--who had a remedy for every ailment we brought up: rum. Mike (whose wife's illness had forced him to travel solo this time) joined Rob and me for dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant where the chef splattered me with hot …

than embrace this as a challenge and opportunity to expand and change minds about what a grandmother looks, sounds and acts like in the twenty-first century, I feared the snide comments and the rampant ageism that pervades the world of women in media. My fears were not without justification: after …

Of course, as I told her, we supported her in her marriage and respected the hard-working, loyal and soft-hearted man she had chosen. We made sure she and Phil had the wedding all four of us wanted her to have, and we did everything we could to show her new …

Good point, but . The effort on my parents' part at equanimity among the offspring was still going strong well into our adult years. My father, flown in from several provinces away, answered the producer's question about why he was proud of me by saying that he had four daughters of …

We were fortunate that she had a second cousin five years her senior who would gamely go along with us for trips to the cottage, playing the role of big sister. Lauren never wanted a younger sibling--just an older one! All of the benefits without the conflict? This is, of …

But with the exception of the wedding money they received, they were intent on making their own way in every sense. Lauren was responsible, thrifty and appreciative of everything that she had, no matter how little or how much. We felt no need to hold back with Lauren. I can …

How she and so many other Armed Forces wives in the same predicament didn't end up stuck in the bottom of a martini shaker is beyond me. But she knew that between parenting and her job as a registered nurse, she had no time for that kind of escape--or, really …

And then, in that split second, I realized there would be no take two. Making matters worse, I knew we'd already failed to provide the Hollywood moment that was supposed to be our reaction when they'd announced two years earlier that they were engaged. I still shudder over that misstep …

Until she got what I was saying: They might as well be saying that you are purple. You and I can both plainly see that they're wrong, because you are not purple. So why would you listen to what they have to say? The first time I saw this exhibit …

I will continue to love the Beatles for the rest of my days. I will play the Beatles for my children and their children and their children. The Beatles are a true legacy that needs to be recognized by more people today. If you wish to understand the psychological and …

We also sought musical experiences that we hoped would become memories to last a lifetime. Lauren had been a Beatles fan since the days we rocked her to sleep to their songs, so it was a culmination of all of our dreams when we steeled ourselves for the exorbitant second-hand …

Notice that my description is a normal-functioning brain and makes no reference to a person being normal or not. This is only a descriptor of the way the human brain normally develops. Although we are hard-wired to take in and ultimately handle crises, the normal development of the human brain …

Your every action elicits a reaction in others. Although we are all responsible solely for what we do in life, it would be unrealistic to deny that our actions influence others and vice versa. In other words, you don't cause others to act in a specific way (or they, you …

In Pons's experiment, he worked with monkeys whose nerve fibers from the brain to one arm had been severed. In testing out the map of their brains, Pons discovered that when he touched the hand of the dead arm, there was no activity in the corresponding part of the brain …

Over the next five years Coltrane would bounce around from one band to another, each with its different style and repertoire of songs. This wandering existence suited him well--he felt as if he needed to internalize every conceivable style of music. But this also caused him some problems. When it …

Fight this downhill tendency as much as you can by upholding the value of active wonder. Constantly remind yourself of how little you truly know, and of how mysterious the world remains. Conservatism: If you gain any kind of attention or success for your work in this phase, you face …

Give yourself a day to feel bummed, then get yourself back out there. There is nothing wrong with meeting someone for drinks, but if you've started to feel like all your dates begin and end on a bar stool, it might be time to branch out. Practically any activity can …

When you make out in the back of the taxi and text without hesitation and build up a little collection of nicknames and inside jokes for two. Maybe this will evolve into a long relationship, and maybe it won't, but the future trajectory of your relationship shouldn't be of too …

From your ego: No, I wasn't! or You're wrong. Applying nonattachment: I honestly didn't feel myself being rude, but I'm open to the idea that if that's how I was perceived, that person must have picked up on something I wasn't aware of. The ego wants to control situations, but …

