GHOST BOY

Over my recent vacation I started reading Ghost Boy: The Miraculous Escape of a Misdiagnosed Boy Trapped Inside His Own Body which provides an autobiographical account of the experience of South African,  Martin Pistorius , who, at age 12, descends into a near-death coma. At 18, he re-awakens to the world  and, with the help of several caring and insightful helpers, re-discovers his life, his body and his place in the physical world. Instead of being frightening, as with books like Brain on Fire, this is an immensely uplifting, positive and inspiring tale, told simply by the man who lived and lives it. I strongly recommend the book.

At our last mindfulness practice we tried to recreate a ghost-boy experience. We sat completely unmoving, with eyes open. I instructed everyone to block out rather than reach deep into their physical experiences. As people did this, I moved about the room emulating a mildly disinterested care-giver, as Pistorius experienced repeatedly.
In the debrief, some found the experience re-affirmed the safety and richness of their mental space. Others grew impatient and annoyed with their bodies. Myself, as the caregiver, it brought an indifference to the presence of others, a tendency to view them as lumps of flesh, as Pistorius’ helpers often did.

in the Dharma,
Innen