Why have an interest in pursuing enlightenment? Buddhists tell us that an enlightened view of reality will end our suffering. What is the nature of this suffering that enlightenment can end? Obviously it’s not physical pain or an illness. It has to do with everyday unhappiness, stress, feeling...
McGilchrist says that while the self is needed for our development and individuation, we must eventually transcend the self. He points to a value that will lift us to a higher Gestalt. It is a remembrance – or is it a knowing? – of a...
The hemispheres must work together, as opposites fulfilling each other, but they must not be considered equals. The right hemisphere is the only one that can produce wide and deeply resonating truths....
McGilchrist’s work takes on big questions, in fact, the biggest questions. This is especially helpful when trying to bridge the divide between mind and matter. Chapter 25 of The Matter with Things is an 83-page exploration of matter and consciousness, seen from the opposing views...
She points to a trinity -- a life force power, the right hemisphere consciousness and the left hemisphere consciousness. I have been surprised at how well this correlates with other trinities in Eastern spiritual traditions....
The corpus collosum embodies the hemisphere hypothesis. Surprisingly, the majority of the neural fibers in the corpus collosum are involved in the inhibition of the other hemisphere. This is needed for each hemisphere to specialize, work separately and more quickly. The corpus collosum holds them...
By embracing consciousness as fundamental, I believe McGilchrist has laid a foundation for building a bridge between the West and Eastern spiritual traditions. The Matter with Things makes extensive use of Western neurology, physics and nearly forgotten Western philosophy that support this deeper understanding of...