How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future: Why Left Hemisphere Dominance Has Brought Humanity to the Brink of Disaster and How We Can Think Our Way to Peace and Healing - Softcover

Olson, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 157983051X ISBN 13: 9781579830519

Publisher: Origin Press, 2017

Synopsis

Our brains have numerous functioning parts, all of which serve us at any one moment. But decades of research reveal the existence of two basic brain “operating systems”―two fundamental ways in which the whole brain processes incoming information. Because of this phenomenon of brain dominance, most of us tend to favor the input of either our “dualistic” left-brain (which focuses on parts instead of wholes) or our holistic right hemisphere. This means that typically only half of our innate intelligence informs our thinking―and since the left-brain operating system dominates most males, our culture has itself become left-brain dominant.

How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future explores this left-brain bias in our civilization, revealing it to be the root cause for centuries of war, racism, and political polarization―and eons of misunderstanding between the sexes. While most of our technological and scientific progress is driven by left-brain thinking, the great advances to come will require that we consciously harness both sides of our brain to greatly improve our cognition. Award-winning author James Olson goes on to explain how we can achieve greater internal harmony between the two operating systems of the brain―both as individuals and as a culture―thus showing us how ad why thinking with our whole brains will lead us to peace and to the ultimate healing of our relationships and our world.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

A Look Inside

How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save The Future
Why Left Hemisphere Dominance Has Brought Humanity to the Brink of Disaster and How We Can Think Our Way to Peace and Healing

How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future explores how we can achieve peace--with ourselves, with others, and inthe world--by better understanding the functioning of the brain's twomanagement systems. When we look at how the brain influences ourbeliefs, the programming that governs our day-today existence, we seethat when our beliefs are limited to the insights of only onehemisphere, they can sabotage even our best efforts to realize ourdeepest longings and desires. The book also addresses the politicalpolarization that is tearing America apart. If politicians and punditsemployed a whole-brain perspective, Olson shows, this would allow themto see the complementary nature of the two sides and ultimately unifythe country.

What you'll learn inside this book:

•     The way brain hemispheres work and why you think the way you do
•     How men can better understand women and women truly understand men
•     How to improve your decision-making by consciously using both hemisphere
•     Why you feel certain attractions, repulsions, and compulsions
•     A revolutionary theory about sexual orientation
•     The source of our political polarization and how to reverse it

Characteristics of James Olson's holistic brain/mind/consciousness model:

• Each of the hemispheres houses an "operating system," a management systemserving to coordinate the interaction of the two sides of the brain.
• As a result of three types of genetic dominance--complete, incomplete, and codominance--four types of brain operating systems are produced.
• Recognizing that information inflows into the brain are separate from informationoutflows, Olson posits that the brain's information input and output are independently subject to dominance, permitting one of the four systemsto manage information input and one of the four to manage output,creating 16 different genetically determined operating-systemcombinations.
• Olson's model explains masculine tending straightwomen, gay men, and lesbians, as well as feminine tending straight men,gay men, and lesbians--and more.

Does your brain manage you--or do you manage your brain?

• How do the two hemispheres differ in terms of their viewpoint and the focus of their attention? How do their responses differ?
• How does brain lateralization affect our polarized political discourse?
• How can we facilitate greater harmony between our brain's operatingsystems--and thus begin to heal ourselves, our cultural divisions, andour planet?

About the Author:

James Olson is an integral philosopher whose studies haveincluded business, engineering, art, Eastern and Western religion,psychology, sacred geometry, human sexual orientation, and neuroscienceas relating to the study of the effects of brain dominance in our lives.

How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future is Olson's second book, which expanded upon his award-winning first book, The Whole-Brain Path to Peace (2011). Olson's ultimate goal for writing about brain perspectives is to promote the holistic thinking.

In the How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future, Olson demonstrates that we have the freedom to adjust ourperceptions--and harmonize our relationships--by shifting our brainperspectives at will, as each occasion demands.

His motivationfor writing this book was to address what he believes is the mostcritical issue of our time, which goes far beyond the narrow concerns of any science: how we can create an environment of peace in ourselves and in the world--an environment that enhances and enables our best andmost creative attributes--in this time of unprecedented global dangersand insanity.

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Olson starts with acore of conservative farm and Christian values, and into that integrates the complementary perspective of Eastern religion, the liberalperspective of Europe, the wisdom of ancient Egypt, the facts ofscience, the discipline of business, and the unique spiritual insightsoffered by modern revelation.

Having traveled extensivelythroughout Europe; Olson lived in Austria, France, and Germany; andattended Oklahoma State University, the University of Vienna, OklahomaUniversity, the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and the KansasCity Art Institute. He holds a degree in business administration.

After living for several years in California, James Olson returned to his hometown and now resides in Oklahoma.

About this edition

• Publisher: Origin Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 157983051X
• ISBN 13: 9781579830519
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 344