Are you managing your brain, or is your brain managing you?

Drawing on science, philosophy, and modern revelation, James Olson explores how our brain’s division into distinct hemispheres results in two divergent ways of responding to our world.

Noting how one side of our brain tends to dominate the other, Olson examines the distortions that can result and explains how to minimize them. This unique book considers a number of important questions:

• What is the source of the political polarization that is tearing America apart? Olson’s analysis begins with the understanding that political conservatives tend to focus on individual concerns, reflecting their left-brain values, while liberal individuals lean heavily toward collective needs, reflecting right-brain views of political realities.
• What is the role of the brain in creating conflict and war? Exploring the drug war and the military-industrial-
  congressional complex—as well as conflicts involving gay rights, abortion, religion, and other issues—the author contrasts the holistic right brain’s views with those of the dualistic left brain.
• What are the real reasons for America’s drug war? In a chapter devoted to the war on drugs from a whole-brain perspective, the author examines government and corporate motivations for promoting and sustaining this disastrous program, and clearly explains why the exclusively left brain-dominant approach is a failure.

A whole-brain perspective allows us to see the complementary nature of the two sides, and thus help to resolve many conflicts and achieve greater balance. The unfolding of this process of integration reveals a path to peace.

If you value self-knowledge and inner peace, sooner or later you will face the profound role that the radically different perspectives of your left- and right-brain hemispheres play in your daily decisions.

This timely book guides you in consciously integrating these contrasting views of the world—and, in an original departure, delves into the impact of brain lateralization on political progress, cultural polarization, and even the quest for personal and world peace. Each of us has a unique method of drawing our perceptions from our two hemispheres, a capacity that varies widely with gender, culture, and genetics. Drawing from this understanding, The Whole-Brain Path to Peace reveals that we also have the freedom to adjust our perception—and our creativity—by shifting our brain perspectives at will as each occasion demands.

A practical field guide to whole-brain, heart-centered living.

The Whole-Brain Path to Peace takes you a crucial step beyond the science of brain lateralization, inviting you into a new way of perceiving your world through whole-brain living. But success on this path, argues author James Olson, requires the insights of modern revelation and the illumination of philosophy. Olson’s expansive view highlights the distortions that can occur when one side of the brain is not fully informed by the other. He then goes on to explain how to achieve greater balance, both as individuals and as a culture—thus showing us the path to peace.