- “I firmly believe that all will go well; my desire will be met. I refuse to let my mind wander to any other alternative.”
It was a casual conversation, about some specific matter he was desiring and planning. As happens in casual conversations, the most important is bypassed because we're concentrating on something specific (the left brain is), like a laser beam.
When I started pointing out some highly probable alternatives since they were quite logical and expected, he started stressing out and feeling disappointed in me for disappointing him.
The conversation continued for a while, with genuine acceptance, empathy, and questions to aid mutual understanding, for a more global (as a light bulb provides) viewpoint. The ONLY way to continue such challenging conversations otherwise, defenses go up, questions are seen as attacks, and communication is lost between "either/or" sides.
Is that what left brain “maturity” looks like? Focus, desire, believe and close up any other possibilities? Is that what New Ageism and new scientism stepped on to market a "new" thought system?
My friend expected advice, solutions, quick-fixes, alliance; all that is commonly sought. We instead made a paradigm shift, which kept us together on the same page, inspired and calm.
Obviously it's a huge subject, with many interesting pathways that reveal a fuller, more wholistic (I don't see why we should spell "whole" as a "hole"), interesting and creative picture and a totally different way of thinking and being.
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| Iain McGilchrist, The Master and His Emissary |