It's a balancing act
Every human has a left and right hemisphere of the brain that influence how we see, experience and judge things. Each choice process is determined by the influence of the left and right hemispheres of the brain, of ratio and emotion, of mind and heart. In a way, they counterbalance each other. Accommodation for your left or right hemisphere?
A left-brain approach emphasizes the quantitative aspects of accommodation. The hard rational and economic approach. (Are we doing the right things and doing things in the right way?) And about governance. (Is the learn/work environment manageable and in control?).
“The rational mind is a faithful servant, and the intuitive mind is a sacred gift. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” (Albert Einstein)
While an approach from the right hemisphere of the brain mainly emphasizes the qualitative aspects of a learn/work environment. The soft psychological and social approach. (How does the learn/work environment affect you?) A so-called right-brain mode of perception that sometimes is referred to as the “intelligence of the heart”. It is neither one nor the other. It is about your balance of both the left and right hemispheres.
Balancing left and right brain
Creating a learn/work environment is both a logical and emotional one. The rule of balancing the logical mind with the emotional heart. Left brain logic and right brain desire. Getting what you need vs. getting what you desire. Needs are boring; desires are what make life worth living. Polarity allows movement to take place, attraction and repulsion that sparks evolution.
What would happen if people brought their hearts to work, as well as their professional skills?
The truth is not the middle but a balance of a left and a right-brain approach in a given context. This gives inspired buildings where it is pleasant to stay. With an emphasis on ‘places that work’ instead of ‘workplaces’. This balance differs not only per individual but also per organisation. See also the Officestyles segments. It is about the balance of the conceptual and analytical thinking of the left brain and the holistic and contextual thinking of the right brain.
The left brain prefers the known, while the right brain is able to understand the existence of something new.
The left likes to narrow down to a certainty, either this or that. The right likes to open up to possibilities.
The left prefers fixity (still frame/snapshot) while the right sees things as all connected and constantly changing (movie).
The left is focused on parts and the right is about the whole of the parts and how they relate.
The left likes things to be explicit and the right understands that a lot has to remain implicit to hold their value. The left prefers what is abstract and the right sees things in context. The left understands the general gross category and the right the unique case. The left is interested in how much, the quantitative and the right is interested in what sort of quality.
The left is more interested in inanimate tools and machines while the right is in the animate. The left is very opportunistic and the right is more realistic. The left is about what is re-presented, the map so to speak while the right is more about the present, the actual terrain. (Source: The Divided Brain and Human Behaviour by Dr Ian McGilchrist)
LEFT BRAIN
- Prefers the known.
- Likes to narrow down to a certainty, either this or that.
- Prefers fixity (still frame/snapshot).
- Focused on parts.
- Likes things to be explicit.
- Prefers what is abstract.
- Understands more the general gross category.
- Interested in how much, the quantitative.
- More interested in inanimate tools and machines.
- Is very opportunistic.
- Is about what is re-presented, the map.
RIGHT BRAIN
- Is able to understand the existence of something new.
- Likes to open up to possibilities.
- Sees things as all connected and constantly changing (movie).
- Is about the whole of the parts and how they relate.
- Understand that a lot has to remain implicit to hold its value.
- Sees things in the context.
- Understands more the unique case.
- Interested in the sort of quality, the qualitative.
- More interested in the animate.
- Is more realistic.
- Is more about the present, the actual terrain.
“For real satisfaction, you must achieve harmony between both sides of your brain and coherence between the whole brain and your heart.” (René Stevens)
The left brain thinks we only need the rational part, and the right brain knows that both sides are required all the time. The left brain is the conscious sensory-based perception. The right brain is the unconscious extrasensory perception. Two parts of a greater whole.
Things that look like opposites may cohere. They may actually need one another and coexist. They are complementary. Or as Mercedes Benz puts it in its commercial from 2011: “The best (of both sides) or nothing (at all)”.
In a 1982 Saab advertisement, it was worded as follows: “A car for the left side of your brain or a car for the right side of your brain?” Actual technique versus sensory experience. See also the official video clip of the Saab 900 from 1988, “Bring both sides of your brain for a test drive” (30 sec).
Our brain is often thought of as some sort of a hard drive for the storage of information. One could also look at it differently and see the conscious sensory perception of our brain as a radio receiver and the unconscious extrasensory perception of our heart as the tuning dial. Using the intellect of the heart, e.g. intuition, and gut feeling, to dial into altered states of consciousness. The perception of the heart is holistic.
“Always listen to your heart. Even though it’s on your left side, it’s always right.”
ATELIER V stands for her passion for connecting the dots that create accommodation with an open mind and an open heart, with and for customers. The union of the marriage between the left and the right sides of the brain. A renaissance, reviving the right-brain awareness and moving towards a harmonized state of consciousness. Balancing the heart with the mind results in heart-brain consciousness.
Addition: See also the January 2022 blog Thoughts about a more holistic view on the matter at hand, the reconciliation of duality, and the chaos before a new state.