The 'Left Brain - Right Brain' Dancer

One of my Deeksha givers, Ed Harpin, forwarded me some information on last week's lunar eclipse:

"During these times, people can tend to be more emotionally expressive. Often untruths can come to the surface and whatever part of our lives is not in sync with our life's purpose can show the most change. Old realities crumble away, and there is a feeling of freedom as we let go of the past and take a step into the new, the fresh, and the magical unknown."

This turned out to be very true in my case! Last week, over two days, I was due to attend meetings on three separate projects, none of which I wanted to be involved with. They were things I had taken on because I thought I 'should'. But there are times when something just has to give, and this was one of them. I got so stressed out with everything, I almost ground to a halt altogether. I really didn't want to be doing these things and I couldn't pretend otherwise any longer. Changes had to be made. So I've managed to get rid of two of the projects and I'm working on dumping the third. These were worthy enough endeavors but they didn't really need me - and I certainly didn't need them.

In one of my responses to the comments on my previous post, I wrote: "it's like my underlying 'program' still isn't reading my blog" - and last week brought it home to me how true this has been. Way back in January of last year, I wrote here: "in our present state, it is as though we are all carrying an enormous statue of ourselves on our shoulders, a statue which we believe is of enormous interest to everyone else around us, all of whom are constantly studying the statue and seeking to identify some deficiency in it". I went on to point out that this isn't actually true, but that it is a deeply ingrained misapprehension which most of us have: we are so preoccupied with the face we present to the world.

And yet here I am, all this time later, still seeking validation for what I am doing: still judging each day in terms of its achievements instead of simply Being. As my Mentor-in-Chief, Sue Ann, has been telling me on her blog: "we're all busy seeking a sense of validation from the world outside of us, instead of recognizing the substance of what's within us". Well, last week showed me that the time has come for me to make that change. I've written about my need to reduce my level of stress. I had intended that this would start in April, when I visit the clinic in London (as I explained in the previous post). But it's going to have to start now.

I don't think it's a coincidence that my computer problem has slowed down my blogging, because The Secret Of Life is going to have to change too. Or - to put it more accurately - my attitude to this blog is going to have to change. I'm going to spend less time worrying about sticking to a 'regular' schedule and less time checking the Stats. I'm going to write when I feel the need to write and trust that whoever needs to read what I've written will duly find it. If you would like to be one of those readers, that'll be great - it may help to put me on one of your favorites lists so you can check when I've posted. And who knows? You may not even notice much difference here - it'll be me that's changed.

So under the circumstances, I make no apologies for the fact that I still haven't finished those posts on 'the ultimate truth' which I mentioned last time. But ultimate truths always take a bit longer than ordinary truths, after all. And in the meantime, here's an interesting video. Look at it for a while and see what you see:

I don't know how this thing works. It originally came in an email - forwarded,  synchronistically enough, by another of our growing band of local Deeksha givers, Heidi Fawkes. It came as a GIF file and it looked fine in image viewing software but when I tried to post it, the motion mysteriously disappeared. So I managed to find this You Tube version instead. Here's the text that came with the original email:

If you see this lady turning clockwise, you are using your right brain. If you see it the other way, you are using your left brain. Some people do see both ways, but most people see it only one way.

If you try to see it the other way and you do see, your IQ is above 160, which is almost a genius. Then see if you can make her go one way and then the other by shifting the brain's current.

Both directions can be seen! This was proved at Yale University over a 5 year study on the human brain and its functions. Only 14% of the US population can see her move both ways.

Just to provide a bit of context: experiments have shown that the left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for logical, analytical thought, while the right hemisphere is associated with a more intuitive, holistic approach. This would suggest that meditation, for instance, would be a right brain function.

When I first got the email, I tried this out, and the results seemed to bear out the theory. Most of the time, I saw the dancer rotating anticlockwise, but as I managed to relax and still my mind, she changed direction. Today, the results are less well defined. Most of the time, she's clockwise, but if I look away and look back again, she sometimes changes direction for no apparent reason. Maybe I'm more relaxed today.

Or perhaps my IQ is falling...

Let me know what you see - and if you can make the figure change direction!

P.S. I've just found another, 'cleaner' version here.

 

This may also be of interest:

A Stroke of Insight

Comments

[Sally]

I saw it clockwise then it changed to anti clockwise .......think that makes me more laid back than genious!
Simon you do right to take the pressure off yourself......I had to give up for a while on the Stillness group I ran for 4 years last Monday. I gave up my resistance to feeling a "failure" or letting people down. Thenmy dad had a heart attack last Thursday and my family needed me. Tonight I count my blessings that I could be at the hospital with him tonight as the Monday group is on hold. Another lesson in accepting what is and realising that it all works itself out when we let go. The same will happen with the Blog I am sure.
Hope to see you at the group when we start again on 31st March if you're available Simon.
Be Well
Sally

[AngelBaby]

Wow! This is cool. Thanks for sharing this with us. Since I have been doing very technical stuff and I think I am a little tense well .... I am using my left brain. Oh well, I think I need to relax!

