Dr. Andrew Belaveshkin

 Practice of verbal awareness, or how language shapes thinking. According to the Sapir–Whorf theory of linguistic relativity, the structure and vocabulary of a language can influence how we categorize and perceive the world, especially in the domain of embodiment, where linguistic concepts are tied to bodily and sensory experience.   Many effects have been studied: having distinct words for colors improves color discrimination; ways of describing space influence navigation strategies; and in children, the development of an emotion vocabulary is associated with better emotion recognition. When children learn words for emotions, they classify facial expressions more accurately. A lack of words can slow down or limit perception and understanding (!!!) So, the key practical rules are: 1. Use a rich and differentiated vocabulary, not just a couple of words. 2. Think in continua and multisensory terms, rather than black-and-white judgments. 3. Focus on objective characteris...

  How a rubber yellow duck can keep you mentally healthy. The yellow duck is a fantastic toy that has gone from a teether to a cult character. Today, two empirical methods like a yellow rubber duck can help us maintain fortitude, equanimity and clear thinking. 1. Duck and gaslighting. Duck test (reality check). This rule sounds like this: “if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.” This rule helps to establish the fact based on our observations and indirect evidence. Sometimes the rule sounds like “maybe he speaks like an idiot (abuser, fascist, manipulator, etc.) and looks like an idiot, behaves like an idiot. But you shouldn’t be fooled: he is an idiot.” The duck test helps us trust ourselves and make independent judgments despite verbal manipulation –an essential skill. After all, the weapon of propaganda, abusers and criminals is gaslighting. The essence of gaslighting is an attack through denial of your vision...