Psychologist Robert Ornstein published a book entitled The Psychology of Consciousness in 1970. In addition to his electroencephalographic (EEG) studies of the hemispheres of the brain he began to be interested in the relationship between hemispheric function and consciousness. Out of this work grew left brain/right brain typology.
Orsntein’s thesis was that Western men and women were using only half of their brain and therefore only half of their mental capacity. “He noted that the emphasis on language and logical thinking in Western society has ensured that the left hemisphere is well exercised. He then went on to argue that the functions of the right hemisphere are a neglected part of human abilities and intellect in the West and that such functions are more developed in the cultures, mysticism, and religions of the East. In short, Ornstein identified the left hemisphere with the thought of the technological, rational West and the right hemisphere with the thought of the intuitive, mystical East.”
The relationship of the development of the hemispheres to Self-transformation is obvious. An undeveloped right hemisphere presents an obstacle to the insights necessary for attaining present moment awareness. Our identity and our behavior are determined by our worldview. The right brain supports our shift to P-A and our new identity as mystics with enhanced intuition.
Left Brain/Right Brain Dichotomies
| Left Brain | Right Brain |
| Intellect | Intuition |
| Convergent | Divergent |
| Intellectual | Sensuous |
| Deductive | Imaginative |
| Rational | Metaphoric |
| Historical | Timeless |
| Objective | Subjective |
The primary goal in choosing P-A over P-B involves a process of integration and synthesis, putting back together that which has been shattered. Stan Jones, a University of Colorado professor at Boulder emphasizes the importance of integrating right brain non-verbal skills with left brain verbal skills. “They are different kinds of thinking, but you have to coordinate the two. So you have to actually practice the new behaviors and physically get them into your muscles. In effect you have to retrain the right side of the brain where nonverbal messages—like reading someone’s facial expressions—are handled. Verbal messages are handled by the left side of the brain.”
Failure on the part of humanity thus-far to create a community that works can be explained, in part at least, in our inability to integrate right brain and left brain functions. The imperative that virtually screams at us today is to repair a shattered Reality. Embracing the long-forgotten intuitive dimensions of our brain would be a good place to start.
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References and notes are available for this essay.
Find a much more in-depth discussion in books by Roy Charles Henry:
Where Am I? The First Great Question Concerning the Nature of Reality
Simple Reality: The Key to Serenity and Survival
