Sapta Napla

Visit of Sushil

Tuka — 2008-06-26T06:33:00Z

End of June an old friend from India visited us. We organized a Sapta Yoga work shop and he spent the night at our place. Although Beatrice was a little bit worried that Noah might have troubles to sleep while in the other room would be some ongoing whisper, chatting etc. all doubts faded away once Sushil arrived. We had in fact a beautiful time and Noah shared some special relation to Sushil instantly.

I was pretty much worried in the beginning since only few people subscribed to visit the workshop but turns out that these worries were useless. We had eventually enough participants and I believe everybody enjoyed it. It was during the first week at my new job, that I had to leave already early to catch Sushil at our home. I had some imagination that this might be a problem but at least until now it wasn't. Time went by fast and may be we meet again in September. We got some invitation to go to India in his new ashram which will be finished during this winter season. Since I know his family very well I know it will be great for Noah. He can run around and play with all those children there and the family will pay attention .... and we can practice without disturbance.

Toilet

Tuka — 2008-06-24T06:21:00Z

Finally Noah understood the miracle of a toilet. Although he still does not connect the process of emptying his bowel while using the toilet, at least he stopped refusing to sit on it. Actually seems that he starts to feel comfortable :)

Hotel Salzburg

Tuka — 2008-05-31T16:07:00Z

At the Gasthof Jägerwirt we checked in during our journey's pause. It was a pleasurable stay with the big advantage that this Gasthof was connected very well to the highway. Noah had quite some fun there and felt instantly like home (that was a really good sign). He enjoyed himself very much ;)

Budapest

Tuka — 2008-05-30T12:05:00Z

Middle of May we started our visit to Budapest. Almost exactly one year after the last time. Primary goal was of course for Beatrice to go "home", visiting old friends and taking care of some administrative stuff as well as maintaining the car. We split the travel in two days because for all three of us it is just to much to go 1000 km at once. So we booked an overnight stay close to Salzburg. We had quite some breaks on our journey and one was at the astonishing scenery at the Chiemsee. We spent almost one hour there.

Once we arrived in Salzburg, the room Beatrice booked via Internet wasn't available anymore. That was unexpected but what to do. It was whit Monday and the town was overcrowded with tourists from all over the world. But we've been in luck and we found a cozy little place with balcony, bath tube good beds and a great breakfast. This break was a real good decision and we were quit relaxed when we continued our journey. Noah was pretty relaxed and I played with him nicely all the time. I guess we've been through his books several time and fortunately the roadhouses in Austria are well equipped with children's stuff, play grounds and good food. That was again great, especially for Noah ...

Once we arrived in Budapest it all started with a traffic jam.....of course. Thus we were pretty happy to arrive at Laci's place. I got all the stuff from the car (one can image that our Fiat Punto was really really full) and we relaxed in our lodge. But already it was cold. Somehow my body temperature is pretty low. It has to be warm around me. I'm not talking about 40 degrees inside the room but 15 degrees is not sufficient to make me feel comfortable at all. Consequently I turned the heat on (middle of may) ..... but what to do. Again Noah had lot of fun giving water to the flowers. Looks like he might become a gardener. At least he has some affection towards flowers :)

The first days passed by and all of us three had some struggles with a cold. Beatrice bought the local medicine which was called propolis. The taste is disgusting and once I stopped taking it I eventually healed. Alright.

At the first weekend I attended a Himalayan Yoga Workshop, which was great and gave me the chance to speak to quite some Hungarians there. Friends of friends. Amazingly they translate books from English to Hungarian but when it comes to casual talking they become quite. That was an experience which is rather common. People somehow are afraid of talking a foreign language because they believe it might be wrong what they're saying. Even if this is true, I personally believe that it just doesn't matter. The main thing is the communication aspect and not the brilliant grammar or vocabulary. Anyway.
Once when Noah felt asleep in the car during lunch time we did some sight seeing. Well that's of course not real sight seeing. It's more or less a rush through or passing along some crumbled ruins or awesome building. For me as a tourist it has been always a great opportunity to watch amazing craftsmanship and such kind of things. I'm very eager to learn history ... in the making. Thus I had this one chance when we went up to the Gellert hill. I shot a picture here.

