Blog | Mindfulness, Meditation, Journaling & Walking in Nature
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Writings and Readings Blog

Madhu Bazaz Wangu

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Posted on August 18, 2025
in Spirituality, Travel
8 Comments

Lewis and Clark Trail (1804-1806) Lewis and Clark Journey Continues . . . Having left the east coast on May 14, 1804, Lewis and Clark glided into the northern side of the mouth of the Columbia River in dugout canoes in early November 1805. With starved looks, tattered clothes rotting on their bodies, and disheveled hair, they neither had the energy nor wherewithal to moor. Clark named the spot Dismal Nitch. Dismal Nitch A group of local Indians arrived in elegantly carved and painted canoes, communicating with a few words of English they had learned from fur traders. The captains Lewis and Clark had intended to meet the last trading ship of the season on the Pacific to obtain badly needed supplies and send back journals and specimens of plants and...

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Thursday, August 14, 2025

Posted on August 13, 2025
in Being in Nature, Mindfulness and Travealing, Travel
2 Comments

Having left the east coast on May 14, 1804, Lewis and Clark glided into the northern side of the mouth of the Columbia River in dugout canoes in early November 1805. With starved looks, tattered clothes rotting on their bodies, and disheveled hair, they neither had the energy nor wherewithal to moor. Clark named the spot Dismal Nitch. A group of local Indians arrived in elegantly carved and painted canoes, communicating with a few words of English they had learned from fur traders. The captains Lewis and Clark had intended to meet the last trading ship of the season on the Pacific to obtain badly needed supplies and send back journals and specimens of plants and animals to President Jefferson. But a severe winter storm prevented this. This is “the most...

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Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Posted on August 11, 2025
in Being in Nature, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Mindfulness and Travealing, Travel, Well Being
2 Comments

While trekking in Sedona, my fleeting thoughts subsided amidst the fiery, awesome, sacred red rock mountains. That other worldly breathtaking natural beauty seemed to have sacred power and spiritual significance. I breathed in the sage-scented mesas and walked on orange-dusted pathways. The sun scorched my skin and frequently made me close my eyes. My deeper Self awakened to coalesce with the Universe. The magnificent Cathedral and Bell Rocks mesmerized… thecliffs, mesas, and fringes of juniper forests set against searing blue sky was singularly impressive. Taking our fill we continued our journey toward Grand Canyon, arriving at our cottage late at night. Next morning we rose early and realized that the cottage was only a few hundred feet from the view of the Grand Canyon. Hot cups of coffee warmed our hands as we took satisfying...

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Thursday, August 7, 2025

Posted on August 6, 2025
in Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Nonverbal Activities, Travel
2 Comments

Tracking back a little. From the Portland airport we took a cab to Red Lion Hotel on Jantzen Beach in Hayden Island, Oregon. The eastern sky threatened with thunderclouds, pouring down with vengeance, while the western sky welcomed us with dazzling sunlight.  Our hotel balcony overlooked the Columbia River, partly hidden behind pine trees. Was it the same river upon which sailed Louis and Clark with their crew? I couldn’t believe my fortune! The next morning I saw our boat, “American Harmony,” docked right next to the pines! Under the early morning sunlight the air was fresh. We walked on a trail that ran parallel to the river. Cumulus clouds announced themselves against the bright blue sky with such confidence that I straightened my shoulders. The riverside of the trail was studded...

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Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Posted on August 4, 2025
in Journaling, Nonverbal Activities, Oral Stories, Reading, Travel
4 Comments

For Month 8 “Mindfulness and Travel, I’ll share the story of how the country to which I arrived as an immigrant in 1974 became my home. A trip with my husband tracing the last leg of Lewis and Clark’s Expedition from the east to the west coast was an adventure of a lifetime for both of us, especially for me.  After reading two hefty volumes, Undaunted Courage and Journals of Lewis and Clark I was “called” to go on the same journey. My husband and I took a flight from Pittsburgh, PA to Portland, Oregon. From there we embarked on a boat that carried us upon the waters of the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The third American President, Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) had envisioned an expedition that would boldly navigate the heart and the west of the country,...

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Thursday, July 31, 2025

Posted on July 30, 2025
in Spirituality, Walking
4 Comments

For Mary Oliver, a Pulitzer-prize winning American poet, “the door to the woods (was) the door to the temple.”  Walking in the woods helps us understand ourselves and improve our lives in ways you didn’t yet know we could. A moment on our mindful walk may turn into a portal to a creative activity, an insight or an intuitive idea. We just need to pay attention to things you normally may ignore or think that they are not of our interest. Original ideas flow in when our body is busy moving and we are quiet. We may get lost in thought. When that happens, as you now know, bring your attention back to your breath and ask why, how, what, and when about the days at this stage of your life....

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Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Posted on July 28, 2025
in Mindfulness and Travealing
4 Comments

Traveling within the country or internationally is supposed to open the closed windows of our mind. As seekers on spiritual path we need clear mind and open heart to see, connect and understand the people different from us.  When we travel Our vision becomes more expansive, our lives are enriched, and new connections make us realize that the divine gem in the lotus of our heart is in each and every human being—irrespective of their race, religion, color or gender. I’ve had numerous such experiences that I’ll share with you in the Month 8, “Mindfulness and Travel.” Here’s one: I occasionally accompanied my husband on business trips. A bit nervous about walking alone around in a new city, I would stay back to write. But the thought of adventuring on foot would...

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Thursday, July 24, 2025

Posted on July 23, 2025
in Nonverbal Activities, Travel, Walking
1 Comment

Only a few astronauts have actually walked on the moon. But our fictional heroes have traveled through space like no body’s business. Here’s Captain James T. Kirk from TV show, Star Trek. “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”  Quite different from what the real astronauts said when they walked on the surface of the moon on which no one had walked before. But each one of these utterances resonate with the same exhilaration for exploration. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” declared American astronaut Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969, when he put his left foot...

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Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Posted on July 21, 2025
in Meditation, Walking
4 Comments

What happens after the first five to fifteen minutes of a silent walk? Thoughts settle. Mind relaxes. Senses sharpen.  Depending on the season, we may see green everywhere with variegated bushes and myriad scents. Birds in the trees calling our attention. We may notice fungi protruding from the base of a tree trunk. Or we may see a landscape blanketed with white. We hear nothing. Smell nothing. Just the shimmering reflection of sunrays on fresh ice and icicles. We are enraptured by contrasting lifeforms: plants, insects, birds. Cactus in Moonlight, Oil on Canvas, Madhu B. Do you walk in deep winter months when snow has fallen and your neighborhood looks like a fairytale setting? When the leafless trees lining the roadside are frozen with transparent covering and reach through the blue air...

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Thursday, July 17, 2025

Posted on July 16, 2025
in Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Originality, Spirituality, Walking
4 Comments

“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than one seeks.” John Muir Walking mindfully in wooded spaces is a pleasure and necessity for mental and physical wellbeing. However, you may not find wilderness close to where you live, because it would mean an uncultivated tract of land, deep and dense with majestic trees and undergrowth, uninhabited by humans, inhabited by forest critters and blessed with solitude. I do not suggest trekking through unfamiliar woods alone. Ask a friend to accompany you. My husband and I used to explore new treks together. The appeal of adventure midst the grandeur of towering trees and charm of ferny undergrowth was tantalizing. The great variety of flora growing without human intervention energized us, as did the vibrant colors, nature sounds, and refreshing scents. Watercolor...

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