Need Help Maintaining Your Sanity These Days?

Life is a lot like that Whack-a-Mole game these days. One societal issue pops up, and before we have time to process it, another major issue slams us. Regardless of which side you fall on, each of these political issues will define the new societal norm and shape our world. This month, among other things, we are spinning over the Supreme Court overturning Roe-vs-Wade, the new gun laws, the implications of the January 6 Committee hearings—and that’s just here in the U.S.!  

  So, how can we use our Four Characters and the BRAIN Huddle to maintain our sanity? 

  Although many of us think of ourselves as multi-taskers, technically our brain can only think one thought or feel one emotion at a time. And although thoughts may flit through our minds at a million miles an hour, it is important to take the time to reflect upon and process our ideas, so we end up with well thought-out opinions. 

  In addition, our emotions don’t just come and go. Instead, our entire Left Brain Character 2 Emotional module of cells specifically enables us to reflect upon and then consider how we feel about things that happened in our past. This allows us to recognize and protect ourselves from similar things that may show up in the future.  

  WE DO NOT FEEL ANXIETY OR FEAR WHEN OUR CHARACTER 1 MIND IS FOCUSED. WE FEEL ANXIETY AND FEAR WHEN WE ARE OVERLOADED WITH TOO MUCH STIMULATION, AND LAND IN OUR CHARACTER 2 EMOTION. 

 In this world of overstimulation, it is common for us to bounce out of our Character 1 rational Left Thinking Brain and feel the anxiety or fear of our Character 2 Left Emotional Brain. Paying attention to your relationship with the flowing river of information and stimulation is a terrific indicator about your overall ability to focus.  

  To assess yourself, I encourage you to look at how well-organized the files are on your computer screen. Then, count the number of phone apps you tap into throughout the day. Each time you hook into technology—be that the TV, radio, podcast world, any app on your computer/phone, or even a ping from a friend’s text—you are distracting yourself from the present moment. These distractions cost you your focus.  

  WE FIND PEACE IN THE PRESENT-MOMENT CONSCIOUSNESS OF OUR RIGHT BRAIN.  

  If you want to feel different, then commit to a change in your behavior. You can do this by purposely training yourself to spend more time in the playful, adventurous, curious, innovative, creative, Character 3 part of your brain. The problems of our society are not going to magically disappear, but when we consciously shift away from the details of our life (Character 1) and the emotional pain of things we cannot control (Character 2), we gain a big picture perspective that helps calm our anxiety/fear circuitry. We find it easier to tap in to our most compassionate selves. 

  When we allow ourselves to make this shift out of our Left Brain Characters into our Right Brain circuitry, we tap in to the visionary part of our brain (Character 4), and there we find clarity. Welcome to the peace of your Right Brain Characters 3 and 4! 

 It can be difficult to stop ruminating over things we don’t like (Character 1), especially when we hook into our pain about the lack of fairness, etc. (Character 2). Thankfully, we can choose to tap into the Character 4 Right Thinking part of our brain at any moment in time. Think of your Character 4 as the blue sky that you know is on the other side of any approaching clouds or storms. When you focus on the distracting clatter of your Characters 1 and 2, the peacefulness of your Characters 3 and 4 gets pushed into the background—but that peace, like that blue sky, remains if you choose to shift your focus.   

It is the nature of our society to spend more time focusing on our Characters 1 and 2.  However, with Whole Brain Living, we understand that we have the power to bring our minds to the present moment and call a BRAIN Huddle. Your power is not in the past or in the future. Your power is right here, right now, in the present. If you want to change how you feel, own your power, and take a BRAIN Huddle.  

Understanding your power to create this shift in your overall consciousness is how you empower yourself to bring the best of you forward—even when your Left Brain Characters feel overwhelmed or threatened.  

Your Right Brain is your peace of heart and mind. Learning to shift away from the details and pain of your Left Brain, into the big picture power structure of your Right Brain, is how you empower your enthusiastic action.  

Speaking of action, please make sure you are registered to vote and help your friends get registered, too.  

  

From my brain to yours,  

Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD

P.S. Just so you are aware, round one of the Whole Brain Living research project in school communities has been successfully completed. In addition, this summer we will roll more schools into that project for the collection of data to evaluate the effectiveness of Whole Brain Living in helping school personnel and parents return to a peaceful mindset during these trying times.
 
We will also begin the first round of the official Whole Brain Living Certification program in a couple of weeks. I am very excited as everything Whole Brain Living is percolating into every crevasse of our society.
 

THANK YOU for your support and belief in this program. We appreciate how you are sharing this information with people you care about and/or work with. Do contact me here if you are interested in more information about the Certification program. 

Also, I had such a meaningful conversation with Terrence McNally on the Free Forum podcast. His wife experienced a stroke five weeks ago at the age of 63. 

She is fine physically but has some language and data processing issues still. Despite some moments of frustration, their connection is stronger than ever. 

You can listen to our talk – What if a Stroke Strikes You or a Loved One? Here.