Right-Brained Thinking

I recently came across an article in USA Today about the current transition in the business world toward right-brained thinking. Since computers are now taking care of a lot of the left-brained tasks for which we used to need precise, logical thinking (i.e. financial record-keeping, statistics), it’s becoming more important to hone our creative, right-brained skills. A computer can crunch numbers all day long—but without a creative, innovative plan by which to put them to use, all those numbers are nearly useless.


As this transition occurs, discussions are arising about how such a shift can be made. One major obstacle is the manner in which we are educated. Current curricula and methods used in both public and private schools are decidedly left-brained; we are trained from childhood to process information in a logical, linear fashion—to consider the details rather than the whole picture, to analyze information rather than apply it. We are conditioned to think inside the box, and the box tends to grow smaller as we get older.


In our changing world, this way of thinking no longer suits us economically, socially, or spiritually. We know that it’s no longer good enough to do things the way they have always been done before, but there is no roadmap for where we’re going. Right-brained thinking will forge the way. Perhaps we’ll all create our own paths from here, and weave an entirely new picture of humanity. It’s quite exciting to think about—and a little daunting, too. When there’s no formula, the possibilities are endless!


It can be quite difficult for someone who has followed a left-brained path to transition into a more creative mindset—especially if they try to so using their logical mind. It sounds a little silly when I say it like that, but believe it or not, that’s what most people try to do. They believe that if they devote enough thought power to a problem, a solution will present itself, and its appearance will testify to their creativity even if the solution comes from their logical mind.


This linear way of thinking limits people not only in their work, but in all areas of their lives. The issues which test us on this physical plane cannot always be solved through a logical thought process. In fact, attempting to do so can only solidify a problem, because so much thought energy is devoted to the problem and to the act of unraveling it; what we think about becomes real.


When we begin to function using our right brain—our creative brain, which is connected to the spiritual plane and our own deep God-sense and intuition—we begin to view our lives in an entirely new way. We begin to creatively shape our world, rather than reacting to the things we subconsciously bring into it. We begin to see problems as opportunities, and learn to harness our creativity to shift situations to our advantage. Sometimes, we realize that our problems are not really problems at all, but rather obstacles of our own making; when this realization occurs, we can allow the problems to simply melt away, because they never really existed.


The Silva Method teaches us to use both our logical left brain and our creative right brain to harness the twofold power of will and imagination. As we shift from the Beta to the Alpha state of consciousness, we learn to slip beneath the surface of our daily mental routines and into the core of ourselves, to draw upon the intuitive gifts that each of us are born with. By merging our right- and left-brained selves, we become more powerful, more centered, more compassionate, and more creative.