If you’ve done EMDR therapy, you’re familiar with bilateral stimulation, or BLS. By alternating stimulation to the left and right sides of the body (by moving the eyes, tapping, sound, walking, etc.) BLS helps the left brain (the home of logic, language, and linear thinking) and the right brain (linked with emotions, sensations, and nonverbal experiences) talk to each other, in a way. In therapy, this coordination can help your brain process charged memories or experiences, reduce their emotional intensity, and create new adaptive meaning.
Even if you’ve never tried EMDR, your nervous system naturally turns on this side-to-side rhythm when you sleep, moving your eyes during deep REM cycles to help process memories and emotions (which sometimes involves dreaming). It also explains why walking (bilateral stimulation of the feet on the ground) while thinking about a problem can lead to clarity and new ideas or solutions. That means you’re already wired for it, and you can consciously bring the benefits of BLS into your waking life. Using it in your day-to-day is calming and can support your nervous system in better focus, emotional regulation, and creative flow.
Besides walking, the two-handed scribble is one of my favorite ways to use BLS as a creative warmup for the mind, body and spirit. It works especially well as a morning ritual. I imagine it could even support the integration of dream material.
Even though you’ve just done important work (aka your left and right brain just had a playdate), it’s completely okay if you don’t notice anything immediately after scribbling. This practice is not about immediate results. The paradox is that the shifts are sometimes imperceptible yet still powerful. It touches parts of the self that words sometimes can’t reach. You might also come back to this practice in moments of particularly intense emotion, when you’re feeling stuck, or you have a big decision to make.