Skillful Means: Looking Left
The Beginning of Brain Alchemy
The ways in which the left and right brains attend to the world are many, but the visual field is an interesting place to start the journey of brain hemisphere alchemy.
One interesting aspect of our hemispheric differentiation is that the left eye sees the right side of the visual field from both eyes, whereas the right hemisphere sees the left side of the visual field from both eyes.
Most of us tend to favor the right side of our visual field, due to left hemisphere dominance. One very simple way of strengthening and tapping into your right hemisphere is to look left and look left frequently enough that it becomes a habit.
Creating the habit of paying more attention to the left side of the visual field automatically tempers left hemisphere over-dominance.
You’ll also notice many interesting things when you make an effort to look left more. It is as if there’s a whole other world that you haven’t been paying much attention to on your daily drive, or your daily walk.
Another big difference between the hemispheres is that the left hemisphere focuses on things in the visual field whereas the right hemisphere maintains awareness of peripheral vision.
The right hemisphere's attention to the peripheral field is an evolutionary adaptation linked to hunting and survival. Early humans relied on their ability to scan the environment for prey and threats, making the right hemisphere's holistic and spatial processing crucial for detecting movement and changes in the broader visual field. This vigilance was vital for spotting predators and prey in the periphery, ensuring quick reactions to threats and opportunities.
The left hemisphere's role in hunting is centered on detailed and analytical processing, essential for tasks requiring precision and focus. When hunting, the left hemisphere helps in tracking specific details of prey movement, aiming accurately, and coordinating fine motor skills for the use of hunting weapons.
Due to the hyper-dominance of the left hemisphere in most individuals and in society at large, it’s very common for people to ignore their peripheral vision.
People are hyper-focused, paying far too much attention to the center of their visual field, while neglecting the periphery. It’s very easy to see this when you’re driving around town or on the highway. And before you blame the phones, I can assure you that people not paying attention to their surroundings predates smartphones.
Just look around the next time you’re at the grocery store. You will see many people, some on their phones and some not on their phones, who are almost entirely unaware of their surroundings, especially other people.
You need to keep your head on a swivel on the streets and at Harris Teeter.
In order to remedy this situation, you can practice paying more attention to the peripheral field by defocusing your eyes and adopting a soft gaze. This allows both your eyes and mind to relax.
When the eyes are defocused, the mind is also less likely to fixate on mental phenomena, which is why the soft gaze is a classic meditation technique.
Defocusing can also be helpful in many different sports where peripheral vision is important as well as in the arts, allowing the artist to see the whole composition while improving creativity and flow through relaxation and activating the right hemisphere.
In closing, here is a brief review of the main differences between the hemispheres when it comes to the visual field, as well as a short video introduction to some of the differences between the hemispheres, including the visual field, from author Iain McGilchrist.
Left Hemisphere
The left hemisphere processes information from the right visual field of both eyes. It is adept at analytical processing, focusing on details and specific aspects of what is seen, such as recognizing objects, reading, and identifying patterns. This hemisphere is also associated with sequential and logical reasoning, breaking down information into components for detailed analysis. Additionally, the left hemisphere is heavily involved in language processing, including reading, writing, and decoding linguistic details, making it crucial for tasks that require linear, sequential information processing.
Right Hemisphere
The right hemisphere processes information from the left visual field of both eyes and excels in holistic processing. It views the overall context and spatial relationships, including recognizing faces, interpreting gestures, and understanding the emotional tone of visual scenes. The right hemisphere is more attuned to nonverbal cues and emotional content, processing information simultaneously to recognize patterns and spatial relationships at once. This hemisphere is crucial for creativity, spatial awareness, and integrating various pieces of information into a cohesive whole. Effective visual perception requires the collaboration of both hemispheres, with the right hemisphere providing the broader context and emotional significance that complement the detailed analysis of the left hemisphere.