What are we trying to achieve from all this problem-solving and learning using our L- and R-brain?
Perhaps you might be wondering, what's the point of having a L- and R-brain as a problem-solving tool and our emotions for finding a positive solution as well as to improve our memory of the solution? What are we really trying to achieve from all of this?
There is a definite purpose behind our application of the L-brain, R-brain and emotions. We are becoming more independent and of the thinking type as well as more sociable, spontaneous and communicative creatures. We are becoming able to do almost anything and everything and in knowing virtually anything and everything (ie. in a kind of god-like way).
In essence, we are approaching a level known to religious leaders and psychologists as the balanced state.
But shouldn't we think in a more L-brain or R-brain?
Yes, the Universe cannot allow us to think in a perfectly balanced way. We must choose at any particular moment in time and place whether to apply L-brain or R-brain skills.
For certain people, the tendency to be more L-brain or R-brain in their thinking and behaviours may become noticeable as we have seen in the previous sections on L- and R-brain behaviours.
However, our aim is to become more balanced in our thinking because there are enormous benefits in terms of solving problems more quickly and effectively.
What's wrong with being more L-brain or R-brain?
We should make it clear at this stage that there is nothing wrong in being more L-brain or R-brain in our thinking. Using one side of the brain or the other can have their advantages when achieving certain goals (ie. part of our life's work). But there are also disadvantages in applying one-sidedness in our thinking.
By being aware of these disadvantages, we begin to appreciate the value of other people in helping us balance our thinking and behaviours. Because sometimes the best solutions we search for come from others who think in the opposite way.
Similarly we also begin to appreciate the power of our mind by doing different things to help develop both sides of our brain. Our brain is capable of providing us with the best solutions.
Where we might struggle with a problem, someone else can help us to see a new solution. So can your brain do the same as well.
What happens if we continue to think in a highly L-brain or R-brain way?
Let us briefly explain what could happen through an example.
L-brain people are often described as highly social people. What they say and do is so important to them in order to be seen in the right light in front of others and so maintain good social relationships with other people. However, in some circumstances, because L-brain people are usually acutely aware of their own appearance and how other people feel and think about them, can easily develop phobias.
The phobias develop because there is a lot of talk from people in a L-brain society (eg. advertising and gossip). There may be talk of changing one's appearance, lifestyle, home and everything else as if there is a problem with one's appearance.
There is a lot of scrutiny and judgement in a L-brain society to look this way or that. So how do L-brain people handle the situation? Some people will try to handle it by either ignoring it. But most L-brain people will go with the flow by changing one's outer appearance especially if other people appear to be doing it too. In other words, it looks trendy and you feel part of the social group.
To some other L-brain people (usually the older types), there may be a certain sense of resentment to change; not being able to take some criticism even if the change is a good one.
In other situations, L-brain people may internalise all these imbalanced "outer appearance" views to the point where they start to question their own appearance all the time. Soon the fear of not looking right to others start to build up. Once the fear reaches a certain point, L-brain people may suddenly withdraw from society. Or they may find ways to get what they want so they can match the appearance of those they feel is somehow pressuring them to be a certain way.
Not knowing what others think about them and whether or not it is okay to be themselves is at the heart of this kind of phobia with L-brain people.
How can we solve the problem? We solve it by balancing this world view in our minds and with other people. We start to look at the situation from a R-brain point-of-view.
You see, the problem is due to (i) the L-brain person not developing a strong, creative thinking R-brain skill to complement the highly critical and analytical L-brain; and (ii) society not balancing its L-brain view by saying it is okay to be who we want to be.
So here is how a R-brain person looks at the situation:
Creativity is important. You need it to see a different side to life. It helps to solve problems. So when other people have creativity, you don't need to change people. They will change if they so choose, or not. Either way, there are advantages.
We don't need to change just for the sake of change. We decide when it is necessary to change after spending time thinking about why other people are asking us to question our appearance and why we must change. Are we hurting others because of our actions? If so, we may need to change. Perhaps we need to work together on finding a new, more balanced solution that avoids harming other people.
If, however, the change is merely to satisfy the world-view of someone else, we have to see the benefits to us and everyone else by doing so. And even then, we have to ask whether that someone else asking us to change needs to do his/her own form of changing?
Maybe the other person needs to develop more R-brain skills so he/she can see the value of having different people.
We have to realise we are all the same because of our differences. We can be different in our own way, and yet we are the same as everyone else. We have the same needs. For example, we all need love. And we have the same skills in terms of our L- and R-brain. But what makes us different is the type of information we gather through experience and learning which makes us and our bodies see unique solutions. And those solutions we display to the rest of the world through our behaviour.
We need those differences to help other people to see new solutions to great problems.
It is okay to be who we are. No apologies are necessary. You deserve to be accepted and loved as you are. If you are not loved by others because you are not changing in the way other people want you to change, then the problem lies with them, not you. Their problem is one of insecurity of not being able to control everything to fit into their own world-view. They are afraid of differences.
You must think with your R-brain about the problem. This means gathering information to help you understand why it happens. What is the fear people have if you don't change? For example, ask yourself why others are focusing on outer appearance when it comes to suggesting changes to various things. And, most importantly, you must learn to love yourself for who you are as a unique human being.
For those people who have a fear of others not changing, they too may also need to be loved.
It doesn't matter what other people think about you. More than 9 times out of 10 they are not talking about you. And even if they are, remember that it is their point-of-view. But you don't have to share the same view. You can be the person you want to be.
You are just as special as anyone else.
Just do what you think is right, learn better ways of doing things, and be yourself. And realise our equality through our differences. Why prove who is better than whom by changing constantly? You choose to change how you wish and you become the person you want to be. You learn from others of ways where you don't create harm. Then, armed with the solutions you have come up with, you celebrate those solutions by freely expressing your differences to the world. And you help others by solving their problems through the solutions you have acquired.
Vice versa, if you have a problem which you find is difficult to solve, you can acknowledge the differences in others as a source of valuable information to help you solve your own problems. They you ask for the advice of other people. Similarly, by developing both sides of your brain, you can given enough time solve the problem on your own. It is up to you to decide which is the best approach.
As L- and R-brain people learn to balance themselves over time through experience and knowledge, they quickly reduce phobias to the point where they no longer have to worry about anything. There is no fear. We are able to live with one another.
Who cares what other people think? Who cares if you don't look the same as someone else? Does it really matter? No, it doesn't. You are free to be who you want to be.
Hence statements from L-brain people like "Why aren't you a white person?" or "Why don't you dress up or play the same games as we do?" can be put into their place — just value judgments because L-brain people have become accustomed to seeing and socialising in their own way. They don't know other ways of living and the benefits of those other ways. L-brain people think the world revolves around them when the world is really a much bigger place and includes so many other diverse people.
Likewise, when a L-brain person says a R-brain person must be suffering a social phobia because he/she is not talking with other people can be put into their place too. They have simply not understood the power of thinking and being quiet as a powerful tool to solving bigger problems. They have developed a one-sided view of the world based on their own experiences. When you balance yourself, you will understand there is no need to be afraid of being on your own for long periods of time.