I have something at my site for you.

Love and Blessings,
AngelBaby

[along aishah]

at first i see she's turning anti-clockwise then after a little time she's start to turn clockwise. then, i try 1 more time the process repeat ... oh no...am i being cheated or what. is it true or just a setting that it turn anti and then clockwise. or is there any of u see it turn clockwise first.any idea???

[Mr Zip]

Although for a split second when I first pressed PLAY, she seemed to be going in both directions at once, she now seems determined to be a clockwise dancer for me.

[Liara Covert]

IQ tests and research studies always offer food for thought. We can choose to believe them or not. We can choose to take informtion with a grain of salt. Its always possible to evolve to where one's instinct isn't to judge or criticize the self or others. As you evolve inside, your perception of priorities, choices and even time evolves. May your joy simply continue to grow.

[Sue Ann Edwards]

I see both. I also count I.Q. as being meaningless; it's fusion and integration that counts.

I originally started on my inner journey 30 years ago. My parents had taken me to the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation for help in what to do with this child of theirs. I went through days of testing.

The results indicated I was dominant in BOTH hemispheres. Not Type A OR Type B, but both...1/2 of 1% of the World's population is born this way we were told.

So what do my parents do with me? How do they nurture my growth?

Unknown, the Institute said. Not enough of us are born this way to have had any studies performed. And the relative few that are born this way, don't usually live very long for we are in a constant war with ourselves over which half to choose.

My ONLY option was to somehow find a way to integrate both halfs into one unified expression. Now you know how I came to be the way I am. I did it because it was the only chance I had to experience fulfillment in my lifetime.

{{Simon}}...watch for the word "should". Anytime the word pops up, there is a judgment behind it.

I applaud you for listening to your Heart and telling your head, where the 'shoulds' are coming from, to be quiet.

[Pam]

I usually see her turning clockwise. After I turn away I can sometimes see her turning anticlockwise when I turn back, then as I watch she starts turning clockwise again. I seem to find it easier to make her turn anticlockwise if I look at her askance, if that's the right word, rather than full-on. Hey, this is fun!

[Grace]

(((( Simon )))

HELLO!!! :) Wow, this was fun and interesting. For whatever reason, I only see her spinning against the clock.

Hummmm, must be some symolism in there somewhere ;)

LOL Simon, how wonderful that you are allowing yourself to be and do what feels right to you. As one who has been on writing hiatus for a couple of months now, let me say this: It's GLORIOUS to give up the...hum...push against what our deeper self is speaking to us.

I have to admit, I feel LOTS of words these days. Mostly raging against The Machine, etc., as the political killing fields here in the U.S. heat up. I'm contemplating a whole new blog soas not to blemish my little Pommie. LOLOL

xoxox Namaste...love...May the Force be with yoU!~~

[Chase March]

This is what I do to keep up my blog. I spend an hour or two writing on the weekends. I save my potential entries on MS Word. That way I don’t have to spend time updating my blog everyday. I can simply cut and paste an entry in that I wrote on the weekend.

I find that this routine helps me to keep a regular posting schedule. It isn’t stressful either. I enjoy writing and keeping up my blog.

I don’t read a lot of blogs but I do check yours often. I hope that you will continue to write. I enjoy visiting here.

[AccidentalBlogR]

Both ways for me... which is a statement on my life really... heh

I'm happy to hear you are taking the pressure off yourself. I took a 9 month break to enjoy other writing and now I've returned to my own blog, again, as a way to smooth out the rough bits in my brain.

You'll thank yourself for it.

[Secret Simon]

Hi Sally - It's interesting the way things worked out for you. It makes perfect sense to trust the universe - if only for the sake of saving unnecessary stress! - but our upbringing can sometimes make it hard. I did have a scientific education after all... Sometimes, though, the signs are just too obvious to ignore. If those three meetings I mentioned had been spaced out over a month, I wouldn't have noticed I had a problem. But three in two days was blatantly rubbing my face in the fact that I was doing lots of stuff I didn't want to do. You can stand under a cliff face with pebbles dropping on your head for a long time if you aren't paying attention. But a cry of 'avalanche!" is difficult to ignore.

I hope your Dad is coming along OK, Sally - and we aim to be there on the 31st March!

[Secret Simon]

Hi AngelBaby - Thanks for all the attention! I had you down as right brain somehow - it just goes to show...

Hi Along and welcome to my blog! I didn't create the picture myself but no, I don't think you're being cheated. As you see from the other comments, different people are seeing her dancing in different directions. If anyone knows how it's done, I'd be interested to find out. (Though I suspect I might still be baffled even if it was explained to me...)

