46 pages • 1 hour read
Jill Bolte TaylorMy Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 18-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 18 Summary: “Cells and Multidimensional Circuitry”
Taylor quotes her friend Dr. Jerry Jesseph as saying that our right and left hemispheres give us “dual interpenetrating awarenesses” of the world around us (149). The corpus callosum helps us consider ourselves one singular individual, but we really have “two distinct ways of being in the world” (149). Having her left hemisphere function again is frightening for Taylor since it processes information so quickly. Her experience has changed her perception of others with brain trauma or differences, and she now interacts with neurodiverse people with more curiosity rather than pity, as she had in the past (150).
Taylor describes her approach to monitoring her thoughts and avoiding negative thinking patterns. While she is convinced that the vast majority of our brains want us to enjoy life, some parts are excellent at generating “doom and gloom” stories fueled by “jealousy, fear and rage” (152). The author’s strategy is to allow her brain’s more negative circuits, or her “peanut gallery,” as she calls it, to indulge in “whine time” in certain segments of her day (152). Maintaining this system and consciously monitoring her thoughts are essential parts of Taylor’s mental and overall health. She allows her mind to “run its course” for 90 seconds and then decides to change her thinking (155). Taylor calls the human brain “the most powerful instrument in the universe,” and she consciously thanks her cells for everything they do each day (157). The author concludes her chapter by noting that people with mental illnesses are usually unable to guide their thoughts in this manner and require help through medication, psychotherapy, or electrostimulation.
Chapter 19 Summary: “Finding Your Deep Inner Peace”
Taylor’s main “stroke of insight” is that a feeling of inner peace is constantly accessible to her by tapping into her right hemisphere’s perspective (159). It takes a conscious effort to overcome the continuous remembrances and projections that the left mind generates to live in the present moment, but the ability to focus on the present is deeply necessary to experiencing peace. The left brain is interested in “doing” while the right brain is content with “being,” and society has taught us to value the left brain more, which deprives us of our right brain’s more content nature (160). To feel inner peace, Taylor recommends remembering that you are a part of a whole life system, asking your “extraneous thoughts” to quiet down, and trying to re-engage with what is happening in the present moment (161). One way to do so is to breathe deeply and focus on physical sensations that arise. Taylor appreciates the current moment by asking herself “What does it feel like to be here doing this?” (161).
Food can also significantly impact our bodies and moods. Sugar and caffeine make Taylor feel jittery while carbohydrates make her more sluggish. She advocates a balanced diet to create an ideal state of mind. Similarly, certain scents can evoke different feelings and can be used to promote relaxation. Our sense of hearing can trigger anxiety, such as when we hear irritating sounds, or help us unwind and access our right hemisphere, such as when we listen to our favorite music. Taylor recommends wearing earplugs to protect yourself from overwhelming noises if you are sensitive to sound, as she is, and to spend time moving to music. Our skin is our largest organ and another means by which we receive sensory input. Deep body massage is an excellent way to achieve calm through the sense of touch. One can also proactively include favorite sensory experiences, such as walking in the rain, in one’s daily life.
Taylor claims that it is important to observe and trust our intuition, which is a right-brained skill. As beings, we emit positive and negative energies, which affect those around us. Some of us are more in tune with these energies than others, and we can have some impact on each other by using these energies through meditation, prayer, and practices like feng shui.
Physical exercise is another valuable tool to change one’s state of mind, whether it be sports, yoga, or simply walking. Repeated mantras and meditation are also useful for replacing chaotic or negative thought patterns with positive ones. Taylor enjoys “vocal tuning” using tools called sounding bowls that create vibrations (169) and using angel cards to guide her thoughts and remind her of her life priorities.
Taylor asks the reader to consider what compassion feels like in their body and when they last showed someone this form of care. She revisits the fact that our body’s involuntary, physiological responses last 90 seconds and can then be overridden by our thinking minds, and she is grateful for the lessons her stroke has taught her about controlling her own thoughts.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Tending the Garden”
Taylor thanks the reader for following her personal journey and expresses her hope that her findings about the brain will help people change their thoughts and behavior for the better. She compares her mind to a garden she must carefully tend to by removing its weeds (176). While her biology and environment inform her state of mind, she can use her own personal agency to influence her thoughts and actions. She acknowledges that in her society there are many obstacles to maintaining a healthy state of mind and points to how many people use alcohol and substances to try to “escape our common reality” (176). In Taylor’s final paragraph she tells the reader that they are powered by 50 trillion molecules and only they are in charge of their thoughts and lives so they must “beam bright!” (178).
Chapters 18-20 Analysis
In these chapters, Taylor expands on her insight to provide the reader with pragmatic advice for how to achieve more balanced-brain thinking. Her recommendations bolster her argument for accessing the right hemisphere, as they provide the reader with practical steps to try themselves. Taylor’s admission that her brain needs some “whine time” every day makes her relatable to the reader and shows that it is not necessary to completely remove all negative thoughts. She also acknowledges the relationship between mind and body by offering practical advice to the reader to monitor their diet and exercise and note how these aspects of their life alter their state of mind. The author’s suggestions of meditation and sensory observations are doable practices for both stroke survivors and others. She takes the opportunity to guide the reader through a simple sensory check-in by asking them to pause their reading and focus only on what they can see and hear. These guided activities help the reader understand Taylor’s advice and begin to develop their own practice of awareness.
Taylor continues to build on her argument that everyone should carefully consider their thought patterns and exercise their agency over them, even when they are in response to external events, since our thoughts affect our moods and actions. She acknowledges that while she does not have a say in everything that happens in her life, she is determined to use the power she does have to shape her own thoughts and behavior. She explains, “[...] I take responsibility for how things are going and consciously adjust along the way. This does not mean that I am in complete control of everything that happens to me. However, I am in control of how I choose to think and feel about those things” (150). For example, Taylor feels that even negative events (such as her stroke) can be perceived as positives if they are interpreted as “valuable life lessons” (150).
Taylor persuasively adds that balanced-brain thinking will not only improve our life experiences as individuals, but will also make an impact at the societal level, claiming that “[t]he mental health of our society is established by the mental health of the brains making up our society…” (176). This conclusion inspires the reader to consider their own impact on the world and again encourages an active, responsible approach to thinking.
