Be in the here & now. That is what my mentor, Dr. Lilian Cheung and Thay (Thich Nhat Hanh ((the venerated monk))) who co-authored Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life), taught me to practice.
At the Sanctuary mindfulness retreat too, alongside yoga & meditation, attendees practiced mindfulness consistently, via embedding it into our actions, meditating, practicing yoga mindfully & growing and preparing our own vegetarian food. We ate that food mindfully as well.
I practiced mindfulness prolifically, while living in sanFrancisco & writing for the Savor website too. Clearly, I had ample interest in practicing mindfulness before incurring the critical TBI. A pinnacle example of my interest is offered my attendance of the mindfulness Sanctuary (at which we practiced mindfulness consistently. The Sanctuary is where I was when my horrific car accident took place). My critical TBI & working with the resulting profuse injuries (relearning = re-wire my brain to work around broken has necessitated paying intense & singular attention.
When I was forced to relearn all, due to having a complete lack of memory of how to do anything…my full attention was & is still (although certainly less-so now. Thank goodness!) needed. Imagine boping from 1 thing to another, (which my TBI promotes) and not remembering (also a symptom of my critical TBI) why exactly you relocated yourself to this other room…I imagine you may be able to relate: You relocate to another room to obtain something, but once there, completely misplace the memory of what it was you were seeking. Sound familiar? This example is very common and therefore easily shrugged off BUT imagine this happening to you multiple times a day, each day & forgetting necessary possessions when traveling (this drives my comrades & parents bonkers!). This forgetfulness at times provokes me relocating to the store, but low-and-behold, once there, at times I forget what it was I intended to buy! This has been my life for the last 8 years…Frustration mounts & mounts!
This is where mindfulness enters (stage right:) to save my spirit, remind me to forgive myself and ALWAYS remain present & joyfully patient. Though the end of my recovery, remains unforeseen, progression continues to lessen my trials substantially. Say it with me: presence, Joyfulness, patience! Not easily done consistently (especially the joyful part) but needed!