Meditation Archives - Page 2 of 29 - Madhu Bazaz Wangu
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Meditation

Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Posted on June 22, 2026
in Flourishing, Imagination, Meditation, Nonverbal Activities, Oral Stories, Sharper Brain after Retirement
2 Comments

# 1 We have been told that our brain has “Left” hemisphere and “Right” hemisphere, and each one of us is either dominated by the “Right hemisphere” or the “Left”? However, the recent research using brain scanning technology has revealed that brain’s two hemispheres work together intricately. They are codependent.  It is still true that the right brain is more creative and artistic and the left more technical and logical. But the processing of reading, math and language is understood to take place in both hemispheres. And more importantly for us to know that regular meditation practice connects and coordinates the two hemispheres. And the more they connect the more optimally we perform on any given task. # 2 Oral world existed before writing was invented. Verbal thought lived in the inner contemplation and spoken language. Only...

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Thursday, 18 June, 2026

Posted on June 17, 2026
in #Nature Lover, Being in Nature, Flourishing, Travel, Walking
4 Comments

Dear Readers, Here are two poems for you to enjoy. The first one is about my struggle to paint the red Sedona mountains and the other is Valarie CoX's excellent humorous poem about "Cookie Thief." Grandeur Revealed (Sedona) 2021Charcoal lines on a blank canvas,trying to evoke the images that dazzled me once. How do I recapture? Flame-red sentinel against the azure expanse,twisted trees, majestic canyons,sculptor’s statues or creator’s carvings? Grandeur magnetizes but the dread cements.I soak the bristles with sunlight,so heavy it is ready to drip.Where do I begin?  Close your eyes and see. Under crystal blue domewooly sunSage-scented mesas rising like flames orange dusted pathways, terrifying gorges.Intoxicating heatwaves inebriating me. I stretch the neck of my lilliputian bodyand feel miniscule I view the colossal against the crystal dome. Thirsty canvass absorbs dripping strokes sublime and dreadful coalesce.I color the edges orange red, highlight with gold streaks. Grandeur reveals...

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Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Posted on June 15, 2026
in Flourishing, Last Quarter of Our Lives, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Nonverbal Activities, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Well Being
4 Comments

Scented Roses, Ashby Ponds, June 2026 A few notes on sleeping well from Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s book, Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age (2021). It is significant that we all know how to sleep better. Yes it is that important! Seven to nine hours of sleep, including the afternoon siesta is one of the most effective things we can do to reset our brain and body and increase quality life span. As we sleep the body replenishes itself. This affects every system, “From the brain to the heart, the immune system and all the inner workings of our metabolism. While we sleep the body heals tissues, strengthens memory and even sharpens brain.”Sufficient sleep keeps us attentive, sharp and creative. The brain has a “clean cycle” system for washing away metabolic...

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Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Posted on June 1, 2026
in #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Flourishing, Last Quarter of Our Lives, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Well Being
3 Comments

In-between, Ashby Ponds, 2026 Who doesn’t want to sharpen their mind at any time in their lives, especially during the final phase stage? We now know that the brain can be enriched, made faster, fitter and sharper at any age by practicing, that is doing something over and over again. We also know a sharper mind is more resilient which improves when we go through challenging experiences. Each day counts.  Body and brain are deeply connected. What is good for the body is good for the brain. Here are eight practices brain needs. You may be already exercising some of these. So one by one try to add the ones you are not: 1. Sleep for seven to nine hours a night2. Eat three nutritious meals a day3. Walk/Exercise four to five times...

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Thursday, May 28, 2028

Posted on May 30, 2026
in #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Awareness, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Sharper Brain after Retirement
1 Comment

In 2002, the first Tibetan yogi tested in Dr. Richard Davidson’s lab was Mingyur Rinpoche. The number of his lifetime meditation practice hours were 62,000. His qualities of endless patience and gentle kindness truly impressed the researchers and were useful during the long and exhausting tests and the mappings of his mind.   Mingyur had to lay down in absolute stillness. EEG tracked his brain’s electrical activity and fMRI mapped the active regions in minute details.  It takes considerably longer than a few minutes to settle the mind. But for Mingyur as soon as he began the meditation, there was a sudden huge burst of electrical activity on the computer monitors displaying the signals from his brain. Everyone assumed he had moved. But he had not moved an iota. These were jaw-dropping results.  After his...