NOTE: R-brain people don't make value judgments about L-brain people because they already acknowledge differences in others and see them as equal partners in the game of life.
What does this essentially mean?
In essence, as soon as we start using one side of the brain or the other, we tend to see only one-half of the truth of life or the other and that is it. Anyone who argues the opposite half-truth will almost certainly be ignored (or some other negative action) by an opposite-thinking type of person. But if people are to see the complete truth or true reality and so make the best decisions and behaviours (ie. solutions) throughout our lives, we have to see both half-truths and this requires us to be properly balanced in our thinking and behaviour. (1)
We need both our L- and R-brain for optimum living (ie. the most effective solutions possible).
Yes, but we can't be balanced all the time!
You are absolutely right!
It is natural for the brain not to be perfectly balanced or to utilise both sides of the brain simultaneously. This is normal for the human brain and for all living creatures with their own brains. And in fact, this is probably how this great Universe (or the reality we are now living in) is designed - that is, we are forced to choose either one way or the other and then to learn the consequences of choosing one way or the other as part of our aim in life to gather experiences and knowledge throughout our lives and then to choose a more balanced path.
Actually, our brain is not big enough to handle everything this Universe can throw at us for absolute balance. We need to cycle back and forth between the L- and R-brain so we can see a deeper and more grander purpose and meaning to everything that we do and say. And then we approach a greater balance in what we do.
Are we on the road to greater balance?
Yes we are. It doesn't matter if you are not aware of this. It occurs naturally. So long as you are curious and willing to learn new ideas then you will approach balance.
Even in our early childhood, our young brain naturally does not know where balance is. It will choose this or that as part of its survival or to fit in socially, thinking it is right. And for a while it seems our young brain can effectively fool us into thinking this is how things should be done when we are able to survive or create a smile on someone elses face from the crude solution we have created. If we don't question what we believe, it becomes very easy to stick to what we think is the balance path and so we continue doing what we've always done before.
So while we are young and perhaps a little naive, the brain will begin by naturally seeking the easiest solution to many problems it encounters in life and will find any reasonable way it feels comfortable to achieve that goal. In other words, we all start having a tendency to choose our preferred way of thinking.
But later in life — and so long as we choose to be curious &151 we eventually realise there are many ways we could have achieved something. We observe how other people live. And sometimes we need to try other ways because we discover a better solution or it is a question of survival as the environment changes. Or we can start to empathise with others by trying out those things that other people do and say. Then we realise how important it is to balance ourselves in the best way we can so we can apply a wider variety of solutions to any given problem. By trying different things, we also practice using both sides of the brain to help maximise our power in solving problems and behaving appropriately in different situations. By being balanced, we can understand how to minimise the negative consequences and maximise the beauty of everything around us.
It is possible for our brain to search for a better balance without us realising it. All we need to do is maintain our curiosity (just like when we were a child experiencing this world for the very first time), and the greater beauty of life and the universe through the concept of balance will reveal itself more and more to us.
Perfect balance - the holy grail of life in the universe?
Yet achieving perfect balance is not quite possible for all of us. Why? Our brain is not yet fully developed and evolved to the highest level where we can question what we see, gather and process enough information from all around us quickly enough, and then eventually solve all our problems in the most balanced way.
Furthermore, our brain was only designed to switch back and forth between the two hemispheres of the brain, and never both ways at the same time. Why? If our brains were somehow designed to allow information to flow through both sides of the hemisphere simultaneously in an attempt to be perfectly balanced, there would be an overloading of the corpus callosum and the rest of the brain over a short period of time because of an exponential increase in the amount of information being generated from both sides of the hemispheres. Even if our brain was twice as large than it is today, it would still not be able to process the information as it struggles to see how all things are interrelated and merged into the one ultimate and balanced pattern of life for which we all hope to see in the end.
Our brain has to switch back and forth over time to avoid overloading it with too much information all at once. This is the fundamental biological restriction placed on the brain for all living organisms.
Is the speed of switching important?
Well, let us put it this way. You have a much better chance of breaking down a problem and reassembling the crucial patterns needed to form the ultimate pattern and hence a faster chance of finding a solution by being able to switch between the cerebral hemispheres quickly. But if not, it doesn't matter. Time is the key to solving any problem.
So long as you are curious and wanting to learn, you will solve any problem set before you.
How do I quicken the speed of switching?
Switching quickly in the mind requires the brain to be in a certain state.
The best way to get your brain to reach this state quickly is to relax. Being stressed (2) will not help because the brain is juggling many small pieces of information but cannot see the interrelationships between the pieces, thereby slowing down the problem-solving process and placing unnecessary burden on the corpus callosum and the frontal lobes to handle the information. If there is no pressure placed on you by other people or yourself, you can properly get your whole brain to grab a greater quantity of information and see the links in this information much better while letting you switch many times over between the two cerebral hemispheres. The result of this approach is a better and more balanced solution.
Even the idea that our L-brain society should tell you the sorts of problems you should solve and when they should be done (ie. within a certain deadline) and how many similar-thinking people are employed (because it is easier to manage by people running an organisation) to help solve the problems, the problems you create will not be the best. You need different people working on the same problem. And even then, it is quicker in a relaxed state to solve problems more effectively by letting your mind naturally switch between the two cerebral hemispheres.
In essence, the quicker you can switch between the two cerebral hemispheres using any technique to help you relax, the more effective and faster your problem-solving abilities and the more likely you will achieve great things in your life within a short period of time.
Is brain switching really that important to solving problems?
Yes indeed. You need to be able to recognise the individual patterns that may or many not be related to a problem through the L-brain, and then you need the creativity and visual skills of the R-brain to assemble the patterns in many different ways as you can imagine until you eventually recognise another larger pattern that helps to explain everything in memory. All you have to remember is let the R-brain ignore the detail in favour of the big picture and, later on, allow the L-brain to ignore the big picture and instead focus on the detail. The ability to get each side of the brain to do its own job in a switching fashion in its own natural speed will lead to highly rational and extremely original solutions.
Is there scientific support for this idea of brain switching?
An Australian scientist named Professor John D. "Jack" Pettigrew FRS of the Vision Touch and Hearing Research Centre within the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Queensland is taking this brain switching idea very seriously.
He believes the more quickly you can switch between the cerebral hemispheres the more easily you can adapt and solve problems. If, however, your switching speed is slow, it may indicate either old age or there may be a problem with the frontal cortex and/or the bundle of nerves shuttling information back and forth between the cerebral hemispheres known as the corpus callosum. A slow switching effect in the brain does not imply you have a problem. It just means you will take a little longer to solve problems and eventually come up with a balanced (ie. a creative and rational) solution. You will need more time to solve problems.
Dr Pettigrew has also noticed how people with mental illness of some sort (eg. bi-polar disease) tend to have a very slow brain switching effect. Could this reveal an important clue to understanding mental illness in society?
Are mentally ill patients finding it harder than usual to solve problems on their own compared to a majority of people of roughly the same age because of this slow brain switching effect?
What should I do for other people to do the same?
