It is said in scientific circles that the left brain is the logical, reasoning side of the brain, and that the right brain is the intuitive, creative side of the brain. In our culture, there is great reverence for the left brain processes, but there seems to be a lot of disdain for the right brain processes. This began long ago when people labelled intuition as “feminine” in nature. Women, at that time, and some would say still today, were not considered to be logically minded, and were seen as more “feeling,” or “erratic,” or even “hysterical.” This was all a part of the patriarchy’s attempt to keep women “in their place.” As a result, women were burned and drowned and tortured to death as witches and later on there were vast numbers of women who were institutionalized because they were uncooperative, resistant, even rebellious against the patriarchal structure. This makes my heart very sad. But to all of these women I have to say, “FIGHT ON!” You are the women who have inspired the revolution that is in many ways still taking place. I do not think that all men are evil because of what their forefathers did. But I do think that the changes that are under way have been long overdue.
The Patriarchy often does not even realize how much damage it has done to itself in that archaic process of demeaning women. In doing so, it also demeaned men…men who were brilliant but intuitive, men who were emotionally intelligent, men who lived life from a heart space. This makes me sad as well. The ripple effect has been vast and can be seen in every example of toxic masculinity.
So here we are, in the 21st Century, and still struggling to figure it all out. I am hoping that this blog will perhaps help along the way. There are a few truths that we all need to come to terms with.
- Men are intuitive.
- Men have feelings.
- Men are nurturing.
- Men are loving.
- Men are compassionate.
- Women are logical.
- Women are strong.
- Women can be cruel.
- Women can be calculating.
- Women can be fierce.
Both sexes do have both sides of the brain that we can access equally. The only handicap, so to speak, is how much we have been programmed to think that we cannot. This can affect us when it comes to anything from the simplest of tasks to the more complex. For example, there have been many times in my own life when I have been told by women that men don’t possess the capability of having any form of intuition. That is so incorrect it is unbelievable! I have also known men who have spouted off about how all women are crazy. This is disgusting behavior. Some women who have had aspirations of becoming scientists have been held back by these social norms. Some men who have had aspirations of becoming ballet dancers have also been held back by these social norms.
How do we begin the process of accessing both sides of the brain when we have been so programmed in society to believe that we either cannot do that or that we should not do that?
A simple exercise I learned many years ago addresses how we access the different sides of the brain and trains our brain to create a bridge between the left and right brain processes:
Sit or stand comfortably, with your eyes closed, arms out to each side of you, palms up. Into your left palm place your creativity, spontaneity, emotions and intuitions. When you feel these there, gently close your fingers around them. Now place into your other palm your logic, reason, and step-by-step proceedures. When you are aware of these aspect in that palm, gently close your fingers around them.
Now allow yourself to relax and breathe and feel the two hands, one on each side of you, gently being drawn toward one another in front of you. Keep your eyes closed and just feel the pull. It is much like two magnets of opposite polarity being drawn one to the other. The closer they get, the stronger the pull is.
Once the hands touch each other in front of you, keeping your eyes closed, interlace your fingers and thumbs. Then breath the blended energy up through your arms into your body. When it feels like that is complete, bring your hands to your body and place them, one palm over the other, on whatever spot feels right for you to store this integration process. Breathe that in. Then, bringing your hands away from your body, touch the fingertips and thumbtips of each hand to that of the other hand. This locks in and anchors the blended processes.
From that point onward, you will, whenever you feel you are being one sided in your brain activity, be able to simply touch that part of your body where you have stored the integration. This will reactivate the integration and allow your brain to bridge the gap between the 2 hemispheres.
We all have both feminine and masculine energy flowing through us. We don’t have to insist that it be just one or the other. In fact doing so harms our being more than it helps. With simple exercises such as this one we no longer have to feel the pressure to be just one thing or another. We can be liberated and feel the flow from both sides.