Awareness Archives - Madhu Bazaz Wangu
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Awareness

Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Posted on September 22, 2026
in #Authentic Self, #Stillness and Solitude, #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Awareness, Meditation, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Spirituality, Well Being
5 Comments

Do not confuse the whispers of the Authentic Self with the voice in your head. Perhaps you’ve not yet separated yourself from the chain of thoughts and still unconsciously identify with that voice that is loud, pessimistic and never stops talking. Begin to be more attentive. Learn to differentiate between that critic’s voice (harsh and unproductive) and gentle nudges of your Self that are unexpected, productive and wise.  When you make “focus on the breath” a daily routine, you’ll experience the presence of Awareness, presence of your higher Self. The whispers of your Authentic Self are from the one who is within you, who knows you, knows you more than you know yourself. This Self provides you freedom from your separate ego self. You may believe that your small ego self...

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Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Posted on September 7, 2026
in #Authentic Self, #Nature Lover, #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Awareness, Being in Nature, Flourishing, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Spirituality
3 Comments

The practitioners of mindfulness meditation who sits in silence and solitude elevate themselves as they realize what it means to live in the awareness of the present moment. When we are aware we are lifted beyond our fleeting emotions and thoughts—painful or cheerful. We feel serenity and true peace. We sense, I’m not my ego self. I’m awareness that is one with the awareness of all—always peaceful and joyful. We are one with our Authentic Self which is always here, now and awake.  What is a life of contemplation? It is to realize that we come to the world alone and we leave alone. Our solitude may be absolute but our life is as meaningful as we make it. Our feelings, thoughts, sensations, activities and relationships are fleeting; but our Authentic Self abides. Those...

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Thursday, 13 August, 2026

Posted on August 12, 2026
in #Story Telling, Awareness, Reading Books, Travel
2 Comments

Hayden Island, Portland, May 2021 From the Portland airport we took a cab to Red Lion Hotel on Jantzen Beach in Hayden Island, Oregon. The eastern sky threatened with thunderclouds, pouring down with vengeance, while the western sky welcomed us with dazzling sunlight.  Our hotel balcony overlooked the Columbia River, partly hidden behind pine trees. Was it the same river upon which Louis and Clark sailed with their crew? I couldn’t believe I was looking at it. How fortune! The next morning we walked to where our boat, “American Harmony,” was docked right behind the pines! Under the early morning sunlight the air was fresh. We continued walking on a trail that ran parallel to the river. Cumulus clouds announced themselves against the bright blue sky with such assurance that I straightened my...

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Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Posted on August 3, 2026
in #Nature Lover, #Stillness and Quietude, Awareness, Being in Nature, Flourishing, Mindfulness and Travealing, Travel
6 Comments

Month 8, “Mindfulness and Travel” is dedicated to traveling within the country and around the world. I’d like to share with you how I discovered awe and beauty in American National Parks.  While trekking in Sedona, Arizona my fleeting thoughts subsided amidst the fiery, awesome, sacred red rock mountains. Other worldly natural beauty felt like possessing some sacred power. I breathed in the sage-scented mesas and walked on orange-dusted pathways. The sun scorched my skin and frequently made me close my eyes. But my deeper Self awakened coalescing with surrounding spirituality. The magnificent Cathedral and Bell Rocks mesmerized. The cliffs, mesas, and fringes of juniper forests set against searing blue sky impressed. Taking our fill we continued our bus ride toward Grand Canyon, arriving at our cottage late at night. Next morning we rose early and realized...

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Tuesday, 14 July, 2026

Posted on July 13, 2026
in #Authentic Self, Awareness, Death and Dying, Flourishing, Nonverbal Activities, Old Age and Death, Walking
2 Comments

Walking through a well-maintained cemetery is a unique experience. Observing the headstones and monuments of those who have gone before us not only grounds us but also stirs a feeling of serenity that stirs contemplation. For the preliminary exams for my doctoral work, I was to collect the rubbings from the headstones from three New England cemeteries. My topic was symbols and rituals of death from four different cultures. India, China, Mexico and New England. I didn’t find these resting places of long-gone ancestors morbid or depressing. On the contrary, walking through these was calming and tranquil. After making drawings and collecting rubbings, I was inspired to take longer walks on the pathways that webbed the greenery. The moment we’re born, we begin our journey toward death. Each human life’s path might...

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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 4, 2026

Posted on May 4, 2026
in #Neuroscience and Meditation, Attention and Awareness, Awareness, Meditation, Spirituality
3 Comments

Nancy Bishop, AP Resident, Watercolor This month we’ll focus on Mindfulness and Neuroscientific research done on meditation. Mindfulness is part of an ancient tradition with countless benefits. It teaches how to calm down and pause instead of reacting with anger or irritability, how to act without getting stressed or anxious. But originally the practice was not intended for such purposes. These are simply its side-effects.  Easy and brief meditation practices are spin offs that has been recently adopted in western countries. The original aim of meditation, still embraced in some cultures and circles, focusses on deep exploration of the mind to get insights into human consciousness.  Using fMRI and EEG (explained below) and a battery of cutting-edge data analysis for the last thirty years or so neuroscientists have been studying minds of Tibetan monks...

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Thursday, April 23, 2026

Posted on April 22, 2026
in #Story Telling, Awareness, Reading, Reading Books, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Well Being
4 Comments

Waiting, Oil paints on canvas board, 1975 Singing the praises of reading, Horace Mann (1796-1859) early 19th century American public education reformist, widely known as “The Father of American Education,” advised, “Resolve to edge in a little reading every day even if but a single sentence.”  Erasmus, 15th century scholar and humanist wrote, “Before you sleep, read something that is exquisite and worth remembering.” “When you walk in the mist, you get wet,” says the thirteenth-century Zen master Dogen. He means that you absorb the stuff you take in and the environment that surrounds you.   Reading lets you step out of your cloistered life and dwell in the midst of masters. By the process of unconscious assimilation, good books enter your mind. Reading improves vocabulary, reasoning, concentration,empathy, social perception, and emotional intelligence. Read new books and read old books....

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Thursday, April 16, 2026

Posted on April 15, 2026
in Awareness, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Reading, Reading Books, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Well Being
6 Comments

Lady in a Sari, 1980, Oil on Canvas After reading the nightmarish poem, “A Dream” by Hermann Hesse in his book, The Glass Bead Game, I shuddered. A feeling of restlessness creeped in. The only way I could eliminate that feeling was to journal about it. I wrote what ended up being a short short story.  Here is a summary: I walk to the monastery on the hill and enter the building. Its walls are lined with books from ceiling to floor. The spines of the gilded lettered books glitter in the morning light. I pull out the one closest to me. The spine reads, Meaning of My Life. The leather cover tooled in gold promises a story still untold. What wisdom will the book reveal? I read the front folio aglow with words, “Learn to...

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Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Posted on March 16, 2026
in #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Awareness, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Spirituality
4 Comments

Early Spring at Ashby Ponds, February 2026 The thought that your year-long journey of meditation and journaling practice will reveal to you your hidden aptitudes and possibilities fill me with gratitude and excitement.  You have ten bountiful months remaining to fulfill your goals. External events will not actualize them. Only your inner resolve will bring about the changes you intend. Your intentions may not unfold exactly the way you imagine them but one thing is certain, by the end of the year mindfulness would have helped you grow happier, kinder and wiser.  To grow into a better person the following attitudes toward meditation are essential during your practice: Sit for meditation as though you have the whole day to meditate even though you plan to sit for ten or fifteen minutes. Relax your body, breathe...

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