“what the left hemisphere can offer must be used in service of what the right hemisphere knows and sees, not the other way round. This is as important in the case of science as in that of imagination, in the case of reason as in that of intuition. The left hemisphere is a wonderful servant, but a very poor master.”
(Iain McGilchrist, The Master and his Emissary, 2nd Ed, 2019)
A lot has been accepted about the differences between our right brain and left brain and what each specialises in. Iain (whose above book has sold over 100,000 copies) has researched the differences of each hemisphere in a long (10 years+) detailed study and has concluded both hemispheres do about the same work. What we thought only happened in one hemisphere actually also happens in the other.
For example both hemispheres will work a math problem, not just the left brain alone as previously thought. The difference is in how they work the problem. The input of both is the ideal and best way to reach a quality best outcome.
However in the Western world and recent history the two brains have clashed with the left brain winning for the most part. Only that this winning isn’t a win at all. It has been the loss of the importance of the right brain function and what it provides to a situation and our daily life.
The left brain needs to scale back and allow more of the input and processing wisdom of the right brain.
The left brain must serve the right brain more, not dominate it as it has done for centuries.
A lot of our intellect dominance sits in the left brain. With mindfulness meditation and more focus on the body, the right brain can be allowed to input more, influence and provide intelligence which the left brain can incorporate in it’s thinking and reasoning. This is vital for a healthy and vibrant culture and society.