Intense Friday Experiences
Yesterday there was an extremely intense day with a strong, pulsating flow, and I would like to share its main facets.
The day started around 4.40. After getting up, starting the computer, I went into the garden to sing 10 times Om Namah Sivaya, standing in the position of a five-pointed star. I follow this little ritual since several years and I like it very much. It was a bit below zero degrees in the dark. Back into the house, I had a look through the e-mails and answered some which had come during the night. Then taking a shower, preparing the kitchen and breakfast, yoga asanas. Before meditation I re-read a letter I received two days ago and which had deeply touched me. I felt like a door being opened in me. After 19 years of no more painting there was suddenly an impulse and images coming for future picture. Details of techniques I could use, colours, impressions. I decided to buy painting utensils during the day.
After meditation I wrote a little card of thanks to the author of the letter. Then breakfast, a quick look through the newspaper, getting my bicycle and setting off to work. I like the small path along a little forest, then along the autobahn, through roads where the traffic gets dense. Dropping the card, going on. When I crossed the bridge to the centre of Berne, I took a pedestrians walk under the arcades of the Swiss Federal Office building, where it isn’t allowed to go there by bike, but there were just a few walkers. I wanted to take some pictures of the sunrise and a little statue standing there – it was a beautiful view over the city, with the Alps in the background.
A statue of a woman in front of the Federal Office Building
Sitting in the autumn morning light
View over the city, with the historical museum and the Alps
Arriving at the office I took some pictures of my working place, from outside and inside.
My office room seen from the outside, with a little statue in front of the window
And seen from the inside.
A short chat with my colleague from the web-team, then going through the mails, preparing and publishing a news from the Samaritans about pandemia preparation home care courses on the web, Facebook, intranet, checking other news to be published. Then a meeting about an analysis of the needs of document management with a consultant from an agency and a staff member from another department. Afterwards a meeting with a colleague to evaluate his further vocational training application. Mails, phone calls, fixing appointments for the next week. Friday I’m having off in the afternoon.
So at noon time I went to my naturopath / homeopath, where I wanted to finish a 2-years treatment. We had a very good conversation. I like his in-depth reflections, he has a tremendous knowledge and an unconventional style. Both of us felt it the right time to end the treatment: Though there was no healing with my ear problem, the situation is stable and can be left like that. I asked him about Swine flue prevention and told him about the discussions which had been going on, mentioning the proposal of a friend for homoeopathic vaccinations. He said he is neither in favour of vaccination nor of homeopathic vaccinations: For him the time of taking a medicine is when the disease shows up, and not to interfere with a healthy system. He proposed the same two medicines my friend had indicated (though in other potencies and with different accents in treatment), these being classical homeopathic preparations in case of flu and swine flu – and of course support in case of any complications. He gave me the globuli with some instructions when to take them.
Leaving his practice I took my bike and went to an artist colours shop. A beautiful shop with many colours, pencils, brushes, papers. I selected a number of pens, colours and papers. On the way home it was raining, but I felt in a symphony of colours.
After a quick lunch and a short chat with my wife I already had to leave again, to bring the BMW of my mother-in-law (who is at the hospital at the moment) to the garage in another town for a tyre change. I hadn’t been there before, but googled the website of the garage. Getting the car keys from her apartment, highway, finding the garage. While the service took charge of the car, I sat in a café corner of the garage, surrounding by big BMWs, drinking a cup of tea and studying papers for the next Lunar Messenger on Saturn. It was a funny feeling.
The BMW cafeteria
Three quarters of an hour later the mechanic brought back the keys. Riding through some side ways to another part of Berne, to a big Red Cross hospital where my mother-in-law is at the moment. A long way through underground passages, elevators, floors. Then an intense talk for half an hour.
Hospital beds in the underground passage
Back through the hospital floors to the parking, evening traffic via the autobahn, to her home, changing cars.
At home a short nap and some minutes evening meditation, before getting off again: Yesterday evening there was the annual Red Cross office party in the logistic centre in a suburb of Berne. The rain had become heavier, so I took my motor cycle with rainwear and went through side-ways, over a pedestrians bridge to the logistic centre, where the ground floor had been prepared for the party.
I had a lot of good talks. First with a young lady from the youth section, doing a maternity replacement for 6 months. She’s still a student of Islamic sciences / comparative and Arabic studies. I also had studied, among others, comparative religions and told her that, while I was head of a psycho-social counseling centre for 7 years I had been publishing, together with a colleague from Iran, a series on information about culture and backgrounds of middle eastern refugees, and inter-cultural conflict analyses. A very lively talk which was interrupted by a visitor from Swaziland, who for a week is here for an exchange. He is doing Aids prevention activities. Then several other short “hello’s” and the fondue dinner started. I sat together with people from the marketing section and had some small-talk.
I like these office parties, giving a good possibility for exchanges with people I normally don’t see or talk to during the year. So I had a short, intense exchange with the head of an asylum seekers centre in the centre of Switzerland, whom I know since 19 years. He is a humorous guy from Iraqi Kurdistan. Later a talk with the human resources section which I also know since many years. Another talk with members of the health and integration department, the former migration department, where I had worked for 11 years. While waiting in the queue for the dessert buffet I had another talk with the head of the International cooperation department who just had returned from an International Red Cross conference in Nairobi, he is another long-time acquaintance. Further short exchanges, and then a beautiful final talk with my office room-mate who just has left the office to start as a full-time yoga teacher and professional writer. Though we had been working together for two years, we had consciously kept the private worlds apart. But now I came to know that he is also meditating and gave him a short insight into my colourful “spiritual carreer”. While the others slowly went to the dance floor I decided to return home.
Riding through the rain, back over the pedestrian bridge and along side ways through a forest and nightly quarters of the city I returned home. A final intense talk with my wife and then the day slipped away into sleep.
