Category: Take me to my paradise – My journey

Take me to my paradise – life lesson I: India – easern philosphy meets western society.
On my way, to figure out more about life and live myself, my journey starts in India.
A country with one of the oldest philosophies and deep understanding of spirituality.

Posted on

# 13 24h hours trip from Amritapuri to Goa

24h hours trip from Amritapuri to Goa.

Morning mediation at 6.30h at the beach or Amaritapuri, made my day. Everything that followed, was just a „skip forward“ button: 4hrs drive by taxi from Amaritapuri to Kochin. From Kochin to Goa another 22 hours. From Goa bus station to Arambol 1,5 hours. In total about 28 hours for 800 km!!The bus trip was quite heavy this time. The bus driver was more than following the rules of the Indian traffic system. I really never became see-sick on the sea in my whole life. But this time I did. The way he was driving the bus was more than an adventure. Additionally the permanent honking for saying“ Attention, I am coming!“ and the snoring man next to me, made it hard to stay a-life!. Inhale…OMMMM!

“Ok, time to work on some skills.” Although it was not easy to write and draw during this time, I started to scribble in my daily scribble book. Here some extracts, of how it looks like.

Scribble Diairy

Scribble diary

Its very useful to increase your creativity and visual thinking. I started 2-3 month ago to work on my visual thinking and visual facilitation skills. I have often ideas and concepts in my mind, but don’t know how to express them and explain it to others. Or sometimes I have to write concepts or be creative, but I just see a black cloud in my head and a whiteboard. With the techniques of visual thinking you train your listening skills, thinking in concepts and processes, and your drawing. You learn to sketch your notes, doodles, canvas, diagrams and how to structure it. And all in all: it’s fun!

# Lessons Learned today: Life is not an mp3 where you can play what you want and can forward it – but life is a radio where you have to enjoy what is played.
Posted on

# 12 AMMAs lovely hugs

AMMAs lovely hugsI arrived at 10 am at the Amritapuri ashram. A very beautiful but currently very crowded ashram. But very peaceful.  AMMA who built this Ashram, where she was born, are one of the famous living Gurus. She is very active with her aid organisations and projects to help people all over the world. She is also famous for her intensive and lovely hugs. Everywhere on the world she give hugs to the people. “Embracing the world” is the name of her institution. She gave her hugs already to more than 32.000 people all over the world. That means around 1.700 hugs each day in average.

After the evening mediation at the beach with her, I had the great possibility to get a hug from her. It was an amazing experience, which I didn’t expect before to get on that day.

# Lessons Learned today:  If everyone would joining the principles of „giving and receiving“, it would  reduce or completely eliminate the chaotic system which has to be organized by rules and processors.
Posted on

# 11 Backwater vs. tear drops water

Backwater vs. black water (or about the differences between societies)One of my sadest day of my trip. Today I lost my brand new GoPro cam in the sea. I double fixed it, before I went in the heavy ocean, but the waves and the current where to strong. 😦 I searched with a dozen of people around two hours. The people here are so helpful. Without any request they helped me to look for the cam. Without knowing me, they just spent  2 hours in the water and tried their best. I am so grateful. Wow, hard to find this helpfulness in Germany. We have no time to do it. Are busy with other things. Well in the end, I had to  except it. The camera was lost. I did, but I felt bad and angry about myself. I am such a fool. Had to know that the waves were to strong.

On my way from Varkala to the backwaters in the taxi I started crying. It was not because of the camera. It was more the disappointment about myself. I share no arenas to material things. I am good in loosing my stuff.

But anyway: Tear drops goodbye, Backwaters hello!

The tour through Mango Islands, near Kollam, was very beautiful. Just pure nature. Small channels, a kind of river which ended in a lake from there the water flows into the sea. Around 20.000 people live in this area. Most of them work in agriculture. Fishing and coconuts are one of the biggest exports here.

Did you know that a big coconut tree can produce up to 500 coconuts per year?!

