Mental rigour

There is an article in today's ST about Alzheimer and how it afflicts people from around 60 onwards. Apparently in the brain of the sufferer a plaque of protein develops around the neurons and another type of protein then entangles inside the dying brain cells causing a shrinkage in the brain volume. The patient loses cognitive power, memory and even personality. What is quite frightening is the opinion expressed by experts that solving crossword puzzles or sudoko daily does not help to keep the disease at bay. It is believed that only rigorous mental activity may help and examples given of such activities are learning a new language or a new musical instrument. Of importance is the fact that such activities must be carried out before the onset of the disease. This is because once a person develops Alzheimer, mental activities may further deplete the remaining brain reserves!

Losing one's mental faculties is tragic but I think being aware that one's is on the way of losing them is extremely sad. I recall watching a movie entitled "Awakenings" which was adapted from a book written by a New York neurologist about his encounter way back in 1969 at a hospital in Bronx. The neurologist discovered that the drug L-Dopa actually helped "awakened" some patients who were victims of an epidemic of encephalatis years ago and which had rendered them to be in a state of mental stupor and motor immobility. However the drug proved to be effective only for a short period; and soon the patients reverted back to their original state of mental incapacity. Robert Niro gave a touching portrayal of a patient who regained alot of his original self only to realise he would be losing it again. I can never forget the poignant scene when he was recording his feelings in his diary before he lost himself again. I also remembered reading about our own ex Dy PM Rajaratnam who suffered from Dementia and how he wrote the names of his loved ones and their relation to him on the photographs to help him recollect his memories.

The thought that I may not be working my mind sufficiently scares me especially now when I am no longer holding a full time job pouring over documents and writing superflous papers. My part time job counselling children and thinking of strategies to reach out to them may not involve sufficient mental complexities. The writer of the ST article tongue in cheek suggested that the government gives subsidy for senior citizens to return to graduate schools.

I actually googled and found that SIM does offer a "General Studies" program where adult learners can choose from a long list of courses that lead to either a certificate, diploma or degree. A 10% discount is available for students above 50 years of age. A student can also choose whether he wants to go soley for the lectures and tutorials without taking the exams or to take up the challenge inclusive of assignments and exams. Well, if one wants to really work the brains one should opt for the later. There is no point just sitting in at the lectures, listening and dozing off (which is not unusual when age catches up). I guess if one does not want to spend on school fees one can always tune in to free university lectures availabe on the web; and to write a synopsis of each lecture to intensify mental rigour.

Whichever activity we pursue, self disciplined and commitment is most necessary to keep this dreadful illness at bay.

Confused

The powers of the President is in accordance with that prescribed by the constitution; that is clear to me. However I am quite confused as to what ELSE the President can do, such vagueness being caused by conflicting claims and promises made by the 4 presidential candidates.

Tan Kin Lian’s claim that more things can be done creates in my mind a picture of him hen pecking the government and wearing them out. (eg. He quoted issues like compensating the NS men more ). He jolly well knows that the President has no executive powers but sill maintains that we have to be positive. He said "If I were a Member of Parliament, I'd be just one out of more than 80 MPs ... But as the President, I think the issues I bring up would have better influence." Guess which pot is calling the kettle black when he commented on Tan Jee Say being a President who will spend his time quarrelling with the government when elected.

Although I will dismiss both the pot and the kettle, I am quite confused over how much influence a President can have on the government. Unless I form an opinion of this, it would be difficult for me to decide on my vote.

Tony Tan said that president wannabes should not dream of a post that does not exist. I agree with him that the Presidency is not the platform to confront the ruling party on their policies. However I do not really fully understand what he meant when he said that the President has a very important role especially during a period of global economic instability. He alluded to the significant role of the President being a custodian of the reserves. Are we supposed to be wary of an inexperienced President who will veto the ruling party’s proposal to draw on the reserves to tie over a financial storm? Drawing upon the reserves do not seem to be an issue with the opposition parties. The contention from the opposition parties is more on whether the President has the true power to check on the reserves. Is Tony Tan than alluding to the need for an experienced President who will not cause unnecessary trouble asking to open and check the books of the reserve?

Tan Cheng Bok’s claim that if elected he will exert his influence behind closed doors sounds quite reasonable. If so, does it mean that such influence is confined to areas associated to the rights of the President, or can such influence encompass issues in general? If the answer is the former, it would seem Tony Tan would be a better choice given his financial experience. If however the President can really exert influence over all matters Tan Cheng Bok may perhaps be a better candidate as I think he may be more vocal.

