Jill Bolte Taylor Video - A Stroke of Insight

Jill Bolte Taylor is a brain scientist who dedicated her life to brain research, after being inspired to study the brain because of her schizophrenic brother. Bolte Taylor had a stroke at the age of 38. Because she was familiar with brain functions and the functionality of the left and right brain hemispheres, she was able to study the functionality of her own brain, through the experience of the stroke. Since Bolte Taylor had a hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of the brain, she had moments during the stroke where her left hemisphere functionality stopped working.

Bolte Taylor describes these moments of disconnection with the brain chatter of the left brain as "euphoric". She said that she had moments of expansiveness, where she could no longer define the boundaries of her body. She also explains that she had a sense of peacefulness. She describes the right hemisphere of the brain as being about the here and now...she said, "...in this moment we are perfect, we are whole we are beautiful."

On the flip side, Bolte Taylor describes the left hemispheres of the brain as the portion of the brain that separates the person from the environment. She explains what it was like to lose the functionality of her left brain hemisphere; the hemisphere that is responsible for categorizing and associating information from the past to possibilities for the future. In her lecture she describes moments where she had a flicker from the left brain, which told her that she needed to get help, since she was having a stroke, but then when she attempted to call for help she was unable to remember or identify a telephone number to call for help.

Bolte taylor concludes her lecture in discussing the possibilities for the world, if people were to choose to work more from their right hemisphere. She argues that we have the power to choose who and how we want to be in the world, and which hemisphere to work from. She suggests that if more people were working from their right hemisphere, more peace would be injected into the universe.

I was extremely interested in Jill Bolte Taylor's lecture, as I had already heard a very riveting interview with her on NPR's Fresh Air several months ago. When I was reading the first several chapters of Daniel Pink's "A Whole New Mind", I was actually reflecting back on the Fresh Air interview, because I think Bolt Taylor's description of the the initial onset of the stroke to the time that she woke up in the hospital, give an extremely well painted picture of the division between the two brain.

Bolte Taylor is able to describe the complicated systems of the brain very clearly in terms that non-scientists can understand. As she brought out the real human brain in the lecture, I clearly saw the division between the two sides of the brain. Bolte Taylor expands on her explanation with the use of personal story, which really evokes relateable emotions that anyone can understand, even if they have not experienced a stroke.

Bolte Taylor, as a well-known and respected scientist, has been able to interconnect science, with personal experience, and has created a message which has generally not associated with medical science. The idea of letting go of the left brain chatter is generally considered to be associated with alternative or eastern style philosophies associated with meditation, yoga, etc. Perhaps Bolte Taylor's creditability in the science world will help to bolster these well-known philosophies in the United States. Perhaps there will be more of an integration between "western" and "eastern" style philosophies.

I feel like Bolte Taylor's thesis is really enthralling, but for myself, like many people, I struggle with how to put this into action. I want to let go of the left brain chatter, but how?

Check out the link to the Fresh Air Interview with Jill Bolte Taylor under the NPR links on my sidebar! It is a good one!