I recently posted a blog post about Jill Bolte Taylor’s first book, My Stroke of Insight, and I am back again to discuss her second book, Whole Brain Living.
This book is truly a life changing book though the changes won’t occur immediately. A shift in behavior/habit will need to occur and practice makes perfect! Dr. Taylor outlines the Four Characters in our brains; yes all of us have these Four Characters and some are more prominent than others and they show up based on different circumstances in our lives. Her goal is to show us that we really have more control over our minds and, ultimately, our lives than we realize. She says over and over again that peace in just a thought away and, by learning to leverage all of our Four Characters, we may bring that peace into our lives and then into the world.
I describe the characters in this way: Character One is the part of me that gets shit done! Character One makes lists, is super organized, and can handle multiple things at once. Character One is my productivity gal! Character Two is my spoiled toddler, my emotionally reactive character. Character Three is my character who shows up for the fun, for the physical activities, for the creativity. And Character Four is really my most evolved character who has taught me that I am love. Now these characters are more nuanced than I make them sound but hopefully you can recognize your own characters in my descriptions. If you can see yourself at all in any of the characters I described, then think about when those characters show up for you. Through a process called the Brain Huddle, Dr. Taylor empowers her readers to choose the best response in any given situation. I think you can begin to see the power in this book.
I absolutely loved this book. Dr. Taylor is smart, engaging, and curious and she has a real desire to improve the lives of others! She brings a unique perspective as a stroke survivor who happens to be a Harvard trained brain scientist. I hope you will read this book! I look forward to seeing the changes in how I interact in my world. This is good stuff people!
