“Anal” is Really the Left Hemisphere

Thanks to Freud, we know that there is another surface, a layer of thoughts and events that guide us that we’re not always aware of.

Freud lay the foundation for searching beneath the surface. However, he was quite wrong about his interpretations of that subsurface. Clearly no one today believes women actually envy that male organ… Perhaps they envied the rights that men had at those times. Freud’s theories were often flawed, but the terms seeped into our culture none the less.

One commonly used term is “anal.” Freud thought that the anal phase in a child’s development and how quickly they are diaper trained can have a psychological impact on their personality. Except for some gross cases of abuse, diaper training today has nothing to do with how likely one is to dot their i’s and cross their t’s.

Sure, when you constrain your urges, you are in a sense exhibiting some visceral control. If you keep a tight control on your behavior, if you stay organized, if you keep from acting on sudden whims, that does seem to include the whims of the physical body. However, this entire talk about control is really the control of the left brain! And the whims are actually the desires of the right brain!

When Freud was calling someone anal, he should have been calling them “left brained.” It is the left brain that tells the body to stay in this super controlled state. So the word anal is a misnomer.

If a person is “anal,” it is because their left brain is in charge. To balance out their hemispheres, they should allow their right hemisphere some freedom. They can take art, play with my heart mandala hearts or coloring books, or they can study dance.

To truly achieve this hemispheric balance, it takes a lot of practice. A dominant left brained person will use their left brain to do creative activities. It is not enough to engage in creative activities then. The goal is not about enhancing the right side. The goal is to enhance the communication between the right and left side.

I will write more suggestions about how to achieve that in more blogs! Please read on.

I HeartMark You!

Tali

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