Half a Brain

Are you standing still when movement is required? It can happen to any of us in any arena. A marriage, a job, a health condition, an addiction. Recently we have witnessed it in our democracy.

I remember staying in a job I was conflicted about. I didn’t know what to do differently so I kept doing the same thing. I didn’t even realize there was a different way, and when another option was presented to me, I didn’t even consider it. I was stuck in my uninspired way of thinking. I was not open.

Every situation that we create is unresolvable if our thinking remains the same. I used to believe that I could figure everything out with logical thinking. But now, I know reason and logic are not always enough. Albert Einstein said it this way, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

I believe the different thinking that Einstein points us to can only be reached if we open our minds to the Divine. Scripture encourages us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” I am convinced this is the answer. Not only for me, but for humanity.

There are a variety of ways to open our minds. Opening can occur through the reading of sacred scripture or other spiritual reading. It may occur during moments of silence and stillness in meditation or centering prayer. Our minds may open while reflecting on our own or in dialogue with others. Whatever style we choose, opening our minds provides an entry way for Spirit.

Thinking according to logic alone is a practice that draws on only one-half of the brain. I believe that the different thinking Albert Einstein was alluding to was enlightened thinking, open-minded thinking, transformed thinking. Which adjective is used to describe it does not matter. It simply means thinking that uses our whole brains and not just the logical half.

If we do not change our way of thinking, that is, if we do not open to the Divine, we may look like we are moving, but we are only spinning our wheels. I believe that thinking with only one-half of our brains keeps us in a holding pattern. In other words, it keeps us stuck.  It is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result, which is a definition of insanity.

Once on a path, I can be like a horse with blinders, focused only on the destination.  But forward movement does not look like a horse wearing blinders plodding steadily along. I believe it looks like our family car on a cross country road trip with my husband at the wheel, good-naturedly stopping at every historical marker, focused on getting to the destination, and open to learning at the same time.

Now I recognize that choosing a different path is dependent not only upon willingness, but upon openness. 

Are you thinking with your whole brain? How are you opening your mind to the Divine?

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