Now bring that lemon up to your mouth and take a big bite out of it. Can you imagine it? Did your mouth pucker at all? If it did, then consider how powerful this is: Words that you said in your mind produced an actual physiological response in your body …

Some have speculated that synesthesia represents a high degree of interconnectivity in the brain, which also plays a role in intelligence. Creative people do not simply think in words, but use all of their senses, their entire bodies in the process. They find sense cues that stimulate their thoughts on …

For when you're waiting for your date at the bar. Classic, strong, and can be sipped slowly (in case you have a long wait). You know how people feed off of each other's energies? I know that sounds New Age-y, but it's true. You can tell when someone feels awkward …

And don't worry about getting hit on by guys: Most dating sites (our organisation included) won't show your profile to anyone other than the gender that you're interested in. It's a totally safe (and effective! Again, online dating shouldn't necessarily be the only way you meet women, but between dating …

From a biological evolutionary perspective, anger can lead to conflict, and conflict can lead to death; and although that might seem a bit extreme, from the vantage point of the brain's instinct to survive, it's really not that farfetched at all. When people are angry or in conflict, their vision …

To physically practice nonattachment is to present your ideas and let them go. It's to share what you see with your friend but entirely respect that she might be seeing a different side of the box than you see. And the same is true with any beliefs you share or …

In business, the natural tendency is to look at what is already out there in the marketplace and to think of how we can make it better or cheaper. The real trick--the equivalent of seeing the negative cue--is to focus our attention on some need that is not currently being …

In making this artifact public he realized several faults in its design and reformulated it. Although it led nowhere, particularly as the auto industry put all kinds of roadblocks before him, the Dymaxion car ended up influencing future designers, and caused many to question the single-minded approach people had to …

Choose an environment where you can really relax and not even notice how much time has gone by. It's close to other things. Always have a plan for how to elongate the date if it goes well. For example: If you meet up for coffee, make sure there's a restaurant …

It's the profile picture. So better open your tagged photos on Facebook and start looking for that killer shot. Obviously you want something flattering--a picture in which your hair looks great and you've managed to keep both eyes open and your outfit makes you look stylish and sexy. You also …

in fact, I would likely give them more fuel to warrant hurting others in the future. Throughout my whole career, time and again, I've come to the conclusion that meeting anger with more anger doesn't actually change anything. By leading with compassion, I can meet others wherever they are, connect …

Being nonattached to your ideas is one of the most effective ways to circumvent others' fight-or-flight response, but it takes a level of maturity and esteem to handle others disagreeing with the ideas you present. The less attached you are to what you say, though, the more permission others feel …

He spent the next few months immersing himself in the science of sound, which led to his first experiments on creating a phonograph that would record the human voice, using a very similar technology to the telegraph. This discovery shows us the essence of the creative mind. In such a …

The sixth breath you take is for all life in the known universe. Finally, the seventh breath is for all dimensions, including time (past, present, future), all multiverses, and all potential existence. Big thought? Of course. But imagine what might take place inside of you if you were to begin …

Most people won't mind helping someone out for a few minutes in the weight room, and it's a perfectly normal request. You can make small talk during sets, and if he doesn't seem interested by the end of the reps, you leave it at that. Watch what he's watching. If …

Isn't it nicer to sit in the joy of having gotten a number than to contact that number and risk feeling rejected or ignored? Many girls give out their number because they really just want the guy to go away but want to be nice. We know this. Getting a …

We grow afraid of entertaining new ideas and the effort that this requires. To think more flexibly entails a risk--we could fail and be ridiculed. We prefer to live with familiar ideas and habits of thinking, but we pay a steep price for this: our minds go dead from the …

It would be wise to adapt all of them at some point, stretching and loosening the mind in all directions. In 1817 the twenty-two-year-old poet John Keats wrote a letter to his brothers in which he explained his most recent thoughts on the creative process. The world around us, he …