Daniel L. Pink On Oprah's Soul Series

As I continue with my study of right and left brain magnificence, I came upon the Daniel L. Pink interview on Oprah's soul series.

He wrote the book, "A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Rule The World."

Oprah was so excited by the book that she bought and gave away 4,500 copies to the graduating class of Stanford University, when she gave the commencement speech there.

When Pink was told about the give-a-way, he thought his friend was playing a practical joke on him!

Pink says that gone are the days when left brain work is not integrated with the capabilities of the artistic right brain. The strictly analytic professions such as MBA's, computer coders, lawyers and doctors are going to have to soften their worldview to include a strengthening of right brain talents such as artistry, empathy, story telling and big picture thinking.

In fact, medical students today are schooled in "narrative medicine." The thinking here is that an important part of diagnosing a disease is contained in the patients story, a right brain emphasis.

Patients can now go online or purchase software where they enter symptoms of a current illness, and the software will analyze the data. The result is a diagnosis or several diagnosis that the patient can discuss with her doctor, nurse practitioner, nurse mid-wife or physician's assistant.

This sort of computer task makes it imperative for the doctors et al of today to approach their patients holistically and not simply as a disease entity.

No one will ever be able to program a computer to exhibit listening skills, compassion and communion, all human attributes.

The sooner Doctors "get it" on this scale, the better.

Suffice to say, if the doctors of today insist on holding on to their left brain analytical approach to patient care, they will become dinosaurs very quickly.

The same is true of lawyers. Online divorce centers, for instance, charge $249.00 to complete a divorce proceeding.

What will this do to the lawyers who charge $180.00 an hour for services?

And there are sites online where generic legal documents can be bought at $14.95 a piece, People then take these documents to their lawyer for customization.

The lawyers who will survive in this environment are those that take on the more complex problems not solved by software and database programs such as counseling, mediation, and courtroom storytelling, all right (brain)-directed thinking.

In fact, for any career to survive in this Conceptual Age, as Daniel L. Pink calls it, people will have to enlarge, use and master their right brain capabilities.

Pink says that we must integrate six particular abilities which he calls the six senses: symphony, design, meaning, empathy, story telling and play.

Only by connecting to a cause larger than oneself, can true satisfaction be realized.

How do we use the six senses to strengthen right brain muscles?

Symphony 1) Listen to the great symphonies in order to see all the smallest notes form the whole.

2) Learn how to draw: this will develop your ability to see the relationship between one stroke and the next to appreciate the whole creation.

3) Keep a log of metaphors. An example that Pink uses and wrote down: "Pollsters have colonized the minds of our leaders."

Or a friend of his said: "I don't feel rooted."

4) Follow links on Google to discover a unique version of six degrees of separation. (Meaning we are only six people removed from every single person on the planet).

From the initial link you visit, select one of its links, and continue repeating the process seven or eight times, always clicking a new link from the current site.

What patterns or themes do you pick up?

What AHA connections between seemingly unrelated themes catches you unaware?

Design 1) Carry a notebook with you and note the designs in the world that make you feel good. Also note those that make you feel discordant.

2) Read design magazines.

Meaning 1) Practice gratitude to enhance feelings of well being which will deepen your awareness of life's meaning.

2) Ask yourself, if you inherited $20 million dollars, would you still do what you are doing now? If not, why not?

3) Take a news, reading, email, computer and cell phone fast, one day a week.

Empathy 1) Practice eavesdropping to develop greater powers of empathy. Listen carefully to what is being said. Then imagine yourself as one of the people in the scene. What are you (that is him or her) thinking or feeling in that moment? What are your emotions?

Writers are notorious eavesdroppers. Consider that F. Scott Fitzgerald kept a notebook in which he wrote "overheard conversations."

Story telling 1) Go to a story telling festival. At these 2-3 day gatherings, hundreds of people from all walks of life take the stage to tell a saga.

I've never been to one but they sound fascinating.

2) Opening lines--Ask everyone at your next party to write an opening line on an index card and toss them all in a hat. Then taking turns, have everyone take a card and right away tell a story that begins with what is written on the card.

Play 1) Visit a laughter club, which the author explains to Oprah. The people start out by saying, "Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha," and there's no way that hearty laughter does not erupt from this.

2) Take cartoons and cover up the captions, and ask your friends to come up with their own jokes.

3) Dissect a joke. What made you laugh (if you did laugh!)? Sometimes I'll laugh as soon as a person starts to tell a joke. Why do I do this? She didn't even get to the punch line and I laugh!!

The idea is to practice all six right brain senses, allowing the left brain to integrate, as it will.

Strive for the balance of both right and left brain to work magic in your life.

Allow the great Cosmic Dance to choreograph your Existence.