GOTO-HEALTH

One of my commitments now, at age 87, is to use our examples of the Japanese in America experience here in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, with our attention getting story of the WWII incarceration, to influence school children in Seattle and Washington to write and pass on to future generations their own heritage stories.

 

I choose to appeal to school children, with our stories, because there were plenty of academic history and adult books. I am a fan of Dale Carnegie’s idea that 500 words or less with an “Incident - Point - Benefit” is how to appeal to young readers and listeners. We have found that our short stories also appeal to adults.

 

It started, in my life, with the title to my master’s thesis in Psychosocial Nursing from the U of WA in Seattle in 1988 - THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE RIGHT AND LEFT BRAIN AND HOW WE USE SOCIAL SUPPORT.

 

I’m not a fan of big words, but what I want to promote is an idea of how our stories can further benefit our Pacific Northwest community. “Hemispheric Lateralization” is the tendency for certain cognitive, emotional and motor functions to be localized or specialized to one side of the brain. While the two hemispheres are connected by the Corpus Callosum and work together, they divide tasks to maximize efficiency and cognitive capacity.

 

Iain McGilchrist wrote a couple of giant books about the differences and how we need to balance our right brain thinking with our left brain thinking for fulfillment and happiness. He is a British psychiatrist, philosopher and neuroscientist. 

 

Our Western European thinking is left brain dominant with “What, Where, How”. Iain confirms that our Asian and particularly Japanese heritage values with more “Why and Spiritual” is something we can share and copy for more right brain balance and more satisfaction.

 

Arthur Brooks, who grew up in Seattle, regularly cites Iain McGilchrist to emphasize “HAPPINESS”, a class he teaches at Harvard U. His opening statement is often, “50% of who you are comes from your genetic heritage.” How we have learned, and best continue to learn is with STORY TELLING!

 

I believe I was led to pass on our Japanese Heritage Values with OMOIDE (memories) story-telling/writing the last 35 years, since 1991. Our consistency of meeting monthly provides a deadline for getting it down in writing and has led to six publications.

 

Happiness is not just finding pleasure/feelings. It’s “enjoyment/satisfaction/meaning”. Talk to your relatives and friends and find stories because there is science behind “HAPPINESS & FULFILLMENT” with connections and memories.