Just let the billions of other human beings in this world solve problems of their own choosing. Just so long as you remember to support everyone in whatever they wish to achieve (give them food, a roof over their heads, and security), then the solutions will be the best and most positive it can be for the good of society.
Can my mind really make me a better person?
Yes, it will make you a better person.
The better your problem-solving abilities, the more likely you can deal with any situation. When your problem-solving skills are good, you can become a great leader in your own right. But remember, even the lowest paid person in society or a slow thinker have the power to solve all the greatest problems in the world. All you have to do is apply yourself to something of interest to you and something that you believe will benefit society in some important way. Then give yourself the time to gather information, visualise the information, and think it through in your own mind. Look for the simplest solutions. And choose the most positive solutions. And you will be just as great as any great leader in the world.
It is really up to you to decide how you wish to apply your mind and how much time you need to solve a problem of your choosing.
If it is so difficult to achieve absolute balance, should we make the effort at all?
As described earlier, switching between the cerebral hemispheres is absolutely necessary to solving problems. Because the solutions we create will make us more balanced over time. This balancing effect will occur naturally so long as we remain curious.
Nevertheless, some people still wonder, "What's the point in becoming balanced if we cannot achieve absolute balance within a human lifetime?"
As R-brain people tell us, the cycling or switching effect of the Universe shows we will experience many lifetimes. Wouldn't you want to know that society has been improved and gathered the right knowledge to help you quickly reach the point of where you were in your current life through education and for you to continue the journey? The journey to absolute balance does not stop when you die.
It is important to strive for greater balance right from the moment you are alive today. You may not reach absolute balance straight away. But you will be getting closer and closer to this ultimate balance. Share the knowledge you currently have with as many people as you can. In your next life, it is likely you will be able to continue the journey to greater balance.
Until we get to this ultimate goal (and hence know the one true God), even the slightest effort we make now to achieve greater balance will guaranteed enormous quantum leaps in the improvement of our lives, our environment and everyone else we interact. We don't know what those improvements are like or the impact they will have on everything until we reach that extra step towards greater balance.
And if we record what we learn, then maybe in our next life (a R-brain view of life and the Universe) we can quickly learn what we've temporarily forgotten. And then who knows what else might be possible by making ourselves more balanced than we were before.
Actually so many of our personal and world problems today could be solved just by being a little more balanced in our thinking and actions. To just look through the superficial things and see who we really are, and perhaps then we can begin to see where balance should lie.
And if not, the universe has a way of eventually achieving balance no matter how extreme we may become. Our brain is not different.
We just have to constantly strive for balance at all times and to continually practice good thinking with ourselves and others so that we can switch the information back and forth between the cerebral hemispheres (and with practice this switching effect should get faster over time) and so create increasingly higher quality, creative and more balanced solutions to all our problems in the quickest way possible. (3)
You don't have to do much. Just apply yourself to a simple task and solve it well and move on. You will surprise yourself over time how much easier it is to solve more difficult problems.
And you will notice improvements in the way you live and see the world, and this will make you feel more positive and happier.
I'm not that curious. Should I achieve balance?
To be human is to be curious. The mere act of sitting down and listening to someone talk or do something unusual or interesting means you are curious enough to make the effort to watch or listen to someone. But if you are genuinely not curious at this moment in time, then it means you are doing nothing. You are sitting back and saying you are happy where you are at this very moment in time and place. We call this existing. But if not, which means you want to participate in the universe, then you are curious and nature has a way of helping you balance yourself whether or not you are consciously aware of what you are doing.
The balancing effect still remains even when you are asleep. Because the brain does things to help sort out the daily information we receive, extract the most relevant information, and interweave this relevant information with our memories.
Then a moment will come when you have a fleeting thought or vision of a more balanced approach to something.
For example, there will be regular moments throughout your life when you will feel hungry. The brain has already extracted this information throughout evolution and has recorded the essential pattern needed for us to balance ourselves. Thus to balance this, you will have thoughts of food to eat and soon you will find food and eat it. The pleasure we find immediately after satisfying our hunger is nature's way of giving us the briefest glimpse of what it is like to experience balance.
Keep rebalancing yourself and eventually you become an expert or very effective at achieving this balance. And each time you try it, you will experience more and more of this ultimate state of true balance.
Even if you are consciously aware of the concept of balance, or in religious terms the God-like state (also known as the religious experience), and are actively wanting to approach this state through your work or play, there is nothing wrong in approaching it as close as you like so long as this is what you want.
It is like the experience of sex. For a brief moment before orgasm, it would appear your body is experiencing its own extreme which only an orgasm can bring back balance. It is prolonged and extreme until you reach the final moment. Then you feel complete. That is why it is not unusual for people to scream out loud "Oh God!" at the start of an orgasm to help describe this experience or sense of balance.
That is why some people may go to the extremes of experiencing the opposite sides of life through sex known as Slave & Master (S&M) just to have this experience of balance. In Slave & Master (S&M) situations, people want to enhance the pain so that the pleasure becomes more intense not only because they are seen as two sides of the same coin, but also because this is just another way for people to experience the near God-like state when going through both extremes.
Of course, you don't have to experience S&M just to have a taste of what balance is. There are other ways you will experience it.
The same is true when we must eat to survive. Sometimes we must experience some hunger for a while in order to appreciate the power of being balanced by fulfilling that hunger with food at the right time.
Can people achieve true balance?
Within a finite period of time, the answer is "No". You have to continually work at it to experience a moment of this state. But it is the thing that will keep you going, push you further to try again and do it better, if you approach it properly and you enjoy what you are doing to the fullest. And there is nothing stopping you from getting as close as you like to this ultimate state of balance.
Each time you do it, you will feel the intensity of this state increase. It will push you to do more.
Certainly if you keep persisting at whatever you are good at while experiencing the opposites of life, you will over time get closer and closer to this ultimate state, experience greater things you have never had before and know better ways to solve problems.
And if you pass on your knowledge to future generations, your children and their children's children will have a greater opportunity to gain a higher state of balance.
And then it will be your turn in your next life to achieve an even higher state of balance.
Are people really trying to balance themselves?
Yes they are, whether they are aware of it or not. For example, we all know how relatively L-brain most scientists in the Western world tend to be with their obsession for exactness, detail, observation and shear rational logic using mathematics and other scientific tools.
However, more and more scientists are now finding out in the 21st century how serious the L-brain problem can get when solving complex scientific problems. For example, many scientists are resorting to computers to help handle large amounts of specific data. And even then scientists are still experiencing an enormous information overload. So what are scientists doing to solve this information overload problem? Scientists are increasingly learning to balance their approach by improving the visualisation of their information using graphics and the art. Art, a generally R-brain discipline, and science are now merging together for a more balanced approach to the work conducted by scientists.
For example, a complex problem such as the UFO phenomenon may contain a range of unusual and seemingly unrelated observations of something bizarre flying around in the sky. Some scientists may try to get around the problem by quickly dismissing the subject as hallucination, hoaxes or other natural phenomena. But if you sit down with an artist and the witnesses and paint the pictures of the observations, you start to see a rational pattern emerging from the observations. You start to see something else. You can then simplify the problem and show the solution.
