Wealth is directing our brain to utilize both it’s right and left hemispheres. The melding of our more feeling, pictorial right brain hemisphere with our more logical, verbal left brain hemisphere (which would rather be right than happy) is ultimately my goal for a more balanced life.
I was privileged to hear Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor speak tonight at The New York Society for Ethical Culture in what was billed as Transformational Stories. It was that and SO much more, as Dr. Jill was joined by acclaimed singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer. Together these talented and accomplished women wove song and speech into an experience of “uncommon depth”.
From Dr. Jill’s detailed depiction of her watching her brain functions shut down one by one as she suffered a massive stroke, to Carrie’s singing her own songs that complemented those emotion and insights–songs that Dr. Jill was buoyed by during her arduous recovery–I was simultaneously mesmerized and filled with hope.
Dr. Jill’s story is all the more poignant since she is a brain scientist–a neuroanatomist to be exact–originally drawn into research on the brain to understand mental illness more vividly, since her own brother was diagnosed schizophrenic. Yet, while she had studied tens of thousands of brains at Harvard, she still couldn’t believe SHE was having a stroke when it happened to her. Like most of us, she never thought it could happen to her. She didn’t have any of the ‘normal’ conditions one might have just prior to a stroke, plus she was busy; she didn’t have “time” to have a stroke!
Yet she did suffer a massive stroke and spent the next 8 years recovering. She now knows on a cellular & psychological level that “nirvana is never more than a mere thought away. By stepping to the right of our left brains, we can all uncover the feelings of well-being and peace that are so often sidelined by our own brain chatter.”
Dr. Jill’s book, ‘My Stroke of Insight’ offers hope and recovery steps for those with brain injuries as well as a deeply emotional testimony for how we can all find peace within, at any time and at any place.
With hope-filled stories like Dr. Jill’s, I’m confident that we women can reach inside and muster the courage to invite our left brains to complement our right brains and become WISE–Watchful, Inquisitive, Strategic & Empowered–about our own financial wealth.
As Dr. Jill & I both know, through our respective training and experiences, time and health are our true assets. And I’m here to help us understand our finances and investments so that we can afford more choices as we age.
If you would like a copy of her book, you can pick up your own copy by clicking the link to the left –
