Do this test tonight when you go to bed. Put a plate on the floor next to your bed. Lie down with o...
Building a New Tomorrow
You are working for an urban planning corporation and have been assigned to the community development team for a major project. You have been asked to come up with an inspirational theme for the city. What theme do you propose? The project team has a number of members, each wi...
Wave After Wave
Sometimes a stroll along a sandy beach can transport you much further from your everyday reality than the actual distance you walk. That may be why the sea holds a special place in the lovers' hearts. It provides them with the chance to journey together, if only for a brief time, in...
When Is a Door Not a Door?
It isn't every day that you have the time to take a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood: a stroll without purpose or destination, a chance to stretch your legs, let the mind wander, and get reacquainted with some old familiar sights. On your way, perhaps you'd stop in at a cozy...
All the World's a Stage
Life is often compared to a drama — it’s an easy comparison to make. The coming and going of the characters, the suspense as each day’s plot unfolds, the lines we hear spoken, and the acts performed: you could say we live each day on stage. There are even genres to the stories — off...
Spreading Your Wings
In times of stress and frustration, it’s normal and natural for people to want to shed their troubles and leave the world behind. Think about it. When you love someone who doesn’t love you back, or things just aren’t going your way at work, sometimes the easiest solution is to get a...
The Doctor Will See You Now
A hospital means different things to different people. Those coming in to have some undiagnosed malady examined for the first time may look on the place with a sense of anxiety and dread. But for those walking out the door after recovering from a long illness or delivering a beautif...
When Your Tastes Have Grown Up
Coffee may be the quintessential adult drink. That rich aroma, that slightly bitter edge, the feeling of warmth and mellow anticipation as you blow the steam away before taking your first sip. It’s an experience you learn to enjoy as you leave childhood behind and serves as a sign t...
On Second Thought...
You’re seated in a quiet diner. You flip open the menu and are pondering your selection when the waitress arrives and asks if you’re ready to order. Without thinking, you order a sandwich and a cup of coffee. But after she leaves, it comes to you - you’re in the mood for hot chocola...
Just Can't Wait
Starting to work at a new job is always stressful; the unfamiliar people and environment, the million new things to be learned, the feeling of wanting to do a good job, and of course the inevitable goofs. We learn by making mistakes, then trying not to repeat them. A friend of yours...
Driving Machine
Remember practicing for your driver’s license and all the little things you had to learn? U-turns, parallel parking, hand signals, and car length... Sure, they’re all important, but that isn’t what driving is really all about. Driving is about the way you felt after passing those te...
Busted
They say that police develop a sixth sense about criminal mind. And each of us has a little bit of that criminal mind inside, which is why the police can never afford to be off duty. If you were a cop, how do you think you’d handle the pressures of the beat? You’re in hot pursu...
Judging By Its Cover
Think of what would it be like to be the best selling pop star in the world, the darling of the media and idol to millions. It is not such an uncommon fantasy to entertain as you sing along to the car radio or belt out hit after hit in the shower. You get a thrilling sense of satisf...
Doctor You
There’s no escaping from desire. From the time we’re children, we worry and want — I wish I were bigger, I want a new bike, I hope I don’t fail the spelling test. The desire for a better life is in us all. And while it often leads to frustration and a sense of failure, that same des...
Time for a Change
You don't need an interior decorator or feng shui adviser to tell you that sometimes the smallest changes to a room's decor can have a surprisingly large impact. You don't have to replace or arrange the furniture just merely applying a different color of cushions on the sofa should ...
Snip
Hand most people a pen and paper and ask them to draw something specific, and they will draw it for you without a second thought. But give them the same pen and paper and ask them to draw anything they like, and most will freeze up for a moment. Sometimes the prospect of total freed...
Ready to Rumble
Toe to toe in the ring, mountains of muscle and bone square off for the fight of the century. The wrestlers glower with menace and pace like caged beasts. The crowd roars with anticipation as its most aggressive fantasies are about to be played out. No other sporting event has the e...
Circle, Triangle, Square
Every shape and design may be reduced to the same basic building blocks: points and lines. For some, those words may dredge up painful memories of high school geometry class. But they can also take us back to a time when the world was simple, to grade school art class when a house c...
Empty Inside
Some days everything just seems to go your way. Traffic seems to clear a path for you on the way to work; your boss takes the day off; you win the office pool. And you’re all the happier because each new bit of luck comes as a pleasant surprise. Of course, there’s another side to th...
The Labyrinth
Let’s return once again to the amusement park to continue our exploration into the attractions of the unconscious mind. You’re already familiar with some of the rides, like the dizzy excitement of the roller coaster. The house of horrors still lies waiting, but that’s best left for ...
Monster!
Monster! We all use the word, but who among us have ever seen one? Ask a hundred people to draw a monster and they’ ll paint you a hundred very different pictures. There are all kinds of monsters— the ones we see in movies, those that chase us through our dreams, the monsters of fai...
A True Adventure
Have you ever had a true adventure, the kind you read about in novels or watch on the silver screen? An action-filled series of cliff-hanging scrapes and brushes with destiny, and of course a touch of romance to keep interesting levels high? Wouldn’t you like to? You are a warr...