Spirit And Right Brain

WED., JUNE 1, 1988, 6:13 AM
FARM, STUDY

When you explained the relationship between spirit and the two “sides” of the brain you were less than clear yesterday, in your opening class. So I shall try to offer you some clarification. This is an interesting idea, and one that should be grasped in this context of mood-modifying substances. Hear, o son.

I tell you quite unequivocally that it is the spirit that is the energizer of the mind, in its two functions. That is, in most humans the spirit is not brand new, but comes into the baby with some amount of maturity and experience. The spirit resides in no particular organ or portion of the body. One common assumption is that the spirit is in the heart, removed and often competitive with the mind, which is in the brain. This is a nice, romantic pairing, and it has some value, so I’ll not deny its symbolic reality. I just will say that the spirit can never be limited to one location. Spirit permeates the whole body, including both sides of the brain.

Spirit is a factor in the functioning of each part of the body. The heart functions more efficiently when the spirit is strong… more efficiently than it would were spirit weak or missing. Yet spirit cannot sustain a body part that is defective or “wearing out.” As I have told you before, spirit remains in or around a body as long as there is life therein. Yet mature spirits have no reluctance to move on to other realms. Modern medical technology can keep a body alive after the spirit has departed. This is sad. But I digress. Back to the brain.

The ideal is for spirit to be a working partner with both sides of the brain. The left brain represents the rational mind… the capacity to learn and to analyze, reason, and make rational judgments. Spirit is appreciative of this function and encourages it, helping with desire to learn and motivations to keep learning. Still, there can be good to fierce competition, for the left brain has a tendency to reject the importance or even the existence of its right counterpart and, particularly, spirit. Some humans vigorously deny the reality of spirit, even with vehemence. This is the left brain at its most competitive “stance”.

Spirit tends to be more compatible with the right brain. This portion is intuitive, playful, appreciative of music, art, and “real” experiences. It is the seat of emotions, though the emotional response comes forth from secretions of other glands, as well as the brain. In extreme cases emotions counter the spirit, and the spirit may retreat from deep anger, hate, or anxiety. Spirit mostly helps restore a proper balance within each part of the brain and between the sides, when they become too competitive.

Some drug substances help in this calming process, but when an excess is taken all functioning can be reduced, and, again, spirit may retreat. When the amount and type of mood modifier are “right”, the influence of the left brain diminishes and the creative, emotional, intuitive potentials flower and may be exhibited. Spirit enjoys this kind of experience. Without excess, this is a favored state of being… but, in your culture, only for a limited time. Oh, certain people, with certain life roles, can let their right brain dominate, even productively, but it is the left brain that is necessary for most “accomplishment.”