Stroke of luck . . .

This was an interesting story - it appeared in the November/December AARPS magazine and on Opray October 21st. It's also a book - saw it at Barnes and Noble.

http://www.oprah.com/article/spirit/inspiration/pkgoprahssoulserieswebcast/20080512_oaf_oss_jboltetaylor
This is taken from Oprah's Website - hope you enjoy -

Jill Bolte Taylor

"When she was a young girl, brain scientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor became fascinated with the functions of the human brain. Jill, one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2008, has a brother with schizophrenia, and his brain disorder led Jill to dedicate her career to studying severe mental illnesses as a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist. While she worked to uncover the differences between the brains of people born with mental illnesses and those who were not, something remarkable happened to Jill's own brain—it went silent.

On December 10, 1996, at age 37, Jill awoke with intense pain behind her left eye—a blood vessel had exploded in the left hemisphere of her brain, and within hours, Jill could no longer walk, talk, read or write. She was suffering from an arteriovenous malformation—a rare type of stroke. While Jill struggled to phone for help, she was aware that the left hemisphere of her brain was shutting down, taking with it her language, organizing and other analytical skills. Without the dominant left side of her brain controlling her thoughts, Jill says her mind went silent, leaving only the right side of the brain functioning. Through the right side of her brain, Jill says her consciousness shifted away from reality—and the trauma her body was suffering through—and into a place of inner peace and Nirvana.

The experience was life-changing. Not only did Jill face years of recovery after her stroke—and major brain surgery to remove a large blood clot in her brain—she also discovered a better quality of life through increased use of the right hemisphere of her brain. She's now an artist as well as a scientist, creating anatomically correct stained-glass replicas of brains that are sold as fine art. She's also published My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey. The book explains in scientific detail exactly what happened during Jill's stroke and how she recovered. It also takes a closer look at how the right hemisphere of the brain works and how Jill says people with normal brains can access it to find their own inner peace and improve their quality of life and the lives of others. "

AARPS-November/December 2008

"Can a person tap into this bliss without suffering a stroke? Absolutely. When you're really paying attention to the richness of the present moment, that's right minded awareness. The left hemisphere is preoccupied with past and future, projecting fears, contemplating ideas that aren't relevant to the hear and now.

You have to learn to choose.

Stress is a frame of mind. If you're in traffic, relax and enjoy the moments. Standing in line? Observe rather than engage.

How can we learn to pull the plug?

Use your senses to pay closer attention to your environment. What does the air smell like? What are the sounds, the colors? What's happening in the distance. Focus on details. Try dancing."

In other's words - like I keep saying, breathe and pay attention to the movement of your breath - look at your diaphragm moving up and down.

If I ever got the nerve up to get a tattoo (one thing on my list that I want to do one day ?) - I would have the word ~breathe~ tattooed on my left wrist. Simply breathe. I've seen it done - it's beautiful.

Love, Chatty

This, too, shall pass . . . Monday Musings

Are you having a bad day?

You've heard these words before I'm sure 'this too shall pass'; but, sometimes when we're going through stress or problems, these are the last words we want to hear from anyone - even from a good friend!

I read them in a book recently and it's going to be my new mantra.

This, Too, Shall Pass

If I can endure for this minute
Whatever is happening to me,
No matter how heavy my heart is
Or how dark the moment may be-

If I can remain calm and quiet
With all the world crashing about me,
Secure in the knowledge God loves me
When everyone else seems to doubt me-

If I can but keep on believing
What I know in my heart to be true,
That darkness will fade with the morning
And that this will pass away, too-

Then nothing in life can defeat me
For as long as this knowledge remains
I can suffer whatever is happening
For I know God will break all of the chains

That are binding me tight in the darkness
And trying to fill me with fear-
For there is no night without dawning
And I know that my morning is near.

...Helen Steiner Rice

Love, Chatty

Thursday Thoughts-Take your passion and make it happen . . .

Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. (Henri Nouwen)

Don't break the elastic!

Maya Angelou was interviewed by Oprah. Oprah asked her what she thought of growing older.

And, there on television, she said it was 'exciting.'

Regarding body changes, she said there were many, occurring every day...like her breasts. They seem to be in a race to see which will reach her waist, first. The audience laughed so hard they cried. She is such a simple and honest woman, with so much wisdom in her words!

Maya Angelou said this: 'I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.'

'I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.'

'I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.'

'I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life.'

'I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.'

'I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.'

'I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.'

'I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.'

'I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.'

"I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.'

'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'

If you have passion for something, anything, then I give you kudos - that my friends, is living.

It's sad so many people have lost the passion in their lives . . . did they ever have passion in their lives to begin with? Is it something you are born with or that you acquire? Hmmmmm, good question.

Chatty