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My Stroke of Insight
2009-07-05 | Filed Under Books R Me, Melodee's Musings |
Yesterday was Independence Day and I was tired after a hard week of Virtual Assisting so I spent the day reading a book: My Stroke of Insight, by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.
This book has been sitting in my “to be read” pile since it was published in 2006, waiting patiently for a day when I had the time and the brain-power to devour it. Yesterday was it.
Jill Bolte Taylor is a neuroanatomist – a brain scientist – who suffered a massive stroke one morning in 1996. She describes her thoughts and feelings as the stroke quietly stole her access to the left hemisphere of her brain. She lost the ability to communicate with the world around her, but gained an overwhelming feeling of peace and “oneness” with the universe. It took eight years for Jill to repair her brain, but she was never again the person she was before her stroke. She believes the stroke was one of the best things that ever happened to her.
Here are some of my favorite passages from this amazing book:
My entire self-concept shifted as I no longer perceived myself as a single, a solid, an entity with boundaries that separated me from the entities around me. I understood that at the most elementary level, I am a fluid.
If the boundary between what you can do and what you cannot do is not clearly defined, then you don’t know what to try next.
My stroke of insight would be: peace is only a thought away, and all we have to do to access it is silence the voice of our dominating left mind.
Although there are certain limbic system (emotional) programs what can be triggered automatically, it takes less than 90 seconds for one of these programs to be triggered, surge through our body, and then be completely flushed out of our blood stream. … If, however, I remain angry after those 90 seconds have passed, then it is because I have chosen to let that circuit continue to run.
If you have any interest in neurology, or consciousness, or know someone who has suffered a stroke, this is a must read!
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4 Responses to “My Stroke of Insight”
Boy, you and I were both struck by the same points in this amazing book! Although, Dr. Taylor’s story of the long years of rehabilitation and the courage and determination it took her to heal were awe-inspiring, I was even more moved by the insights she gained because of her stroke.
If your readers would like to hear my interview with her on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio, just hop on over to my blog and click the link. She’s truly a remarkable woman!
I enjoyed your interview with Dr. Taylor. I laughed when you talked about how dogeared your copy of the book was – mine has little Post Its poking out of dozens of pages
This is fascinating…I remember reading about this woman, I’d love to read the book. Thanks for sharing!
I’d be happy to lend it to you, Mary Kay.
Hey! Love your avatar