The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Episode: No. 1 Brain Scientist: My Brain Shut Down & I Realised Everything I Believed Was Wrong!
Date: November 6, 2025
Guest: Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor (Neuroscientist, Author of "My Stroke of Insight" & "Whole Brain Living")
Episode Overview
In this deeply insightful and moving episode, Steven Bartlett is joined by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, Harvard-trained neuroscientist, stroke survivor, and bestselling author. Dr. Taylor shares her personal and scientific journey of how a catastrophic stroke in her left brain hemisphere silenced her inner chatter and forced her to rethink everything she believed about consciousness, emotion, and the human experience.
Together, they explore how the brain constructs our reality, the four distinct “characters” within us, and how learning to recognize and intentionally access each can radically improve mental health, relationships, and fulfillment. Dr. Taylor’s story offers scientific revelations and practical tools for mastering your mind, healing trauma, and living with greater presence, wonder, and self-compassion.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Structure of the Human Brain & Four Characters
- Dr. Taylor presents a real human brain and explains its parts live on-air, demystifying its layers and the extraordinary fragility and complexity of the organ.
- Main Model:
- The human brain is divided into left and right hemispheres, each with both an emotional and a thinking system “character”—making four major neuroanatomically distinct personalities inside each person.
- Left Thinking (Character 1): Analytical, organized, ego-driven (“me, the individual; right/wrong”).
- Left Emotion (Character 2): Holds pain from the past, trauma, and emotional reactivity.
- Right Emotion (Character 3): Playful, spontaneous, present-moment experiential.
- Right Thinking (Character 4): Expansive, connected to awe, wisdom, and universal love.
- The human brain is divided into left and right hemispheres, each with both an emotional and a thinking system “character”—making four major neuroanatomically distinct personalities inside each person.
- Dr. Taylor encourages listeners to become aware of and “name” their four brain characters in order to access them intentionally.
Quote:
"When we understand the brain cells and what they do and how to work with them, then we can manifest our own mental health."
— Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor [04:44]
2. Personal Story: The Stroke that Changed Everything
- At age 37, Dr. Taylor experienced a catastrophic left-hemisphere brain hemorrhage (stroke), losing her language, sense of self, and analytic abilities.
- She recounts the moment-by-moment experience, including the loss of speech and the terrifying/fascinating oscillation between “blissful present-moment euphoria” and utter incapacity.
- Recovery took 8 years: “I became an infant in a woman’s body at the age of 37. All that mattered was I was alive.” [41:52]
- Her scientific background enabled her to study her own transformation and eventually rebuild her mind, but with a new appreciation for the fullness of our consciousness—beyond just the “left brain.”
Memorable Story:
"I had no Jill Bolte Taylor because she was over in the left hemisphere... The present moment is a fantastic place. Joy lives in the present moment. Love lives in the present moment."
— Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor [27:31]
3. Why Modern Society Is Out of Balance
- Societal norms, education, and medicine overwhelmingly prize left-brain thinking (analysis, productivity, past/future, ego) and neglect presence, play, and connection.
- This imbalance fuels mental health crises, disconnection, individualism, and trauma.
- Healing comes from “whole brain living”—honoring and consciously integrating all four characters, not suppressing emotion or running solely on autopilot.
Quote:
"We are skewed as a society to the two parts of the left brain. We get in trouble when this is the only portion of our brain that we value, because look at the world we currently live in.”
— Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor [02:49]
4. Practices for Whole Brain Living
- Recognize which brain “character” you’re in at any moment; give them names for self-awareness.
- Invite playful or present-moment states: Play, movement, music, and even techniques like special glasses to stimulate different hemispheres ([61:25]).
- Emotional Processing:
- Emotions themselves only physically last ~90 seconds in the brain unless we keep “re-looping” the triggering thought ([74:31]).
- Healing from trauma doesn’t mean erasing pain; it's about hearing, honoring, and soothing it—then consciously shifting attention to other parts of the brain.
