My Stroke Of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey Quotes
"For any two of us to communicate with one another, we must share a certain amount of common reality."
"The emergence of life was a most remarkable event."
"Earth's molecular brain of DNA is a powerful and successful genetic program."
"As much as we would like to think that human life has attained biological perfection, despite our sophisticated design, we do not represent a finished and/or perfect genetic code."
"The development of language, for example, has altered our brains' anatomical structure and cellular networks."
"Biological evolution generally occurs from a state of lesser complexity to a state of greater complexity."
"The innate differences we each experience in terms of how sensitive we are to different types of stimulation contribute greatly to how we perceive the world."
"Sensory information streams in through our sensory systems and is immediately processed through our limbic system."
"Because everything around us - the air we breathe, even the materials we use to build with, are composed of spinning and vibrating atomic particles, you and I are literally swimming in a turbulent sea of electromagnetic fields."
"As our higher cortical cells mature and become integrated in complex networks with other neurons, we gain the ability to take 'new pictures' of the present moment."
"My limp body felt heavy and terribly weak. It was drained of all its energy -- like a balloon that had been slowly and thoroughly deflated."
"I felt besieged by their touching, probing, and piercing; like a slug sprinkled with salt, I writhed in response."
"I couldn't hear anything beyond the pounding rhythm of my heart, which pulsed so loudly that my bones vibrated with ache and my muscles twitched with anguish."
"With my mind stripped of its ability to recall the memories and details of my previous life, it was clear to me that I was now like an infant - born into an adult woman's body."
"In silent prayer, I reflected, I am not supposed to be here anymore! I let go!"
"I felt as if I was an electrical being; an apparition of energy smoldering around an organic lump."
"When I lost my left hemisphere and its language centers, I also lost the clock that would break my moments into consecutive brief instances."
"I existed in some remote space that seemed to be far away from my normal information processing."
"I realized that morning that a hospital's number one responsibility should be protecting its patients' energy levels."
"My successful recovery was completely dependent on my ability to break every task down into smaller and simpler steps of action."
"Because I could not think linearly, I needed everyone to assume that I knew nothing so that I could relearn everything from the beginning."
"Most important, I needed my caregivers to teach me the 20th time with the same patience they had the first time."
"One of the greatest lessons I learned was how to feel the physical component of emotion."
"I made my decisions based upon how things felt inside."
"Emotional healing was a tediously slow process but well worth the effort."
"Nothing external to me had the power to take away my peace of heart and mind."
"Physical recovery from the brain surgery was minimal when compared to the task of rebuilding my mind and recovering awareness of my body."
"Operating an enormous metal box on wheels at remarkably fast speeds reminded me that I was a fragile living being and life is a precious gift."
"Paying attention to what emotions feel like in my body has completely shaped my recovery."
"I am not in total control of what happens to my life, but I certainly am in charge of how I choose to perceive my experience."
"Walking helped me become strong again, and within the course of that first year, I managed to average three miles a day several times a week."
"I learned that I could use my left mind, through language, to talk directly to my brain and tell it what I wanted and what I didn't want."
"I spend a good bit of time feeling grateful for my life."
"I have the power to choose whether to hook into a feeling and prolong its presence in my body, or just let it quickly flow right out of me."