Quote Originally Posted by lemmefly View Post
I think a lot of people would argue that claiming the brain's function is seperated into left and right hemispheric activity (left as the 'logical' center, right as the 'emotional' center) is over-simplifying things or just plain out wrong. I have no big background in these areas of brain science, so I can't really say if that simplification is valid or not, but I at least wanted to point out that things might actually be a bit more complicated than the brain giving it's processing priority to just one of its hemispheres at a given time.
Quote Originally Posted by Morphenius View Post
I understand that there's some fair evidence that language processing doesn't occur exclusively in the left hemisphere.
My memory sucks for all things science related (*sigh*), but if I recall correctly, it doesn't in women. I'm not sure about men. Language at least is different from one gender to another.
Also, I can say from personal experience that the part of the brain that understands language isn't the same that physically controls speech, although I have no idea on which hemisphere these operate.



I tried getting that book by the Dalai Lama, but unfortunately I could not get my hands on it.
There's a digital (albeit incomplete) version of it on Google Books.

For example, in working on compassion, one performs an analytical meditation by considering why one wants to become more compassionate and then uses one's mind in order to perceive others' suffering and inspire a desire to alleviate their suffering. When this state of compassion arises, then one switches to a calm abiding of the compassionate state itself so as to allow it to be integrated more deeply into one's being rather than simply being generated by mental noise.
I won't be able to read that book either. I think I saw it the year it came out but now it's gone under the radar (and I'm broke, anyway ). Thanks for the link, Morphenius. I did remember once hearing the Dalai Lama explaining this on TV.