Journaling Archives - Madhu Bazaz Wangu
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Journaling

Tuesday, December 6, 2026

Posted on January 6, 2026
in Journaling
4 Comments

The cave you fear to enter may hold the light you seek.”—Rumi Have you ever closed your eyes and entered an imaginary shrine within? You say, what shrine? So you haven’t. I’ll teach you how to build one. Begin by imagining a space preferably in your heart. Make it a habit to go in there every morning and ask Who am I truly? Once created it will reflect a cozy and comfortable corner in your home. This is your spiritual power spot where you will meditate upon and journal whatsoever is on your heart and mind. Meditating and journaling are two of the five disciplines that makes Writing Meditation Practice. The other three are Reading, Walking, and Creative Activity you enjoy doing. The purpose of this practice is to connect with your Authentic Self. Once...

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Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2026
in Journaling
5 Comments

Happy New Year to You All from Our and Our Daughters' Homes!Here are three auspicious platters for you to view and welcome 2026. On New Year’s Eve, Kashmiri families prepare an auspicious platter, thaal to welcome the New Year. The early morning of January 1, the mother of the family carries the thaal to each slumbering family member’s bed so that they can carefully view each item on the platter the first thing and awaken to the day. They look at the bowls of milk and yogurt, sugar and salt, fresh and dry fruit and flowers, and a meaningful book, a notebook, a writing tool, gold/money and a mirror. The items are placed over uncooked rice. Other items may include hot chili, pods of tamarind or similar items. At the end of the day each...

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Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Posted on December 30, 2025
in Creativity, Journaling, Meditation, Spirituality
4 Comments

Nothing spiritually wonderous happened to me until my early fifties. Living with love of my life and our two beautiful and bright daughters, and a decade of teaching behind me I still felt something significant missing in my life. But I did not know what it was. The more I read and wrote, the more yearning I felt for the unknown. What was I searching for that felt absolutely real, true, deeper?  I had discovered that at the core of major world religions is the lesson that to live a life of awareness, joy and contentment is to live simply and fully. A whole life, a holy life. The lesson seemed simple but was difficult to cultivate. Eventually, with enlightened audacity I developed a regimen of five practices with which you...

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Thursday, December 18, 2025

Posted on December 17, 2025
in Creativity, Journaling, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Nonverbal Activities, Reading, Spirituality, Walking
4 Comments

The final month of our arduous yet calm and creativity stimulating, mind clarifying, heart-warming year-long journey has arrived. I hope the year provided you perspectives on every significant aspect of your life: physical, intellectual, creative, and spiritual. That it underlined how fundamental sitting in stillness, spontaneous writing, walking, reading and creating help you make a strong bond with yourself and strengthen emotional bonds with family and friends. You have almost finished reading, Unblock Your Creative Flow. This was the first rough look or the clearer second read. Starting from the New Year we’ll begin once again to explore the gift of each day as it unfurls, partly as we plan it and partly to let the universe lead us. With pure intentions, determination, patience, make certain that the combined habits of meditation, journaling, reading,...

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Tuesday, 16 December 2025

Posted on December 15, 2025
in Creativity, Journaling, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Reading, Walking
6 Comments

Meditation, journaling, walking and creative practices are built one day at a time. We come out of the fog of living in the past and see how we are now and could become in the future. We move closer to our true self, witnessing ourselves in meditation, noticing our strengths, and discovering things we can improve while pouring out our thoughts and emotions in our journal.  You’ve come a long way at your own speed. And you continue to mindfully pace your creative and spiritual path. Think about the goals you have reached this year. Thanks to your practice, you are kinder to yourself, compassionate with others, and more forgiving, generous and filled with gratitude. Look around you, take a few deep breaths and be thankful for being HERE NOW. You have...

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Thursday, December 4, 2025

Posted on December 3, 2025
in Creativity, Journaling, Meditation, Nonverbal Activities, Writing
4 Comments

Our daughter, Zoon's Indoor Plants Writing Meditation Practice has five disciplines. Here are the taglines for each. Meditation: Align with the universe Journaling: Lighter mind, kinder heart Reading: Author as revered teacher Nonverbal activities: Letting imagination go wildCreativity: Get into the zone Writing Meditation Practice is painstakingly slow but measurable. Progress is not a straight line. But in meditation and journaling the practitioner feels it. You watch yourself changing from mindless to mindful with increased self-understanding. In turn, self-understanding increases self-compassion and kindness toward others. No outsider could or is keeping score of your inner self. With a year of practice you notice personal insecurities and fears slowly alleviate. You feel the cacophony of thoughts settling down, the physical discomfort changing to a relaxed body, and an indifferent heartmind turning kind and wise. You stop judging yourself and learn to live...

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Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Posted on November 3, 2025
in Journaling, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Old Age and Death, Spirituality
4 Comments

Death is inevitable then why am I here? For what purpose? What awaits me after death? Throughout our lives, behind all the business of growing old there is a mild restlessness. Yet, all are not fortunate to watch themselves grow old and enjoy the final decade or two of the final phases of our lives.  We slow down. We learn to spend time in silence and solitude. We meditate and journal to turn our deep desires inwards. And we discover that the source of meaning and fulfillment is right within us. We discover that we all have the same essence, the same awareness, the same Authentic Self deep in our consciousness.  One of the most important questions we ask is, what is my legacy? What would I leave behind? How may I contribute? A...

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Thursday, October 23, 2025

Posted on October 22, 2025
in Journaling, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Nonverbal Activities, Writing
4 Comments

We all have had experiences of writing alone at home behind closed door, writing with a fellow writer, writing with a group of writers on weekly basis and writing at retreats. These are different experiences. For some writing alone the first thing in the morning or last thing at night in the silence of their study is the most productive way to write. For some others a gentle beginning with a short meditation and/or journaling session inspires them to write for hours.  What helps my flow start and continue for hours is to practice meditation, deep reading, and journaling in the morning. Then, working on my “formal” writing flows like a waterfall. (For decades, I journaled daily. But at some point I had nothing to pour out on the pages of...

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Thursday, October 9, 2025

Posted on October 8, 2025
in #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Journaling, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Spirituality
2 Comments

When I began my spiritual journey, I knew intellectually what I wanted but emotionally I had no clue. I did not know if I would arrive and where. Yet, I was willing to surrender and walk on the path to the great unknown. Midst running a happy household with two daughters and husband I was struggling, first as an artist and then as a writer. My quest was for something beyond being a mother, wife, artist. The thought, “Is this all there is?” loomed large at the back of my mind.  Somehow I ended up learning to meditate. While learning the practice, I learned that the reason you sit still in silence and solitude is because the novice practitioner is like a jar of river water, all shaken up. The requirement...

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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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