Do You Really Want to Know the Truth?

Contemporary neuroscience identifies a particular part of the brain, sometimes called “the interpreter,” as the source of the familiar internal narrative that gives us our sense of self.

Two prominent neuroscientists have recently characterized the quirky, undependable quality of the tale told by the interpreter.

Antonio Damasio describes it this way: “Perhaps the most important revelation is precisely this: that the left cerebral hemisphere of humans is prone to fabricating verbal narratives that do not necessarily accord with the truth.”

And Michael Gazzaniga writes: “The left brain weaves its story in order to convince itself and you that it is in full control... What is so adaptive about having what amounts to a spin-doctor in the left brain? The interpreter is really trying to keep our personal story together. To do that, we have to learn to lie to ourselves.” These insights, based on solid experimental work, show that we tend to believe our own press releases. Often when we think we’re being rational, we’re being spun by our own thinking.

That trait explains how we get ourselves into the painful positions that we get ourselves into that we call suffering. Self-questioning enables us to find a way out of our self-made trap.

Self-questioning begins with "Is that true?" The next time you get upset, look at what you are telling yourself and ask that question.