Mr Zip - It's great to hear from you again - and on the very day when I receive a fanzine (a rare occurrence in itself) with one of your illustrations on the cover. Yet more synchronicity. The right brain is best for artwork, I think? So it seems like your head's in the right place.

Liara - You say "IQ tests and research studies always offer food for thought. We can choose to believe them or not. We can choose to take information with a grain of salt." That's quite a bold statement you're making. Once upon a time, I'd have strongly disagreed with you about research studies, but I've come a long way in your direction. And you've given me an idea for a post...

[Secret Simon]

Hi Sue Ann - Yes, IQ has always seemed a bit irrelevant, testing only a tiny part of the spectrum of human ability.

The story of your visit to the research foundation is fascinating. I'd be interested to know what it was about your behavior what prompted your parents' concern.

Thanks for warning me about the 'shoulds'. Aren't there two kinds though? The 'should' which you are talking about, that comes from concerns about how it might affect your standing in the world if you don't - and the OK 'should' which stems from a deep inner knowing that something is 'right' for you to do, irrespective of what anyone may think.

More responses to follow...

[Secret Simon]

Hi Pam - I hope you're doing OK! I also find that it's easier to make the dancer in the picture turn if I look at her out of the corner of my eye - or if I look away and then look back - as though she's more likely to do weird things if she thinks you're not looking.

[Secret Simon]

Hi Grace - It's great to hear from you - I hope you're enjoying your hiatus! I had *you* down as right brain too - wrong again! But I guess it depends where you're at - and elections are right brain stuff.

It's funny - we now live in such a global society that the US elections seem more important to me than the ones here in the UK, where we get to choose between two identical sets of bungling goons, both devoid of vision. I guess I'm rooting for Obama - in the hope that he's really different. Of course, if he *is* really different - truly different - he'll be wise to keep it to himself until *after* the election.

Keep on enjoying life and I look forward to reading whatever you write next whenever you get round to writing it - just let us know when it's happening!

[Secret Simon]

Chase - You don't mention the dancing lady but from what you've written here I'm assuming she's anticlockwise for you. Or am I wrong about you as well?? At any rate, you seem to be very organized. You say you don't read many blogs - I'm flattered that you visit mine! - and indeed I think it's reading and commenting on other blogs - the networking stuff - which really takes up the time. But I guess I do that because the interaction is an important part of the experience for me.

Speaking of which, J - it's great to see that you're accidentally blogging again, though my excitement is tempered by the fact that you don't seem to have enabled comments. Boo! And you write in your blog: "I’ve never had a real conversation with anyone." Er, there could be a reason for that...

I love the Editors too, by the way, but I have to tell you here because I can't tell you on your blog. Pah! It's just not natural...

[Secret Simon]

So to summarize so far, we have four people who see the dancer move both ways, two who see predominantly right brain, and two who see predominantly left brain. Looks like we're sitting on the fence. I seem to be able to make her change again today. I have a little test I'd like people to try, but I think I'll save it to the next post...

Thanks for all your comments!

[Chase March]

I can't see it at all. Any video gets blocked by the server here on the school computers.

[Liara Covert]

Hi Secret Simon.
You may be interested to check out oprah.com An Eckart Tolle web interactive will soon be available concerning "A New Earth."

[prophet]

I see her clockwise, can´t see it the other way =(

[Sue Ann Edwards]

Hi {{Simon}} !!!

Now working from a different location...

First things first. "What sort of behavior was I displaying?"

Well...I was 9 when I said I wanted to learn how to play the piano. 6 months later I was a student of the Dean of Music at a private university (one of Van Cliburns' friends) because I was playing classical masterpieces after 4 months of lessons. I quit that and said I wanted to dance ballet. I performed my 1st recital on toe shoes 4 months later.

I had instantaneous comprehension and 100% retention of anything I read, heard or saw. All subjects in school, were a breeze. Never had to study.

See the problem? Excels at anything and everything. That's the behavior I had been expressing...so where were my parents to guide me? What kind of job/avocation would make me happy?

As for 'shoulds'...ummmm...watch for any indications of "obligation" or "judgments". Many times we only say 'should' when we have judgments about something else, especially in retrospect.

[Simon]

Thanks for these latest comments!

Chase - Sorry you couldn't see the dancer - people to seem to have found her entertaining.

Liara - Thanks for this. I think the Oprah-Eckhart series is going to be compulsive listening.

prophet - Hi, welcome to my blog! Take a look at the dancer again another day - you may see differently then, especially if you've been doing lots of left brain stuff...

Sue Ann - So you made the move? Well done! I look forward to reading about it on your blog. Thanks for answering my question. It sounds like your parents had your best interests in mind. Some would have been too busy showing you off to their friends and neighbors...

