Online Mindful Writers Group Archives - Page 2 of 5 - Madhu Bazaz Wangu
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Online Mindful Writers Group

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 15, 2025

Posted on July 14, 2025
in Journaling, Nonverbal Activities, Travel, Walking
4 Comments

My husband and I started traveling in our early sixties. We planned to travel twice in a year: within the country (preferably a National Park) and to a foreign country. We also decided against “seeing everything” at any place because that amounts to experiencing nothing. However, walking in any new destination always added to the adventure. As our feet moved with slow pace; our senses got engaged. Pacing reminds me of the mosaic sidewalks in Lisbon, Portugal, streamside sauntering in Kyoto, Japan, and making space through the throngs of people on the sidewalks of New Delhi, India.  Moonlit Night, Oil on Canvas, Madhu Wangu Entering little mom-and-pop shops, eating at hole-in-the-wall restaurants, or talking to street vendors gave us an opportunity to communicate with local people and get a flavor of how they...

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Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Posted on July 7, 2025
in Being in Nature, Meditation, Nonverbal Activities
4 Comments

For many, walking is a favorite nonverbal activity. Whether it is a stroll through a garden, a quick sprint in the neighborhood, or a leisurely walk in a foreign country, this form of exercise invites contemplation, exploration, and enjoyment of familiar as well as unusual. The American Physiology Society recommends moving if you have been sitting for three hours. Sitting for too long reduces oxygen levels to the brain, increasing the risk for dementia. Movement gets your blood circulating, which helps send more oxygen to your whole body, heart, and brain. Any vigorous physical activity makes your body release endorphins, the feel-good chemicals. Endorphins relieve stress, anxiety, and pain the way opioid drugs do. They are the cause of the post-pleasure you experience after exercising. Silver Goblet, Acrylic, Madhu B. Wangu During...

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Thursday, June 26, 2025

Posted on June 25, 2025
in #Neuroscience and Meditation, Nonverbal Activities, Well Being
4 Comments

Today I’m going to talk about 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 debris and junk. Failure to remove this brain trash may be linked to higher risk of developing dementia. In three words—Sleep is medicine.So what can...

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Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Posted on March 31, 2025
in Journaling, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Nonverbal Activities, Spirituality
4 Comments

Some of you might be struggling with silent meditation practice. Here are a few suggestions for you to use. Hope this helps!  Establish a formal meditation time when and where you have minimal of distraction. It is crucial to sit regularly. Mornings are great, evenings are good too. Sit in the same place each time. You will associate that space with tranquility and therefore look forward to sitting.  The very act of sitting still in silence and solitude will settle your mental clutter and recharge your battery. Let the practice grow gradually and gently. Even ten minutes of silent meditation daily is very beneficial.  The purpose of Mindfulness Meditation is to transform your living experience. You now know  the difference between sensation, conscious thought, and emotion. You are learning how to meditate in the...

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Thursday, February 27, 2025

Posted on February 26, 2025
in Daily Reflections 2025, Nonverbal Activities, Reading, Spirituality, Writing
4 Comments

In The Happiness Project: Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun, bestselling author Gretchen Rubin writes that she had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places – a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are short,” she thought. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her own happiness. Reading her musings, I remembered how many decades ago it occurred to me that I could not change the world but I could change myself. But how? I reread the world wisdom books, researched new scientific literature on meditation and mindfulness, and read tons of...

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Day 306, Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Posted on November 5, 2024
in Cooking, Nonverbal Activities
4 Comments

Reflections After breathing, the senses of taste and smell are elemental for living beings. Did you know these two senses are the oldest and essential for our survival? They play key roles in such basic processes as eating, avoiding danger and mating. Your nose knows even if your eyes are closed. When you are closer to sea, standing on freshly mowed grass, or next to wet mulch, you know what it is. But you cannot describe the smsell. You can only name the object that is giving away the smell hoping that what you say would resonate your experience in the mind of the other person. When we taste with attention, even the simplest of foods provide a universe of sensory experience. One bit of juicy apple, freshly baked bread, cool water...

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Day 304, Monday, November 4, 2024

Posted on November 3, 2024
in Being in Nature, Meditation, Nonverbal Activities
2 Comments

Inspiration Seeing There is sheer joy in seeing. Watch nature through the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, the clouds, the ocean, the river, the waterfall, the lake, the flames, the crackling sparks. Whether you are a child or a ninety-year-old, you can never see anything better. How can one learn to use visual skills to the utmost? Start observing nature and art any day, any time. The details in painting, sculpture, architecture, and crafts will surprise you. Take in the sense of composition, color hues, gradations, and visual balance. See artworks viscerally. There is no logic to what you learn thus but you will begin to appreciate the world around you with new understanding. Whatever style or period of art charms you or touches your heart, keep looking at those works. Let them...

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Walk in Nature and Feel the Awe

Day 303, Sunday, November 3, 2024

Posted on November 2, 2024
in Online Mindful Writers Group
4 Comments

Good morning Friends! How familiar are you with the sensory world? Our five senses and the mind create meaning of the world that surrounds us. Yet we’re jaded to our sensuous power. Therefore the meanings we receive are dull as compared to their finest possibilities.What if we pay deeper attention to every sense while it is functioning fine? What if we don’t wait for something to go wrong? We begin to "see" instead of merely "looking." The words “look” and “see” are as different as “hearing” and “listening.” One is ordinary and the other mindful. So let's be mindful of what we see, hear, touch, smell and taste. There is seeing and, as Jon Kabat-Zinn writes, there is "being seen:" a caring person looking at you with kind and accepting...

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The image refers to the blossoming of Self after ten months of practicing Mindful Meditation and Journaling

Inspiration: Unblocking Your Creative Flow

Posted on October 31, 2024
in Journaling, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Online Mindful Writers Group
8 Comments

Day 301, Friday, November 1, 2024 Welcome dear Mindful Writers and Mindful Creators, This is quite an exciting morning for me as we begin a new phase on our ongoing creative and spiritual journey together. The goal remains the same only the Power Spot has moved. This month's (Month 11) topic is "Mindfulness, Awe, Wonder and Delight." from the book Unblock Your Creative Flow: 12 Months of Mindfulness for Writers and Artists. What a topic to begin with from our new home!We begin with today's Inspiration from Day 301; pp. 362 from the book mentioned above followed by the Journal Prompt and the Link to today's meditation. The time it takes to practice these is between 30-45 minutes. Enjoy the process! Inspiration Awe and wonderment are sacred emotions that kindle spiritual delight, tenderness,...

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