The You-est You® Podcast How To Self Soothe with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is back again on the You-est You podcast! Dr. Jill is a Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist. In 1996 she 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, documenting her experience with stroke and eight-year recovery, spent 63 weeks on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list and is still routinely the #1 book about stroke on Amazon. Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a dynamic teacher and public speaker who loves educating all age groups, academic levels, as well as corporations about the beauty of our human brain and its ability to recover from trauma. In 2008 she gave the first TED talk that ever went viral on the Internet, which now has well over 26 million views. Also, in 2008, Dr. Taylor was chosen as one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" and was the premiere guest on Oprah Winfrey's "Soul Series" webcast. Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is also the author of the most recent bestselling book, Whole Brain Living.
I invited Dr. Jill back on to my podcast to talk about how we can learn to self-soothe ourselves during such a stressful time that has increased the amount of anxiety and fear in so many people's lives. This conversation will help you learn how to talk to the scientific four parts of your brain (this is an excellent refresh if you want to reconnect with your four characters) and start unifying all of your characters through a brain huddle.
The Four Characters
The brain has two hemispheres; the left and the right. The right hemisphere is all about being here, right now. It's about being experiential in the present moment. Character 4 is the thinking part of the brain that is about consciousness and that feeling of being grateful to be alive. Character 3 is the emotional part of the right brain that is creative, innovative, open, and will ask, 'What does that feel like?' The part that is feeling the stress of the world and needing the self-soothing. The left hemisphere is about the past, present and the future and is where we individuate and form a sense of being an individual. Character 2 is about your emotions in your left brain and Character 1 is the thinking part of the left brain that will look for structure and organization, and will ask 'how am I a functional human being in the world? How can I self-soothe and take the weight off my shoulders?
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and I shared the names of our 4 Characters. Share in the You-est You Podcast Community on Facebook your names!
Emotions are really just energy in motion; emotion is energy running on a circuit that can feel like rage, sadness, joy, elation, etc. Think of emotions as energy flowing through the cells in our brain and body.
The Brain Huddle
Think of your four characters who are on the same team and here to connect about your next play in life. The best way to build your muscle of leaning on a brain huddle is to start doing this 20x's day. In the Brain Huddle, BRAIN stands for Breath, Recognize, Appreciate, Inquire, Navigate. Here's a deeper dive into what this means:
Breath - Be present in the moment with your breath
Recognize- Notice who called the huddle (which character)
Appreciate - Appreciate all four of your characters and realize they are all on the same team
Inquire - Ask, who wants the mic? Ask your four characters who wants to talk, and allow for all four to share. You don't need to give your power away.
Navigate - Use this process to navigate moment to moment
How to Self-Soothe Yourself
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor reminds us to call in your four characters for a brain huddle and give yourself time, space, and grace to connect with which character wants to share. Often it is your sweet Character 2 who has emotions to share. Know this is the process that helps you self-soothe. That will bring you a sense of calm during the storm of the past several years. Allow yourself the space to feel all emotions and surround your character with love and compassion.
My 3 favorite quotes from this episode: "We're feeling creatures who think! Not the other way around.", "Our past pain isn't here to be a lifestyle. It's here so you can learn, grow and move on." and "The quality of your dealing with your emotions will affect the quality of your thinking."
And, a total mind-blown moment: "We've been alive when our mothers were in our grandmother's 5th week of gestation."
Final Thoughts
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor enlightens us with the process of The Brain Huddle to teach us how to self-soothe during these tumultuous times. The pandemic has brought in so many emotions, and Dr. Jill helps us understand how to better navigate them.
Connect with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor
- Website: drjilltaylor.com
- Facebook page: Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor
- Instagram: @drjillboltetaylor
- LinkedIn: Jill Bolte Taylor
- Twitter: @DrJBT
Looking To Help Others Know Who They Are and Design Their Best Life?
If you are feeling a strong urge to help other big-hearted empaths get unstuck and design their best life, you've got to check out my Life Designer Coach Academy. It is a world-class four-month virtual live coach certification program that will give you proven tools, techniques, practices, and methodology to be a powerful coach. This coaching program is for aspiring and current coaches looking to fill in the missing pieces and gain confidence and mastery both in the coaching core competencies and the integrative health modalities from a mind-body science, positive psychology, and healing arts perspective. To learn more, go to juliereisler.com/certification.
Sacred Connection
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Join host Julie Reisler, author and multi-time TEDx speaker, each week to learn how you can tap into your best self and become your You-est You® to achieve inner peace, happiness, and success at a deeper level! Tune in to hear powerful, inspirational stories and expert insights from entrepreneurs, industry thought leaders, and extraordinary human beings that will help to transform your life. Julie also shares a-ha moments that have shaped her life and career and discusses key concepts from her book Get a PhD in YOU
Here's to your being your you-est you!
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