Reflections on the left and right hemispheres - or, "Does God Live in our Right Hemisphere? Part 1

         I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor speak live, here in Kitchener. I have been reading her book and thinking a lot about the relationship between our left and right cerebral hemispheres ever since.

         Jill has personal, lived experience about the different consciousnesses of our two hemispheres. She suffered a massive stroke at age 36, from which it took many years to recover. Her observations and reflections on this experience are priceless.

         (I strongly recommend buying and reading the whole book, but this chapter bowls me right over. All bold text is my emphasis) Stroke of Insight/Jill Bolte Taylor

"My Stroke of Insight"  - Chapter 15:

"Having taken this unexpected journey into the depths of my brain, I am grateful and amazed that I have com­pletely recovered physically, cognitively, emotionally, and spiritually. Over the years, the recovery of my left hemisphere skills has been tremendously challenging for many different reasons. When I lost the function of my left brain's neurological networks, I lost not only function but also a variety of personality characteristics that were apparently associated with those circuits of aptitude. Recovering cells of function that were anatomically linked to a lifetime of emotional reac­tivity and negative thinking has been a mind-opening experi­ence. Although I wanted to regain my left hemisphere skills, I must say that there were personality traits that tried to rise from the ashes of my left mind that, quite frankly, were no longer acceptable to my right hemispheric sense of who I now wanted to be. From both a neuroanatomical and psycho­logical perspective, I have had a fascinating few years.       

          "The question I faced over and over again was, Do I have to regain the affect, emotion, or personality trait that was neurologically linked to the memory or ability that I wanted to recover? For instance, would it be possible for me to recover my perception of my self, where I exist as a single, solid, separate from the whole, without recovering the cells associated with my egotism, intense desire to be argumentative, need to be right, or fear of separation and death? Could I value money without hooking into the neurological loops of lack, greed, or selfishness? Could I regain my personal power in the world, play the game of hierarchy, and yet not lose my sense of corn-passion or perception of equality among all people? Could I reengage with my family and not hook into my issues related to being a little sister? Most important, could I retain my new-found sense of connection with the universe in the presence of my left hemisphere's individuality?

          "I wondered how much of my newly found right hemi­sphere consciousness, set of values, and resultant personality I would have to sacrifice in order to recover the skills of my left mind. I didn't want to lose my connection to the universe. I didn't want to experience myself as a solid separate from everything. I didn't want my mind to spin so fast that I was no longer in touch with my authenticself.  Frankly, I didn't want to give up Nirvana. What price would my right hemi­sphere consciousness have to pay so I could once again be judged as normal?

          "Modern neuroscientists seem satisfied intellectualizing about the functional asymmetries of our two hemispheres from a neurological perspective, but there has been minimal conversation pertaining to the psychological or personality differences contained within these two structures. Most com­monly, the character of our right mind has been ridiculed and portrayed in an extremely unflattering light, simply because it does not understand verbal language or comprehend linear thought. In the case of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde analogy, our right hemisphere personality is depicted as an uncontrollable, potentially violent, moronic, rather despicable ignoramus, which is not even conscious, and without whom we would probably be better off! In vast contrast, our left mind has routinely been touted as linguistic, sequential, methodical, rational, smart, and the seat of our consciousness.

          "Prior to this experience with stroke, the cells in my left hemisphere had been capable of dominating the cells in my right hemisphere. The judging and analytical character in my left mind dominated my personality. When I experienced the hemorrhage and lost my left hemisphere language center cells that defined my self, those cells could no longer inhibit the cells in my right mind. As a result, I have gained a clear delineation of the two very distinct characters cohabiting my cra­nium. The two halves of my brain don't just perceive and think in different ways at a neurological level, but they demon­strate very different values based upon the types of informa­tion they perceive, and thus exhibit very different personalities. My stroke of insight is that at the core of my right hemisphere consciousness is a character that is directly connected to my feeling of deep inner peace. It is completely committed to the expression of peace, love, joy, and compassion in the world.

         

To be continued.....
http://drjilltaylor.com/book.html