Well….only got a few more days to think through.
It doesn't help however when:
1) Singapore’s Law Minister K Shanmugam said Singapore would need to change the Constitution to allow the President to speak whenever he likes and on whatever topic he likes; and
2) Lee Hsien Loong said "But even beyond the custodial powers, more generally it is important for the President to work with the Government and the Government keeps the President informed on all important matters....we consider very carefully the President’s views, although under the system the final decision is made by the Cabinet."

??????

Finding the Right Environment

I was sharing with the new school librarian that some of my student clients would certainly have fared better had they been brought up in a more advantageous family background given their inherent brightness. She let out a sigh and said " men mu san qian " alluding to a chinese idiom which described how Mencius' mother moved her home 3 times just to get a right environment to help him become a great scholar.

I researched a bit about this idiom. Apparently Mencius' mother moved from a place near a cemetery to one near a market place before finally settling for a place near a school just to get a conducive environment to nurture Mencius' learning and wisdom. As I pondered about this I recalled comments made by my son about how the English 'air' (in England) inspires creativity thus explaining the high number of talented musical artists in UK. Now back for his summer holidays he lamented how he gets very little reading done during the weekends when he is not working. I told him it is probably due to the hot weather. I then thought about my own experiences, how when I spent 2 weeks in New York and also a similar period of time in Beijing I was able to spend half a day reading in the parks continuously. I also felt so fresh and alive. In Singapore I wouldn't last more than 2 hours even in the air-cond comfort of NLB overlooking the Singapore skyline.

My own deduction is that some people become more alive when they are close to nature or in a place rich in culture and history. Carl Jung described it as there being a spirit and soul in nature. Hence it may be difficult to feel this kind of spirit in a city state like Singapore with little natural and historical landscape . I presume being close to nature and history is inspirational only in relation to the field of arts and humanities and certainly not relevant to finance etc. In fact the Singapore skyline with the 3 towers of MBS may be quite inspirational for financial analysis or strategising to climb the corporate ladder, who knows.

This comes back to my point about finding the right environment for the right activity. Thus if Mencius' mother is prepared to move home 3 times to find the best nurturing ground for his son, we may consider actively seeking the most fertile environment for our own growth.

Therapeutic symbols

Attended a 3 day course on Sandplay Therapy and Symbol Works last week. Basically it is a form of expressive therapy that helps the client connect with his feelings, inner emotions and thoughts. Prior to the course I have already experienced symbol works to be really useful in helping a child who has difficulty articulating or who is too afraid to be reminded of some unpleasant experiences, express and act out his fears. I was unsure however whether the therapy was suitable for adults and also doubtful about its effectiveness through self healing. An article in the ST about NUH planning to offer this therapy to patients with emotional problems cleared my doubts and propelled me to go for the course.

We worked as a pair and my partner reponded well, as in her emotions really flowed during the third session. Seeing the impact on her I was more guarded and selected a trivial problem to work on ( I was afraid to shed tears in class). An example of symbol works is to have the client think of a problem and then from amongst many figurines and symbols displayed across the room, select items intuitively and arrange them in the sandtray. The client is then encouraged to talk about the picture/story so created if there is one or just randomly talk about what the symbols remind them of. Like I said I was quite guarded and my partner in her role as counsellor got me to talk about the small problem I faced.

However what I did not know was the lasting impact on me. For many days that followed the picture which I created in the sandtray remained in my mind. Not only that, I also began to realise the deeper meaning some of the symbols had for me. I gained a deeper insight into my needs and with that a firmer resolution seemed to emerge for what needs to be done.

Today I had a bit of a tiff with someone over how to help a child in school. It is sad to hear remarks that the child must just simply learn to behave, without trying to understand why the child acts out or why the child has so much anger in him. Today I used play therpy with him. He created a story of a group of good people and animals hunting high and low for certain treasures which was taken away and deeply hidden by some bad guys. Amongst this group of good people was a 'sleeping mother' which had to be ferried around in a boat (he used a sea shell to be the boat). All the while a few big looming bears which represented the "Masters" guarded over the good people. They finally found the treasures and brought the treasures home to be kept safely.

This 9 year old child lost his mother 2 years ago. He now lives with the sister of his step father. Maybe he has needs to feel safe?