This is why SUNRISE uses a slide presentation with many visual aids to help present the observations in a clear and visualisable manner. Then anyone with the curiosity to look for new patterns can quickly see the relationship between all the observations.
Even outside of scientific circles and in the midst of the general community do we notice people trying to simplify (ie. a R-brain activity) the complicated L-brain world created by scientists, politicians, the US military and business professionals and marketers as a way of balancing things. For example, in the article titled Keeping check on medicines at home published in the June 2002 edition of The Australian Senior, the quote given on page 21 by Ms Pam Learmonth is most revealing, especially in regards to our need to balance modern society:
'"I found this a really valuable exercise and I have recommended to my friends that they discuss a medication review with their GP.
'"A lot of people with chronic health problems taking lots of different medications would be grateful to have someone come into their homes and simplify the process."'
Or what about the people who retire from the mostly L-brain world of Western society? Have you noticed how many holiday advertisements exist in newspapers and magazines targeting senior citizens? This is all part of the rebalancing effect going on in society as people relearn to relax and reapply their R-brain skills once again. The sophisticated term used by business professionals to describe this R-brain activity is "a better lifestyle", or "live the good life", or a "seachange".
As for the business world, business professionals (mainly managers) and their staff are also heavily reliant on L-brain skills as required to organise and mass produce products and services and deliver them to customers in the quickest and most efficient way possible. Yet these people are increasingly yearning for greater balance in their lives when we hear statements like the following made by Derek Leddie, managing director of the Australian research company The Leading Edge:
'The rational, organised, efficient and sensible side of the brain is overworked in the business world. If you want people to be creative, inspiring and energised, you need to deliver right brain activities.' (4)
Leddie now uses the creation of artworks as a means of releasing stress at work and increasing the creativity of his staff.
NOTE 1: Successful business entrepreneurs are often highly creative individuals (usually showing signs of being a social misfit or having an eccentric streak) compared to the more rational types known as managers. Managers are said to be L-brain control freaks, the ones who dictate how things should be done. But entrepreneurs are people who are more likely to apply a greater balance to the problem of making money. They use a creative R-brain mind to find a niche market, develop new products and services, to experiment on new ideas, to let people try something different etc and a rational L-brain mind to implement the idea in reality. And they often have the emotional drive to enjoy what they do.
NOTE 2: Motivational business seminars will try to get people to be more entrepreneurial by convincing people it is okay to overcome fear. When people conquer their fears, it becomes possible for them to break their own L-brain barriers.
And did you know young L-brain types doing jobs like communication consultancy or IT tend to get into creative fields after work such as popular creative dancing, photography etc? This is all part of the way the brain balances itself.
And what about the L-brain types in the 20th century who discovered the importance of combining separate things they had once divided and categorised into one unified entity in the 21st century to help create greater meaning and balance in their lives? For example, people in the 20th century had made a habit of creating a distinction between work and play. The result towards the end of the century was a feeling that life had no meaning. The consequence of being so rational and in categorising so many things had created a problem: people realised something was missing in their lives. Now, in the early 21st century, people are understanding that combining work and play (ie. finding a job you actually enjoy the most) soon brings back some of that sense of meaning to what they are doing.
And have we mentioned the very low morale within the Defence force? Given the highly L-brain nature of their work, one should not be surprised by the low morale among the lower paid and less-important members of the Defence force. Part of the problem is clearly in creating a hierarchy of power that emphasises the limited importance of the people in the lower echelons while keeping the people at the top somewhat invisible from the rest of the people working under them. Then there is also the monotony of the L-brain job to contend with as well. The result is people yearning for something different from the norm, something that will bring greater balance to what they are doing and experiencing.
As the article in The Canberra Times stated on 15 June 2002 regarding the morale of Defence workers:
'Morale and faith in the management of the Commonwealth's weapons acquisition organisation is at rock bottom, according to a confidential survey of staff at the Defence Materiel Organisation [DMO]...
'DMO staff thought their superiors were invisible, that they provided little direction, were not forward thinking, and were unreceptive to new ideas...
'After the Army and the Navy, DMO also had the lowest level of morale, with one third of staff believing their efforts went unappreciated....Only Air Force scored lower [than the Army, the Navy and DMO].' (5)
Or how about those technically-minded L-brain people who have followed the L-brain trend of accumulating many things only to find that the less you have, the happier and easier life gets?
For example Patrick Forman, a scientific officer within the school of Liberal studies at Bathurst's Charles Sturt University, develops web applications and writes computer programs for academic research for 4 days per week. The other three days he spends at his mudbrick house in the bush isolated from modern society including the technology of computers, television, electricity and running water via a tap. If he needs fresh water, he takes a short stroll down a hill and with a bucket or jug he collects his water from a stream. Why? As Mr Forman said:
'It's not as if I have a distaste for technology as such, but I have a distaste that we in the West use technology excessively.
'It is a Western thing that 20 per cent of the world's population consumes 80 per cent of the world's resources. I'm not a Luddite going around breaking things, but I'm trying to live a life that, by being as simple as possible, impinges less on the world.
'There is a serious movement in downsizing in Australia, where people are saying, "I'm working too much and I don't need a lot of these things." More and more, I have found out I just need less and less to maintain my sense of happiness and wellbeing.' (6)
In a nutshell, he believes life must be balanced from all the constant use of technology or making technology too complicated and the pressures of buying and consuming. Where life is perceived as complicated, highly technical and/or demanding to constantly acquire more things, people seek the opposite — greater simplicity, creativity, and less taking from the environment — in order to attain maximum happiness.
It is a natural behaviour for all living things.
Even on a biological level, organisms are attracted to opposites or differences within their own species. For example, studies on humans have been conducted to determine which factors seem to attract people sexually.
In one study conducted in the UK, people were asked to smell a range of body odours of several people of the opposite sex from the clothes they had worn. The clothes of each anonymous individual were kept in an airtight plastic container and was only opened to allow the participants to smell the items for a short time. What scientists found is that people who thought the body odour of certain clothes smelt the worse had chosen people having the same or very similar immune systems. However the clothes which didn't have an obvious odour or didn't give a bad impression were actually from people who had different immune systems.
What this study showed was that people are more likely to be sexually interested in other people if the body odours didn't offend them and thus more likely for the genes responsible for creating opposite or different immune systems to combine to form a more powerful "balanced" immune system in the offspring.
Similarly, in another study conducted at Aberdeen University in 2005, 144 students were shown a series of paired faces. Then the psychologists asked the students (i) who they trust the most; and (ii) who they felt more sexually attracted to. The results of the study showed people who chose faces on the basis of trust were faces that looked similar to their own. But when it came to sexual attraction, it was the people with different facial characteristics which actually caught the eyes of the students.
In general, the more different you look in the eyes of another person, so long as the face conforms to a certain sense of symmetry (considered more attractive) with no obvious signs of deformity or whatever, the more likely you would be seen as sexually attracted to this other person.
