Travel Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Madhu Bazaz Wangu
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Travel

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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Thursday, April 17, 2025

Posted on April 17, 2025
in Imagination, Journaling, Travel
6 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 protagonist’s life. Events seem real as you shed tears, smile, laugh, or feel heartache. Hours fly by as you experience pleasure or suffering 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 intense reading persuades me to actualize what I have read, coaxing me...

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Tuesday, April 16, 2025

Posted on April 15, 2025
in #Story Telling, Reading, Travel
4 Comments

Some more benefits from daily reading as evidenced from scientific research groups: Researchers from Yale School of Public Health showed that reading for 30 minutes a day can add two years to your life span. It keeps the brain active enough to prevent a decline in thinking and processing. Another research study at the University of Sussex shows that reading even for 6 minutes (!) before falling sleep reduces stress. It is better than listening to music or drinking a warm cup of milk. A book is not only a pleasant distraction but also actively engages and expands your imagination, thus helping you enter an altered state of consciousness. Cognition associated with Alzheimer’s is strengthened by reading, which builds discerning power that can compensate for the loss of brain cells damaged by aging and...

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Day 309, Saturday, November 9, 2024

Posted on November 8, 2024
in Being in Nature, Creativity, Travel
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Reflections Good morning friends! Do you know of a friend or an event that relates nature and people? Someone you know who lives in the mountains, near a river or in the woods? If not perhaps today's post inspires you to write a short story about it. Inspiration Natural landscape can absorb you in its majesty, shake you up with its exquisite beauty, and spew you out transformed. This has happened to me over and over again in U.S. National Parks. Many individuals report feeling connected to the sacred through nature. Were you aware that regions with higher levels of natural amenities have lower rates of adherence to religious organizations? Mountains, hills, lakes, beaches, coastlines, forests, and pleasant weather all contribute to the powerful spiritual effects on people’s behavior who live close by. Spiritual relates to...

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Day 308, Friday, November 8, 2024

Posted on November 7, 2024
in Being in Nature, Travel
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Reflections The photos included in this post are also featured on the cover of my book, "Images of Indian Goddesses." Such images had triggered the strong emotions while I was researching and writing my doctoral dissertation. I held them in my heart-mind for years. And then when I finally stood mesmerized in front of them all my emotions poured out. INSPIRATIONKali in Himachal While driving in the lower Himalayan Mountains with my husband, we viewed the River Bias as its flow shimmered in the deep valley. The intention of our trip in the state of Himachal Pradesh was to photograph the images of the Indian goddess Kali enshrined in the locally well-known temple. I had seen goddess photos in art history books, describing such local temples, and this one had attracted my...

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Day 307, Thursday, November 7, 2024

Posted on November 6, 2024
in Being in Nature, Creativity, Travel
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Reflections Magnificence of nature and magnificent art, music, dance-drama performances turn me speechless. Words lose their meaning. Coming from a writer, this is a significant declaration. In silence, my eyes well, heart hurts (in a good way) and my ego self dissipates. I merge into what I'm beholding as the matter turns into spirit. The object can be as small as a flower or a bonsai arrangement. Or as marvelous as Michelangelo's David. Inspiration A photograph of a great work of art is the mere memory of the original. In no way can it have the same impact as an in-person encounter. I experienced this when we visited the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy. I had seen the reproductions of Michelangelo’s marble statue of David, but was clueless about how I would...

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THE BLACKENED MIRROR-A SHORT STORY

Posted on September 20, 2023
in Reading, Travel
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CHANCE MEETINGS: Selected Review Excerpts:Chance Meetings . . . encourages deep thought and arouse the spirit to examine the beauty and harshness of the human condition. Wangu's gift for sensory detail and her lyrical prose take the reader on a cross-cultural journey. . . (Rosemary Hanrahan MD, MPH, Author and Life Coach) In Chance Meetings, an eloquent collection of stories, Dr. Wangu weaves a rich tapestry of the human condition with the strong, clear language of myths. Whether it's a tale of an impoverished orphan in India with no family or friends to turn to in a desperate moment, or an elderly American woman imprisoned within the walls of illiteracy, each story hangs like a bead on a japa mala - for the reader to touch and be touched by the...

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FIVE-STAR REVIEW: UNBLOCK YOUR CREATIVE FLOW

Posted on September 4, 2023
in Being in Nature, Journaling, Meditation, Reading, Travel, Writing
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LOOK WHAT I RECEIVED TODAY! Reader's Favorite 5-star review! Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers’ Favorite Author Madhu Bazaz Wangu, Ph.D., offers a systematic 365-day program in her self-help book Unblock Your Creative Flow: 12 Months of Mindfulness for Writers and Artists. The book aims to increase the creativity and productivity of those in the fields of writing and art. In order to help people reach and maximize their full creative potential. . . This all-encompassing strategy takes into account a person's bodily, mental, and spiritual needs to enable intentional and meaningful living. “An inner journey like this that you have chosen to walk upon demands commitment,” says Dr. Madhu Bazaz Wangu, but I can assure you that Unblock Your Creative Flow rarely feels like a book of self-help chores. Yes, commitment is essential...

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With a Buddhist Monk, Kyoto, Japan

On a Mindful Path

Posted on July 27, 2023
in Travel
2 Comments

On a Mindful Path (Cont.)I decided to add nonverbal activities to my braided practice of journalism, meditation and deep reading. The daily practice of the four disciplines, with a nonverbal activity such as a walk, strengthened my writer’s voice. I felt more grounded and in the process was more attentive to what was going on around me.  I was attentive to the things and people that enhanced my days. Gradually and carefully I stopped doing things that seemed unimportant and distanced myself from the people who I thought kept me away from making progress on my mindful journey.  In time, I realized that I had awakened a voice within that I did not know had always been there. It was similar to a personal consultant who knew me more than I knew...

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Fearless Kumud

Posted on June 23, 2023
in Reading, Travel
4 Comments

Sometimes don't you want to scream, "Enough is enough?" And then something worse happens! How do you feel? What do you do? Read and find out how Kumud felt and what she did out of extreme desperation. Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/mr24djxyRakuten Kobo: https://tinyurl.com/2p8yt732Smashwords: https://tinyurl.com/2p8aj9td ...

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