The left
side of the brain is very good at focusing on one thing at a time. It sees
reality as a collection of little bits, and can analyze those bits quite well using
logic and reason. It can distinguish individual notes in a song or individual
beams in a structure. It is what enables us to excel at mathematics,
engineering, physics, mechanics, chemistry, and so forth. It helped our
ancestors stalk prey and build dwellings.
The right
side of the brain is the master controller that directs us, not by logic or
reason, but by feeling (intuition). It is not good at technical matters, but it
tells us where and when to apply our technical skills. It hears a song or sees
a structure as a single, continuous entity. It helped our ancestors be aware of
their surroundings so that while they were stalking prey they didn’t themselves
become prey.
The right
brain directs our lives, and the left brain handles all the logistics. The
right brain says, “It would be nice to vacation in Bermuda.” The left brain
says, “I have two weeks of leave to burn, and I have nothing planned January
21-29, so I’ll fly out there on the 21st and return on the 29th.
I’ll book a hotel for the nights of the 21st to the 28th.
I’ll arrange some time on the beach, a snorkeling excursion, and some
parasailing.”
In school we
are taught how to use our left brains. We learn math, science, social studies,
language, etc. This helps us later on as we perform various tasks at our jobs,
balance our checkbooks, run errands, and fix things around the house. Our right
brains get little attention so they remain largely underdeveloped. As a result
we often make mistakes in deciding how to direct our lives, for example, who to
become romantically involved with or which investments to make.
The left
brain sees a dual world of distinct, separate entities: people, animals, objects,
mountains, oceans, units of distance, and blocks of time. The right brain takes
the overview, seeing everything as a unified whole – a nondual world. Which way
we view things at any particular time depends on whether our right or left brain
is more active. Sometimes we see a lonely, harsh world in which we are separate
from everything and everyone else; and other times we feel as though we belong
here because we are one with everything and everyone.
Many of us favor one side of our brain over the other, and we see the effects all the time: the engineer who can’t pick up on human nuances, the artist who can’t balance a checkbook, the man with a great career but awkward social skills, the woman who can simultaneously manage household chores and children but can’t do math, the goal-oriented businessman, the romantic poet. Thus we have strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others.
Both brain hemispheres are important for being able to function in life, so if we find ourselves decidedly in favor of one, it might behoove us to practice using the other. The left brain can be exercised via puzzles and math problems. The right brain can be exercised by doing what we “feel” like doing and not allowing thoughts to take over.
Many of us favor one side of our brain over the other, and we see the effects all the time: the engineer who can’t pick up on human nuances, the artist who can’t balance a checkbook, the man with a great career but awkward social skills, the woman who can simultaneously manage household chores and children but can’t do math, the goal-oriented businessman, the romantic poet. Thus we have strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others.
Both brain hemispheres are important for being able to function in life, so if we find ourselves decidedly in favor of one, it might behoove us to practice using the other. The left brain can be exercised via puzzles and math problems. The right brain can be exercised by doing what we “feel” like doing and not allowing thoughts to take over.
