Well Being Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Madhu Bazaz Wangu
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Well Being

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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Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Posted on February 9, 2026
in Imagination, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Spirituality, Well Being
4 Comments

The word “meditation” is often confused with “mindfulness.” Meditation is the discipline of sitting still in a particular posture in silence and solitude with focus on the breath. Mindfulness is the complete attention on the task at hand, and the state of total awareness of what is going on in our mind and around us. Attention and awareness results from the daily practice of meditation. Mindfulness Meditation is also the name of a meditation and is one of the meditations we practice such as Body Scan, Loving Kindness, Guided meditations and so on.   You have practiced focusing attention on your breath. In doing so, you watch your own mind in the present moment. You witness yourself. This is similar to looking at your own reflection in a life-size mirror. The way you become aware of your...

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Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Posted on February 2, 2026
in Journaling, Meditation, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Well Being
2 Comments

How does it feel to sit at your Spiritual Power Spot in your home? Peace? Calm? Some other feeling or sensation? Do you journal and practice silent meditation for 5 to 15 minutes at this spot?  At times when I’m faced with a “shitty” emotional problem I let go of the brick wall of expectations that my inner critic builds. If that doesn’t work, (and here’s when my journal comes to my rescue) at the top of the page of my notebook I write, “What should I do? How can I solve this problem?” Instead of carrying  my grievances and complaints around I vent them in my journal as no one else seems to be as intimate as this notebook. Journaling requires trust in yourself and believing that the practice you are following...

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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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Thursday, January 29, 2026

Posted on January 28, 2026
in Journaling, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Spirituality, Well Being
4 Comments

Self-doubt is one of the major emotions we all go through. There are days when you feel overwhelmed and sluggish without any tangible reason. What can you do? You allow the heavy dark clouds of emotions and thinking to shower on the pages of your notebook, a rainstorm of words. You trust that by the end of two to three pages it will shed light on things you were only partly aware of. And it will present possible solutions to your malaise and listlessness. I started doing serious journaling in my early fifties that encouraged me to change my profession from teaching art history and world religions to become a freelance writer. It felt the right thing to do, I wished I had started journaling sooner. Not only was I able...

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Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Posted on January 26, 2026
in Journaling, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Well Being
4 Comments

The Final Post on Daily Journaling:What you pour on the blank pages of your journal can be compared with autumn leaves. The mountain of dried leaves of your mental trash is all biodegradable. It decomposes into mulch. Into this mulch you’re ready to sow new seeds and watch them sprout as fresh green saplings. It often happens, that upon rereading your journal after some time, you gain greater insight into the things that have happened. Personal events gather universal significance. You realize such exchanges and events, good or bad, are human. The edges of harsh events have softened. You’re pleasantly surprised at where one month’s or one year’s journaling has led you.  When you don’t journal for a while a restlessness gnaws at you. Your mind feels muddled and overwhelmed with mosaic...

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Thursday, January 1, 2026

Posted on December 31, 2025
in Awareness, Flourishing, Spirituality, Well Being
2 Comments

From Our Family to Yours, "Happy New Year to All!" Happy New Year All! Each year the last ten days of December and the first day of January are celebrated with family gatherings, sharing special foods and giving gifts. It is also a time of gratitude, generosity, self-evaluation, self-reflection and resolutions. These are darkest, coldest, and bleakest days around winter solstice and of hope for healthier and happier time. Happiness and hope are symbolized by lighting our homes and gardens with candles, lamps and electric lights. Numerous families, businesses and government agencies create dazzling landscapes with rainbow-colored illuminations on buildings, in gardens and wooded areas.  The outer lights stir the inner light of consciousness and awaken us to the spiritual illumination within. They inspire us to be humbly thankful to our joys and blessings as...

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Thursday, November 27, 2025

Posted on November 26, 2025
in #Nature Lover, Being in Nature, Daily Reflections 2025, Spirituality, Travel, Well Being
0 Comments

I had not heard about national parks until we came to the United States. When we visited Yellowstone National Park and Grand Canyon National Park in 2013… I. Had. No. Idea! I was enthralled by how awe and delight enraptured me in the presence of the natural resplendence. I was born in the lap of the Himalayas, in the valley of Kashmir. I was two years old when we moved to New Delhi the overcrowded metroplex with high-rise buildings. But it was home. To get away from scorching summer heat in the capital city, my family would return to the valley for a month. We exhaled in the most pleasant weather in my birthplace about which the Mughal Emperor Jehangir soulfully exclaimed, “If there is paradise on Earth, it is here, it is...

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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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Thursday, September 25, 2025

Posted on September 24, 2025
in #Stillness and Solitude, Flourishing, Well Being
4 Comments

Someone new to this practice might confuse the whispers of the Authentic Self with a voice in the head. The voice in the head is loud, pessimistic that never stops talking. If you can’t separate yourself from the chain of thoughts, if you unconsciously identify with that voice in your head, become more attentive. Learn to differentiate between the whispers of your inner guide and the critic’s voice. That voice is unproductive and harsh. However, the gentle nudges of your Authentic Self or the inner knowing are true, wise and unexpected.  When you focus on the breath, experience the presence of Awareness behind or in-between the breath, you will know the difference. The whispers of your Authentic Self are from the one who is your inner witness, who knows all about...

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