After a chilly tour an adventures trip to local place Karnugappally as followed: First I took the local bus. I payed 6 rubies, which is not more than 1 cent. I wanted to take the train, but than I would of have to wait for more than 3 hours on a station ware everyone is staring at me all the time, because I am a stranger. So I took a rickshaw. But we had to cross the water by a ferry. At the ferry I had an amazing experience. During the time I was waiting in the rickshaw a group school kids came. Everybody was staring at me, whispering. I felt like a stranger. I WAS a stranger. Slightly sensitive this day, I startet to cry again. It was not because of me. Now I felt for the first time, how a foreigner or stranger must feel, in other countries or societies. I just felt compassion, for all those, who can’t really change something and have to live with it. The teacher of the pupils from a local school came to me and asked me friendly some things. His students sent him to speak with me. They had never spoken to a western and english speaking person. Everybody wanter to touch me, shake my hands. they smiled at me, wanted to talk with me. Just a small 3 year old girl was crying. She never saw a western person. For her I was something like an alien, she was so afraid of me. On the ferry we started to sing together. They never heard an English song and wanted me to sing for them. I sang „light of my soul“ from David Lurey for them. That was after “Let it be“, the song that came first to my mind. We took some pictures together, and in the end I gave my sunglasses as a gift to one of the kids, because he couldn’t take an eye off to it. Habit „make somebody smile“ for today successfully absolved! 🙂

Arrived in Karnugappally. Unspectacular city, without internet anywhere, I went to the only restaurant there. Second time I had to eat my whole meal with fingers. And again, I was the only western person and everyone was staring at me.

# Lessons Learned today:  Realize that life’s struggles create wisdom, there’s a reason why everyone has their own cross to bear.
Posted on

# 09 Sunny Xmas – Part II

Sunny Xmas – Part IILAAAZYYY! I had another beach day, jogging route and Ayurvedic massage (Nasyam, Ayurveda massage with herbal oil). Time to move a bit slower on my trip. Otherwise you won’t enjoy and experience the trip intensively. And secondly I won’t become more relaxed and get my mind clear.

# Lessons learned today:

Before you go forward, learn to accept all that is and was in life. First when you start to except things, yourself and  people around you – you will better understand the situation, feel more compassions and be more relaxed and happier in life.
Posted on

# 09 Sunny Xmas Part I

Sunny Xmas Arrived at this really relaxed place on Xmas morning. I love rocky beaches, with cliffs, calm and vast sand beaches. Thats Varkala. First time I have seen so many tourists on one point. And this was even less in comparison with the rest of Varkala and Goa. Welcome to the bright sight of life .As a christmas present I gave myself a beach day (first time of my trip to India), a beautiful traditional Kerala massage and Shirodhara and funny xmas dinner party with a group of crazy english and Canadian guys.

# Lessons Learned today:  A great person and probably an even better philosopher than me, advised me that everything in my life is waiting for me. “What ever you want in life: its already there. You have to take the next step to get it.“  So lets go for it! 😉
Posted on

# 08 Ashram Art of Living

Ashram Art of Living:First jogging tour in India. But even this was a tiny bit crazy. My running track was anywhere between virtual and true reality. Between TechVillages, Slums and crowded streets you can’t even cross.

After that  I went for a day visit to the Ashram Art of Living:

Surrounded by a green landscape and beautiful flowers, this peaceful ashram conducts courses in Yoga, vedic mathematics and Vasthu Shasthra. It was built and created by Sri Ravi Shankar to extend his preaching on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels and includes an professional Ayurvedic center. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is well known guru all over the world and was even on this day on tour. But joint a guided meditation and had a funny sightseeing tour and photoshooting with Rukesh.

# Lessons Learned today:

If you’re climbing the ladder of life, you go rung by rung, one step at a time. Don’t look too far up, set your goals high but take one step at a time. Sometimes you don’t think you’re progressing until you step back and see how high you’ve really gone.
Posted on

#07 Bangalore Startup scene

Bangalore startup scene:In Bangalore i went to a hack weekend event, where more than 30 young motivated „Hackers“ participated. Everyone could introduce their ideas. Afterwards we built groups to work on the strongest ideas. In the end of the weekend every group had the possibility to present their idea to invited investors, business people and successful startup leaders to collect feedback.

