when it comes apart you can see how it works

[15_the_circle]

[OT from cottage renovations]

now and then a convergence of observer and event creates a wonderful opportunity for insight.  like a seismologist who happens to be soaking in a hotel bathtub at the onset of an earthquake or, in this case, a nueroanatomist experiencing a massive stroke.  it doesn't get more real than her view from the inside. 

(also available in flash version)
many thanks to friends in Iowa City for forwarding from a knowledgeable source in Oz. 

Comments

Jill Bolte Taylor

[(Anonymous)]

Wow! I don't know what's more extraordinary about her story -- the fact that she survived and was able to recover, or the complete absence of any acknowledgement on her part of the existence of a God as a result of that experience. How solopsistic.

Re: Jill Bolte Taylor

[15-the-circle.livejournal.com]

she's a trained neurologist, and from her experience was able to share an unmatched inside view of the effect on the mind of a partial brain shutdown.  it's one of the best examples of science writing I've run across in a long time. 

it is not inevitable that going through an experience such as hers would lead inevitably to a certainty in one's belief the existence of a God, nor for that matter to its refutation.  my own near death experiences (none as close as yours have been) weren't particularly about that either.  perhaps what one sees in such things is what one has brought along. 

these are the differences that make us human.  my own view is that they are worth understanding and appreciating.  I may not share your faith, but I do have a great deal of respect for it. 

Re: Jill Bolte Taylor

[gracegiver]

Experiences like this most often do change how a person views their world. Ms. Taylor came through with a deeper understand and a fresh perspective on the differences of how the left and right brain interact and influence our perceptions of our world. Her message to the audience, (or more to the point, to me) was very positive, full of hope and encouragement that a peaceful world is attainable.

Certainly you couldn't expect everyone who has a near death experience to come out of it with a new revelation announcing there is a God. Some will, yes, and others won't. How a person has lived their life up till that point will flavor the outcome, I'm sure. I found it fascinating the way she was able to grasp what was happening as her brain functions shut down, one by one. Only a brain researcher would be cognitive of that process.

The real beauty of her emotional testimony is how through this encounter with death she discovered we're all interconnected. To each other. And to the world. That kind of knowledge when fully grasped has the potential of some world-wide adjustments that just might just revolutionize who we treat each other on a daily bases.

My 3¢.