Jill Bolte Taylor – the Woman Who Re-Built Her Brain

Having suffered a stroke in 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor – a neuroscientist – rebuilt her brain functionality through the use of a detached observation of its processes. She was able to remain ‘aware’ of her loss of functionality, understand what was wrong, known wat had to be done to improve, and know what action she had to inwardly take to achieve a full healing. She has recorded her experience in her book entitled ‘My Stroke of Insight’, and what follows below is an interview she gave for the New Scientist. Whereas the Buddhist path is often described as the practice of non-identification with thought, Jill Bolte Taylor similarly states that her healing was reliant upon a natural observation of the brain’s processes, without becoming ‘engaged’ (or ‘attached’) to what is being observed. Whilst her mother provided the physical stimulus for the external healing, Jill Bolte Taylor was able to work quietly from within, using her willpower and knowledge to repair her brain inline with the physical therapy she was receiving. This is a remarkable use of scientific knowledge in a manner very similar to that assumed to exist within certain religious or spiritual paths.

Reference: New Scientist – How Our Brain Works, John Murray Learning, (2017), 199-203