By Laura

Many of us have heard that the brain is separated into right and left sections, that usually people favor one side, and that the different sides control different functions. In fact, it is not our entire brain that is split into two sections, but rather a portion of the cerebrum that has two halves. The cerebrum controls much of our "mind" activities; like, speech, thought, emotion, skilled movements, sensations (like pain), memory and interpreting visual images. The cerebrum is split down the middle into two halves called hemispheres that communicate with each other. There are numerous online quizzes that test your brain's personality and tendencies.

Increasing the communication of the two halves of our brain brings increased intelligence, contentment, and insight into our daily lives. We've provided a few simple exercises you can perform to encourage this communication.

These exercises are designed to use different brain hemispheres to perform common tasks, tasks that are habitually done by the opposite hemisphere of the brain. This change increases communication between the hemispheres as the brain must slow down and perform tasks that are normally done on "auto pilot" and perform them in a new, more mindful way.

1. Take a shower with your eyes closed. This one is my favorite. Don't go crazy dancing around, because you could loose your balance, but enjoy the shower from a whole new perspective.
2. Eat a meal using your utensils in opposite hands (e.g. keep your fork in your left hand).Don't try this one at an important business meeting, you may end up with spaghetti all over your shirt.
3. Take notes at boring business meetings with your non-writing hand. This is great for reviving your inner child as well as forcing you to slow down and concentrate on the process of writing.
4. Walk part way down the street with your eyes closed. This can also be done in the house or backyard. It's a great exercise to get you out of your comfort zone and confront some fears about letting go of control.

Visual Exercise

Place the picture about 3 feet in front of you. Put one finger between and just below the circles. Focus on the tip of your finger and let your focus on the circles relax. Relax your vision until you see 4 circles. Work with your focus so the red and blue circles overlap in the middle.

The purpose of the exercise is to bring the red and blue circles together, so you see one purple circle with a white cross intersecting it. You should also be able to see the original blue and red circles in the periphery of your vision. Seeing the white cross in the purple circle is the evidence, that the left hemisphere of the brain (connected to the right eye) is communicating with the right hemisphere (connected to the left eye).

The cross and circle will initially float and seem unstable. Experiment with the distance from your finger to your eyes to achieve a perfect cross. You gain a significant benefit after 3-5 minutes of maintaining a perfectly balanced cross, preferably without blinking. It's best to start with a minute or two and gradually increase the time every week. Short and intensive concentration is much better than long periods of distracted attention. Eventually it will be easy to maintain a stable cross without a finger.

Regaining Balance

Often when we've spent a large amount of time using one side of our brain, we often need to regain some balance. Meditation is the best way to regain our center, but sometimes we need to prepare ourselves for meditation. As well as performing some of our exerices to prepare for meditation, we also may want to perform some exercises to balance our brain before meditating.

Too much right brain (E.g. emotionally overwraught, creative activities, new experiences)
Perform some left brain activities: crossword puzzles, balancing checkbooks, data entry, classifying items and organization.

Too much left brain (E.g structured activities, problem solving, routines)
Perform some right brain activities: free drawing, stream of consciousness writing, or listen to a symphony.

When your brain is in balance, your mind will follow suit.