Travel Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Madhu Bazaz Wangu
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Travel

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Posted on August 5, 2026
in Last Quarter of Our Lives, Mindfulness and Travealing, Travel, Well Being
2 Comments

The month of August is dedicated to “Mindfulness and Travel.” I’d like to begin with one of my experiences about how this country to which I arrived as an immigrant in 1974 became my home. So here it goes, 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 similar journey like the one they experienced. We 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...

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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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Thursday, July 30, 2026

Posted on July 29, 2026
in #Nature Lover, Mindfulness and Travealing, Travel, Well Being
2 Comments

Traveling within the country or internationally opens the closed windows of our mind. When we travel our vision becomes more expansive, our lives are enriched, and new connections make us realize that the gem of compassion, the lotus in our heart is in each and every one of us—irrespective of our race, religion, color or gender.  As seekers on spiritual path we need clear mind and open heart to see, connect and understand the people different from us.  When we travel Our vision becomes more expansive, our lives are enriched, and we make new connections. Before my husband retired I occasionally accompanied him on his business trips. A bit nervous about walking alone around in a new city, I would stay back in our hotel room to write. But the thought of adventuring...

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Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Posted on July 27, 2026
in #Nature Lover, Being in Nature, Creativity, Flourishing, Imagination, Mindfulness and Travealing, Travel
3 Comments

Ashby Ponds under Harvest Moonlight Walking after sunrise and before sunset is popular. But have you walked under a moonless night when the sky is inky black-blue and stars twinkle bright, or when the moon is full? If you have, you know how nighttime walks heighten our senses of hearing and smell, titillate our body and mind. In the dark, the sense of sight diminishes but hearing takes over. Focus on the breath, and the inner stillness feels stronger. Slow your pace, stop, tilt your head upward and gaze at expanse of stars. Wonderment! Awe! You have to walk under the majesty of the night sky to feel it’s serenity and magical spell. It clears the mind, it calms, it makes you forget petty problems that had earlier in the day made you...

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Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Posted on July 6, 2026
in #Neuroscience and Meditation, Attention and Awareness, Flourishing, Journaling, Meditation, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Travel, Well Being
4 Comments

July 7, 2026Dear Mindful Creators Group, Dancing Peacock, 2026, New Delhi, India I thought you might find the summation of Richard Davidson’s new book valuable. (Recently, we discussed a bit of his neuroscientific research with Tibetan monks). His latest work titled, Born to Flourish: How New Science and Ancient Wisdom Reveal a Simple Path to Thriving. Dr.Davidson focuses on transformative practices that train our brain to overcome depression, despair, and loneliness. He writes that we are all born with a natural ability to flourish but that ability needs to be trained for us to live a thriving life. The four transformative practices are: Awareness: Learn to be fully present with your emotions so that you can embrace all of life’s ups and downs. (We practice this with familiarizing ourselves with physical sensations while practicing body scan)Connection: Grow...

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Thursday, July 2 2026

Posted on July 1, 2026
in #Nature Lover, #Reading Poetry, Creativity, Flourishing, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Nonverbal Activities, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Well Being
4 Comments

Framework for Longevity Michael J. Castori What is the secret of Longevity?Invest in bonds Bond with loveParental marital filial people spiritualLove thy neighbor as thyselfNo greater love hath manThan he give up his life for another Bond with natureWith its broad range of animal plant and mineral lifeWith its sun moon stars land sea and airAnd all the creatures thereon and thereinWith its solitude music challenge reverence Bond with a positive mindsetAim high and you won’t hit lowIf things go your way don’t get too highIf things go against you don’t get too low Bond with an upbeat lifestyleEngage in spiritual intellectual social recreational pursuitsThat guarantee health strength and daily breadWoo the positive spurn the negative Bond with existenceAn existence that you deem worthy of your worshipDaily lift up some thought word and deedTo Him to...

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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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Thursday, April 30, 2026

Posted on April 30, 2026
in Imagination, Reading Books, Travel, Well Being
2 Comments

When you read, words turn into images in your mind and thought process begins that awakens senses and feelings. Two-dimensional pages conjure three-dimensional realities. You become absorbed in the sensory experience of an unfamiliar world. Mentally out of your body you temporarily live subliminally the book’s protagonist’s life. Events seem real as you shed tears, smile, laugh, or feel heartache. Hours fly by as you experience pleasure or pain or loads of other emotions from an artistic distance.  At times it so happens that a sudden call, a noise, a smell catapults you out of your imaginary orbit and back to your armchair. How you wish that had not happened! Reading can be that fantastic. And so much more. “Much more” for me is when absorbed reading persuades me to actualize...

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Thursday, April 2, 2026

Posted on April 1, 2026
in #Neuroscience and Meditation, #Stillness and Solitude, #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Being in Nature, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Travel
4 Comments

Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada In one Buddhist teaching the progress of the mind of a meditator, from being a novice to a skilled meditator, is equated with three bodies of water: waterfall, river and lake.WATERFALLThe mind of a beginner is like a waterfall. When you sit to meditate, your mind thunders with torrents of thoughts and feelings. You are oblivious to physical sensations. Even when torrents of thought tighten your muscles, you are clueless. You don’t know you are tense. Focus on your breath and try to get in touch with your physical sensations. Sit with your eyes closed for 15 minutes and then move on to journaling. Your awareness of what you are doing and who you are is a powerful grounding tool at this stage. Following the meditation,...

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Thursday, 18 March, 2026

Posted on March 19, 2026
in #Nature Lover, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Spirituality, Well Being
2 Comments

Early Spring, Daffodils at Ashby Ponds So sorry friends! Though I'm a day late, hope you enjoy today's post. By now you’ve discovered that meditation is simple but not easy. It is difficult to do. You ask yourself; then why do I practice it?  We practice it because a spirit of adventure dwells within us—a wondering and wandering spirit. But this spirit, the Authentic Self (our true self, awareness or consciousness) when it stimulates, it communicates with us with an inner voice that is as gentle as air and as strong as a swan’s feather. Yet it does not easily reveal itself. We use meditation and journaling to dig deeper, excavate and connect with this fragile spiritual lifeline. On rare occasions you feel an unease coursing through your body. You think, I’m capable of so much...

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