Harvard neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor had a massive stroke in her 30s, almost a decade ago. The stroke took her left brain functioning offline within a few hours, and during that time, scientist that she was, she had a chance to observe first-hand what life is like, living from the right-brain with occasional interference from the more logical, linear, language, labeling functioning that is typical of the left hemisphere.
Why am I writing about this here? Taylor published a book about her experience, called My Stroke of Insight, which beautifully examines her moment-to-moment experience of a number of things that boomers and beyond will find illuminating. She also has a wonderful video of a talk she gave at Harvard Medical School. Don't miss this.
First, Taylor gives us a wake-up call about how our loved ones who might have had a stroke or other neurological accident are really aware and cognizant of how they are treated and what the atmosphere is like in their caregiving environment. Though she had no language during her months of recovery, she intuited much of what her caregivers' mood and intentions were. For those of us who are exposed to a family member or friend in that state, her prescriptions are critical for the patient's recovery.
Second, Taylor, who is interviewed on Oprah's Soul Series, gives us a glimpse of what it's like to live in the right brain, a place she likens to "nirvana." As Ekhart Tolle describes it, Taylor also experienced how it is to be completely present, open to her senses, connected to every other being, perfect, whole, and beautiful. She says that she made a "choice" to recover, because she never wanted to relinquish this "la-la land," as she affectionately named it. It was a time when she felt expansive, at one with the world, euphoric.
Taylor, like many other spiritual seekers, discovered, through this "stroke of insight" that we all have the power to choose whom we want to be in the world. We all have access to our right-hemisphere, even though it has been obscured by the left-brain functioning that our culture has touted as leading to success. But, at what cost?
As we boomers enter our bonus years, we are attracted to thinking about how to achieve more peacefulness and oneness with the world. Taylor shows us how she did it.
This topic was suggested to me by mindfulness teacher Madelaine Claire Weiss, LICSW, MBA, of Cambridge, MA. She can be found at
mindovermatters@comcast.net for consultation on how you can learn about and manage your very own mind----for a happier, healthier productive life.
Harvard neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor had a massive stroke in her 30s, almost a decade ago. The stroke took her left brain functioning offline within a few hours, and during that time, scientist that she was, she had a chance to observe first-hand what life is like, living from the right-brain with occasional interference from the more logical, linear, language, labeling functioning that is typical of the left hemisphere.
Why am I writing about this here? Taylor published a book about her experience, called My Stroke of Insight, which beautifully examines her moment-to-moment experience of a number of things that boomers and beyond will find illuminating. She also has a wonderful video of a talk she gave at Harvard Medical School. Don't miss this.
First, Taylor gives us a wake-up call about how our loved ones who might have had a stroke or other neurological accident are really aware and cognizant of how they are treated and what the atmosphere is like in their caregiving environment. Though she had no language during her months of recovery, she intuited much of what her caregivers' mood and intentions were. For those of us who are exposed to a family member or friend in that state, her prescriptions are critical for the patient's recovery.
Second, Taylor, who is interviewed on Oprah's Soul Series, gives us a glimpse of what it's like to live in the right brain, a place she likens to "nirvana." As Ekhart Tolle describes it, Taylor also experienced how it is to be completely present, open to her senses, connected to every other being, perfect, whole, and beautiful. She says that she made a "choice" to recover, because she never wanted to relinquish this "la-la land," as she affectionately named it. It was a time when she felt expansive, at one with the world, euphoric.
Taylor, like many other spiritual seekers, discovered, through this "stroke of insight" that we all have the power to choose whom we want to be in the world. We all have access to our right-hemisphere, even though it has been obscured by the left-brain functioning that our culture has touted as leading to success. But, at what cost?
As we boomers enter our bonus years, we are attracted to thinking about how to achieve more peacefulness and oneness with the world. Taylor shows us how she did it.