And by chance an English guide was next to me who explained why there are no skyscrapers in Budapest at least until now (although the communist already managed to disturb this age old law by awful buildings and tenements).
Almost every morning we went to the local market to get some fresh strawberries and cherries. Beatrice is convinced that in Hungary everything tastes more natural. Well better not to judge tastes. Even I could manage to find Internet access. And with all those friends who came to see Beatrice, like little Flora .....

and all those where we went, we always got some presents. Noah was the overall time very tranquil and that left quite some impression. To get some rest we used all possibilities either the staircase (with another new favorite toy)

or at the banks of the Danube ....

All in all it was a very exhausting holiday trip. To be honest it wasn't holiday at all. Now in the aftermath basically Beatrice is still recovering from the drainage of these days. For me it was beautiful to come back home. It was just enough. Because I'm just an outsider not able to speak the language I had the feeling to be the fifth wheel.
On the way home once more we stayed in Salzburg. We explored the alps and cows and whatever was there.

We were guided somehow because the hotel where we planned to stay overnight was closed. But exactly at the time when we arrived the owner was walking the dog. And he just allowed us to stay there. Another small highlight was the trattoria around the corner. I ordered a simple pizza and we realized that Noah likes that very much. Since then we enjoy self made pizza again and again.

Belly Massage

Tuka — 2008-04-18T05:44:00Z

One of the favorites of Noah in Lebus was the mobile. Although this attraction originated already some months ago and as far as I know hits almost every baby. Anyway even when he was totally exhausted he had to continue with it. In this case he also received some belly massage.....

Our Visit in Lebus

Tuka — 2008-04-18T05:00:00Z

Once again we've been at the house of Noahs grand parents in Lebus. And Noah enjoyed it very much. He was very open and instantly started to play with them. Already when his grand father met us at the station, and we went by car to their house Noah wanted to give his mobile to him. And the first thing he learned there was the use of a straw. After a couple of tries he already realized how to do it and it was quite a game for him.

But our journey didn't start smoothly at all. We had quite a hurry to get the train in time. And by 10 sec. we arrived before it left the station. Once we found our train compartment, we realised that a pram cannot fit inside of it. I had to dismount it, to make it fit. That was quite an unwanted and unexpected hassle. And after a couple of hours when Noah finally felt asleep another mother with child enter the compartment in most furious way, that Noah felt out of his dreams instantly. And her baby was sick as hell, I was just thinking we go for another compartment or at least for the bar. Anyway we arrived in time and all in all it was more pleasurable than one year ago.

We arrived on a cold, gray and rainy day and the weather didn't change for the upcoming 5 days. It was continuously bad, thus leaving us to play with Noah only in the house which becomes after a while just boring. Fortunately we had the mobile phones of the grand parents. An everyday highlight. Noah enjoyed that very much. Dancing and holding a mobile.

After the 5th day on a Sunday the weather eventually changed and some sunshine filled our lives. Instantly we went to the garden, the pond, exploring everything there. These upcoming 2 sunny days have been really nice and the by was exhausted in the end of the day, sleeping in the night much better besides his teeth ache. Little fresh air works miracles.

After 10 days our short vacation was over and we went home again. This time we had a nice train compartment and good company in it which makes the journey even more pleasurable and the time passing by very fast.

Mama, Papa

beatrix — 2008-03-28T20:17:00Z

Noah has lot of new things, nice and strange too. When i am outside or he wants something he says MA MA, sometimes shouting and sometimes tells it to papa too.

The strange things, eating the stones from our shelfs or making a big noise. I think he wants to stay always in the center. But also it's possible he just likes the taste of the stone. On the playing ground he eats some sand and small gravel. This is Noah how our physiotherapist told when i told to her she has to look at Noah because we think he walks strange ... maybe the pelvis is not symmetric? She told everything is okay and this is Noah, he walks like that....

Today evening he wanted to sleep with his papa. He was on the way to fall a
sleep but was holding him.:) For me was beautiful to see his love towards his papa.

Today afternoon he learned with papa to walk on the stairs and he was very proud to show to papa it.. With papa the relationship is different and beautiful.