[Sue Ann Edwards]

I've almost driven myself successfully straight into the ground {{Simon}}, with the "doing", out of a need for validation. Didn't matter how many *tricks* I could perform, I still didn't feel emotionally secure. I was terribly insecure and had extreme abandonment issues.

I say IQ is meaningless and that statement is coming from one of us with a very high one. I say achievement is meaningless and that statement is coming from one of us who has achieved.

All of it is meaningless if we don't know how to love ourselves. If we don't know how to love our own Humanity. If we don't know how to love the part of ourselves that doesn't catch on too quickly and is all thumbs when it comes to 'doing'.

[Marion]

She just went clockwise for me, Simon...no big surprise to me there! I didn't have the first clue how to make her go anti-clockwise, although I tried.

It was fun! Thank you!

[Aaron]

I see both. At first I saw reverse, but then I saw forward with some effort, then I saw simultaneous. I've been on a big spiritual journey lately so my right brain is on overkill. Once I get more structure in my life I have a feeling my left brain will be much happier, and my whole brain will work like one splendidly graceful dancer.

Happy Easter
Peace and God Bless.
-Aaron

[Simon]

Thanks for these latest comments, Sue Ann and Marion - and to you too Aaron. I'm not sure if you're the Aaron I know or some other Aaron, but welcome to my blog in any case! I'm quite intrigued that you apparently saw the dancer going both ways simultaneously - it seems like your brain is behaving gracefully enough already!

[liviu]

Lol, this is really interesting. Firstly I saw her going clockwise. Then, I closed my eyes looked at her - still clockwise. Then, while she was moving I was reading what was written below the video window, and when I looked at her again she was spinning counter clockwise. Now if I look at her lower-foot that stands on the ground she is spinning counter-clockwise and if I look at her foot that is in the air then she is swinging like a pendulum (very strange - half of the rotation is clockwise then at the mid-rotation she is turning counter, and then again after half-rotation she turns clockwise... and so on). If I look at her head she is counter-clock all the time.
So.. I'm thinking that if I saw her initially clockwise => right brain, when I started reading a little (which uses the left-brain) I actually changed the currents and now I can see her anti-clock, clock and hybrid (half circle clock, half circle anti-clock). Really strange. Did anyone notice her changing rotation from clockwise to anti-clockwise after reading?

[Simon]

Hi liviu - Welcome to my blog! I just tried reading and yes - the motion changed from clockwise to anticlockwise, the same effect as you got. This makes sense, as reading is a left brain activity. I also tried looking at different parts of the dancer's body but that seemed to have no effect: she still turned clockwise. I'll try again when I'm feeling less relaxed! Thanks for leaving a comment. I hope you'll call again.

[dustman]

i wonder who made this thing :D. first i saw the lady dancing clockwise, and i stared at it for about 5 minutes, nothing changed, then suddenly it started to turn anti-clockwise .. LOL? i can't get enough of it.

Cheers!

[Carlett]

Hi

I do agree that we use both left and right brain. I am only a bit concern about the persentage of US which can see it both ways. Is this correct or not? It states 14%. What does it indicate if this figure turns both ways and not completing her 360 degree turn?

Otherwise I think this dancing lady is very COOL!

[Simon]

dustman - I'm glad you enjoyed this experience! My assumption has been that the figure was created by the researchers at Yale.

Carlett - The 14% figure for people who see both ways seems to be what the researchers discovered. My guess is that these are the people whose hemispheres are most in balance. The other 86%, presumably, have their thinking dominated by one hemisphere or the other. It's interesting if you saw the dancer changing direction before completing a full circle. It sounds as though you have easy access to both hemispheres. These are only speculations of course.

Thanks to you both for dropping by...

[AngelBaby]

I hope you don't mind if I did a post on the dancing girl. I added a link back to you. Let me know if it is ok with you. Thanks.

Love and Blessings,
AngelBaby

[hullo]

So I started out seeing her going clockwise. It took me about two minutes to figure out how to make her switch.　It has to be as she's switching legs. I can do it by focusing out of the image (I've been able to zone in and zone out of whats in front of me by changing the focus of my vision), and then focus back in on whichever way I want her to go.

Then I tried doing it by closing my eyes and visualizing the way I wanted her turn. That took another couple of minutes.

The hardest one to control is where I look away from the screen, then pick a direction, and make her turn in that direction. This takes a lot more concentration.

[Simon]

Welcome to my blog 'hullo' - and thanks for the feedback. It sounds like you're well on the way to the Einstein level! I tried again just now and the only way I can make her change is to look away so that I only see her in my peripheral vision. But another day, I expect it will be different...

[orthohpedic emr]

I just tried reading and yes - the motion changed from clockwise to anticlockwise, the same effect as you got. This makes sense, as reading is a left brain activity.

Kevin