Have you ever notice that yawning is contagious? It especially seems to be true when you are engaged one-on-one with someone. If they yawn you yawn. It’s often difficult to stifle your self from yawning no matter how hard you try.

We don’t exactly understand yawning. We certainly don’t know why it appears to be contagious. But what we do know is that there seems to be a direct correlation between the susceptibly to contagious yawning and our empathy with others. Yup, the more empathic you are the more likely you cannot resist yawning when your see another person yawn.

I know of a physician friend whose medical school classmates would simply write the word “yawn” on a sheet of paper and hold in up during rounds. He would involuntarily yawn. They got a kick out of it. He is a highly empathic doctor. And his empathy makes him particularly effective with patients.

The right brain is the neural site of empathy. The more we exercise the right brain the more the characteristics seeded there manifest in our lives. So as you consider living more from your right brain observe your susceptibility to yawning. In The RightBrain Revolution you should experience and we should witness a lot more contagious yawning.

Okay, so I’ve been writing about ways for everyday folks to access their right brains more frequently. I’ve encouraged meditation, listening to music, envisioning the “big picture,” and being more relational. And indeed all of these strategies will help. I’ve also encouraged creative and artistic efforts. Paint or write or draw or sculpt or do whatever is to your interest and passion but be creative. Creativity lies in the right brain and so to allow yourself creativity is to encourage right brain living. But you have to do it! You can’t think about it and wonder about it and do nothing.

I have an acquaintance, a very successful business woman, who has been bogged down with the left-brain demands of her organization and her career. She complained to me of mild depression, fatigue and “staleness.” She wasn’t having any fun in life and was frustrated. Then it happened. She bought some art supplies and began to “do” art. Her efforts at first, while fun, were challenging and the product of her efforts often unsatisfying but she persisted.

As she stuck with it she got better. Her art got better and so did she. Her mild dysphoria lifted and her energy level improved and she reported that she felt a new zest in everything she did. What she had done was to move to the right brain for some creativity, playfulness and fun. And in doing that she had rested and revitalized her left-brain.

Thinking about this right brain stuff is interesting, and considering how some day you’ll try to work it in to your life is hopeful, but nothing changes if you don’t do it. So take the leap, make the effort and, as the Nike slogan goes, “Just Do It!”

Live in the moment! Right now, in this moment, where you sit, whatever you are doing, all is fine. Not that there aren’t concerns and issues in your life but in this very moment you are fine. You may have wants and possibly even an unfulfilled need or two but, unless your survival is at stake and it’s likely not, you are okay.

Right brain living is about increasing the amount of time you live in the now. We all have regrets of the past and worries about the future but in the moment, nearly each and every moment of our lives, we are fine.

You might say something like this: “Easy for you to say you’re not living my life. My husband lost his job six months ago and I have a twenty year old son who just got arrested for possession of pot. I have worries every minute of every day. Worries of how we will make it financially. And I have regrets as to how we raised our son and whether he is headed for a life of misery.” And it is true that we have regrets and worries but notice that they are past and future oriented. In the moment, almost every moment, we are just fine.

There is peace in living in this moment, the now. Actually the moment, even in the midst of heartache and anxiety, is very quiet, very still, very tranquil.

It is the right brain that is focused in the now. The left-brain is time oriented and even time obsessed. The right brain is process oriented and, if allowed to be now focused, enjoys the journey. So in our quest to incorporate right brain living in to our left-brain scheduled, orderly, deadline focused lives try reminding yourself that at this very moment, even in the busyness of life, all is fine. This act of entertaining right brain focus while going about your life will bring perspective and with perspective will come peace. Peace be with you.

My graduate school training was over thirty years ago now. I was in a scientifically oriented program. Therefore much of the training was geared toward my left brain. Facts, figures, scientific method, research data and analysis carried the day. In the end my master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation had to make a unique contribution to the scientific literature in psychology. All of this is left-brain stuff.

However, three decades later I remember only the experiences and the stories. I vividly recall my own perceptual experiences of my graduate school experiences. But I also remember the stories that contributed to my training as a clinical psychologist.

I remember the stories of B.J.’s remarkable abilities to interpret minimal psychological testing data in a way that gave him insight in to a patient’s issues well beyond what many young clinicians would have garnered after seeing that same patient for dozens of sessions. And I remember how Max would use paradoxical intention to slice through the resistance of court ordered treatment for a teen. I recall the stories my patients told me way back then.

My left-brain was trained as a psychologist but so was my right brain. My left was given the data and information. It was filled with the rationale and logic of psychology. My right brain was given examples of how applying this knowledge of psychology would create a story of the intervention in another person’s life.

The right brain prefers story. It understands life, even psychology, in terms of relationship, empathy, meaning and synthesizing, rather than analyzing, the big picture. And we remember story better than we remember facts. This is especially true if the story incorporates another right brain propensity: visualization.