Impressions of a growing Boy

Tuka — 2008-03-09T05:32:00Z

A small collection of pictures we did recently. Although many of them are available on our photo site, I guess it's more convenient to get them from here....

That pic was taken in the garden of my mother's house. It has something special, living animals, namely two cats. And actually seems like you can do everything with them, without getting a scratch. At least the cats are in some kind of balance.

The boy is having a good time. He enjoys whatever he's doing. And when he's smiling you cannot be angry with him anymore. Nature arranged it quite smart.

The cutie ....

Changes

Tuka — 2008-03-09T04:29:00Z

It's almost 2 months since the last entry. Lately time passes by so fast and for Noah many new things are coming up, every day. The latest highlight is to play hide and seek. In our bedroom we have a palm tree, and behind that he's hiding all the time, waiting that somebody is trying to find him. Of course one can see him quite obviously but since his eyes cannot spot you he believes you can't see him. So cute.

Another new thing is that he wants to give water to all our flowers. Of course this might be not so good for them, but there's no chance to avoid it. We'll give him an empty bottle to water them.

He still so small. You can play tricks on him very easily because he completely believes in what you do and say. When we go to other children usually they want to get everything, the toys, the cookies just all. And Noah is giving it to them ..... very sweet. But still we are fighting with his teeth. Looks like a never-ending story. I lost meanwhile the count. Maybe we have something between 12 and 14 teeth, which are outside. For sure the last weeks nights have been disastrous.
Nevertheless we had some help lately to find a new flat. Although the contract is not signed yet and although we can stay there only for about 10 months we believe this is a good chance for a change. Anyway many things in the future are not clear yet and this might be only an interim solution. But it looks nice.
Another help we received is for getting a nice and cheap ticket to go to the Grandparents in Lebus. That'll be in the first half of April.
In the middle of May we are planning to go to Budapest visiting a bunch of people from Beatrice's side. And of course, like last time, I have the chance to visit some yoga class again. Sounds promising. Beatrice wants to send me to a Thai masseur. Hmmm.
My dissertation approaches the final stage now. End of February I had the presentation of the complete validation in front of some 20 people at the institute. But it wasn't me who was presenting but my students. And besides some small weaknesses it ran quite smoothly. Although the time spent was especially in the last week tremendous. Anyway, I hope to never touch again chapter 1 and 2 for the rest of my life. When all is working well, I might be able to finish the complete thing in about 1 week. We'll see.

A bed has to come

Tuka — 2008-01-18T10:28:00Z

Looks like time is reap at least for me to find a more suitable solution for a convenient sleep. Although I know he might sleep in our bed for at least as long as his nourishment comes from the breast of his mother, he starts to need more and more space in the bed. And it's way to small for the three of us. Last night I had a dozen of times his feet in my face while he was trying to fall asleep. For him that means to turn around hitting the bed either with hand or feet. Since I'm lying next to him his feet are hitting me with quite some power. I cannot escape that attack doesn't matter on which side I am. Due to the breastfeeding his head is always towards Beatrice thus his feet apart from her. Tonight was a strike. Instead of waking up with a kiss a woke up with a dazzling blow around 3 o'clock a.m.. That was way too much for me. Maybe I'm inpatient or selfish, but I was/ am out of balance when I'm waking up like this.

I wonder what I did to receive this kind of treatment. Consequently I took my blanket and went to the couch in the living room. But I was way to sober to fall asleep here. What can be a solution? I admit to have no idea at the moment. Who knows how long we are still in this flat. It might be ill-advised to invest in a child's bed at this very moment.

Yoga Weekend

Tuka — 2008-01-16T09:44:00Z

Last weekend I had planned a beautiful and very relaxing yoga weekend in the black forest, together with some people of the university and the teacher of the universities yoga classes, Hans-Jörg, in a monastry next to Sasbach.

Together with Hans-Jörg we planned beforehand what we are going teach there. He wanted us to share the lessons of which I had no objections. Although he had some strange ideas about connecting chakras with asanas in an imaginary way he fortunately didn't insist on that.

