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We started out with some singing and then there were a batch of announcements. They included the social with Sunrise Rotary at Fergus Brewing the evening of our meeting, for which there was a fairly good turnout. After our meeting on May 15th, we will be distributing Josh the Otter water safety books to kindergarten students. The grand opening of the Splash Pad is set for May 30th and President Zack said he would like to see a good turnout of Rotarians, particularly past presidents of the club. Deb M. reported she is starting to write the District grant application for the school in Bolivia and that she spoke to the Devils Lake club on April 3rd about getting involved and will also be reaching out to Jamestown. Deb also announced that we know where our Exchange Student will be from this coming August -- Belgium. Rotarians were also reminded to get their Duck Derby tickets. Keith O. led off the bragging, joining us virtually from Bergen, Norway and reporting "it is not quite heaven but it's a local phone call." All of the travelers (Keith, Kim, Guy and Pam) are safe and well. Mark B. contributed for missing the prior meeting and for having to miss an upcoming one. Zack S. reported that his grandma turned 90 the prior week while this writer was appreciative of reaching his 70th birthday. Our speaker, Lois J., offered a short invocation before telling us about the writings of Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor that Lois finds informative. The neuroscientist-author wrote her first book My Stroke of Insight, after recovering from a debilitating stroke she suffered at age 37. Bolte Taylor had to reteach herself everything. Her TED talk on the subject was the first that went viral and has been viewed over 27 million times. Lois changed her plans for the day's program the night before when she stumbled upon a podcast talking about Bolte Taylor's second book, Whole Brain Living. After listening to it, Lois felt it would be useful in our preparations for the visioning session scheduled for Wednesday evening, the 8th. While it has been the long-held belief we have a left (emotional) and right (cognitive) brain, the author concludes there are two parts to each half, an emotional and cognitive on each side. One of the things that Bolte Taylor writes about is that the whole body is affected within 90 seconds of learning something - each cell system that triggers as a result of the information has a 90 second cycle. If one learns how their brain operates, one can more effectively control their thoughts. Bolte Taylor labels the left thinking group of cells as Character 1, defining what is right/wrong and what is good/bad based upon its moral compass; it also triggers our stress responses since it is a perfectionist in all it does. Character 2 also resides on the left side of the brain, tends to fear the unknown, perceiving life through a lens of lack rather than through a filter of abundance. To escape negative emotions or disappointments based on external circumstances, this character may choose to either blame others for adverse conditions or try to entirely escape its pain by engaging in the person's favorite addiction. It is where your deepest fear or emotional wound resides. Our right brain Characters 3 and 4 are all about the present moment. Character 3 is our emotional experiential self that seeks similarities rather than differences with others because it wants to connect, explore and go on adventures with them. The way the present moment feels is delicious. Character 4 is the right-thinking part of the brain which exists as our most peaceful, open and loving self. It is completely invested in celebrating the gift of life with immense gratitude, acceptance, openness and love. When you meditate, pray or repeat a mantra, you are quieting your left-brain Characters 1 and 2 so you can experience the deep inner peace of your Character 4. Lois encouraged us to put these concepts to use as we go forward in our lives. Learning how to identify and embody all four of our characters, and then choosing to step into the strong, compassionate and loving pars of ourselves when we need it, has the power to lift us out of our Character 2 discomfort and pain. We should avoid adopting our Character 2 pain as a lifestyle. |
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