Neuroscientist sees the light, and defines it
BySorry for the pause. I’ve been in the Adirondacks for a few days. While I was away there was a brilliant story in the New York Times about Harvard neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor, who experienced what she describes as nirvana after suffering a stroke eight years ago.
Within minutes, her left lobe  the source of ego, analysis, judgment and context  began to fail her. Oddly, it felt great.
The incessant chatter that normally filled her mind disappeared. Her everyday worries  about a brother with schizophrenia and her high-powered job  untethered themselves from her and slid away.
Her perceptions changed, too. She could see that the atoms and molecules making up her body blended with the space around her; the whole world and the creatures in it were all part of the same magnificent field of shimmering energy.
“My perception of physical boundaries was no longer limited to where my skin met air,†she has written in her memoir, “My Stroke of Insight,†which was just published by Viking.
After experiencing intense pain, she said, her body disconnected from her mind. “I felt like a genie liberated from its bottle,†she wrote in her book. “The energy of my spirit seemed to flow like a great whale gliding through a sea of silent euphoria.â€Â
There’s an incredible video of Jill describing her experience at a TED conference earlier this year. It’s eighteen minutes long. If you can find the time to watch it, I guarantee it will be one of the most interesting things you see this year. (The embedded video seems to take a while to load. If you want to watch it instantly click here.)
Related:
A Superhighway to Bliss (NYT)
My Stroke of Insight (TED video of Jill Bolte Taylor)
6 Comments
May 29th, 2008 at 11:50 am
She looks like Al Gore
May 29th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I read “My Stroke of Insight” in one sitting – I couldn’t put it down. I laughed. I cried. It was a fantastic book (I heard it’s a NYTimes Bestseller and I can see why!), but I also think it will be the start of a new, transformative Movement! No one wants to have a stroke as Jill Bolte Taylor did, but her experience can teach us all how to live better lives. Her TED.com speech was one of the most incredibly moving, stimulating, wonderful videos I’ve ever seen. Her Oprah Soul Series interviews were fascinating. They should make a movie of her life so everyone sees it. This is the Real Deal and gives me hope for humanity.
May 30th, 2008 at 4:11 am
she does look like Al Gore though….
May 30th, 2008 at 9:57 am
I found the first 5 minutes quite engaging, but then it sounded too much like someone describing their acid experiences. Deeply significant to them no doubt, but impossible for anyone who hasn’t experienced it themselves to relate to.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:30 am
You have the stamina of a racehorse to get that far with it, Cretin. Must be that Miller lite I saw you swigging, keeps you limber obviously. Also, I think the sentence: “Nobody wants to have a stroke” is best concluded with a full stop rather than “but”.
Al Gore? Anyone?
June 17th, 2008 at 5:20 am
I loved the beautifully written “My Stroke of Insight – a Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey” by Jill Bolte Taylor and her incredible talk on TED dot com. Dr. Taylor’s unique perspective as a Harvard neuroanatomist having a stroke, combined with her sensitivity and awareness, produced something as powerful as I’ve ever witnessed. I want to share Dr Taylor’s story far and wide because it’s a wonderful story and a great book to read, but more importantly, this is the message we desperately need if we are to survive as a species.