Jill Bolte Taylor, My Stroke of Insight (London: Penguin Books, 2006)
Dr Jill Taylor is a neuroanatomist affiliated with the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute in Bloomington, Indiana. On 10 December 1996, Jill (37 years old) developed a stroke due to a rupture in an AV malformation (blood vessel) in her brain. Aside from the brain damage due to hypoxia (due to lack of oxygen because of reduced blood flow), she also had a blood clot which need neurosurgical removal a few months later. Being a Harvard trained scientist, Jill was able to clinically observe her stoke-in-evolution. This is the account of her observations where she was only able to perceive the world through her right hemisphere(brain) for the period before her operation and the gradually retraining of her left brain after the operation.
She noted that she experienced profound peace and interconnectness with all creation when she was using only her right brain. She liken this sense of peace to a religious experience or experiencing Nirvana. The left brain is associated with rational thinking and brain chatter. When she was rediscovering the use of her left brain, she discovered that she does have a choice to response positively or negatively to any situation. This is her 'stroke of insight.' The default preprograming was apparently to respond negatively to any situation with anxiety, worry and unhappiness.
There are some interesting aspects of her account. Is it possible that the right brain, being more intuitive are more sensitive to the transcendent and imminent God? Is the development of the spiritual life a development of the interconnectiveness through our right brain?
Her
account of her insight on the left brain also rises some interesting
questions. Is our spiritual development a reprogramming of the neuropathways
of the left brain by perception, spiritual disciplines and choice? Is that
what St.Paul meant when he wrote, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about
such things" (Phil.4:8)?I find this fascinating especially in the study of physiology of religious experiences. Maybe I should name this 'neurotheology' !
More about Dr Jill Taylor here
