Today Ramesha and I spent time together in Lugano Centro, mostly under i Portici — the arcaded walkways filled with an amazing variety of shops and restaurants.
Our favorite spot for cappuccino is Mauri Concept. They also have fun signs.
Speaking of signs, we got a kick out of the message on the edge of my caffè macchiatto (Ramesha’s cup was blank).
We spent the afternoon getting started on packing for our return home, then went out for dinner.
The pizza was delicious, but I was a bit surprised by the bathroom. I mean, I’ve never seen a see-through toilet seat cover before — covered with rose buds no less! 😂
Enjoying a delightful satsang with the Ananda Ticino meditation group.
Ramesha and I are truly grateful for the blessing of spending time with family and friends here in beautiful Lugano. At the same time, having lived in spiritual community for so many years, after a few weeks we find ourselves missing satsang with fellow devotees.
Last year there just happened to be an Ananda event that we were able to go to. This time we decided to be proactive and arranged to do a music workshop for the Ananda Ticino meditation group that meets regularly in Bellinzona.
What a joy it was!
First of all, we got to talk about music, consciousness, community, spiritual growth, etc. Then we got to simply enjoy singing with everyone. That was followed by time to answer questions and have some interesting discussion. And then we all went out for super delicious pizza.
The absolute best thing, however, was getting to know this new branch of our spiritual family. Even the ones we only met last night feel like longtime, dear friends already.
(P.S. I used the word “bliss” in the title because in Sanskrit the word “Ananda” means “joy” or “bliss!” So, “Swiss bliss” is my way of having fun describing an Ananda meditation group in Switzerland. 🥰)
Although the weather in Lugano Centro was cold and rainy as we ran errands this afternoon, we had some thoroughly enjoyable encounters with a number of delightful people. And that always makes my day.
Finally a day with just a simple lunch of gnocchi with pesto at Silvio’s (Ramesha’s father). We would have only been there maybe an hour and a half total, except that today we had to do…
Yep, you guessed it…laundry. Which kept us there all afternoon
It was actually a good thing because had a chance to plan the program we’re doing for the Ananda group in Bellinzona this Sunday afternoon, on “The Power of Sound and Music on Consciousness.”
It’s kind of amazing how full this first two weeks in Lugano has been.
