158 The Power of Whole Brain Living: Interview with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

One common misconception about how our brains work is that the right side is associated with emotions, while the left side controls rational thinking. In reality, the left and right hemispheres of our brains each have their own thinking and feeling systems, creating four specific parts of the brain that have different functions and personalities. By embracing whole brain living – or getting to know and accept the different parts of our brains and how they work together – we can enjoy the gifts of all of them and empower ourselves to make better choices on a moment-by-moment basis. 

As the author of “Whole Brain Living: The Anatomy of Choice and the Four Characters That Drive Our Life,” Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist who is now affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Neurology. She is also the author of the New York Times bestseller, “My Stroke of Insight,” which documents her personal experience with a severe hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain that caused her to lose the ability to walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. Dr. Taylor is a dynamic teacher and public speaker who loves educating all age groups, academic levels, and corporations about the beauty of our human brain, and how we can work with ourselves to live a more peaceful life. In Episode 158 of The MINDSet Game® podcast, Dr. Taylor discusses the following: 

• An overview of the anatomy of the brain, including the reptilian and mammalian parts, as well as the right hemisphere (which is focused on the present moment) and the left hemisphere (which is able to consider the past and future)
• The different traits of the four “characters” in our brains: character one, or left thinking, which favors order and control; character two, or left emotion, which can bring the pain of past experiences into the present; character three, or right emotion, where the boundaries we create for ourselves begin to dissolve, allowing us to access greater joy and creativity; and character four, or right thinking, which experiences simple awareness and awe of our own existence
• A practice known as a “brain huddle” that can help you bring all four parts of your brain into balance

To learn more about Dr. Taylor and her work, visit https://www.drjilltaylor.com. 

To subscribe to The MINDset Game, visit www.TheMINDsetGame.com.