Bangalore is very popular and famous for its startup scene. Especially in tech projects. A lot of developers and IT specialists live in Bangalore – most of them working for the tech companies there.

And of course you find here in Bangalore an amount of coworking spaces, incubators and organizations, which help to cultivate and develope the Bangalore startup scene.

One organisator is https://www.facebook.com/groups/blrstartups, where i joint this inspiring weekend. Thanks to Rashmi Ranjan Padhy, by the way, for the great organisation. 🙂

Here some results of this great weekend:

# Lessons Learnt of today:

Set your goals high enough to inspire you and low enough to encourage you.
Posted on

#06 Bangalore Green & Tech

Bangalore Green & Tech.I got a cold. It is very cold here at night (under 10 degrees). I didn’t expect that. But lets check out Bangalore in the next days.

Bangalore is one of the most popular cities for tourists in India. Its named on the one hand as the “Garden City”, because it has a lot of green parks inside, lakes and nature areas which provides calm rest in this hectic city.

On the other hand Bangalore also known as the “silicon valley of India”, and has become famous for its information technology development, not just in India but also in other countries of the world.

All big name international companies are located here: Intel, Vodafone, Sony, Microsoft, JP Morgan, and so on. They stay in closed and secured „Tech Villages“. Where you hardly  get in without a permission.

The city has in interesting mix of people, and is a very traveler friendly place.
Today, the city continues to grow as number of people visiting the place increases over the years.
Amount of citizens: With population more than 8,4 million Bangalore is the third biggest city of India after Mumbai and Delhi.
The main language is English, because of the international business & tourists.

# Lessons Learned today:
Great ideas are incepted in your heart and rising in your mind . Follow your heart, connect to the right people you need for it and work on to make this IDEA BIG!
Posted on

#05 Osho Meditation Resort – Part II

Osho Mediation Resort Part II:Today I had a very intense day with a lot of different moods and feeling. During the heart mediation, I connected with my heart. I had to cry -just felt compassion, surrender and love – to the people, to the world, to myself. After that we celebrated and danced at the Buddahs Groove outdoor platform. Just dancing in the sun. I really love dancing in the sun. I could do that the whole day long. Would there be a job that is called the „sun dancer“ I would be a master of it. In the afternoon we celebrated a death ceremony, which is similar to a funeral.Just  here you celebrate it with joy, dancing and fun. In the western way everybody is sad and crying during this ceremony. Here we won’t like to have an ending where everyone is crying. Come together, laugh, dance and sing, is the philosophy. After we paraded to the river with drum music and fireworks , where we burned down his body and through his ashes into the river.  The second time I started to cry today. Life is short.

We should always be aware of our time and spend it with things and people we love. Don’t waste your time on unessential things.

In the evening I took a domestic flight to Bangalore, where I arrived around 2 a.m. Long day and short night. Back in the role of „traveler as a business“.

# Lesson learned today:

Start to make unconsciousness into consciousness. Control your mind, being more aware, reduce stuffing your head with unnecessary thoughts. Be always present and do everything consciously.

„And slowly, slowly, as awareness grows your whole personality starts changing. From unawareness to awareness it is the greatest quantum leap.“ (Osho)
Posted on

#04: Osho Mediation Resort

Osho Mediation Resort:Osho was an Indian philosophy professor and later on a Guru for many people – specially in the west. His followers are also called Sanyassin.                                                                                                                                            He was a great speaker and teacher in meditation and found a way to explain the eastern philosophy to the western society.  He was killed in the 90s. Still today they offer different meditations from early morning to late evening. My mum was Sanyassin. So I was growing up with that stuff.          Thats why I had more than ever the feeling, like  I have to step in mums footstep and follow her way to understand where I am coming from, and how I adapt and understand it today in comparison to my earliest years in my childhood.

Task for the day: WHO AM I? I got this today from the others: I am an angel (my name), I am a strong independent person, I am a rebel, I am crazy (traveling alone).

# Lesson Learned today:

Indian is a country which might be poor, but its the richest country in spirituality. It concerns the highest value of consciousness. If you want to meet the country and learn, you have to go with open eyes and connect to the people.