The same can be said of people described as L-brain and R-brain in their behaviours. In the early stages of a relationship, it is likely L-brain people will become sexually attracted to R-brain people because of their idealistic and possibly more utopian views. Similarly R-brain people may become sexually attracted to L-brain types because of their rational and confident approach to life and ability to verbally communicate with people. True the relationships may not last if there is an expectation of one opposite thinking type to force another type to be more like themselves. If you are not willing to understand and learn from one another or allow the other to develop their skills, the relationship will be doomed to fail. But for the purposes of the chemistry needed to initiate sex and procreation, this is usually not an issue in the early stages.
However, once a child is born, the only way the relationship can be maintained is if there is a concerted effort by each opposite thinking partner to acknowledge the differences, to promote each other's strengths and achievements, to help in each others' ultimate goal(s), and to find different ways of communicating to help each other see where the other person is coming from. This requires extensive learning, being curious and an ability to handle many conflicts when they arise by each person especially if each person is imbalanced in their thinking. But once the solutions are found, the couple will achieve enormous growth, happiness and fulfill many great goal(s). Such learned relationships where greater balance is achieved is where the strongest bonds between humans are created. These bonds are permanent and will last for the rest of their lives.
Otherwise, for long term stable relationships where learning from each other and making babies are not given the highest priorities, people of similar thinking types are likely to get together and stay that way for the rest of their lives.
The concept of balance is universal
The importance of keeping things in balance is absolutely paramount in so many different disciplines, whether it is religion, science or the arts.
In the true religion, the state of balance is usually called the moment of "enlightenment", the state of "experiencing and knowing God", or the feeling of "true consciousness" (7) or seeing a glimpse of "the Truth". For example, it would not be too surprising to hear from religious people how the resurrection of a great man in Christianity (to Buddhists this is just another way of saying we are reborn) is a sign of God and how this is a sign of balance in the Universe. (8)
To the genuine New Age person described as having strong genuine psychic abilities, this is described as the moment of maximum aura or the greatest positive life flow (which is usually reflected in the amount of electromagnetic energy emitted by a person as seen in those images known as Kirlian Photography). Generally, the more balanced you are, the healthier your body, the more active mentally and physically you are and thus the more positive life flow you generate.
To the scientists, this balanced state may be described as "the edge of chaos" or "the edge of order", or the boundary condition between anything such as midway between "complexity" and "simplicity" or whatever. Scientists consider this to be the most exciting moment where the answer to many scientific problems, new scientific phenomena, and the greatest scientific advancements are to be found.
Psychology supports the concept of balance
The same is true for psychology. It is all about understanding how everything comes in pairs of opposites, learning what the consequences are in reaching the extreme opposites in our feelings, thinking and behaviour, and then how to balance them. For example, in psychology, it is perfectly fine to be anxious, angry, happy or whatever sometimes. But there could be a problem if such feelings, or certain other behaviours or thinking are persistent, extreme or non-existent.
Good psychology is all about understanding your mind, yourself and others, and how to keep things in balance. And the same is true for the rest of life.
The concept of balance is just as intrinsic to this universe as the concept of opposites are too
Generally anything that is said to be balanced in our eyes is described as being in the ultimate state of existence or discovery. It is the true renaissance period where all things opposite are suddenly understood to be important, equal, interrelated and seen as one.
The balanced state is where no obvious long-term favouritism for one thing over any other is shown. Everything is highlighted for their special characteristics, but when combined as a whole are always seen as equally important and having their place in this Universe.
And while in this balanced state, we understand how all things are interrelated and seen as one.
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Do religious texts promote this balancing concept?
While this is still controversial, there appears to be an overall pattern emerging in religious texts such as the Bible and the Koran.
In the Bible, this L-brain and R-brain idea is taught in terms of the male and female characteristics. In the Old Testament of the Bible, for example, God is seen more as a dominating, top of the hierarchy male figure showing the strong L-brain approach to solving social problems including destruction of those who do not follow God's word. In the New Testament, the feminine side of God emerges in a figure called Jesus Christ. Here, forgiveness and love is taught as ways of solving social problems.
In the Koran, there is much early discussions about invocations of violence showing the L-brain male characteristic of solving problems. Then we find the opposite view when the story of the Queen of Sheba is discussed. Talk of a society whose people are wealthy under this feminine leader and where the land is looked after, fertile, growing food for society and becomes a Paradise is not uncommon.
Research is continuing. Further work may reveal more about this L- and R-brain pattern of social life in religious texts.
But don't try to be God!
However, never try to be God yourself or pretend you are God. You cannot be God in a finite period of time. There can be only one God. This is the thing you are aiming for.
There are people in this world who claim they are God or believe they have achieved the ultimate state of balance at all times. Saying you are God is very dangerous.
For example, this is how many dangerous cults are formed. In the early stages of a cult, religious leaders may have a few reasonably good "balanced" ideas which may attract a small number of followers. Then the leader may lose sight of what he/she is there for because the leader can suddenly see the benefit of creating a group (eg. more money, free sex etc). Then, after a while, some of the followers may become disillusioned in some way with the leader because they are moving away from the concept of balance. The only way the leader can maintain his/her followers and even increase the group size is to start claiming he/she is God.
Then the leader and a few very dedicated followers must reduce the self-esteem and individualism of the rest of the followers until they can become totally dependent on the leader.
When people of a religious group reaches this low point, there is no thinking, no progress, just existing to satisfy the needs of someone else. Life then becomes worthless and suicide or murder may be a common avenue for people to escape the situation.
Don't try to create and worship multiple gods
Similarly people who create multiple gods also have a poor understanding of the concept of God.
It comes about because people think there is no easy explanation for why a single God of love would allow disasters to occur where life could be destroyed. How could God bring misery upon those who are asked to believe in a single God? So the alternative and one which would help to alleviate the fear somewhat is to break up God into individual gods with each playing a specific role in the way this Universe works. For example, in Hinduism, the god of destruction known as Sheva is created to explain the destruction that takes place in the world. By creating these gods, simple-minded people think it would be a simple matter of appeasing the right god in some way to help minimise the harm or destruction to people.
But the creation of gods are L-brain constructs.
There is only one true God. And it is the God that understands the Universe must go through a balancing act in order for everything to exist and for life to continue. In the natural world, disasters will come and go just as much as times of peaceful and love. Should the disasters occur in greater numbers, it may be a sign that nature (or God) is trying to balance itself more so than usual. Hence humans must understand and learn what is causing the imbalance and try to rectify it. Once we learn, our knowledge is likely to minimise the imbalance towards a harmful environment to the point where disasters are few and far between.
Providing offerings to gods will not solve a crisis or disaster. Understanding the Universe and acting on our knowledge to protect life, however, will give us and all life a better chance of approaching the true God of love in our lives.
Any religion that supports multiple gods is a false religion because, as the name implies, there can be only one God. And God is not in one form or another. It is in all things and yet it is one.
This is the way it is suppose to work.
Should people believe in God?
Apart from the issue of a single God or multiple gods, there is the question of whether or not people should actually believe in God at all. Should we believe in God?
