Well Being Archives - Madhu Bazaz Wangu
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Well Being

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Posted on May 13, 2026
in #Authentic Self, #Awareness, #Neuroscience and Meditation, Flourishing, Imagination, Spirituality, Well Being
0 Comments

Red Roses, Ashby Ponds, May 2026 The Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s insight that both science and spirituality share common goals to “pursue truth and serve humanity” is shared by avant-garde neuroscientists as well. A mind free from disturbance alleviates stress and suffering, a goal shared by science and meditative paths alike. Apart from contemplative calm and composure there is more practical potential within each and every one of us. Such a life is best described as flourishing or a life of Utter Wellness.  Aristotle proposed the goal of life as the “Right Mean,” a quality between extremes such as risk-taking and cowardice, between self-indulgence and ascetic denial. He also stated that we are not virtuous by nature but we can become so by self-monitoring. Self-monitoring means the practice of noting our thoughts and acts in silence and...

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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 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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Thursday, March 26, 2026

Posted on March 25, 2026
in #Neuroscience and Meditation, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Sharper Brain after Retirement, Well Being
4 Comments

Magnolias, Ashby Ponds, March 2026 A half-century of neuroscientific research has concluded that meditation is as important to your mental well-being as exercise is to the physical health. If you exercise regularly, you build stronger muscles, denser bones, and increased stamina. If you meditate daily, your attention span, memory, and patience increase. You learn to manage negative emotions and situations more efficiently and strengthen sense of calm, resilience, and relationships.  The moment we are born, the breath is with us and the moment it leaves, we die. Wherever we go, our breath goes with us. It is our anchor. It is perfect the way it is. We need not speed it up, force it, push it away or control it. Simply pay attention to its natural rhythm, letting it continue its work without...

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Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Posted on March 23, 2026
in #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Well Being
4 Comments

Early Spring at Ashby, March 2026 Relationship Between Body and MindWithout mind body is blind and without body mind is disable. Like a log, body can do nothing by itself except grow, decay and die. The mind can do nothing without the support of the body. But both together, as we know, they have power to connect us with our Authentic Self and teach us to be 100% ourselves.   In our day-to-day life, we face unpredictable obstacles or advantages. Without mindfulness, instead of acting we react to negative emotions. We believe we have been treated unjustly. But when we learn to apply mindfulness, it teaches us to pause and investigate our own mind. In doing so we discover truths about the situations and unpleasant truths about ourselves. We realize that the root of...

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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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Tuesday, 10 March, 2026

Posted on March 9, 2026
in #Awareness, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Well Being
4 Comments

Lovable Sweet Mother, Oil on Canvas, 1978 You’re learning to connect with your Authentic Self, your awareness that is nothing but joy, contentment and peace. This conscious Self knows you better than you know yourself. When awakened, it never fails to lend its ear or point you toward the right direction. You may converse with it in journaling, in meditation, paying attention to your intuitions at any time, any place. It is your personal therapist—wise and kind.  We are learning to differentiate between conceptual thought and deep awareness. We discussed how attention can be cultivated and how awareness rises when you stay embodied and live in the present. Attention on breath and being alive to the present moment is the beginning of the practice of mindfulness.  You continue to practice Silent Meditation and Body...

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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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Thursday, February 26, 2026

Posted on February 25, 2026
in Attention and Awareness, Creativity, Flourishing, Originality, Well Being
4 Comments

Snowscape, 1977, Oil on Canvas In the book titled, 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, the 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.” (Money doesn’t buy happiness!) 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 only change myself. But how? I reread the world wisdom books,...

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