- Self-Care for Brain Cells:
- Prioritize sleep (cleanses the brain), proper nutrition (avoid preservatives/sugar), hydration, and movement for optimal mental health ([88:14]).
Notable Moment:
Steven tries on glasses that limit the visual field to one side, reporting strong changes in focus vs. relaxation based on hemisphere stimulation.
"I just feel way more relaxed. I feel like I'm laying low on a sun lounger."
— Steven Bartlett [63:54]
5. The Power of Awe, Gratitude, and Interconnectedness
- Dr. Taylor’s experience deepened her awe for life and conviction that our greatest purpose is to love and support one another.
- She makes a compelling case that recognizing our extraordinary biological and cosmic odds for being alive should spark compassion and hope, even in suffering.
- The “next evolution” of humanity will be waking up to our “whole brain”—where war, hate, and division are recognized as dysfunctions of a limited, overactive left hemisphere.
Quote:
"We are so beautiful. We are perfect and whole and beautiful just the way we are. If we were balanced as a society, I truly believe our number one job is to love one another."
— Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor [60:18]
6. Final Advice and Life Perspective
- On healing when life doesn’t go as planned:
“I thank the universe. That option wasn't for me. Next. That wasn't meant for me. Something better is on its way, or I'm gonna go paddleboard. I'm perfectly good with that.” [96:19] - Dr. Taylor’s Key Message:
“Your life is worth 30 seconds. Take a breath. Take a pause and save your own life.” [94:33]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 02:07 – Four structured parts of the brain & possibility of conscious control
- 11:27 – Unveiling and description of a real human brain
- 21:22 – Dr. Taylor’s stroke experience: minute-by-minute account
- 27:31 – Loss of language, self, and the gift of present-moment awareness
- 37:31 – How left-brain dominance shapes society & spiritual crisis
- 47:04 – The four characters in everyone’s brain explained
- 74:31 – The 90-second rule for emotions
- 88:14 – Cellular-level advice for brain health: sleep, nutrition, hydration, movement
- 94:33 – Life is worth 30 seconds: closing advice
- 96:19 – When life doesn’t go as planned: gratitude and adaptation
Notable Quotes
"Once you see, you will no longer ever not see you. And then you're gonna see these four characters inside yourself. Any relationship that we have, there's eight of us."
— Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor [10:44]
"I want to be a whole human with a whole brain. I want all of it. It's delicious. Oh my gosh. And it lasts this long, and then it's gone."
— Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor [77:08]
"Are you hopeful?"
"Completely. 100%. That's the beauty of the right hemisphere, it is hope, it's possibility."
— Steven Bartlett & Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor [78:34]
"Had you not had this stroke, how different do you think your life would look?"
"Oh, I'd probably be a professor at Harvard… But I'm so glad I had that stroke. It set me free from having to live a life based on other people's expectations."
— Steven Bartlett & Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor [81:26]
Memorable Moments
- Steven’s first touch of a real human brain: “It is like this very, very soft, but dense sort of tofuy. How would you describe the feeling?” – [16:54]
- The “golden retriever call”—Dr. Taylor loses her language post-stroke and can only bark to get help [36:29]
- The hopscotch prescription: Dr. Taylor helps physicians reconnect to joy by making them play between patients [69:19]
- The “90 second” rule for emotions: “If you simply observe it, it will loop right through, just like a muscle reflex.” [74:31]
Takeaway
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s story bridges hard neuroscience and soul-level transformation. This episode delivers not only a gripping account of her journey but also actionable wisdom—recognizing and honoring ALL parts of oneself, practical steps toward whole-brain health, and a passionate call to live with greater wonder, connection, and love.
Listen If You Want To...
- Understand the biological basis for your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
- Learn why present-moment awareness is life-changing and deeply healing.
- Discover a practical framework for mastering your mind, healing from trauma, and embracing self-compassion.
- Feel inspired by the resilience and awe of a scientist who lost—and then re-created—her sense of self.
For more from Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor:
- My Stroke of Insight (book)
- Whole Brain Living (book)
Connect with Steven Bartlett: