Being in Nature

Mindful Writers are those who follow the discipline of Writing Meditation. (See Writing & Meditation Page) Almost every day they practice Writing Meditation. They may write in solitude but it is glorious and empowering to write in the company of other Writers. Gathered in one space, they seem like a group of islands engrossed in their own genre of creative writing so intense that they exude an aura that inspires and motivates. The absorption in their work radiates in the atmosphere as a sort of collective energy. The Writers begin with an intention to complete a draft, first or final, of their manuscript-fiction, non-fiction or collection of essay or stories-in nine-months. They have a definite goal that they divide into thirty-eight segments and make a commitment to stick to their schedule....

Mindful Writers’ Workshop

Posted on October 11, 2011

A scholar of Hindu and Buddhist Art and Asian Religions, Madhu B. Wangu Ph.D., returns to the Northland Public Library with a special four-week writing workshop for writers, of all levels, who wish to externalize emotions and ideas into verbal expressions. The four sessions will include Body, Heart, Mind and Writing Meditations respectively. Each session will start with a short lecture on Mindful Writing, a meditation session followed by two or more hours of writing. You will learn how to complete the first draft of your fiction or nonfiction manuscript, how to meditate, how to take pleasure in the writing process itself and how to eliminate frustration caused by writer's block. The discipline of Writing Meditation builds a creative flow that effects the process and enhances writer's expression, voice and style. Space...

Welcome to Mindful Writers Website!

Posted on September 25, 2011

Welcome Readers! Welcome Writers! Welcome All! ...

Website Name Change: Mindful-Writers.Com

Posted on August 29, 2011

Dear Readers, Those of you who have read Tao-te Ching, Dhammapada, Bhagavad Gita and Devi Gita on these web pages understand that nothing in life is permanent. So is with the websites! Thinking matures, ideas grow and change, experiences enrich and interests shift. For the last four years I have been holding meditation workshops and seminars for writers. They teach a meditation methodology to help writers hone their skills: sharpen their unique voice, deepen individual style and improve verbal precision. The response to these workshops has been very encouraging. The participants tell me that as a result of this practice their writing has improved and so has their life. They feel less conflicted and more confident. Inspired, I am currently recording a CD "Body, Heart and Mind Meditations for Mindful Writers,"...

Writing Meditation Practice and Mindful Writers Group

Posted on June 17, 2011

I have spent more than twenty years practicing meditation and writing. Many times, I experienced that the pleasure and peace I derived from meditation was similar to the enjoyment I felt while writing. I experimented with combining the two disciplines and discovered that when I was in a meditative mood, my body felt unclogged, my mind clear and heart softened. Grounding the three components (body, mind and heart) in meditation enabled me to get absorbed into my work more deeply. My writing flow increased, voice became more confident and style distinct. The feeling is amazing. I call this way of working, Writing Meditation. About four years ago, I mentioned this to a friend. She suggested that I share this "best kept secret" with others. On her advice, starting from...

Lessons Learnt IV: The Devi Gita

Posted on April 15, 2011

in Being in Nature, Reading

Lesson Learnt IV: The Devi Gita Out of the four scriptures we have read so far the Devi Gita, the Song of the Goddess, is comparatively difficult to understand. But underneath the rough surface of this ritualistic, repetitive, and somewhat esoteric oyster are hidden pearls of wisdom. The Devi's teachings provide intellectual understanding and insight about the deep human concerns, the matters that link an individuals to their true Self. The Devi Gita portrays the goddess as all compassing. In it the male as well as female aspects of the Ultimate Reality are authenticated. Terrible as well as benign aspects of the Ultimate Reality are recognized. No caste is discriminated against. The scripture teachaes that each and every human being is worthy of the goddess worship. The Devi announces that all...

Speaking and Writing Schedule

Posted on February 24, 2011

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Dear Readers, Below is my speaking and writing-with-other-writers schedule until June 2011. I look forward to seeing you at one or all of the following events. What has Writing to do with Meditation? A Three-Part Lecture Series: March 3, April 7 & May 5 This writing workshop teaches what it means to write meditatively and how to learn the discipline. Sponsored by Northland Public Library For further Information Call: 412-366-8100 Registration at: http://www.northlandlibrary.org Pennwriters Mindful Writers Group The goal of the Mindful Writers Group is to write with the whole self-mind, heart and body. Starting on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 the Mindful Writers will meet every Wednesday from 9:30 to 12:30 at Eat'nPark. Please join Mindful Writers Group Homepage on Yahoo.com. Writing Meditation: A Pennwriters Workshop A Writing Meditation Workshop will be presented at the Pennwriters Annual Conference. The conference will be...

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 17, 2011

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Dear Readers, Happy New Year! The festivities of November and December are over. The earth has gone dormant under white, silver and black. The trees are bare, the birds have stopped their chorus, puddles of grey grass peek through the melted snow and the sunlight is faint. Life has faded to a dreamlike state from where creative ideas emerge. Muses awake. There is hardly a better time to write. These days when I am in the thick of writing, warmth glows within that is beyond any ordinary emotion. Writing lulls me and draws me within. One of the many treasures of my life as a writer (and meditator) is being steeped in silence and solitude during winter months -- away from noise and fast paced life. Through unhurried writing and sitting, I...

The Devi Gita: Introduction

Posted on October 8, 2010

in Being in Nature, Reading

THE DEVI GITA Song of the Goddess The Devi Gita (Song of the Goddess) is an important fifteenth century text from the goddess tradition (Shakta) of India. The scripture has ten chapters that form a section of a much larger work, Devi-Bhagavata Purana. The Purana itself may have been composed as early as the twelfth century to which the Devi Gita was inserted at a later date. It depicts the Goddess as the benevolent World-Mother. In the Purana she is less of a warrior goddess, as she is in some previous textual examples, and more a nurturer and comforter of her devotees and a teacher of wisdom. This development in her character culminates in the Devi Gita. The author of the Devi Gita is indebted to the Bhagavad Gita for many of...

Lessons Learnt III: The Bhagavad Gita

Posted on September 17, 2010

in Being in Nature, Reading