[John Ehrenfeld]

Yes, I am looking to restructure institutions to create a new normality where the right hemisphere is again the master. Such a shift would generate behaviors that are caring and concern about the world. Only this will keep us from the abyss, Iain writes about. If we continue to behave as we are, no amount of fixing after the fact will undo the damage to human beings and the world we create in the normal course of a day.

You mention “place.” Yes, very important as awareness of place is a right-hemisphere action. I do not know Esther Steinberg, but will certainly look at her. Heidegger writes about dwelling. The notion of place is explored very carefully in a book by Christian Norberg-Schultz, Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture. I include a short discussion in my last book, The Right Way to Flourish, in a chapter outlining ways to make the left-right shift happen.

A new normal is critical to avoid the unintended consequences that are inevitable in a left-hemisphere dominated world. Some will show up in a right-brain world, but are unlikely to reach levels that now threaten us. I find talking about normal behaviors as a focus helps quell the left brain’s immediate offer to fix things up.

Thanks for the info.