Sharper Brain after Retirement Archives - Madhu Bazaz Wangu
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Sharper Brain after Retirement

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Posted on March 4, 2026
in #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Spirituality, Well Being
6 Comments

Myths and Misconceptions about Meditation  Mindfulness is relaxation. Relaxation may be one of the outcomes of our practice but it seeks  attention andawareness. The goal of the mindfulness meditation (Vipassana) is insight into our true nature. We practice and transform our ordinary day life into an extraordinary life.  Meditation puts you in a trance. No, it is not hypnosis. When we meditate we are very much under our own control. The attention and awareness are simply stepping-stones on the route to heightened awareness which cultivates mindfulness. Meditation is Mysterious. Meditation deals with levels of consciousness that are deeper than conceptual thought. Such things can be understood without words or logic such as walking, swimming and biking. We learn them by practicing. Similarly we experience meditation by practicing. Meditation is an adventure every time we practice because we can never predict exactly what will come up during any particular session. Each...

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Monthly Guiding Points

Posted on January 31, 2026
in Journaling, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Well Being
2 Comments

JanuaryYour decision to walk on the path of spirituality and creativity is noble. If followed diligently it leads to wisdom, peace and joy. But the journey is filled with blocks, pitfalls and false dead ends. In order to overcome any strenuous situation you need persistence and perseverance. To help you successfully journey on the spiritual way I have collected ten practical points about mental clarity that I promise would guide you along the way.  I have learned and recapitulated these lessons from the works of great thinkers, spiritual masters, philosophers and teachers; their written and spoken words. Each guiding point is a practice; simple but not easy. But when practiced seriously, mere words turn into physical sensations and feelings. Eventually they impels us to act accordingly. Once activated they amaze us...

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Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Posted on December 1, 2025
in #Nature Lover, Being in Nature, Daily Reflections 2025, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Spirituality, Travel
4 Comments

Bryce Canyon National Park National parks have created a new religion, that of secular spirituality; they have created new pilgrimage centers, the National Parks; they have created a new breed of parishioners, the travelers who love nature. We cannot experience the sacred or let creative and original ideas stir in our heart-minds while living a daily rut. Something has to shake us up, shatter our unexamined values, question our unanalyzed beliefs. This happens often midst the beauty of nature or listening to fascinating piece of music or viewing works of great masters. Nature, good books, and master artworks are all potent with enchantments. These magical things wait patiently for you to come to them. For you to cross the threshold from slumbering through life to living audaciously. You can’t encounter flowerbeds unless...

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Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Posted on November 17, 2025
in Being in Nature, Daily Reflections 2025, Nonverbal Activities, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Well Being
4 Comments

Here’s to enhancing our six senses! Seeing: To sharpen your sense of sight observe art and witness nature. Begin to appreciate the world around you as if you are seeing it for the first time. When you encounter beauty in nature or view a great work of art, it excites not only your sense of sight but also all other senses. However, it takes time and self-training to be able to derive this level of sensory delight from viewing. Seeing Hearing:Enhance your sense of hearing. Listening to a favorite piece of music is the highest kind of hearing. Music restores order and reduces mental atrophy. A music lover absorbed in listening can feel one with the music. The two become one. The feeling of oneness stops time.  Similar to practicing solo, listening to...

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Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Posted on November 10, 2025
in #Reading Poetry, Awareness, Being in Nature, Sharper Brain after Retirement
2 Comments

Let’s focus on our wondrous senses this week. Do you think you exploit your body’s unlimited potential? That you pay100 percent attention to it? That you are aware how many possibilities it has for providing enjoyment even at our age?  The first step to awaken your body and mind is a 2-minute body scan, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head, first thing every morning while still lying in the bed. Be grateful to each body part and each sense for what it does. At this stage of life all our senses need help to continue functioning: eyewear, hearing aid, dentures, replaced knee or hip.  Perhaps most of everything else that mother nature provided you at your birth is in working condition. Whatever is not used to...

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Tuesday, June 24,2025

Posted on June 23, 2025
in Flourishing, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Sharper Brain after Retirement
6 Comments

Today's inspiration is geared more toward Ashby Ponds' Mindful Creators than Mindful Writers because, if I remember correctly, the age range of MWs is younger. But it never hurts to know things in advance to prepare for future health benefit. So here it goes: By the age 85 and older, about a third of people have dementia. Prevention is the most powerful antidote to this illness. You can’t prevent something you cannot see and dementia is one such illness. It increases exponentially after age 65. The mental decline is linked to lifestyle: physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, social isolation, poor sleep, lack of mentally stimulating activities and misuse of alcohol. All opposites of the eight good habits we’ve been reading about and hopefully practicing.  Prevention should start early. Our Ashby Ponds community may...

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Thursday, June 19, 2025

Posted on June 18, 2025
in Flourishing, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Well Being
2 Comments

Longevity New Research # 1So that you knowWe 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 New Research #2So that you know: We have five senses, if we include...

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Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Posted on June 16, 2025
in Journaling, Sharper Brain after Retirement
6 Comments

I hope the Inspirations so far have motivated you to read more poems. Here is a link to mindful poetry for you to explore: https://cih.ucsd.edu/mindfulness/mindful-poetry In my previous email I mentioned the practice of following disciplines to a sharper and smarter brain: meditation & journaling, sleep, nutritious meals, walking, reading, socializing, any creative project and something that you feel passionate about, something that gives purpose to your life. Based on these eight, do you have a weekly routine? Body without brain is just flesh. Our 3.3-pound brain monitors our body and heart. Amazingly fragile, it has incredible ability to perform sophisticated tasks such as language learning, performing complex skills, trying new creative hobbies, living amicably in social groups and so on. All these activities help increase attention, reasoning and memory.  The brain grows,...

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