My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor

In 1996, a neuroanatomist named Jill Bolte Taylor had a stroke. Because she had an extensive understanding of the brain, she was able to use moments of clarity to recognize her brain was malfunctioning and call for help.

This is what it feels like when you are connected to your intuition. Intuition is just knowledge embodied. This experience taught her to think about life with deep curiosity because it was only through that and her creative ingenuity that she was able to survive.

In her TedTalk, and book by the same name, she describes a wild psychedelic experience where she feels the division between her body and the world dissolve. She experiences what she calls nirvana — a place of pure bliss. When she began recovering, she realized that she still had access to this feeling of pure oneness.

Her work today is centered on sharing how this experience changed her life and teaching people that every human mind has access to this type of feeling should they seek it.

Why you should watch/read this

• If you are navigating a recent health issue with a significant rehabilitation period, Taylor’s experience might offer some inspiration or at least an understanding of your situation.

• If you are integrating a psychedelic experience (natural or not) that changed your perception of reality listening to this story might show you how two seemingly opposite worlds can coexist.