Actually the whole trip started already with almost 1 hour of waiting on the pavement indicating somehow that it's probably better not to go. Since it was decided and with this delay we eventually started. On arrival we checked in and besides some weird comments from one girl everything was fine. Okay the night was terrible, I was freezing like hell .... it was so cold and the blankets so thin.

Nevertheless 6.30 Saturday morning we started with the practice and as planned we shared the lesson. Around noon the disaster happened. Another girl instructed us on a series of body postures in such a haste and with so much talking that I wasn't able neither to follow nor to enjoy the whole thing. Hans-Jörg contended how beautiful it was and he asked about the opinions of the others. I did as I was told telling my personal experience, my truth. And that somehow wasn't what he wanted to hear. To make it short: from 2 to 3 the two of us had a conflict management dispute. Somehow, latest at this point, the relaxing yoga weekend was over before it really started.

To be blamed of telling the truth is undesirable. But especially in the path of Yoga its indefensible from my point of view. Another small thing which clung to my mind was the food which was not like home. That is of course okay, but when Hans-Jörg came to me telling how good his beef steak is I lost all my faith. Maybe everyone thinks different about Yoga and about these esoteric techniques, but to respect each other in his way of life is it vegetarian, vegan or full of meat is a fundamental part of coexistence. I was kind of shocked.

Thus I was pretty happy when the weekend was over and I was back in the cradle of my home. Seems like the lesson for me was to realize that the own aspirations might not be in favor for others. Nevertheless despite all this trouble on Tuesday evening at my weekly yoga class, the advanced students who attended the weekend too, came to my class to practice together satya, the path of truth.

First Words

Tuka — 2008-01-14T12:14:00Z

Almost exactly 13 month after his birth, Vinci uttered the first words. I had the chance to record it on celluloid and embedded it here. Turn the volume on to enjoy it as we are still doing every time. A small and very cute miracle.

Toilet Paper

Tuka — 2008-01-05T16:30:00Z

Toilet Paper, originally uploaded by Tukaram.

We have a new quite interesting hobby. Because we realize how beautiful it is to play with toilet paper. Such a petty that there are only so little tissues on one role :) But fortunately we have enough roles ....

The 2nd Christmas day

Tuka — 2007-12-31T14:19:00Z

The second Christmas day we went to the grandparents with two cats. Pets are always a highlight for Vinci. Anyway he enjoys the zoo very much already but touching and petting them without fences is the best. Therefore the real Christmas tree or the presents wasn't half as much fun as the cats.

We enjoyed again the bathing tube very much. But without caressing the cats we cannot do anything ...

Divine Love

Tuka — 2007-12-25T13:31:00Z

The first birthday of Noah and Christmas brought along a couple of new things, changes that occur anyway all the time especially for babies like him. These changes usually go by without notice. Some others have a strong impact for both, parents and child.
Now Noah starts to develop his own will, the first steps to his ego. I believe that the ego is such an important part of ones' self, plays such a major part of ones' life, that the advances have to be steered in a very good manner. This manner is twofold driven by either the father or the mother. Besides, the foundation is always the love. But love again can be manifold. The appearance might by of union but might as well be of separation. Duality is part of this life. Thus duality doesn't exclude one or the other side. Actually it's always complimentary. Where there is black, there's also white and everything in between, where there is light, there's also shadow. Considering such universal law it has to reflect on the daily education of the self.
In our life Noah plays a central role. His mother is giving the compassionate love whereas the father is doing the same but with less affection (at least carried to the outside). Unfortunately compassion seems to be always paired with weakness. The ego of the alleged stronger tries to take advantage from it. But as a matter of fact it's not weakness at all but tremendous, deeply rooted power. Noah's ego is now exploring his limits. He knows how far he can go with both father and mother. He understands very well what he has to do, to get what he wants. But sometimes he goes far beyond the allowed. Yesterday was such a day. Once the limits are passed and the tears are running, once it is too late, once the deed has been done the yield will follow. Comprehension of both sides is the way out of the misery. To understand the action and to handle it are different things. But in that way a lesson can be learned. It is remarkable how fast our mind is forgetting the past. But the small spots on the white of our soul are there to remind us of what we have learned.