I have been fascinated for many years about the parallels I notice in literature about Right-Brain modes of processing and what many spiritual and contemplative models of practice refer to as the Higher Self, the Essential Self, or what I am now referring to as the Sovereign Self. I see this as a bridge for those who might have some aversion to an overly spiritual paradigm, as well as some grounding and tangible practicality for those who are overly ethereal.
It is important to name here that the emphasis on the goal of right-brain modes of processing as the leader in our internal system is not highlighting a concern with left-hemisphere function per se, rather a caution towards left-hemisphere dominance in its over-reliance on thinking and analysis. This is not a question of which hemisphere is active, but which one is in charge. This is not a dichotomy, this is a leadership model.
An interesting relational phenomena at play here is that when the right-brain hemispheric mode of processing is leading, it is inclusive of the left-brain’s skillset and toggles appropriately from left to right. On the other hand, when the left-brain hemispheric mode of processing is dominant, it has a narrowing effect and does not have the capacity to include the right-brain. This might be experienced as living “in your head”, narrating, worrying, thinking, analyzing, rehearsing, etc. Perhaps you have experienced this in moments of distress when your thinking mind takes over and you find yourself rehashing details over and over and over, creating distance from your body and living life further and further back from your eyes.
It has become clear through research that the right hemisphere of the brain is a bridge to somatic intelligence, non-verbal wisdom, relationality, and integrative knowledge, all essential qualities that produce many benefits for well-being (Schore, 2011). In other words, the qualities we associate with heart-leadership or the Higher Self or Sovereign Self are akin to right-brain modes of processing. What’s also true is that left-brain modes of processing tend to be over-developed and dominant (in Western, Imperialistic, Materialistic, and Colonial Cultures).
The left hemisphere is not primed to see the uniqueness in things, rather, it abstracts and categorizes, simplifies the complex, seeing inanimate parts (or the representation or idea of something) that are measurable, useable, and quantifiable (McGilchrist, 2019). Not inherently bad, but again, if this is all you experience you are missing out on some valuable aspects of who you are and what’s possible.
The left brain may utilize survival strategies such as bypass, avoidance, vilifying, and numbing, but this is a result of a system that is overwhelmed and has narrowed its perception, and, again, not an inherent “bad-ness” of the left-brain. Rather than pitting these two modes of processing against each other, let’s keep our attention on qualities available when one mode is dominant and how that shifts the sequence of steps in the pursuit of maintaining presence.
The left hemisphere is excellent at creating distance from experience and establishing control under threat. From that perspective, left hemisphere processing steers towards getting "ahold" of the situation at hand by categorizing and labeling it with language and the use of black and white thinking (McGilchrist, 2019). When our primary mode of processing is driven by parts of us with the mission to figure out, fix, control, or get through and away from the problem as fast as possible, this becomes a block for growth, updating beliefs, what we make things mean, and how we show up in relationships. If the left-brain is dominant, then we are not accessing the right-brain hemisphere’s capacity for handling complexity and remaining present and relational with what arises moment by moment (McGilchrist, 2019).
The left-brain is especially adaptive in survival contexts. The problem arises when everything is perceived through a survival-lens and the experience of presence becomes conditional, something that only feels possible once things are “figured out”.
Presence
Presence, as a quality of attention, refers to a relational stance of openness, contextual awareness, allowance of ambiguity, and embodied attunement, all of which are characteristic of right-hemisphere–led perception. The qualities embedded in avoidance, bypass, vilifying, numbing, pursuit of perfection, or being centered on fear are narrow, abstracting, certainty-seeking, defensive, and driven by urgency, all of which are consistent with a premature take-over of left-hemisphere–dominant modes of processing. The key word here is “premature”. Again, left-brain modes of processing are needed, but cause problems when in the lead or jump in too quickly.
It is not accurate to say that “presence is right brain, and qualities of avoidance, numbing, vilifying, pursuit of perfection, bypass, or fear is left brain”, rather, we are looking at how those strategies are met within oneself, or the relational center that is organizing your experience. In other words, when the right hemisphere leads, presence is possible. When the left hemisphere assumes premature leadership, survival strategies are more likely to organize perception.
The Right Hemisphere leads with presence and relational governance, attributes that are felt and operationalized when the Sovereign Self stands at the center of your being as an integrative whole. This is less about technique and more about the relational and attentional stance before the technique. When we are leading our internal system from the seat of the Sovereign Self, aka the right-brain, we have the ability to sustain receptive attention, to drop into the pause between reaction and response, we turn toward lived experience rather than away from it, we privilege contact over control, and allow meaning to emerge rather than be imposed.
