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Jill Bolte Taylor

Jill Bolte Taylor Books

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“If I am not persistent with my desire to think about other things, and consciously initiate new circuits of thought, then those uninvited loops can generate new strength and begin monopolizing my mind again. To counter their activities, I keep a handy list of three things available for me to turn my consciousness toward when I am in a state of need: 1) I remember something I find fascinating that I would like to ponder more deeply, 2) I think about something that brings me terrific joy, or 3) I think about something I would like to do.”

ThinkingConsciousnessPositive ThinkingListsNegative ThoughtsNegative Thinking
Book:My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
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“The healthiest way I know how to move through an emotion effectively is to surrender completely to that emotion when its loop of physiology comes over me. I simply resign to the loop and let it run its course for 90 seconds. Just like children, emotions heal when they are heard and validated. Over time, the intensity and frequency of these circuits usually abate. ...Paying attention to which array of circuits we are concurrently running provides us with tremendous insight into how our minds are fundamentally wired...”

ThoughtsEmotionsEmotions And Control
Book:My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
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“When a person has a reaction to something in their environment, there’s a 90 second chemical process that happens in the body; after that, any remaining emotional response is just the person choosing to stay in that emotional loop. Something happens in the external world and chemicals are flushed through your body which puts it on full alert. For those chemicals to totally flush out of the body it takes less than 90 seconds. This means that for 90 seconds you can watch the process happening, you can feel it happening, and then you can watch it go away. After that, if you continue to feel fear, anger, and so on, you need to look at the thoughts that you’re thinking that are re-stimulating the circuitry that is resulting in you having this physiological response over and over again.”

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Author:Jill Bolte Taylor
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“From watching my own mind deteriorate circuit by circuit, I learned that every ability I have, from wiggling my finger to creating language, is dependent on a group of cells inside of my brain functioning in a healthy, happy way. I realized in order to get well I had to make the cells that performed those functions well again. It gave me an entirely different way to look at myself as an individual and at all of us as people.”

PeopleWayMindWellsLooksDifferentOrderIndividualLanguageMy OwnAbilityBrainGroupsHealthyCreatingFunctionFingersI RealizedCellsDifferent WaysDependentCircuitsGet WellHealthy HappyWiggling
Author:Jill Bolte Taylor
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“Unfortunately, as a society, we do not teach our children that they need to tend carefully the garden of their minds. Without structure, censorship, or discipline, our thoughts run rampant on automatic. Because we have not learned how to more carefully manage what goes on inside our brains, we remain vulnerable to not only what other people think about us, but also to advertising and/or political manipulation.”

PeopleThinkingNeedsMindChildrenRunningPoliticalBrainTeachGoes OnDisciplineGardenOur ChildrenStructureAdvertisingManageVulnerableManipulationCensorshipOur Thoughts
Book:My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
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“For me, it's really easy to be kind to others when I remember that none of us came into this world with a manual about how to get it all right. We are ultimately a product of our biology and environment. Consequently, I choose to be compassionate with others when I consider how much painful emotional baggage we are biologically programmed to carry around. I recognize that mistakes will be made, but this does not mean that I need to either victimize myself or take your actions and mistakes personally. Your stuff is your stuff, and my stuff is my stuff.”

WorldNeedsKindMeanDoeMadeActionRememberEasyStuffMistakeEnvironmentThis WorldEmotionalProductsPainfulBiologyBe KindCompassionateManualsBaggageBe Kind To OthersEmotional Baggage
Book:My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
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“Most of the different types of cells in our body die and are replaced every few weeks or months. However, neurons, the primary cell of the nervous system, do not multiply (for the most part) after we are born. That means that the majority of the neurons in your brain today are as old as you are. This longevity of the neurons partially accounts for why we feel pretty much the same on the inside at the age of 10 as we do at age 30 or 77.”

FeelsMeanDifferentBodyAgeTodayDiesBornBrainWeekTypeMonthsAccountsMajorityNervousCellsPrimariesLongevityReplacedNervous SystemNeuronsAge 30
Book:My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
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