The people who believe in God are categorised by L-brain people as thiests and those who don't believe in God are called athiests. Who is right?
Certainly this web page does give the impression God exists in terms of a definition we call balance. Does it mean God really does exist?
The truth is, only you can decide.
Let's face it. It really doesn't matter whether or not you believe in God. And why use the word God at all? We may use the word "balance" as a more accurate definition. Or maybe there is no word to describe and name this ultimate entity of true balance in which we are approaching.
It's a personal thing which only you can decide.
What should matter to you is not the beliefs but rather what you do, think and say through your beliefs (ie. your religion) you have created (and stored firmly in the cerebral cortex of the human brain) based on the patterns you have observed, imagined and learned which will show whether or not you have understood the purpose and meaning of life and helps to bring greater love to all living things in the universe. Because in religion, expressing love brings you closer to God.
For millenia, athiests have been treated badly by theists and vice versa over a single belief of whether or not God exists. We have to understand, by pursuing and understanding God in our own way, whether or not we use the word God or not, is already helping us to approach balance through the way we show love (a vision of God).
It really doesn't matter. You choose how you wish to describe it.
And if people believe in God, what then? Does it matter how people describe God in their own words? No it shouldn't.
For example,. some simple-minded people may describe God as a great "old Man" sitting in the sky watching over us and leading humankind along the right path. Perhaps it is the feeling of security and sense of wisdow (a form of love) that balance brings that gives them this impression of God as an "old Man"? Or maybe this is the closest picture people can find to describe God in terms of the character traits needed to be closer to the idea of being balanced? For other people who listens to this description and may take any definition of God quite literally in an extreme L-brain (rational) sense may find this description a little difficult to accept. Well, how many people can actually see an old Man sitting in the sky?
It depends on our own definition of God, whether or not we actually use the word God or "the old Man" in explaining things.
Everyone has, or must create, their own definition of what it is they are approaching, that helps them to better understand the concept and with it the purpose and meaning of life and the universe, whether or not they are aware of it. Even those people who claim not to believe in a God may in fact be moving towards God but are simply not aware of it because they haven't stopped for a moment to think about how their actions, thoughts and sayings might be leading them to God through the positive actions they take and thus see this great balancing act taking place all around them. It doesn't make them deficient in anyway because of it.
It is perfectly normal for people to choose what they want to believe. What matters is whether you promote the principle of love.
Perhaps the people we call athiests are nothing more than highly rational people who haven't formed a definition of God in their own minds to help them understand the concept. But they could just as well be doing things that brings them closer to God in the eyes of theists.
If you believe in the way the Universe balances itself over time, including the idea that life and death are just opposites to an endless cycling back and forth towards greater balance and thus acts as a kind of mysterious and invisible force pushing us towards a "destination" and how the greatest love of all tends to coincide at the moment of true balance, then it is likely you will believe in this balancing act.
Some people call this balancing act God. Call it what you will.
If you believe God does not exist because the descriptions people have given of God is too hard for you to swallow, then this is fine too. You have your own beliefs to follow.
At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter. Ask yourself, "Are you doing different things in life?" and "Are you helping yourself and other living things to become better and more loving?"
Because the answer to both questions will determine whether or not you are approaching true balance.
Remember, the religion you create for yourself through your own beliefs, whether or not it shows that you believe in God or have a religion is a personal thing. The true religion never imposes its beliefs on others. It is something we must discover through our own journey in life. And what we do, think and say, if based on worthy and sound principles of love, will show you are on the right track in life.
Anyone who imposes their beliefs (ie. religion) on others without allowing others the opportunity to explore their own beliefs, or anyone who blatantly expresses hatred to others because the beliefs of others is different but cannot see the love is not following the path of true balance and ultimately the true religion of God.
God and the true religion of this great Universe always allows people to pursue their own beliefs. Our job is to help people know whether those beliefs do bring love and balance to life and the universe by how we feel through experience and whether by watching other life forms that they too can feel the love through those beliefs.
If there is love, do not interfere.
How do we create the simplest picture of absolute balance?
Need a picture to help you visualise this concept of balance? What you need is an image showing the opposites of life and an image indicating where balance would lie between these two opposites. Firstly the best way to show opposites is a straight horizontal line where the ends of the lines can represent the opposites.
Now to show balance, you need to have something marking through the exact middle of the line to give the impression of balance. The simplest way of doing this is to draw a perpendicular line intersecting the horizontal line exactly midway between the two opposites.
Does this picture remind you of something?
The picture we have just described is common among the people who practice Christianity. It is known quite simply as the cross. In other religions or the more L-brain types of christians of later years coming up with various interpretations, these people may try to complicate the picture by adding additional intersecting lines as if they are radiating from a central position. In other religions, the centre of all the intersecting lines may be emphasised by a circle and the lines themselves are less prominent. Or perhaps the Star of David might be drawn.
Then other religious people may draw sophisticated paintings of a spiralling staircase going up towards a central radiating light where the rays of light are used instead of intersecting lines. The spiralling staircase is, however, a representation of the journey of all living things in this universe as it approaches some great balance of the universe, whether or not all living things are aware of it.
Depending on how L-brain or R-brain you are and thus how complex or simple the images you create, the picture of lines intersecting at a balanced and central position is probably the best way of describing the concept of balance in visual form.
What are the signs of a good leader?
A good leader will have balanced ideas.
He/she will be someone who will never force upon others to accept or even to expect others to follow his/her own views no matter how balanced it may seem. A good leader should permit others to think for themselves and come up with their own alternative "balanced" ways of solving problems. If the solutions happen to coincide with the leader's own solutions, it only increases the leader's credibility and standing in the group and helps to bring a sense of commonality among everyone.
Sometimes the act of leading should not actually be seen as leading, but rather encouraging others to think for themselves. Let them come up with solutions, let them see the pros and cons of each solution, let them choose, and let them try the solution. If necessary, give some suggestions. Better, make it a journey of discovering what the solutions might be by working together to learn.
The leader can lead on occasions, but he/she must be able to break the pattern of leading others constantly like a parent with a child. A good leader will always remember to let a child grow into adults and become their own leaders in whatever they wish to become.
It is true a good leader is someone who will have a thorough understanding of the concept of balance in a number of crucial areas. He/she will provide good ideas in a social situation at the right times and places, but can also encourage people to think for themselves and carry on the task of generating good ideas independently of the leader so that the leader can continue with his/her own work without interference or relying on others to give him/her what is required.
And anyway, all leaders will come and go. Someone else must carry the flame of leadership and so on throughout all eternity.
In the end, people must become their own leaders and choose for themselves how they want to support themselves and everyone else based on the principle of love.
Don't follow groups or individuals who claim to be God
Avoid leaders who believe in multiple gods, or claim to be God or have allegedly experienced it one hundred per cent and all the time, because they are the ones described as the false leaders. Anyone who claims they are God or have achieved or experienced God (or true nirvana) through their efforts, is either a fool or is lying, take your pick.
We can only have an inkling of the ultimate truth. And that truth will always be a little different for each person despite the numerous common patterns likely to exist in our experience of this ultimate truth.
