OK, so actually, the phrase "Right Brain" does not appear on my list of Goddess words, written fifteen years ago or so. But as I was looking at the list, I was reminded of the extraordinary 1998 book by Leonard Shlain, The Alphabet versus The Goddess. He was a surgeon, now deceased, who became fascinated by the different functions/qualities of the left and right sides of the brain. The book undertakes an exploration of just about all of Western history and culture, making the case that each time right brain qualities (feminine, visual, spontaneous, feeling, intuitive, holistic) have emerged in society, left brain qualities (masculine, written, linear, time-dependent, logical, dualistic and conflict-driven) have quickly come to the fore and reduced the power of women and respect for women. In effect, he says than the minute we began to write and read, the right brain's gifts were devalued; each successive step forward in literacy, printing and the dissemination of books has further bolstered patriarchy and diminished the Goddess.
Sometimes, as a woman, you feel so adrift in a black hole of values and institutions you don't understand, that you cannot imagine any men even being able to understand "where you are coming from". And yet that was the joy of reading this book, knowing that it had been written by a man. My copy of the book is probably 75% underlined and highlighted. Almost every sentence helped me to understand not only the world around me and its history, but my own struggle to survive. There is no way I can possibly summarize all of the material he covers (chapters range from "Males:Death/Females:Life" to "Adam/Eve" to "Mystic/Scholastic" to "Page/Screen"). I highly recommend the book, if you can find it. It ends on a fairly optimistic note, hoping that the rise of visual imagery/computer technology will bring increased balance to the world. It would be interesting to know if he would be at all discouraged, as many of us are, by the most recent backlashes and extreme imbalances. If nothing else, they seem to support his premise.
So, many of the words I will present in upcoming essays fall loosely into the category of "right brain". But my own left brain is alive and well, as illustrated by the fact that I write a blog rather than paint paintings or sing songs (for the moment at least!). In presenting "Words of the Goddess", I'm not as interested in the words themselves as in the concepts and feelings, but I wrote them in the ultimate left brain manner: a list. I honor this paradox. Both sides of the brain, both sides of the hemispheric divide, are necessary for wholeness. In presenting my list, I'm just trying to re-member the qualities our society keeps forgetting.
