When I was undergoing my personal transition (see the Change, Transition, and Transformation Series), I had to find ways to pay attention to, see and understand the connections between my mind, body and spirit to tap into a new sense of focus and creativity.

Another vehicle for becoming aligned and integrated as individuals involves stories.

In their book, Parenting from the Inside Out, Daniel Siegal and Mary Hartzell describe stories as the way we make sense out of the events of our lives. (p. 39). Siegal and Hartzell combine psychology, anthropology and brain science to explain the importance of stories in our lives:

Stories are universal they are found in every human culture on the planet. [They] are a good example of how emotion and analytical thinking are intertwined. Stories have been correlated with brain function. In particular, the left hemisphere appears to be driven to make guesses about the logical connection among bits and pieces of information, while the right hemisphere supplies the emotional context and autobiographical data necessary to have a personal life story make sense. (pp. 50-51)

Siegal and Hartzell explain that the left and right sides of the brain are physically separated but connected through bands of neural tissues called the corpus callosum. These two sides of the brain process information differently.

The left mode of processing is linear, logical and language-based (e.g., it utilizes the digital (yes/no, on/off) bits of information contained within words). (p. 44) The right mode of processing, on the other hand, handles information in a nonlinear, holistic manner:

Autobiographical data, the processing and sending of nonverbal signals, an integrated sense of the body, mental models of the self, intense emotions, and social understanding are all processed predominantly on the right side. (p. 43)

While each side of the brain can function somewhat independently, when neural information is able to pass back and forth between the two hemispheres, this integration of the two kinds of processing enables the brain to functioning at a higher level. Siegal and Hartzell suggest that the integration and blending of these two modes of brain processing is necessary for individuals to develop coherent stories that make sense of their lives:

The left hemisphere of the brain appears to be driven to tell a story about events. When disconnected from the right side of the brain, however, the left side makes stories up. It lacks the context to make sense of what it sees. In this way, stories may be cohesive (somewhat logical in their connections) but not coherent (not making sense in an overall emotionally contextual, sensory way). [This seems to be because] the right hemisphere’s role [is to be] a supplier of social and emotional context. The right hemisphere takes a front-and-center role in processing nonverbal signals.

Stories tell of sequences of events and the internal life of the characters in those events. Internal life is sensed and understood primarily by the right side of the brain. For a story to make sense it must include right-hemisphere processing. For these reasons, we can suggest that for the mind to tell a coherent story the left hemisphere must integrate itself with the right hemisphere. (p. 55)

Using the Quilt of Humanity Metaphor, the neural tissues of the corpus callosum integrate the two sides of the brain the way thread connects and integrates two different pieces of fabric. To be wholly integrated individuals, we need to be able to blend the left-brain linear drive to explain with the right-brain holistic, nonverbal and emotional processing that gives our life meaning.

The way the brain functions at the individual level can be seen as a microcosm for the way the world functions. Just as the brain is separated into two hemispheres in which there are two different modes of processing, the world is separated into the Eastern and Western hemispheres in which different cultural styles prevail.

The Western style is similar to the left-brain mode of processing – a linear, either/or mindset while the Eastern hemisphere is more cyclical and holistic. So, just as the brain functions at a higher level when it is able to integrate both types of processing, so too might the world function at a higher level when these two different ways of seeing the world can be integrated.

This integration is yet another way that the torn fabric of the Quilt of Humanity can be repaired. We need to recognize the value of and need for blending both styles. Telling stories may be the vehicle for helping this happen.