“No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical.” ― Niels Bohr
This succinct and thought-provoking quote has become an important pillar that reminds me to practice bringing my right brain hemisphere back into its rightful place of leader in my mindbody system. Both brain hemispheres are involved in pretty much everything. Yet to truly understand their roles, how they differ and how they best work together, it is best to consider brain bifurcation in terms of how they process and perceive things versus what they do.
Before I understood these two modes of processing, I was confused when a facilitator would prompt me to listen to my inner experience without "thinking." Or, the prompt: “what does your gut tell you?” or “what does your body want, what is your body saying?” My left brain dominance was so extreme that I did not feel connected to my body’s wisdom whatsoever.
What these prompts mean to say can be translated as: "don't jump to conclusions" or "don't fixate on the narration of the experience" or "don't just think about what is happening and rather let yourself feel it and see what wants to happen next."
Right and Left Hemisphere
The right hemisphere has a natural disposition of openness, seeing the seamless interconnectivity in all things and builds new connections where separation or disconnection is present. It is best suited as the leader of the brain as it defaults to presence and inhibits certainty by recognizing the multitude of possibilities and perspectives alive in each moment, knowing there is always more to discover and explore. As well, as leader, it knows it needs the left hemisphere and creates space and rhythm for toggling back and forth appropriately.
There is a humility and curiosity inherent in the right hemisphere, which curates resonant relationships that allow space for differences and encourages uniqueness. It understands implicit meaning and metaphor, and is much more in touch with the embodiment of our being.
There is a river-like flow in right hemisphere processing, where nothing can really be taken out of context because context is nothing less of the whole that exists. It is with right hemisphere dominated processing that we do our best work in holding space for ourselves and others, feeling without condition and tracking sensation without jumping out of the flow to fix or problem solve, and ultimately, surrender into the innate intelligence that is animating our body through breath without trying to manipulate it or control it. It is right hemisphere dominance that cultivates relationships with our Higher Self at the helm.
The left hemisphere is equally important yet is best when in the role of student or child to the right hemispheres parental and wise teacher status. The left hemisphere views a world in which certainty is prized and ambiguity, ambivalence or uncertainty are seen as weaknesses and hard to tolerate. From that perspective, left hemisphere processing steers towards getting "ahold" of the situation at hand by needing to categorize and label it with language, the use of black and white thinking, and over-confidence in its position as being right and knowing everything. An additional problem with left brain dominance is that it does not look towards the right hemisphere for guidance or inclusion, rather, it is as though when the left brain is in the lead, it acts as if it is the one and only aspect of you or way to process that matters.
These quick judgments and silos are experienced as safer, simpler, and more efficient. Because of this stringent, fixed and inflexible view of the world. the left hemisphere tends to not see the uniqueness in things, rather, it abstracts and categorizes, seeing inanimate parts (or the representation or idea of something) that are measurable, useable, and quantifiable instead of the complex whole that is alive, changing and unfolding.
The left hemisphere tends to fixate on stimuli, a zooming in on detail rather than an open and expansive view of the whole. This lack of flexibility lends itself towards being a specialist at delusion and denial, and tends to be more associated with the experience of the narrator as it tries/wants to makes sense of things quickly and believes what it sees.
What do we do with this information?
Perhaps you have noticed that when you are feeling triggered, under-resourced, or disconnected, that there is a tendency towards left brain dominant processing. It's faster, more confident and makes things seem simpler. Of course we lean in that direction when uncertainty or chaos has tipped into feeling like it is too much. It's as if when there is a critical mass of DIMs (danger-in-my-system: perceived unconsciously by the nervous system with neuroception), the left hemisphere defaults to take over, and if we are unaware of this shift or lack the understanding and appreciation of this mode of thinking, we might fall for its self-assurance, get stuck and feed more energy into a problem.
Both hemispheres are needed as separate entities in connection, performing their vital roles for our system. When the right hemisphere steps up to be the leader, the left hemisphere thrives as well. The left hemisphere points and quantifies for understanding and safety, and the right hemisphere pauses, slows things down to include more detail, nuance, and wise discernment to hold the space open with a growth mindset and a predisposition towards connection.
To truly "think" requires the toggling back and forth between both modes of processing, both hemispheres of the brain. To use the structure and categorization of the left hemisphere and then pause to meet that with the right and ask, "wait a second, perhaps there is another possibility here. What if I stay open and curious and see what wants to happen next?"
"Empathy is neither a deviation from intelligence nor the single route to it. Sometimes we need detachment; many other times we need attunement. And the people who will thrive will be those who can toggle between the two. As we've seen again and again, the conceptual age requires androgynous minds."
- Daniel Pink, A Whole New Mind