The Sovereign Self is not a controller, and the use of the word “dominant” can lead us astray; there is nothing forceful or domineering when the right-brain is in the lead. Rather, a wise coordinator with a gravitational center of relationality that is governed by benevolent qualities. In the Internal Family Systems model, Richard Schwartz names 8 essential C-qualities and 5 P-qualities we access when this Higher Self is present:
Compassion,
Curiosity,
Confidence,
Clarity,
Connectedness
Calm,
Creativity,
Courage,
Playfulness,
Peace,
Persistence,
Patience,
Presence.
When we are leading from the right-brain, there is an inherent relational stance that allows and welcomes whatever is arising, and then turns towards what’s here with one or more of the above qualities. The left-brain may have a hard time computing this, as the idea or concept of “feeling peaceful” may be perceived as a single quality or the entirety of one’s current moment experience; i.e., you’re either feeling peace or you’re not. However, with the right-brain in the lead, one could be feeling peace and sending that towards what feels unsettled or “un-peaceful”. Characterizing this deep inner stability that exudes these benevolent qualities as the Sovereign Self within, gives us a framework to understand and practice centering our deepest sense of self in the right-brain so that we can tend to and be relational with all other aspects of our experience.
This journey of inquiry, exploration and practice will illuminate where an internal sense of disconnection is driving extreme protective strategies and where parts are acting in isolation without awareness of the whole, so your system can remember itself as a community. This work is not about eliminating difference, but about building bridges. To be separated enough to be oneself, connected enough to belong, and conscious enough to notice and choose one’s relational stance towards whatever is here now.
Let me start with a brief story from my own recent experience.
Who’s in charge in here?
I had just ingested a fairly large dose of 5-MeO-DMT. My intention or guiding light for this experience was a desire to drop deeper into the divine feminine current of aliveness. To some of you reading this that might sound like a strange string of words, or words that don’t yet land with resonance or understanding. I name this because that is part of why I set this as my intention. I had touched into this felt sense of aliveness beneath words, a deep okay-ness and deep inner stability within the constant change and flow of the ocean of consciousness, and I wanted to know it more intimately. I wanted my relationship with these words to be embodied more fully. And so it began with the support of the medicine I felt called to be in ceremony with, and two lovely humans, one on either side of me, that I felt loved, seen and supported by. Within a couple of minutes I spoke the words “So much is happening and nothing at all.” I smiled as I simply witnessed and observed my internal experience, naming it out loud occasionally and meeting it all with the stance of “welcome. If you are here, you belong.”
I noticed fear. Welcome.
I noticed resistance. Welcome.
I noticed not wanting this moment as it is. Welcome.
I noticed a settling begin to happen. Welcome.
I noticed a more spacious and open field emerge that allowed me to hold it all without needing to change or do anything. Welcome.
And then, I heard a voice inside speak up with a tone of pure curiosity and bewilderment. It said “who’s in charge in here?” I laughed as I heard this, and spoke it out loud for my supporters to witness and share in my delight. Without hesitation, like a warm and nurturing embrace, my hand lifted and landed on my heart, as I said “right here buddy.”
What transpired next was a profound experience of feeling the love and warmth of my heart infused into every part of what I was currently bearing witness to in my mind and body. An essence of loving presence, as I was in the act of loving the present moment, and a felt sense of presence itself being loving. Rather than an internal wise adult being the heart-led leader of the brigade (which had often been my experience), all my parts rallied together and cuddled a young part of me that had just been expressing some pain and distress from experiences that left her feeling constricted, bad, and wrong. The pure love of my heart in full presence being expressed through every part of me as they held up this little one so she could feel the support that was here, and they said “we are so excited to get to know you more.”
This question, “who’s in charge in here?” has become an anthem I continue coming back to, often with a chuckle. Rather than pushing anything away or over-identifying with parts that want to feel something different than what’s here, we can allow and welcome it all while focusing more on accessing an internal state that is spacious, validates whatever arises, and guides with wise leadership.
Imagine what’s possible when your right-brain mode of processing is in the lead more and more. Rather than needing to believe in a Sovereign Self as an inherent character or essence, what we do know is that the brain re-organizes its neural pathways when behavior is modeled, practiced and adopted. And we also know that these qualities associated with the Sovereign Self are naturally occurring when we lead with right-brain hemispheric modes of processing. Are you ready to slow down and access this way of perceiving and being? Is this relational way of tending to your internal experience something you are keen to explore?
“When you know how you are organizing your experience, you become free to organize it in new ways. When you change not just what you experience, but how you experience, you have transcended, you have become a different self. You have transcended the habits and beliefs you were stuck in and controlled by. You now have options. You do things and feel things in new ways. You have changed at the level of character. Your personal paradigm has shifted” (Kurtz, R., 2015, p. 11).
Curious to step into an experience to feel this for yourself?
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References
Kurtz, R. (2015). Body-mind psychotherapy: The hakomi method.
McGilchrist, I. (2019). The master and his emissary: The Divided Brain and the making of the Western World. Yale University Press.
Schore, A. N. (2011). The right brain implicit self lies at the core of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 21(1), 75–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/10481885.2011.545329