I rushed into the temple a few minutes before a meditation and I stopped suddenly in front of a Red Cross sign. They had a blood draw in the basement. “I have healthy blood!” I told myself. I went downstairs, feeling so good about donating clean blood, nurtured with beets and a lot of veggies and beans high in iron. I went through the endless examinations with all those personal questions, and then they tested my hemoglobin: 13.4! My eyes brightened with the though of showing off my healthy stats on Facebook along with the pretty picture, fueled with likes! So I put on some make up, grabbed my Android and *click*… Until they tested my blood pressure: 89/58. The technician stared at the numbers while my lips wrinkled like a little sun-dried tomato. He took the blood pressure again: the same numbers. One more strike and I’d be out. “Will it help if I run around the building?” He laughed; it was funny and sad at the same time. I knew their reserves ran dry frequently. I wanted to help another human being, but I also wanted my picture on FB! Finally, third time’s a charm and the numbers were enough to donate blood. Yay!… Until they pinched my right arm, and the technician couldn’t find my vein. He guided the needle, tried to catch an elusive blood stream, and called another employee who decided to pinch my left arm. There was a trickle of blood! And then it stopped. I couldn’t donate though I really wanted to. I wonder what would have happened if I had the intention of donating because someone else needed it, not because I wanted my pretty picture on FB. My Beloved life teaches me: shallow help equals conceit.
(Scroll down for English version)
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Biografía en español ❦
Mi nombre es Yaisha Vargas-Pérez y soy maestra y mentora de mindfulness certificada por el Greater Good Science Center de la Universidad de California en Berkeley en asociación con Sounds True (Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program MMTCP 2017-2019). El programa está dirigido por Jack Kornfield y Tara Brach. También recibí una certificación profesional (CMT-P) de la Asociación Internacional de Profesores de Mindfulness (IMTA) y completé el programa Mindfulness Mentor Training (MMT 2022), dirigido por Kornfield y Brach, a través de la plataforma Cloud Sangha. Actualmente soy estudiante del programa de capellanía ecológica Buddhist Eco-Chaplaincy Program (BEC) del Sati Center for Buddhist Studies en California. El programa está dirigido por Gil Fronsdal, Susie Harrington, Kirsten Rudestam y Ram Appalaraju. Enseño mindfulness en Sagrado Global y el Centro Sofía, ambos en la Universidad del Sagrado Corazón en Puerto Rico. También facilito un grupo de mindfulness comunitario por Zoom. Para ver mi biografía completa, visita www.yaishavargas.com
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❦ Bio in English ❦
My name is Yaisha Vargas-Pérez and I am a mindfulness teacher and mentor certified by the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley in association with Sounds True (Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program MMTCP 2017-2019). The program is directed by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. I also received a professional certification (CMT-P) from the International Mindfulness Teachers Association (IMTA) and completed the Mindfulness Mentor Training (MMT 2022) program, led by Kornfield and Brach, through the Cloud Sangha platform. I am currently a student in the Buddhist Eco-Chaplaincy Program (BEC) at the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies in California. The program is directed by Gil Fronsdal, Susie Harrington, Kirsten Rudestam and Ram Appalaraju. I teach mindfulness at Sagrado Global and Centro Sofía, both at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico. I also facilitate a community mindfulness group via Zoom. To see my full biography, please visit www.yaishavargas.com
View all posts by Yaisha Vargas-Pérez
*click*… Until they tested my blood pressure: 89/58. The technician stared at the numbers while my lips wrinkled like a little sun-dried tomato. He took the blood pressure again: the same numbers. One more strike and I’d be out. “Will it help if I run around the building?” He laughed; it was funny and sad at the same time. I knew their reserves ran dry frequently. I wanted to help another human being, but I also wanted my picture on FB! Finally, third time’s a charm and the numbers were enough to donate blood. Yay!… Until they pinched my right arm, and the technician couldn’t find my vein. He guided the needle, tried to catch an elusive blood stream, and called another employee who decided to pinch my left arm. There was a trickle of blood! And then it stopped. I couldn’t donate though I really wanted to. I wonder what would have happened if I had the intention of donating because someone else needed it, not because I wanted my pretty picture on FB. My Beloved life teaches me: shallow help equals conceit.
A Mystic Writer 