Being in Nature Archives - Page 14 of 19 - Madhu Bazaz Wangu
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Being in Nature

You Are Never Too Old to Write

Posted on January 11, 2014
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As we grow older our writing process may slow down. Our short-term memory may not be as sharp. Spelling may elude us at times. But we are constantly aware if we want to complete a book of our dreams we must write daily. We cannot procrastinate. And when we finish a piece and see our work in print what an exhilarating experience that is! James Robinson, this month's guest writer shares his experience of starting to write rather late in life in his piece, "Defining Moments and Lesson Learnt." (See Writing & Meditation Page) You are never too old to start practicing mindful writing. Those moments when your heart is overflowing with feelings and thoughts simply bring out your notebook or laptop and begin. Write as long as you can keep...

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Another Mindful Writer

Posted on December 1, 2013
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It is my pleasure to post the mindful meditation and writing experience of yet another Mindful Writer, Eileen Enwright Hodgetts. She joined our Wednesday meetings more than a year ago. (Please see "Finding A Safe Place" on Writing and Meditation Page) Eileen says, 'as far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a writer.' When she worked part-time (1985 to 1999), Eileen wrote plays such as Titanic to All Ships, Phoebe and the Steel City Vampires, Whirlpool the Musical, For all the Saints and a number of one-act plays. As a playwright she won the Pittsburgh New Works Festival Award, and numerous national awards including Best New Play from Theatre Americana. The latter was awarded to her for Titanic to All Ships about the senate hearings into the...

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India: A Wonderful Weave

Posted on November 8, 2013
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It has been two weeks since I returned from my trip to India. Distance of a decade from the country of my birth made it possible for me to observe it as an outsider.  I wondered, was I born and brought up here? So I just looked and breathed it all in. Years of my previous experiences as a young woman resurfaced as I soaked in the sights, sounds, smells and local foods. I felt saturated with the sensuousness, consumed with warmth of the people, their love. The colors, the art, the music, the ethnic food bursting with flavors revived my senses, made me feel alive. So hard to describe the experience! The month divided itself into three segments. First, the research for my second novel in the villages of Deorala...

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Transmuting Tragedy

Posted on September 26, 2013
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Transmuting Tragedy Into Romance The day Gwyn Cready, our guest writer this month, joined the Mindful Writers Group, her poignant face and somber demeanor intrigued me. There was something about her that I felt connected to. What was it? Then last July at our one-on-one meeting, I asked her what inspired her to write romance novels. 'Death of my younger sister when I was 34,' Gwyn said. During our conversation, at certain moments, her eyes welled up. An outpouring of emotion, a floodgate of forgotten memories opened in my heart. A sorrow dormant within Gwyn stirred a latent emotion inside me. I too had lost my brother in my mid 30's. My 38 year-old-brother, my mother and my father passed away within eighteen months. Life seemed meaningless. Numbness enveloped me. When my sensation...

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A Month In India

Posted on September 19, 2013
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On the morning of 5th September 1987, as I was going through the card-catalogue of Hillman Library at the University of Pittsburgh, a friend (also a student of world religions) informed me that a young Rajasthani woman had committed Suttee in India. A day before, an eighteen-year old woman named Roop Kanwar had immolated herself on the pyre of her dead husband. The ritual was witnessed by thousands of townspeople.  Stunned and speechless, my lead laden legs felt cemented to the ground. At that frozen moment the seed of a book was planted in my mind. But the seed stayed dormant for decades. The incident continued to sear like a wound at the back of my mind. Yet I was not emotionally ready to write about it. All these years I trawled...

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Writing in Solitude; Writing with the Mindful Writers Group

Posted on July 6, 2013
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Until 2010, for twenty-five years I wrote alone in the solitude of my study. Every weekday my writer's voice emerged as I meditated, wrote in a journal and worked on my projects. The daily practice helped me overcome my fears, my internal critic and writer's blocks. I wrote for long hours, my writing improved and I was able to liberate my authentic voice from self-doubt. The practice resulted in Writing Meditation Method. I decided to share it with other writers.   In March 2011, I started the Mindful Writers Group. Lori M. Jones and four other writers joined me on this journey.  Once a week we wrote together. Since then, writing with others has enriched my experience of writing in more than one way. Over the last two and a half years...

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Summer Solstice Soiree

Posted on June 15, 2013
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Come and celebrate the summer solstice Soiree evening Friday, June 21, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at  Courtyard, 516-522 Allegheny River Boulevard, Oakmont, PA-15139, with the following authors: Kathleen Shoop* Meredith Mileti* Lori Jones* James Robinson, Jr.* Madhu B. Wangu* Bill Deasy SK McClafferty JD Wylde (*Mindful Writers)   In addition to meeting and greeting the authors you will have an opportunity to win one or more of the following raffle baskets on display: Mini-ipad Basket Coffee & Gift Card Basket Kid's summer fun/books basket Summer books basket   Don't miss this evening of meaningful conversations, music and literary gathering! See you there!   ...

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Chrysalis Becomes A Butterfly

Posted on May 30, 2013
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For the last several months, we have missed Meredith Mileti at our Wednesday Group meetings. She was unable to come because of her frequent commute from Pittsburgh to Florida to help nurse her dad: one week sitting beside her father in Boca Raton, next week standing by in her Pittsburgh home ready to get on a plane.  Sadly, her dad, Robert Mileti passed away peacefully on May 29, 2013. He was 81 years old. Meredith was by his side just as she had been throughout this journey, difficult for both of them.   Even at this trying time, Meredith kept her promise of writing a post for our website. (See "Go Dad Go" on Writing & Meditation page) Death of a parent is a time of deep sorrow. No matter how...

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Benefits of Daily Journaling

Posted on May 20, 2013
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Journaling is an integral part of the Writing Meditation Method that I practice daily. I prefer to write longhand for twenty to thirty minutes. When I write this way I feel a sense of self-exploration. Like digging deep within and excavating precious relics from underneath the surface. Sometimes I dig my outer life, sometimes my inner, and some other times both. I am my own research laboratory in search for not only my future writings but also my true Self.   Journaling helps me delve deep and excavate my self. I explore and in the process discover things that I did not know before. Thus each time I get to know myself a little better. My thinking clarifies. My attitude changes a notch. Unself-conscious writing is a way of self-exploration. Once...

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Writing Meditation Helps Surface Incubating Ideas

Posted on May 3, 2013
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Writing Meditation Method (WMM), the combined practice of meditation, journaling and writing, as I have said in several of my previous posts, helps mindful writers in two significant ways. One, it removes the debris of doubt, fear and anxiety that presses upon us without us even realizing it. Two, it helps surface new ideas that have been incubating in our minds. Daily practice of inhaling and exhaling with awareness clarifies mind and opens heart. Breathing with attention maximizes concentration and creates a treasured space within where writers go mentally to write at their designated place and appointed time. Meditation helps ideas float to the surface. From the time an idea strikes a writer to the time it is expressed in words, it slowly develops without any perceptible signs. The incubation time between...

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