The Four Characters of the Left Brain

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Buddhist psychology says the first thing that happens, they call it Vadana, is basically pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. And then after that comes the thinking about that experience and being able to put it into its category. So in a fully functioning whole brain living type situation, these various things are informing each other. Our thoughts are informing our feelings, our feelings are informing our thoughts. It's this very bi directional thing. That's certainly been my experience of the way things work. If I only go at things from cognitively, or I only going at things from emotionally, it doesn't work. I really need strategies that come at it from both angles.

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist. In 1996, Jill experienced a severe hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain, causing her to lose the ability to walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. Her memoir, My Stroke of Insight documents her experience with her stroke and her 8-year recovery and it spent 63 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Her new book is Whole Brain Living: The Anatomy of Choice and the Four Characters that Drive Our Life.

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In This Interview, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and I Discuss Whole Brain Living and …

Her book, Whole Brain Living: The Anatomy of Choice and the Four Characters That Drive Our Life
The wolf parable as it relates to the right and left hemispheres of the brain
The differences between the right and left brain and how they work together
Losing her left brain function as a result of a stroke and being left with just the present moment
The division between the science of the left brain and the spirituality of the right brain
The function of the amygdala in the left and right hemispheres
Four different “characters” of the brain
How we can change the habitual patterning of our circuitry
Mindfulness is choosing purposefully to train our automatic responses
A “brain huddle” is bringing the four characters together as a team
B.R.A.I.N. huddle: breath, recognize, appreciate, inquire, navigate
Our lives are a collaboration of our whole brain

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor Links:

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s Website

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If you enjoyed this conversation with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, you might also enjoy these other episodes:

Neuropsychology and the Thinking Mind with Dr. Chris Niebauer

Lessons About the Brain with Lisa Feldman Barrett

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