Mad for Madison! Notes about my second round of brain therapy.

Last week, I was in Madison, Wisconsin, again for further brain therapy, and while the results weren't as dramatic as round one, that was only because I started this second round much better off.

To read about the therapy I received, just go here, which is a link to an old post about my first visit to Madison.

Round Two was different from Round One in that I focused more on my mental processes rather than my balance. What I mean by this, is that, at the urging of Mitch -- the scientist who was helping me and who had the initial idea for the therapy -- I put forth a lot of effort at becoming more body-aware during the therapy. The theory is that by being more aware of how my feet feel, my legs, my hands, etc., I will strengthen the connections to those areas, connections weakened by my fall. Sadly, this means no more visualizing playing my guitar during my home therapy sessions. But hey, if it's the right thing to do, I am all for it!

All this talk and practice of mind/body techniques got me very interested in furthering my ability to meditate. To that end, I bought a book called "Wherever You Go, There You Are", but I also called J, a friend of my dad's and long-time practitioner of meditation to ask him about his technique. J was super cool and very helpful. But, unfortunately, I won't be able to use J's technique while using my Brainport, because he said that trying to balance while meditating is too much. Balance is a rational problem your brain tries to solve, and true meditation is quieting the rational, problem-solving side of the brain, so the two just wouldn't go together. Per J's advice, I will be meditating for 20 minutes a day, every day, in addition to my two 20-minute Brainport sessions. I'm gonna be a Master, no? Hope so.

Tragically, I will have to start my meditation practice tomorrow instead of today, because I woke up with a migraine. Argh.

By the way, I posted pics of Madison trips and my trip to Vancouver to get my Brainport. Please click on the Faux Toes link above (in the nav bar) to see them.