Dr. Martha Beck

Yeah. Here's the thing. The left hemisphere has this strange tendency known as hemispatial neglect. And what that means is that it doesn't believe that anything except itself is real, itself and its own perceptions. So if someone has a right hemisphere stroke and And they only are working with their left hemisphere.

Yeah. Here's the thing. The left hemisphere has this strange tendency known as hemispatial neglect. And what that means is that it doesn't believe that anything except itself is real, itself and its own perceptions. So if someone has a right hemisphere stroke and And they only are working with their left hemisphere.

That's the part that runs the right side of the body, right hand and leg and side of the face. And they may shave or put makeup on only that side of their face. They ignore everybody who is on their left. The only things that matter are on their right. If you ask them to draw a clock, they'll fill in all the numbers on the right and leave the rest blank. It's very bizarre.

That's the part that runs the right side of the body, right hand and leg and side of the face. And they may shave or put makeup on only that side of their face. They ignore everybody who is on their left. The only things that matter are on their right. If you ask them to draw a clock, they'll fill in all the numbers on the right and leave the rest blank. It's very bizarre.

That's the part that runs the right side of the body, right hand and leg and side of the face. And they may shave or put makeup on only that side of their face. They ignore everybody who is on their left. The only things that matter are on their right. If you ask them to draw a clock, they'll fill in all the numbers on the right and leave the rest blank. It's very bizarre.

Oliver Sacks, the great writer and psychiatrist, once went into a hospital where there was a man who'd woken up and had a right hemisphere stroke in his sleep, and he was screaming that the nurses had put a severed leg into bed with him. As a kind of sick joke. And he was screaming and yelling and pointing at his own left leg.

Oliver Sacks, the great writer and psychiatrist, once went into a hospital where there was a man who'd woken up and had a right hemisphere stroke in his sleep, and he was screaming that the nurses had put a severed leg into bed with him. As a kind of sick joke. And he was screaming and yelling and pointing at his own left leg.

Oliver Sacks, the great writer and psychiatrist, once went into a hospital where there was a man who'd woken up and had a right hemisphere stroke in his sleep, and he was screaming that the nurses had put a severed leg into bed with him. As a kind of sick joke. And he was screaming and yelling and pointing at his own left leg.

And Oliver Sacks came in and the guy picked up his own leg and threw it out of the bed. He said, if nobody will get rid of this thing, I will.

And Oliver Sacks came in and the guy picked up his own leg and threw it out of the bed. He said, if nobody will get rid of this thing, I will.

And Oliver Sacks came in and the guy picked up his own leg and threw it out of the bed. He said, if nobody will get rid of this thing, I will.

Well, it turns out you're attached. So he's lying there going, oh my God, it's attached to me.

Well, it turns out you're attached. So he's lying there going, oh my God, it's attached to me.

Well, it turns out you're attached. So he's lying there going, oh my God, it's attached to me.

And Oliver Sacks said, well, if that's not your leg, where is your left leg? And he just stopped and he looked around and went, it's completely gone. It's nowhere to be seen. Wow. Total irrationality. The right side of the brain does not have this capacity where the left hemisphere excludes things. The right hemisphere includes things.

And Oliver Sacks said, well, if that's not your leg, where is your left leg? And he just stopped and he looked around and went, it's completely gone. It's nowhere to be seen. Wow. Total irrationality. The right side of the brain does not have this capacity where the left hemisphere excludes things. The right hemisphere includes things.

And Oliver Sacks said, well, if that's not your leg, where is your left leg? And he just stopped and he looked around and went, it's completely gone. It's nowhere to be seen. Wow. Total irrationality. The right side of the brain does not have this capacity where the left hemisphere excludes things. The right hemisphere includes things.

So when the whole brain is working or when the right brain is dominant, it's fully aware of all the data brought in by the left hemisphere. It can track the dangers and measure the things and know the words, but it's grounded in something more present than more meaningful, more in self, capital S. It's basically in the right sides of our brains. So it's able to contextualize everything.

So when the whole brain is working or when the right brain is dominant, it's fully aware of all the data brought in by the left hemisphere. It can track the dangers and measure the things and know the words, but it's grounded in something more present than more meaningful, more in self, capital S. It's basically in the right sides of our brains. So it's able to contextualize everything.

So when the whole brain is working or when the right brain is dominant, it's fully aware of all the data brought in by the left hemisphere. It can track the dangers and measure the things and know the words, but it's grounded in something more present than more meaningful, more in self, capital S. It's basically in the right sides of our brains. So it's able to contextualize everything.