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Writings and Readings Blog

Madhu Bazaz Wangu

Chance Meetings: Front Cover

It is my pleasure to share the front cover of my debut collection of stories, CHANCE MEETINGS to be released in December 2014 - January 2015 Part of Back Cover Text: In this collection of stories, twelve different people from different walks of life discover how one chance meeting with a stranger can change a person forever. Drawing from her own Indian-American heritage, Madhu Bazaz Wangu examines the lives of ordinary people facing challenging circumstances—cruelty, prejudiced minds, twisted family relationships, unhappy marriages—and demonstrates how these situations transcend ethnicity and background as interactions with strangers force each character to look deep within themselves, often acknowledging painful truths and long-held secrets, in order to seize control of their own destinies and forge their own paths to independence and happiness. In this eloquent debut collection, Madhu Bazaz...

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Poems for Mindful Writers #13, 14, 15, 16 & 17

MIRROR Surface of pond is agitated. Wall stationary. Why can’t I see my reflection on the stable? DOOR Don’t want to walk through it. I look at it and wonder, What is on the other side? SURFACE OF A POOL No longer agitated. Yet, I can’t see clearly. What am I searching for? REFLECTION Is this who I am? Is this the way world sees me? Do I know who I really am? TRUE SELF Mirror, Wall, Surface of the Pool-- Reflections are without. Authentic Self within. ...

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Poems for Mindful Writers # 10, 11 & 12

Hi All,The three poems posted here are from a set of five (# 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12) which I have composed to inspire mindful writers and readers. I wrote these poems especially for those individuals for whom writing mindfully is not only to progress in their professional writing but also a way of elevating their personal lives by a conscious endeavor.  Working as a professional artist for more than a decade I painted beautiful landscapes and impressive portraits. (I can say that because I no longer paint. When I look at those works hanging on the walls of other people's living rooms, I am detached; I feel as if someone else has painted them.) Since then I have realized that elevating my life is far more challenging and gratifying than creating a work of art. The best discovery I've made is that in practicing Writing Meditation...

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Poems for Mindful Writers: # 8 & # 9

  Poem # 8Simply WriteSimply write!Do not speak of writing.Do not speak of publishing.Do not speak of other people’s writing.Sit still in silence and solitude.When body, heart and mind are one,When your senses have moved inward,Let the stream flow.Unravel your knots in spontaneous words.Other writer’s success or failure does not affect you.Profit or loss does not touch you.Praise or criticism does not ruffle you.Derive pleasure solely from writing.Experience the bliss.And simply write!  Poem # 2Door of OpportunityA careless critique from a fellow writer? Return her’s with honest comments.“Here” she hands you the draft. “I have pointed out your weaknesses.”Show her where her strengths lay.She grabs the opportunity that was rightfully yours,Congratulate her on her success.By critiquing honestly,By learning from your own strengths and skills,By preparing through tough circumstances,Attain the strength no one...

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Endless Love #6 and A Prayer for Peace #7

Dear Mindful Readers and Writers,The Mindful Writers Wisdom Weekend Retreat is approaching fast. So far twenty-three writers have reserved their spots. Registration is still open. If you are interested please feel free to write to me at madhu.wangu@me.com.  or visit the retreat Facebook Page: Mindful Writers Retreat 2014.  Here are two new pieces, a poem and a hymn, for you to enjoy.I look forward to your comments.   ENDLESS LOVE  The evening star.Lovers in a tryst.Forbidden Endless Love The evening star.Stars in a galaxy.Galaxy within galaxies. Unceasing rousing inward.Unfathomable exploding outward.Blossoming, Constricting Whence it comes?Whence it goes?  A PRAYER FOR PEACE My body still in silence and solitude.May the tumult within me cease.May I feel as calm as sea after the storm.My heart free from attractions.My mind free from distractions.Silence in my ears.Silence on my forehead.Silence in my eyes.Silence on my lips.Silence in...

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A TOOTH FELL # 4; WHO AM I? # 5

A Tooth FellPoem #4 A tooth fell…A milk tooth from a five year old. A tooth cracked…A hollow tooth from an eighty-five year old. The first one blossoming to life,The second withering away from it. The first one learning about the elements.The second merging back into them. A fender falls here, a tire there. The one who identifies only with the body,disintegrates like an old car. Become self-aware; identify with consciousness.And merge back into Consciousness.  *****   Who Am I?Poem # 5  Who am I?  By paying attention to one personal thoughtI come to know all my thoughts.   By attending to one honest feelingI come to experience what flows within me.  By doing one genuine act, uttering one truthI know what my actions are aimed at. I make invisible, visible.  By attending withinI get to know my authentic Self. That’s who I really am!...

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Two Poems

  One March Morning Outside my window this morning, I heard a red robin sing.  Did I see the song?Did I smell the song?Did I taste the song?Did I touch the song? I wore the red song.Spread my wings, andsoared the sky. I saw the seas and the land,against the blue sky.I saw the fragile earth. Back on the firm ground.I felt “more than” a woman—a human.   Writing Pleasure Simply write!Do not speak of writing.Do not speak of publishing.Do not speak of other people’s writing.  Read ravenously, voraciously.Unravel your knots in spontaneous words.Move your senses inwards by sitting still.When body, heart and mind are one,flow streams smoothly.  Other writer’s success or failure does not affect you.Profit or loss does not touch you.Praise or criticism does not ruffle you. Derive pleasure solely from writing.Feel admired and honored by the Self.Write, simply write!...

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Inspiration and Stillness

Dear Readers, My illness though banal left me in no mood or strength to post New Year Greetings. So today, please let me wish you a belated Happy New Year! The months of January and February passed by in a flash. I was neither quite sick nor wholly well. Watery eyes. Runny nose. Dripping fluids weakened my sense, made my thought process incoherent No fever. But the dry cough refused to leave me until the end of the second month. After four weeks of cough syrups, nose spray, cold tablets and inhaling steam three times a day I got my normal health back. But looking back I would rather not complain about two months of common cold. Many things were revealed to me during my illness that I could not have envisioned in health. (Except...

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DEFINING MOMENTS & LESSONS LEARNT by James Robinson

A number of defining moments have shaped my life such as my marriage, the births of my children and grandchildren. Equally important are the defining moments of my writing life. The moments that "I chose (this path) and that's what's made all the difference." (Robert Frost) One such moment happened when-after our family's annual trek to Hilton Head Island in 1994. I promised myself to begin writing in earnest. I began by writing about mid-life. I had a lot to write about. My body, at the tender age of 40, was starting to betray me. My buttocks sagged. My favorite pair of jeans became ill fitting overnight and so on. I had a book's worth of material. I tentatively titled the book Fighting Mr. Gravity. Pretty silly, right? I queried to agents...

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