Tuesday, May 27, 2008

A Superhighway to Bliss

JILL BOLTE TAYLOR was a neuroscientist working at Harvard’s brain research center when she experienced nirvana.
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Dr. Taylor says the right, creative lobe can be used to foster contentment.

But she did it by having a stroke.

On Dec. 10, 1996, Dr. Taylor, then 37, woke up in her apartment near Boston with a piercing pain behind her eye. A blood vessel in her brain had popped. Within minutes, her left lobe the source of ego, analysis, judgment and context began to fail her. Oddly, it felt great.

The incessant chatter that normally filled her mind disappeared. Her everyday worries about a brother with schizophrenia and her high-powered job untethered themselves from her and slid away.
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1 comment:

Matthew said...

I loved the beautifully written "My Stroke of Insight - a Brain Scientist's Personal Journey" by Jill Bolte Taylor and her incredible talk on TED dot com. Dr. Taylor's unique perspective as a Harvard neuroanatomist having a stroke, combined with her sensitivity and awareness, produced something as powerful as I've ever witnessed. I want to share Dr Taylor's story far and wide because it's a wonderful story and a great book to read, but more importantly, this is the message we desperately need if we are to survive as a species.