Also remember there is nothing stopping you from getting as close as you like to this ultimate truth. And don't worry about whether you are achieving balance or not. The experience itself will come in the briefest and most intense way and is usually more than enough to urge you on to do whatever you are doing better next time in order to re-experience just that little bit more of the God-like or balanced state and hence become more balanced for yourself.
The only thing you must remember is whatever you do, make sure it will benefit everyone and not just yourself. And it must also help you to become a better person.
Don't let other people persuade you into thinking they are God. They may be gods in the way they act depending on how balanced their thinking might be. But they are not God.
Not even an advanced alien civilisation coming down to Earth to show us its magic through their technology and guide us towards a "path with a heart" should be seen as God. They are nothing more than people like you and I who have applied their L- and R-brain skills to solve problems to a greater extent and have come up with solutions showing their indepth understanding of the way the Universe works. But they too are still approaching this ultimate state of true balance.
Is there a true L-brain or R-brain person?
The same thing is true of trying to reach the extreme or ultimate opposite state of reaching true L-brain or true R-brain. In reality, there is no such thing as a true L-brain or R-brain person in the ultimate extreme case.
When we talk about L- and R-brain people in the world of psychology, what we mean is how often information flows in one particular direction inside the corpus callosum. If this was not the case and we used only one side of the brain or the other and that is it, then by natural selection the side of the brain not being used would diminish in size and eventually disappear after many generations had passed.
Every one of us uses both sides of the brain at different times. It is only when we tend to push information to one side of the brain more than another for a long period of time that this tends to be reflected in our personality to some extent, in the beliefs we form in our minds, and in the behaviours we express to the world. We tend to do this because our social environment may dictate the need for those one-sided functions in the brain and also because it is easier and more comfortable for us to do so as it has helped us to survive in modern society.
And when this happens, the side of our brain being used the least will tend to shrink slightly. But it will never diminish completely. The balancing effect of life and with every new generation that comes and goes will ensure the skills of both sides of the brain are maintained.
No matter how one-sided we may become, at certain moments in our lives we do switch over from one side of the brain to the other by reversing the flow of information depending on what our needs are at any moment in time. And even when we don't do anything, this balancing act in the brain is usually done automatically given sufficient time, adequate rest (ie. through regular creative dreaming/thinking and by analysing those dreams/thoughts through the process of thinking), and/or by satisfying our basic needs. It is normal and natural.
Can this switching effect in the brain cause problems?
Nevertheless, as we shall see in the next section, this switching effect within the brain can have a potentially crucial impact on the development of human behaviour. In fact, the process of quickly moving a large amount of information regularly in one direction through the corpus callosum and then suddenly reversing this flow may either help to improve our behaviour or, if it is not done right or carefully, may be detrimental to our long-term and unique personality and to the health of our brain.
It is possible to develop simple tests to see whether people are hemispherically "balanced" or not. For example, at http://www.peopledynamics.com.au have developed a test for determining the hemispherical balance of the brain. However, the only problem is that once people are fully aware of the test, they will invariably try to "balance" themselves by choosing "appropriate" answers.
Testing for a balanced mind can only be done subconsciously or while the person is unaware he/she is being tested over a long period of time. Otherwise the testing should not be done at all because it will be much worse for everyone if the person knows about it and the person testing says nothing. Even if the testing is necessary and can be performed, the results of that testing can still be heavily biased because the person doing the testing will subconsciously compare the results to themselves simply because the person believes he/she is always balanced in his/her own mind!
This is important. Each person will have their own view on how balanced is another individual. What one believes is a balanced person may in fact be more L-brain or R-brain to another. L-brain and R-brain behaviours and whether an individual is truly balanced are actually a personal thing. Therefore tests should be kept to a minimum and only seen as a guide to help people balance themselves and nothing more. (11)
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What does a balanced person look like?
This is difficult to describe in absolutely precise terms as no human being (or living thing for that matter) can be perfectly balanced at all times. But we can imagine what a balanced person might look like.
In religious terms, no one can be "God", and thus absolutely "balanced" in the ultimate extreme case. Anyone who claims they are "God" is either lying or a fool.
However, when someone says they are "god" by emphasising a lower case "g" when writing the word on a piece of paper, then we understand the person is telling the truth. Why? Because he/she has understood the limitations of his/her own powers to solve problems and help other people and is prepared to learn new and more balanced ideas. This difference between 'god' and 'God' is often expressed in religious texts such as the Christian Bible where the writer who has understood what Jesus of Nazareth was saying to a group of scholars would try to distinguish himself and others from the one true God with the word "god".
Sometimes saying the word "god" and "God" would still create confusion in simple-minded (or even scholarly L-brain) people because they sound the same and therefore can create tension among certain religious leaders who don't understand the difference whenever they hear individuals of seemingly lesser authority claim they are "god". So it is not unusual to hear people say that they are "the children of God" (or the "son or daughter of God") to help emphasise their position in the universe as not one of absolute authority which is God, but rather a position where everyone needs to do a lot of learning throughout life.
The same is true of all religions in the world. Any religion who claims to be the ultimate or true religion (and thus the people of that religion believe they are "the chosen ones") is actually a false religion (which explains the great numbers of religions in the world, mainly because each one is trying to claim the prize of being the one and only true religion). You will see this in most world religions because of their inability to learn new ideas and reach a common "stable" ground with all other religions. (12)
People often forget that the true religion is something we are all striving for simply because nobody knows precisely what it is. We only have a glimpse of this true religion through the power of love. So all we can do is learn from one another (our personal religions) and all the fragmented group religions that exist in the world. In that way, all the differences and possibly contradictory views can be combined into one main and common religion (13). Hopefully, this single "known" religion we create for ourselves, if we can ever achieve it, will give us a much closer look at the true religion of God (ie. the true "balanced state").
Don't worry about all the different rituals used in religion. Christians and Jews may go to mass on Sundays. Buddhists may meditate in the morning and afternoon. Some people may light a candle at night and look at it as they think and ponder the mysteries of life and the Universe. Other people may go to a mosque at any time of the day, kneel and bend over a hundred times as they sing one aspect of the Koran.
This is all about getting into the state of heightening the R-brain and balancing the mind to accept new ideas. And in group situations, it is about socialising too.
Your aim is to focus on the concept of balance and to recognise the one true path of love and compassion through the teachings. Where possible, listen to all other religions. Use the knowledge of how to balance the mind to help you solve problems.
You must create your own Bible or Koran of how to live life by showing this balance and the principle of love.
So be very careful not to follow entirely the views of any single so-called "prophet" or world religion (including this web site!). And always keep away from those who claim they are God, or think they know God, because there can be only one God. God does not lie in just one living entity in this physical Universe. God is in all things and nothing can ever know this God in its ultimate sense.
God is something we must all strive for. It is our destiny. Yet it is certainly not something that is locked into one single individual or cult within this Universe. God is in all things both in and around us and we need to know precisely what that is before we can ever begin to imagine and claim some understanding of this mysterious entity or state of mind, called the absolute balanced state.
