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Monday, June 20, 2011

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Time ran short last Saturday, rather we got to practice mindfulness right then and there, so it of course was PERFECT.  It was the Brainstormers II group at Legacy Emanuel in Portland.
Gold Mind Meditation Project
(Benefits for fellow head-injury survivors)         

Head-injury is an invisible disability, not easily seen from the outside like a wheelchair or crutches. However, it’s still a disability known profoundly from inside, different for each person. Gold Mind Meditation Project has the purpose of helping you transform your relationship with this changing condition.

I speak from personal experience.  Returning to college years ago, I was involved in a serious car accident. I got facial laceration and a skull fracture, was in a coma and Jaws-of-Life were required to free me from the vehicle. When I came to I had amnesia, diplopia (double-vision), and TBI (traumatic brain injury). In a short instant I was not who I used to be.  My life was forever changed.

Since that time I have lived with the challenges of TBI.  I struggled to complete my university degree and to get on with my life. I was cloudy and very unsure of what I could be or do. Within a few years I experienced frustrating failure in the loss of several jobs before learning that this was the result of my TBI.

TBI has often been misdiagnosed and thus poorly treated. In top-of-the line and expensive rehabilitation programs I was taught 'compensatory coping strategies' for the 'cognitive deficits' of my brain injury. These strategies were well-intended rehab but fell short of addressing my inner well being.  They didn't work for me,
I had to learn the necessary inner transformation for myself.  I had to learn to sift gold from the gravel of my life experience in order to find meaning and a purpose for myself.
  
Knowing the devastation of this condition from the inside, I wish to share what I've found to be a powerful healing benefit for me, and possibly for you. I’ve learned mindfulness meditation practice (Insight Meditation).  Learning this long-term practice can enhance your life, with satisfaction and way more ease and smiles. Really! There is light at the end of this tunnel for each survivor.

Regular meditation practice has helped me be clear-eyed and mindful, capable of sustained attention, with this presence I can accept and gently hold whatever moods arise in my consciousness.  This training is intended to relieve suffering and dissatisfaction, freeing the mind of illusions. It can ground us in a sense of dignified inner wellness, and peace beyond the damage of TBI.

With this practice you can develop a new skill and learn exactly what is most needed to enhance your life. Mindfulness practice can lead to brain healing (neuroplasticity).  I am now choosing to live my life intentionally and more skillfully, making peace with this malady and finding healing. You can too.
This is the start of a new path!


GOLD MIND MEDITATION PROJECT http://hadwalmer-goldmind.blogspot.com/
Had C. Walmer        hwalmer@gmail.com      (503) 332-3046