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. Continue reading →
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.” Continue reading →
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. Continue reading →
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. Continue reading →
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. Continue reading →
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! Continue reading →
So I was with this friend the other day and he was telling me about the concerns in his life. Some were relate to other people and some were circumstantial. Some were issues he had with himself. In every case, though, he shared not only the facts in the situation but also his judgment of the other person, the circumstance or even his judgment of himself. He’d say, “I can’t stand that she acts that way. It’s wrong!” Or, “I can’t believe it happened to me. It shouldn’t be.” With regard to himself he told me, “I just feel so bad about myself.” Now, let me say right here that nothing had happened to him that was so horrible as to be repulsive and he had not done anything that harmed anyone. He was judging the people, situations and behaviors that were everyday occurrences of his life as good or bad, right or wrong, what should be or what shouldn’t be. Continue reading →
Our left-brain is the part of our brain that is most like a computer. It is because modern computers do our left-brain functions better and more efficiently than the human brain that we are entering the Right Brain Revolution. Our left-brain functions are being replaced and our right brain functions are fast becoming the unique contribution that each of us can make to society.
The left-brain, our logical, detail oriented, verbal brain, is best when analyzing data. It would have us plan our lives by analyzing our past and then, based on that data, attempting to develop a formula that we could live by. It’s logical but it’s no way to live.
Of course our right brain is visual and thereby visionary. With it we “see” or envision our future. Rather than breaking down and analyzing data from our past the right brain sees holistically. That means that while data is not ignored there is no expectation that life is formulaic. The intuitive right brain has a vision of what might happen in the future.
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Our left brain is logical and sequential and operates in a linear fashion. It likes rules. Our right brain is adventurous and has little respect for rules. Since the left brain likes predictability and routine it can easily get us in to ruts. The left brain sees the next logical step and especially likes it if our behavior is well-rehearsed and habitual. Continue reading →
We know that the right brain is the relational half of the brain. And usually when we think of relationships we think of other people. But the fact is that some of the best relationships, some of the best friends, we ever have are with animals. Yep, think about it. Can’t you think of pets that you’ve had that have absolutely changed your life? Continue reading →