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Tuesday, May 27, 2026

Posted on May 26, 2026
in #Authentic Self, #Neuroscience and Meditation, Flourishing, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Spirituality
2 Comments

Cherry Blossoms at Ashby Ponds Neuroplasticity is something our age group must celebrate. The fact that we can keep learning a new skill, experience new experiences and strengthen the neural pathways of our brain is a scientific discovery to rejoice. Resilient and sharp mind is not only for the younger people but also for people in their eighties and nineties.  Most of us in today’s world prefer our meditation practice easy and brief. Because of this we leave behind a lot from the world’s rich contemplative traditions. We morph the practice to user-friendly forms. To gain self-awareness, insights into the subtleties of consciousness and achieve lasting positive traits require dedication. In addition, ethical attitude and moral guidelines are crucial. What we abandon is ignored or forgotten. A strong motivation to practice for the...

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Thursday, May 21, 2026

Posted on May 20, 2026
in #Neuroscience and Meditation, #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Flourishing, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Spirituality
2 Comments

Yellow Rose, Ashby Ponds We’ve practiced variety of meditations including Loving-Kindness meditation, Full-Body Scan meditation and guided meditation. Different meditations train and develop different mental habits. At home you may practice any one of these. Whatever you practice will improve.  Mindfulness takes hold when we learn to concentrate on our inner self. We become aware of our sensations, emotions and thoughts. We become aware of our conscious self.  When we pay attention to the in-flow and the outflow of our breathing, it connects us to the present moment. The brain’s executive center, prefrontal cortex, located behind the forehead, gives us ability to anticipate the future, and recall the past. By thinking we let the stress hormones rise and worsen the experience of our physical and emotional pain.   Regarding this, Jon Kabat-Zinn the famed meditation...

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Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Posted on May 18, 2026
in #Neuroscience and Meditation, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Well Being
2 Comments

Ashby Ponds under Full Moon Neuroscientist Richard Davidson began his groundbreaking research with Tibetan monks in the early 2000s following a direct challenge from the Dalai Lama in the 1990s to apply scientific tools to study positive emotions. He is still actively conducting these studies today. The following notes are from his research detailed in the book, ALTERED TRAITS:  There are five main types of brainwaves that register on EEG (Electroencephalogram): Delta that occur during deep sleep; Theta during drowsiness; Alpha when we relax or are awake with eyes closed; Beta when we are alert, actively thinking or concentrating. Finally, Gamma, which are fastest brain waves that fire in harmony during moments of insight. To get some sense of how gamma rays feel, imagine biting into a ripe juicy sweet peach. Suddenly your senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and sound mesh into a single delectable experience. That’s...

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Tuesday, May 12 2026

Posted on May 12, 2026
in #Neuroscience and Meditation, Flourishing, Journaling, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds
2 Comments

Late Spring Roses at Ashby Ponds, May 2026 Did you know that an experience repeated over and over again changes and reshapes our brain? That’s what a ballerina or a pianist or an Olympic swimmer does. Practice. Practice. Practice. Brain rewires itself in response to anything that is practiced over and over again. This is called “neuroplasticity.” Such an experience expands parts of brain and leaves lingering neural marks on it.  Previously “neuroplasticity” was thought to occur only in children. In 1990’s intensive research showed that adult brain can also rewire itself. This finding challenged a long-standing dogma. The new discovery offered a scientific basis for how repeated training could create lasting mental traits in any field including contemplative practices such as meditation. The aim of our Meditation and Journaling Practice is to...

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Thursday, May 7, 2026

Posted on May 6, 2026
in #Stillness and Quietude, Attention and Awareness, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Sharper Brain after Retirement
4 Comments

Nancy Bishop, AP Resident, Watercolor, 2025 Practicing meditation frequently can produce pleasant states but real payoffs are lasting traits that result from practicing it diligently. Our character alters. Altered traits shape how we behave in our daily lives. The most compelling impact of meditation is not better health but a development of better nature. With years of practice it cultivates selflessness, equanimity, a loving presence, and compassion.  In 1987 the Dalai Lama organized meetings of leading scientists at Mind and Life Institute he has established in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India where he now lives. Its mission “to alleviate suffering and promote flourishing or utter wellness by integrating science with contemplative practices.” To debate, discuss and engage in serious research on meditation he brought together a community of like-minded scholars and scientists from...

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