Practical life tips

There are a subset of us who have the impression that our memories are infallible, or at least are high-functioning and reliable. This is an illusion - we only remember things we remember, and forget what we forget!

This illusion was broken for me when I realised I was forgetting things that were deeply practical for me at that point in time. That's why I'm writing this post, as a note to my future self.

Healing Eczema Wounds

I can't believe this wasn't top of mind for me, given how persistent my eczema wounds are, and how much inconvenience they caused me. I had a very serious bout for close to 3 months, with oozing pus and all, and was alleviated only be steroidal cream. Subsequently, it flared now and then, which I tamped down with steroids. I know it was unsustainable, as my skin will develop tolerance to the steroids. Indeed, after a good year or so, the cream became less effective, and my skin was appearing thinner. I was searching for a more natural way of curing it, and hit upon it.

• Keep the wound dry and breathable, don't touch it, and let it heal after a few days

That's it. So simple. The tricky bit is that I usually have these wounds on my feet, and even sock wearing can keep it festering, so it's a good few days that I'd need to stay at home barefoot.

Getting out of a mental fog, especially during meditation

Recently, I was back in a meditation fog, where my mind wasn't exactly racing, but it wasn't at peace either. It stays for a few moments, then either latched on to a thought before I could catch it, or falls into dullness. Then I recall just a few 2 weeks ago, my meditation was going strong, where I felt light, and my body disappeared. Here are a few tips I deployed

• Be aware that I'm slipping away from the present
• Deeply welcome all sensations, even the painful ones; immediately, all forms of feelings and sensations will be opened - I'd been subconsciously blocking them out to avoid feeling them, and usually, this is accompanied by all sorts of pleasure-seeking behaviours to distract myself from them
• Alongside that deep welcoming, constantly sharpen my awareness of the present moment. This gets smudged around the edges, so I'll have to keep polishing it, pushing my awareness of the moment up an asymptote.