The Yin and Yang in our Heads

Whether you believe it or not, we are all dimwits. You and me, we move through life with an imbalance that is frightening—all the more so since most of us aren’t even aware of it. It is actually no coincidence that our brain has two parts, a faithful likeness of the all-encompassing natural law of yin and yang. The one cannot exist without the other and both must be in harmonious balance in order to develop their full potential. ­Partnerships between men and women are just as governed by this cosmic principle as the cooperation of the two hemispheres of the brain.

The left—male—half of the brain analyses with razor-sharp intellect. The right—female—hemisphere, on the other hand, is dreamy and creative. They complete each other in various and marvellous ways. But only someone who recognises that a person is more than his body, and that his consciousness does not live in his brain can comprehend this—someone who understands that we do not think with our little grey cells.

Thinking is an etheric activity that takes place in our subtle mental body. Our brains must then convert these ethereal impressions into matter i.e. make pure thought real. That is why, incidentally, the spoken word is so important: it sends out physical tone vibrations that help thoughts anchor more firmly in the physical world.

The right brain half is our personal ‘hot line’ to God. In it, we each have a kind of private ‘home movie theatre’ in our heads where divine ‘blockbuster’ films are played continuously (and free of charge!)—films that are the most nourishing for the development of our individual consciousness. But however different all these films might be, they all have the same title: Inspiration.

This word is derived from the Latin and literally means ‘to breath into’. It contains the word ‘spirit’, too. Inspiration is thus a spontaneous suggestion by the divine spirit—admittedly a somewhat out-of-fashion translation.

The Inspiration of Johannes Brahms

Someone who still believed in the divine source of inspi­ration was the German composer Johannes Brahms. In late autumn 1896, four months before his death, Brahms spoke with the US American violinist Arthur M. Abell about the source of his art: “When I feel myself at the height of my creative powers in my work, I also feel that a higher power is working through me.”

In answer to the question as to how one comes into contact with this power, the composer answered: “It doesn’t just happen by wilfully controlling conscious thought, which is a product of the physical realm and which dies with the body. It can only happen through the inner power of the soul—through the true Self, which outlasts death. These powers lie dormant, for conscious thought cannot access them when they are not enlightened by spirit.”

With these words, Jo­­hannes Brahms drew an astoundingly accurate picture of the spheres of action of the left brain (which is oriented towards the physical world with its conscious thought) and the right brain (which is connected with the universal spirit). Before Brahms began composing, he always attuned himself to the Divine. Just as for Haydn, who always wore his best suit to compose in, the silent, focussed work before the slowly filling music sheets was a kind of worship ­service for Brahms. He spoke of vibrations that “thereupon ­im­­mediately” passed through him: “Then ideas that I was ­consciously seeking streamed through me with such power and speed that I could only ever take hold of a few. I was not able to notate them all quickly enough. They came like momentary lightening and quickly disappeared if I didn’t record them on paper.”

The right brain is the receptor for divine ideas that either come from the heart of our own God-presence or from the universal spirit’s all-present sea of ether. It is the canvas on which a river of images is painted, often so quickly that we can only “take hold of a few” (Brahms). The inner presence communicates in images (visions).

Thus the saying: ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’.

The Power of Silence

Although we are continuously inspired by the Divine through the right brain, we usually don’t catch very much of these films. Our outer (left) brain makes sure of that. Techniques such as Image Streaming  can help with this. Meditation is another way, known for thousands of years. During meditation, the left brain is calmed to such a degree that it becomes possible for the right brain to communicate with us. Thought control is simply a slowing down of brain activity to the point that the voice of the spirit can be heard and is no longer drowned out by the cacophonic noise of the left brain. What do they say? Speech is silver, but silence is golden. This is the golden treasure of enlightenment that can only be found in stillness.

When Brahms composed, he was also in a condition where the rational left brain had been lulled to sleep. “I find myself then in a trance-like situation—a kind of hovering between sleep and wakefulness,” the artist observed, “I am still conscious, but also just at the point of losing consciousness.” In those moments Brahms experienced an enraptured state of truly divine contact. As a side note, this has absolutely nothing to do with so-called ‘channelling’ by trance mediums who fall in a completely ‘unconscious’ state—but who give up the conscious control of their bodies and completely give themselves over to an unknown power that cannot be of divine origin.

Unending Thoughts

We can all communicate with the Divinity within when we keep the blabbering and over-blown left brain in its rightful place. Yes, its effect is essential, since it is the analytical ‘modem’ that observes the impressions that have been received and breaks them down into workable forms. Unfortunately, the average person identifies himself so strongly with his physical body that his brain has become lord of his thoughts. Just like robots, the five senses constantly transmit their impressions to the left brain (as they should). These impressions are naturally subject to the limitations of the material world. They are finite.

Since most people only consciously use the left side of the brain, every thought is viewed from a confining materialistic ­viewpoint. But what happens when an impression is received, not from the material limits of the five senses, but from the infinity within?—Then these divine thoughts, predominantly saved in the right brain, are quickly discarded as worthless by the external consciousness of the left brain. It doesn’t know what to do with them or doesn’t think their realisation is possible because the finite can never comprehend the infinite.

Our consciousness is usually dominated by an overpowering left-brain. Thus only half of our brain is active—and we are dimwits! The other common term—half-wit—says it even more clearly: we only use half our wits.

On the other hand, when Johannes Brahms composed, he swam in the borderless sea of divine spirit where everything is possible and unspeakable bliss dwells: “It was always such a wonderful experience that I could never bring myself to talk about it earlier. I felt as though I were in consonance with the infinite in that moment and no other thrill comes even close.”