A Stroke of Insight!
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I recently had the opportunity to view a fascinating video by neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor in which she shared her experience of having a stroke due to a hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain. Most folks having such an experience would be frightened, but as a scientist she was thoroughly fascinated by the ability to observe herself as a living experiment. Moreover, what she was able to learn from her experience changed her life.
Like most other humans, she was comfortable living in the world of her internal dialogue, processing her reality through her past experiences and beliefs, and projecting into the future. And like most of us, she had no idea what it meant to live in the moment - until her stroke, that is. During the stroke, the left hemisphere of her brain stopped functioning, giving her the opportunity to process the world through her right hemisphere in a totally different manner. Considering she spent a lifetime primarily relating to her left hemisphere, she was shocked to find that she had the ability to process the world from another point of view.
Just so you understand, the left hemisphere of our brain works like a serial processor functioning linearly and methodically creating order in our universe. It is the entity which creates our internal virtual reality and then compares it with what seems to be a reality outside of us. Since the left hemisphere processes information in relationship to what it already has in its database, it automatically creates separation between itself and everything else. This is the ego-mind in action, the little "I am and you are not."
Now, the right brain is a totally different animal. It works as a parallel processor functioning in terms of symbols, pictures, and kinesthetic experience. Since the right brain is not linear, it does not have a sense of time or a sense of separation and cannot define where it begins or ends in relationship to the universe. Operating totally in the moment, it is at peace with everything and everyone and judges nothing. It is energy perceiving energy, free of the belief that it is confined or limited to the body. It sees itself as the life force of the universe, the big "I am everything and everywhere."
Jill describes her experience of perceiving with her right brain as nirvana, and rightly so. What a wonderful experience, free of the constant chatter from the left hemisphere, free of fear-based thought forms, judgments, rationalizations, justifications and constant analytical comparisons. Totally present in the wondrousness and fullness of the now. And her conclusion to all of this? Simple. We all have the ability to choose how and when we use the hemispheres of our brain depending on where we choose to put our attention.
I recommend you watch the video a couple of times. Consider that since you were born, society has trained you to focus your attention on your left hemisphere because our world is set up to favor the work of that side of our brain. But we have the capacity to change that and use the gift that Spirit has given us to function and see in a different way. I encourage you to meditate on how you create your life and to consider choosing the more expansive and inclusive point of view of your right hemisphere every now and then!
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Dr. Sheri Rosenthal is a master Toltec teacher and author of 