So if you want to enhance your right brain and at the same time have a more powerful, more memorable impact on others then learn to tell stories. Whenever possible, when trying to communicate factual data, tell stories. And, for your own good, try to learn the important things you need to know in life by way of stories. You are more likely to retain and recall these lessons in times of need. Stories have always been the most powerful way to communicate ideas and concepts but the RightBrain Revolution has shown us just how powerful stories are.

When was the last time you dedicated an hour to dreaming about your future? Better yet have you ever committed an entire weekend to seeing what you’d like for your life? Some people take extended periods of time, weeks, and envision their future. Have you done that?

A quarter of the general population is naturally inclined to visions of what they want and believe their life can be. But that doesn’t mean the other seventy-five percent of the world can’t benefit from this right brain experience. They can but they must be intentional about it.

Obviously we all have a right brain with proclivity for big picture cognition. It is the right brain that has the capacity to set us off on a course of incredible promise filled with what seems like unfathomable experiences. But it must be given time and freedom to dream. The right brain determines where we go and the left-brain gets us there.

Imagine you are taking a trip. You are leaving from Indianapolis. You get on the loop, Interstate 465, and begin to drive. But where are you going? The loop takes you around the city. And while you are indeed making great time you will inevitably end up back where you started. No matter how fast and smooth the trip feels, you’ve really made no progress. You must have a destination that causes you to take a connecting highway in a particular direction toward that destination. Once you have the destination in mind then the GPS in your car will help you get there.

Now imagine that your life is a journey, a trip. The right brain determines the destination of your life. The left-brain functions as the GPS and provides you with the necessary information to navigate to your chosen destination. Most people who get nowhere in life have not given much time or thought to where they wanted to go. All who accomplish great things have “seen” where they were going long before it happened.

So dedicate an hour, a day, a weekend, a week or longer to the right brain visioning process. See what you want, where you would like to go, what your destination is. Remember you will end up exactly where you expected. If you expect little you will get little. If you expect much then incredible things will happen. Put your right brain to work. We are, after all, living in the RightBrain Revolution!

At least two thirds of your life is subject to an organized, scheduled left-brained focus with the possibility of a to-do list. It’s called work and most of our workplaces have a daily work routine to which we must adhere. The workplace futurists tell us that this will change and it has in fact morphed some already.

As the RightBrain Revolution really takes hold of our culture the workplace will become increasingly self-directed. Therefore structure will be less external and more internal. But until then we have to intentionally exercise our right brain so that we can benefit from the many advantages it offers in the coming right brain age.

The left-brain is uptight. It is meant to be. It serves us by being this way. But as is always the case too much of anything is problematic. And in our modern society we have become too routine, too scheduled and therefore too uptight. It has been at the expense of the right brain. So to correct this imbalance it is important, when we can, to let our right brain “carry the day.”

On weekends and vacations we should intentionally have non-schedule “play days.” Of course some will think this to be redundant since they already have non-work days that are serendipitous. But there are many who are so left-brained influenced that they order and schedule even their free time. And while there may be a sense of satisfaction that a lot was accomplished the price paid by the right brain is hefty. And the consequence is less joy, less empathy, less creativity and more short-sightedness. Joy, empathy, creativity and seeing the big picture are valuable right brain functions that only occur with right brain activity.

So chill! Hang loose! Let it be! Give your right brain the freedom to express it’s self. Let spontaneity rule. For a day or two each month take your watch off. Don’t look at the time. Take a break from the to-do and honey-do lists. Stop worrying about what you’ve accomplished. Let the day unfold. Just chill!

Did you see it? Right there in the January 27th, 2010 edition of The Wall Street Journal no less. The article: Thinking Happy Thoughts at Work.

The theme of the article was that there is a new trend in American business.  It’s bringing “happiness coaches” in to the workplace to improve the environment and morale. It’s all about positive psychology and the effects that this emerging emphasis can have on business. Of course it’s also all about the right brain and the effects that it can have in the workplace because positive psychology is actually right brain based.

It is the right brain that is the optimist. The left-brain is the analyst and the critic. The left brain is the “kill joy.” And for too long the left-brain has dominated not only the accounting department but has permeated entire organizations.

The research is plentiful and convincing. A positive, happy work environment leads to greater employee satisfaction which is, of course, the number one variable in customer satisfaction and everyone knows that drops the bottom line. Happy, positive workers have less absenteeism which means greater productivity and everyone knows that drops the bottom line. A right brain influenced workplace is more creative, which means there is better problem solving and everyone knows that drops the bottom line.

So let’s celebrate the burgeoning RightBrain Revolution and its entrance into the workplace. We’ll have happier, healthier and more content employees and greater productivity and profitability. Now what’s not to like about that?

So here it is January 2010 and if you are like many of us you have already broken your New Year’s resolution. Actually less than 20% of those who make resolutions keep them. And a majority of folks don’t even make them to begin with.

My advice to you, if you have already broken your resolution, is to persist. All of the data shows that those who persist are more likely to succeed. It makes sense but it is amazing how many people just quit when at first they fail. Success is not an event it’s a process.

