Mindfulness and Mindful Medicine Worldwide

I've arrived in Nepal!

I have had some trouble accessing internet, so I apologize for the slow posts.

I wanted to take some time to tell you a little bit about the work I've begun in Nepal with Mindful Medicine Worldwide. I'll tell you more about the day-to-day life in the clinic next time.

The two buildings at the top of the hill are the Bhotechaur Hospital; my clinic is a room in the lower pink colored one, and I am staying in a room in the upper building with blue accents. I drink buffalo milk tea regularly at the building at the bottom of the hill!

Volunteers are carefully selected for this program. It is not enough to be willing to work in a rural foreign clinic with limited modern comforts in a busy clinic-- electricity and hot water are unreliable, and buildings are not heated-- but the organization wants volunteers with an open heart and as their name suggests, volunteers who are practice being Mindful.

Here's a picture of the inside of my clinic. Three beds; one normal sized and two narrow.

So what does it mean to practice Mindfulness? I've struggled a lot with defining this concept in words alone, as it is something you do (a verb!). It is being present in every moment, being fully alive rather than going on auto pilot. You can practice it in a myriad of different ways; meditation and tai ji are some ways that help me remain Mindful. Tai ji has the added benefit of aiding my physical health through exercise and alignment, but both practices help me to clear the busyness out of my head. I feel that it is important to clarify that sitting and standing meditation are not a means to an end, though; meditation is for the sake of meditation! Meditation is being totally present in the moment, with nothing else going on.

This is a picture of the entire town of Bhotechaur1 (Bhotechaur is actually spread out over 8 little farmtowns). You can see the Bhotechaur hospital at the top of the hill, and the Helambu Himalaya (possibly a little of the Lapsong region too) in the far background.

A quick fundraising update:

Currently I’ve raised approximately 75% of my volunteer related expenses! This has allowed me to pay most of my major expenses; airfare, vaccines and traveler's health insurance, but other expenses like herbs/supplements (prevent parasites and adjust to altitude changes), travel within Nepal, food, candles for when the power is cut, etc. are still underfunded. If you are financially able (or have friends who are), please consider making a donation to support the Mindful Medicine Worldwide and my work there! All donations are tax deductable as MMW is a non-profit organization.

You can make donations one of these 2 methods:

Mail a check (made out in my name) to:

114 Sausalito Dr.

East Amherst, NY 14051

Send via PayPal:

You can also scroll down to my first fundraising post to see a list of items you can purchase from Nepal!

Visit MMW’s website or continue following my blog for more information. I’ll be working in the Bhotechaur clinic, 1-2 hours outside Kathmandu.

Love and light,

Ece