What babies and mothers do naturally

When a baby is born, the first thing it wants to see is it's mother's eyes. No, not the breasts, as we previously thought; video material of new-born infants shows that a baby is restless, until it has looked into it's mother eyes. A mother of a newborn baby will instinctively lie with her baby on her breasts; gazing at its face, which is tilted slightly backwards, to achieve just the right distance. Sensitive mothers all do this: to set themselves and the baby up in such a way that a comfortable, yet highly intimate 'eye-exchange' takes place. Soon afterwards, the newborn infant achieves a look of quiet satisfaction, and falls asleep.
If we look at this natural gaze, and the intimacy between mother and infant, it is difficult not to be moved. This is love, is it not? A neurochemical by the name of Oxytycin is involved here. No, it is not only chemical; it is proof that we are body and mind at one; that we are the human species; made for bonding, made for relationship, made for love between mother and child.What if this goes wrong? What if we lose it, for example in adolescence? Before we get to these hugely important questions, let us first look closer at the newborn and its mother . . .

dreams 1

Dreams are universal; we all dream - we are after all, species bound. It comes as somewhat of surprise however, that, universally, our dreams reflect a typically limited range of themes. Maybe if we looked closely at these themes, we would be able to make up what being human means? I find it amazing that our brains can make up a story that is unique to ourselves every night, using only a limited number of themes. It strikes me that story-making must be an innate human capacity. We are made for story, it seems. Every night as you go to sleep, your brain concocts a story in which your life plays a major role. This, in itself , is extraordinary.
(All mammals dream every night, with few rare exceptions).
If you would like to look at the universality of themes, look up Hall & van der Castle.