One of the other keys to success, in any kind of change attempt, is using your right brain. Most attempts at change are left-brained focused. We reason with our left-brain that a change must be made, we make a plan with our left-brain and then our left-brain executes the plan. This management approach to change is, as you can see, left-brain saturated.

The right brain is much more visionary. It sees the big picture of what change will do for you and the right brain is actually capable of creating a visual image of what the change will look like when it is accomplished.

The formula that works best for real, permanent, life-altering change is to envision, with as much detail as possible, the resolution you desire. It helps if you go so far as to write down the vision. Describe the details of what you envision happening. Data suggests that those who take this step of writing out their vision are significantly more likely to succeed in changing.

Once you’ve seen the change with your right brain then you must enlist your left-brain to breakdown the necessary steps for success. Your left-brain is the manager of the project but you must have the architect involved first.

So even though it’s after New Year’s day if you desire a better year in 2010, one that is marked by improvement of yourself and your life situation, then follow these five steps.

1. Envision with as much detail as possible what change you’d like to see.
2. Write down the vision.
3. Breakdown the vision in to the steps required to accomplish the change.
4. Execute!
5. Never, never give up!

Oh, one last thing. Your right brain is relational. Those successful in making change are much more likely to enlist the help of friends and family. Social support is critical in helping us be accountable and in encouraging us to be persistent.

It takes the whole brain to accomplish significant change in our lives. But with the right brain’s power to envision and the left-brain’s ability to manage you can be a new and improved you in 2010.

In the midst of this Christmas season, I had lunch with a dear friend of mine, Jay.  Jay is a theologian and as we shared our Christmas lunch we pondered whether it was possible to maintain the Christmas Spirit all year long.

Jay explained to me that he saw the Christmas Spirit is an expression of grace.  We both agreed that grace is the expression of unconditional love. Grace and unconditional love are, of course by definition, only possible in the absence of judgment. Grace must come in living from our soul.

As the psychologist in this dynamic lunching duo I offered to Jay that in my experience unconditional love is the consequence of rising out of, above, our usual circumstantial preoccupations. Circumstantial focus makes us dependent on conditions. Day in and day out we are captivated by the circumstances of our life, seeing our life as a series of problems that we must solve.

It this focus each day is daunting. “Why must life be so hard?” we think. And inevitably in this circumstantial focus we personalize what is happening to us and we begin to assume a posture of judgment. “If only my life were different” or “He shouldn’t be that way” or “If only I could change her then everything would be as it is suppose to be.” We can’t seem to appreciate that all of our life circumstances are simply part of our life experiences but they don’t have to be our experience of life.

With the preoccupation of circumstantial problems, the search for solutions and the inevitable, accompanying judgment also comes the anguish of a hard life. There is no spirit of goodwill in this life.

But, during the Christmas season, we temporarily adopt a perspective where we live from a higher order. The soul is the observer of circumstance but is not captivated by circumstance. In living from the soul we suspend our judgments and live out of a spirit of love. The result is the Christmas Spirit and “goodwill to all.”

Consider another way to think about this. Most days of the year we are living from our left-brain. It’s the part of the brain that most of us use at work. Our culture encourages us to live in the left-brain. But it is the left brain that is captivated by detail and circumstance. It is the left-brain that is the problem solver. But it is also the left-brain that is judgmental. In the left-brain life is a series of problems that must be solved. Left-brain life is hard.

But the right brain is the seat of playfulness and relationships. It is the right brain where we experience joy. It is the right brain that loves unconditionally. It is the right brain that is home to grace. It is the right brain that we visit during the Christmas season. But the right brain has the Christmas Spirit everyday, all year long. If only we would spend more time in the right brain at times of the year other than the Christmas season.

So Jay and I discovered that indeed it was possible to have the Christmas Spirit long after the holiday season ends. It requires living beyond the grind of circumstance, giving up personalizing and judging and offering unconditional love and grace. And it requires taking a step from the left-brain to the right. Try it! And Merry Christmas in this season and all year long!

The story is told of a Winston Churchill commencement address in which he stood up, walked to the podium, addressed the graduates and their families and said only four words, “Never, never give up.” He then turned around, walked back to his chair and sat down. On that day, to that audience he was speaking to the right brain.

Persistence is a right-brained trait. Why? Because persistence is illogical. Remember, the left-brain is analytical. It breaks things down, analyzes them, and subjects everything to logic. Persistence is most often illogical. When all of the data says give up the right brain screams, in spite of logic, Never!

The right brain is the home of emotion. Emotions are the source of motivation. Passion is an emotion. Persistence is the result of passion. When you persist in the face of left-brain logic that implores you to quit then your motivation for that persistence is right-brained based passion.

So if you desire more right brain influence in your life determine to be more persistent. Attend to your emotions in driving your behavior rather than the facts. Don’t be foolish by ignoring logic and fact but don’t give up on things that matter to you simply because the analysis would suggest that you should give up. Heed the words of Sir Churchill, “Never, never give up!”