#Journaling and Meditation Archives - Madhu Bazaz Wangu
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#Journaling and Meditation Tag

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Posted on September 23, 2026
in #Authentic Self, #Awareness, #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Attention and Awareness, Flourishing, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds
1 Comment

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 15, 2026

Posted on September 14, 2026
in #Authentic Self, #Awareness, #Stillness, Silence, Solitude, Journaling, Meditation, Originality, Spirituality
2 Comments

The day you don’t get time to meditate do this: two to three times a day, pause, take an inhale, then a long exhale and bring your mind to the present moment. Become aware of your body and senses. What do you see around you? What do you smell? What sounds do you hear? You are fully alive to the present moment! When you are Here and Now your awareness is one with you. With practice you learn to be with your inner Awareness. When you bask in the self-recognition of your aware self you feel the warmth of loving-kindness and peace. Present moment has two levels: the immediate one, the one we are familiar with. A bundle of our experiences—past and future in which we are constantly entangled. At this level we are not truly...

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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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Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Posted on September 22, 2025
in #Stillness and Quietude, #Stillness and Solitude
3 Comments

Spending some time with myself makes the time I spend with others more pleasurable and playful. For me, like nourishment solitude is one of the basic necessities. When I’m alone, self-enquiry comes under focus. In silence, I mull over whatever is floating in my mind. More often than not, I realize whatever recent wrong happened had not much to do with her, him, or them, but with me. The negativity feel is ultimately a reflection of my own inner landscape. Slowly the thought settles and I’m back to my normal self. Only in silence can I mull over things and be fair to myself and others. When you sit still quietly, pondering what you have encountered, how it has affected you, and how you have affected others as the consequence of your...

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Thursday, August 4, 2025

Posted on September 3, 2025
in Being in Nature, Flourishing, Spirituality, Travel
4 Comments

On our way to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, the bus stopped for a photo break of the spectacular peaks of the Teton mountain range. The driver pointed to a log cabin in the distance, a cottage in the middle of a meadow of swaying yellow flowers and wild grass. I hurried to the restroom behind it but noticed a sign board: “The Episcopal Chapel of the Transfiguration” and wondered, what exactly does transfiguration mean? When I returned, people had already seen the chapel and left. Its sparce decoration and plain walls constructed with logs moved me. The space felt cool and comfortable. In front of a large rectangular glass window was a table on which was placed a cross flanked by two glass vases with fresh-cut flowers. I sat on the corner seat...

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Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Posted on August 18, 2025
in Spirituality, Travel
8 Comments

Lewis and Clark Trail (1804-1806) Lewis and Clark Journey Continues . . . Having left the east coast on May 14, 1804, Lewis and Clark glided into the northern side of the mouth of the Columbia River in dugout canoes in early November 1805. With starved looks, tattered clothes rotting on their bodies, and disheveled hair, they neither had the energy nor wherewithal to moor. Clark named the spot Dismal Nitch. Dismal Nitch A group of local Indians arrived in elegantly carved and painted canoes, communicating with a few words of English they had learned from fur traders. The captains Lewis and Clark had intended to meet the last trading ship of the season on the Pacific to obtain badly needed supplies and send back journals and specimens of plants and...

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Thursday, August 14, 2025

Posted on August 13, 2025
in Being in Nature, Mindfulness and Travealing, Travel
2 Comments

Having left the east coast on May 14, 1804, Lewis and Clark glided into the northern side of the mouth of the Columbia River in dugout canoes in early November 1805. With starved looks, tattered clothes rotting on their bodies, and disheveled hair, they neither had the energy nor wherewithal to moor. Clark named the spot Dismal Nitch. A group of local Indians arrived in elegantly carved and painted canoes, communicating with a few words of English they had learned from fur traders. The captains Lewis and Clark had intended to meet the last trading ship of the season on the Pacific to obtain badly needed supplies and send back journals and specimens of plants and animals to President Jefferson. But a severe winter storm prevented this. This is “the most...

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Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Posted on August 11, 2025
in Being in Nature, Meditation & Journaling at Ashby Ponds, Mindfulness and Travealing, Travel, Well Being
2 Comments

While trekking in Sedona, my fleeting thoughts subsided amidst the fiery, awesome, sacred red rock mountains. That other worldly breathtaking natural beauty seemed to have sacred power and spiritual significance. 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. My deeper Self awakened to coalesce with the Universe. The magnificent Cathedral and Bell Rocks mesmerized… thecliffs, mesas, and fringes of juniper forests set against searing blue sky was singularly impressive. Taking our fill we continued our journey toward Grand Canyon, arriving at our cottage late at night. Next morning we rose early and realized that the cottage was only a few hundred feet from the view of the Grand Canyon. Hot cups of coffee warmed our hands as we took satisfying...

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Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Posted on August 4, 2025
in Journaling, Nonverbal Activities, Oral Stories, Reading, Travel
4 Comments

For Month 8 “Mindfulness and Travel, I’ll share the story of how the country to which I arrived as an immigrant in 1974 became my home. 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 same journey. My husband and I 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 expedition that would boldly navigate the heart and the west of the country,...

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Thursday, July 31, 2025

Posted on July 30, 2025
in Spirituality, Walking
4 Comments

For Mary Oliver, a Pulitzer-prize winning American poet, “the door to the woods (was) the door to the temple.”  Walking in the woods helps us understand ourselves and improve our lives in ways you didn’t yet know we could. A moment on our mindful walk may turn into a portal to a creative activity, an insight or an intuitive idea. We just need to pay attention to things you normally may ignore or think that they are not of our interest. Original ideas flow in when our body is busy moving and we are quiet. We may get lost in thought. When that happens, as you now know, bring your attention back to your breath and ask why, how, what, and when about the days at this stage of your life....

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