Viewing our own minds may be subject to a lack of objectivity. Looking in a mirror is inevitably a subjective experience. And seeking to understand our minds is a great deal like looking in that mirror. We're forced to examine the human mind with human minds. It would seem that this might limit the extent of progress made in such a study, however who can better know what it is like to use a human mind than one who always does so? Ultimately, we are the best at carrying out self-examination, thus analyzing the dual nature of our own minds.
Logic or Reason and Intuition or Emotion
As the adjective "dual" suggest there are two broad components of the human mind, just as there are two major hemispheres of the human brain. Many have measured an association between these dualities. We've come to realize that our mental faculties are made up of {logic or reason}, and {intuition or emotion}. And that our brains are divided into left and right hemispheres. Studies of brain region activities, while specific mental tests were carried out have revealed that when a person is engaged in rational logical thought, the left hemisphere of their brain becomes more active or dominates.
While on the other hand, when strong emotions are being experienced the right brain does a great deal more sparking. Many study sources on this subject can be found, and the results appear to be fairly consistent. There does indeed seem to be a correlation between mental/emotional states and the hemispheric dominance of brain wave activities. So, it would seem our brains' twofold structure ties directly to this dual nature found within our minds.
These are the parts of the Dual Mind
- Logic: Left Brain - Rational thought
- Intuition: Right Brain - Matters of the "Heart"
It All Depends on Hemispheric Dominance
Each of these components appear integrated into the minds of most human beings with a variety of possible combinations, leading to a plethora of human personalities, at least partially depending on the degree of hemispheric dominance. These combinations fall into three different general types of mixtures, based on which of the brain hemispheres dominate.
Most people fall into being either left brain dominate, or right brain dominate, while a minority are dual brained or dual minded, whose thought processes are not dominated by either hemisphere, but are evenly balanced between both hemispheres equally. Bear in mind we commonly use both hemispheres, so the designation of dominance only measures where one's brain activity occurs most prominently, not exclusively.
This is very important to understand, being left brain dominant, for instance, does not mean one uses only their left brain, just that left brain usage is greater than right brain usage.
The Three Brain Dominance Types
The three brain dominance types can be labeled simply as L-dominant, R-dominant, and D-dominant.
- L-dominant represents Left-brain dominant individuals.
- R-dominant represents Right-brain dominant individuals.
- D-dominant represents Dual-brain dominant individuals.
It might be helpful to have working definitions, giving a little more detail about each of these personality combinations.
- L-dominant is the personality type of someone who spends the majority of their mental energy on logic oriented rational thought. The bulk of their brain activity occurs in the left side of their brains, and logic is their primary filter. Those at the extreme end of this type can sometimes seem cold or even emotionless.
- R-dominant personalities conversely exhibit more brain activities in the right hemisphere, and are much more emotional people. They tend to look at life through the filter of their passions. Those on the far end of this personality type might sometimes seem overly emotional or even irrational, especially to the L-dominant.
- D-dominant people are individuals whose personality is made up of a balanced blend of both mental components. Their minds are neither dominated by logic, nor emotions. Tests indicate such individuals use their brain hemispheres about equally, and they view life through both logical and intuitive filters with relative ease. These D-dominants are hemispherically balanced.
Through Which Filter Do You Approach Life?
Those who tend toward left brain dominance take a more scientific clinical approach to life, while the more right brained individuals tend to see life through the filter of their "heart". What happens when your brain dominance is right down the middle? When taking tests designed to measure a person's brain dominance, I've always tested right there in that middle place, 50/50.
Neither my left, nor my right hemisphere dominates; rather I use both equally. I fall into that group, scientist call the dual brained. It doesn't mean I use more of my brain than anyone else, it's just that when my synapses spark, they're more spread out than most, with neither hemisphere dominating. It makes me both a scientist, and a poet, both an analyzer and an artist, one who freely uses both logic and intuition equally.