We are just children learning in the biggest classroom will call the Universe. Our teacher is in this Universe. It is up to us to recognise there is a teacher by balancing our mind and showing love. Then we will start to have a glimpse of this teacher or destination of where we are heading and the kind of heaven we can create from it.
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To begin with, a balanced person is likely to be someone who can do what appears to be a great many "multiskilled" things over a short space of time. He/she can easily relax, doing nothing and/or may think about things (eg. creating new ideas or ways of doing things in solitude and/or with others) and then putting certain things into action quickly through changes in behaviour, by talking, and/or by using his/her hands and/or body (eg. dancing, painting, building a new invention, solving mathematical problems and so on) to achieve certain goals.
It is likely many of the multiskilled tasks of a balanced person may already have been well-thought out or can be quickly deduced at time of implementing the tasks from a combination of rational and creative thinking. He/she may already have the patterns learned or can quickly deduce and create new patterns as he/she needs them.
A balanced person would also like to be on his/her own and quietly think about various issues while looking out of a window or doing something artistical without being concerned about being "lonely" as many social people would try to describe the situation; and then the balanced person can suddenly change to a highly talkative, spontaneous, rational, fun-loving individual when required in a room full of people. A balanced person may also be very quick to adapt to various situations even if they are unfamiliar to him/her and yet may choose to take plenty of time to learn the fine details if required. A classic example of this may be observed in the American science fiction series called The Pretender.
In other words, a balanced person always aims to be all things for everyone.
A balanced person may also provide significant input in a few well-chosen areas to help as many people as possible to achieve their own goal(s), but will often fall short of telling everyone what has to be done as if they want people to learn, balance themselves, and decide how best to run their own lives. In other words, a balanced person will often take a balanced approach to interfering and non-interfering with others depending on the circumstances at hand.
Generally, a balanced person will not say anything that would clearly show support for one opposing argument over another, nor will the person show favouritism for one group over the other unless it is required for improving the balance of things.
For example, if there is clear oppression being displayed over one group by another, it is not unusual for a balanced individual to be part of and supporting the oppressed group.
All things will be treated as equally as possible unless there is a clear imbalance in things, and then the person will try to improve the situation by focussing on the thing that needs balance.
Dreams are a kind of window to your inner thoughts and feelings and gives you insight into the way the brain tries to reach the balanced state. Dreams are useful not only to help the brain record the important events of the day and many of our major experiences throughout life. They are also a useful way for the brain to balance itself. For example, if you regularly live in a world full of bricks and mortar, cars and other technological marvels, dark and/or cloudy conditions, and lots of people as is often the case in a city environment, do not be surprised if you get a vivid dream of a greater extreme view of this kind of world; or you may dream of something quite the opposite like a peaceful place on a beach or in a grand old park with many trees and open areas of thick green grass, in a very warm and bright sunny day, with people walking around or perhaps no one around depending on your social inclination. This balancing effect we all experience from time-to-time within our dreams is quite natural. Religious people often describe dreams as a way for the ultimate balanced entity called God to communicate with us and give us clues as to what we should do. To the purely scientific types such as the psychologist, this is just the way the mind communicates with you at certain times in order to help you see the balance in what you are doing.
Other interesting insights into dreams include the following:
1. The sensation of falling in your dreams
A common dream usually signifying some form of insecurity, anxieties, vulnerability to something, or it could simply be an example of extreme fear of heights which you may need to confront and understand in real life in order to feel more balanced.
2. The sensation of losing your teeth
The feeling of losing your teeth is perhaps the most common dream experienced by nearly everyone. It may signify your concern about your appearance, especially in social situations. This is probably because — together with other features such as the eyes, general symmetry of the face, a smile and so on — teeth is often an important indicator of health and attractiveness.
3. The sensation of being naked
Another relatively common dream often associated with feeling insecure in yourself in front of others in some area of your life, such as a fear of opening up your deepest feelings to another person. Or perhaps you don't wish to reveal something secret to other people for whatever reason? Sometimes you may not have to be naked in your dreams to feel this sensation. For example, you could be dreaming of being alone on a patio outside your house wearing very light clothing and a cold wind seems to penetrate to your skin making you feel like you are naked (the wind usually comes from the fact that you may have removed the bed sheets from your body and can feel a cold breeze passing through the open bedroom window).
Never be afraid to dream. Always will yourself to dream, make them vivid, understand what is going on, try to remember the specifics as well as the big picture within your dreams, then find the solution if necessary in the real world to make it a reality and bring greater balance in your life. And most importantly, try to enjoy them by applying love to the situation as they will help you to change into a better and more balanced person.
And if any dreams should ever disturb you, always listen to what they are trying to say to you and do it with love and with a curious mind. Understanding your dreams and learning how to deal with them will make you a more balanced person over time.
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As for more real-life glimpses of a balanced person, all we need to do is observe those independent and socially-capable people in society who are described as a good all-rounder who can do just about anything in any situation (including changing oneself and the environment (14) and then learning when not to interfere) and can have a balanced view on nearly all issues of life and the Universe.
And for the ultimate balance person, he/she would be able to solve any problem he/she sets his/her mind to in a virtually instantaneous way. Even the most controversial problems will not stop a balanced person from attempting to solve them. From the most complex world problems, to everyday simple life issues, to controversial areas other people don't want to touch such as UFOs and so on, nothing would be out-of-bounds for a truly balanced and curious person. There is no fear to tackle anything.
In psychology, many of the L-brain types we call the traditional psychologists try to place human behaviour into one of sixteen main personality types known as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
While this may be a noble way of understanding human behaviour, R-brain people see this as a somewhat complicated system and believe every person is really achieving the one basic personality of life. What that personality is is dependent on who the person looks up to (either God, or someone easier to observe such as a famous sports/movie star, a great religious leader or whatever).
In reality, all behaviours and eventually our personalities can be, with enough effort and time, be stripped down to just two simple types - the L-brain and R-brain (15). Then the brain creates consciousness by attempting to merge these two types into our unique and single personality we call "the Self".
This thing we call "the Self", whatever it is in precise terms, can have many characteristics common to a particular person or to many different people in real life or imagined in our own minds, but it will always be unique in their combination. In other words, the personality you create in your life is uniquely "you" in this moment in time and place and no one else can duplicate precisely your true "self". You are like others, and yet you are not like others.
You are special, but you are no different from anyone else. This paradoxical nature of "the Self" is why some R-brain people would like to believe in the view that "We are gods", or we are part of God, because we are all part of that great mystery of life and the universe we are striving to understand, such as the fact that everything is filled with so many paradoxes including ourselves.
Why are there paradoxes? We do not know at the moment. Yet we somehow need to understand these paradoxes and what they are suppose to teach us so we can find out who we really are, what we are doing here, and what happens to us when our time comes to temporarily leave this universe. (16)
It is here, in the true nature of "the Self", where the true mystery of consciousness actually lies. In fact, all of psychology is based on the understanding of this idea we call consciousness. And to the religious person, this idea of consciousness is essentially the same as the concept of "balance" or "God".
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