TED Talk - Awe & Wonder of Life

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 Four years ago while sitting at my desk reviewing the speakers I would finalize for my TEDx Talks Event as a TEDx Licensee and organizer, my life ended and a new one immediately began. I had a severe left brain stroke that destroyed most of my left brain. My left brain went still and quiet, but the divine mind immediately opened and I was alive again, but now a totally different being. 

As they say when one door closes, another door opens .

A Soul Awakens

As I sit here reflecting on the wonder of life I am reminded of how reason logic and words have shaped my journey—how they have both abandoned me and returned to me with renewed purpose. Four years ago, my life changed forever. I experienced a shift of Consciousness that would redefine my understanding of human and divine communication and connection.

It began with a strange sensation coursing through my brain. Moments later, I found myself unable to speak. My world shifted in an instant as I uttered one solitary word: "hospital." Over the next three months, I suffered two more strokes that left me speechless, partially blind in one eye, and struggling to walk straight.

In silence deep, a truth unfolds—

A language is lost but still it holds.

The heart speaks loudly when lips grow still;

Connection blooms through quiet will.

Vulnerability and Connection

In those silent days, I learned the true weight of words—not just their absence but their essence as bridges to others. Vulnerability became my teacher. It courage to expose our inner world to others, yet it is in these moments that true connection is forged.

I recall the desperation of being unable to express myself—the yearning for even one word to escape my lips—and the profound relief when speech started to return. I still struggle to say words. I see them, and remember them, but just see them pass by. This journey taught me that every word carries meaning; every conversation is an opportunity for connection.

In this new consciousness and world I was drawn to meditation. From that I was led further to the teachings of the Ancients of life, and have become a Buddhist yogi, and still a Christian as well. I learned the truths of all religions are the same and although all lead us via different paths to different doors, to the same One Divine Creator.

To bare one's soul in fragile speech,

Is courage rare within our reach.

Through trembling words or silent gaze,

We find connection's healing rays.

The creative power of words and faith.

In ancient India, Greece, and Rome words were revered as tools of democracy and unity. Oratory was not merely an art; it was the lifeblood of civic engagement. Great thinkers like Demosthenes and Pericles wielded language to inspire action and bridge divides within their communities. Their legacy reminds us that effective communication is a timeless force capable of shaping societies.

The Challenges of Modern Communication

Today’s world poses new challenges for communication. Technology has given us unprecedented reach but often at the expense of depth and intimacy. Digital platforms encourage brevity over substance, leading to misunderstandings and polarization—a far cry from the meaningful dialogue practiced by ancient sages.

We speak in fragments short and brief;

Connection fades amidst belief.

Yet still within each fleeting word—

A chance remains to heal what's blurred.

A New Way of Thinking: Right Brain Living

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s Whole Brain Living offers profound insights into right-brain thinking—the intuitive hemisphere that fosters creativity, peace, and interconnectedness. After her own stroke experience, she discovered what she calls the "higher nirvana brain," which transcends linear logic and taps into a state of oneness with all life. 

Within the mind's creative stream,

A world unfolds—a lucid dream.

No boundaries bind this sacred space;

Here joy resides in life's embrace.

My Journey Home

Three years after my strokes, I live mostly in my right brain state of consciousness where intuition guides each moment and peace is ever-present. This shift has taught me that we are all capable of living seamlessly connected to divine power, the creative force behind all life.

Eckhart Tolle once said "We must die before we die" to awaken fully into life's wonder. My strokes were my awakening—a death of the human ego-driven existence that gave birth to a higher consciousness rooted in awe and unity with The Word. The Word is not just language; it is creation itself—the eternal force that binds us all.

Stephen Charles Monahan