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b'Aired Sunday, 5 February 2017, 2:00 PM ET

James Olson joins us in a fascinating discussion of how our brain influences us in ways we may have not considered.

Although we\\u2019ve been told for decades that we only use a small portion of our brain\\u2019s capacity, it is now known that the entire brain is always active in some way. Yet for most of us, only one of our two brain hemispheres is actually running the show. For a majority of people, the left-brain viewpoint serves as our guide. How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future explores the serious crisis we now face because of the left-brain bias in our civilization.

Adopting a holistic and interdisciplinary approach, Olson outlines the brain\\u2019s role in informing consciousness. He pursues a special focus on problems that result when the two sides of the brain fail to harmonize, such as we experience in mental conflict, both internal and external. Olson posits that each hemisphere houses an \\u201coperating system\\u201d capable of managing the relationship of the two hemispheres; further, he identifies the genetic mechanism that determines operating-system dominance. On one level, How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future is about the differing perspectives of the left and right hemispheres of the brain, with a particular focus on the effects of \\u201cbrain dominance\\u201d on our How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future, The Split-Brain\\u2019s Remarkable Effect on Consciousness and Culture.

A practical inquiry into the \\u201coperating systems\\u201d of the left and right brain hemispheres and their surprising influence over lifestyle, politics, business, and religion lives, culture, and environment. But it is also about our search for truth\\u2014about who we are as human beings, and how we can achieve a peaceful world. Scientific research and observation are essential to understanding ourselves, but mere data and analysis lack the crucial dimension of those human experiences, which if cultivated properly lead to wisdom and ultimately to a life characterized by a more holistic approach.

How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future explores how we can achieve peace\\u2014with ourselves, with others, and in the world\\u2014by better understanding the functioning of the brain\\u2019s two management systems. When we look at how the brain influences our beliefs, the programming that governs our day-today existence, we see that when our beliefs are limited to the insights of only one hemisphere, they can sabotage even our best efforts to realize our deepest longings and desires. The book also addresses the political polarization that is tearing America apart. If politicians and pundits employed a whole-brain perspective, Olson shows, this would allow them to see the complementary nature of the two sides and ultimately unify the country.

What you\\u2019ll learn inside this book:
* The way brain hemispheres work and why you think the way you do
* How men can better understand women and women truly understand men
* How to improve your decision-making by consciously using both hemisphere
* Why you feel certain attractions, repulsions, and compulsions
* A revolutionary theory about sexual orientation
* The source of our political polarization and how to reverse it

In the final analysis, Olson\\u2019s discourse shows that the product of the harmonization of the two hemispheres is peace\\u2014in all domains. How Whole Brain Thinking Can Save the Future reminds us that we have the freedom to adjust our perception\\u2014and our creativity\\u2014through our close attention, and by shifting our brain perspectives at will as the occasion demands.

About the Guest: James Olson

James Olson is an integral philosopher whose studies have included religion, art, psychology and neuroscience. He has attended the University of Vienna; Oklahoma University, where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration; and the Kansas City'