Shrink Rap Radio #147: Nirvana and The Brain

Transcript

Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D. is a Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist who teaches at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Bloomington, Indiana. She is the author of the extraordinary book, My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey which tells the story of a stroke which essentially knocked out her left hemisphere and enhanced the functioning of her right hemisphere. In this right-hemisphere state she seemed to experience something akin to enlightenment. I learned of Dr. Jill through an incredible video presentation she gave at a recent TED Conference in Monterey, California. Dr. Jill has dedicated her career to the advancement of postmortem research into the human brain and to the education of the public about the fragile, yet resilient, nature of this incredible organ. Because of the long-term shortage of brain tissue donated for research into the severe mental illnesses, she travels throughout the country. By sharing her science and her unique personal journey, she communicates a message of hope, education, and celebration.

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Comments

[Wolfe]

I read "My Stroke of Insight" in one sitting - I couldn't put it down. I laughed. I cried. It was a fantastic book (I heard it's a NYTimes Bestseller and I can see why!), but I also think it will be the start of a new, transformative Movement! No one wants to have a stroke as Jill Bolte Taylor did, but her experience can teach us all how to live better lives. Her TED.com speech was one of the most incredibly moving, stimulating, wonderful videos I've ever seen. Her Oprah Soul Series interviews were fascinating. They should make a movie of her life so everyone sees it. This is the Real Deal and gives me hope for humanity.

[Maricela]

Thank you for that. Jill Bolte Taylor's My Stroke of Insight is one of the most incredible stories I've heard in a long time. Her TEDTalk video blew my mind wide open to new possibilities. On the one hand, there's what she went through and how she emerged from it. On the other hand, there's what she can teach all of us.
I saw the 4 part Oprah interview on Oprah dot com Soul Series and I did learn a lot from that, but I'd like to find our more of how to do what Dr. Taylor did, without having a stroke of course!
Thin how many of us are living too much in the head, and not the heart. And of course, you can't get more left brain than a Harvard Brain Scientist. Isn't it ironic that she should be the one to have the stroke and transform from the quintessential left brainer into this ""seen the light"" disciple of finding inner peace?
I hope this movement keeps going. Maybe there will be My Stroke of Insight classes where we can practice what Jill Bolte Taylor is preaching.