for our upcomming marriage

Beloved Friends,

We both hope this message finds you well and healthy. As some of you know Nisarga and I have decided to get married. Some of you have asked, or may be wondering, why or what does that mean for each of us. While it is very difficult to put into words or even be concise about it... we have both come to the understanding, in body, mind and heart, that we want to live deeply committed to each other, and we want to grow as individuals through our union.

Our spiritual union...

We were in Greece, on Lesvos island, at the Osho center there (osho afroz), and Nisarga suggested that our teachers, Svarup and Premartha, could may be give us some sort of blessing ritual. I immediately agreed; what a wonderful idea! Svarup and Premartha have been together, up and down and all around, for 25 years. They are therapists, they work together, they inspire each other, they love and respect one another, they are quite different from each other... they are the only successful long term couple we know of who are in love, who are individually spiritually successful, and who are successful “in the world”. These angels disguised as wise elders gave us such a beautiful gift on May 29th. A ceremony filled with love, compassion, magic, wisdom, creativity, fun, laughter, tears, friendship, teamwork, dance, singing, faith, and cake! All at their lovely magical kingdom on a hill overlooking the sea and the sunset. For more on this ceremony please check out our album and captions at: http://picasaweb.google.com/nisargaanddeepa/SpiritualUnionCeremony?feat=directlink .

So we woke up in the morning and although we had not intended to have a union ceremony (we had asked for blessings after all), we felt united in body, heart, mind and soul. This is marriage! So why wait until a paper tells us we are married? We decided to declare ourselves married then (to answer those of you who are asking: did you already/ really get married?). The high lasted a while... it was unbelievable!!! Wow!!!!! Thank you all who made it happen

Our spiritual honeymoon...

From Greece we flew to London and embarked on 6 days of tantra work for couples (level 1 out of 7) with Sarita. It was in one of her workshops, the first tantra workshop either one of us participated in, 2 years before that we had decided to be together. After much going back and forth we decided to start walking on this tantric path as a couple and dive deeper into each other and ourselves through this process. It was quite something to come back to tantra now as a committed couple. It was indeed beautiful, transformative and eye opening.

In the world...

And now we are travelling around Mexico for a month. As a “real world” honeymoon, and as a taster for Nisarga to experience Latin America in case we decide to move to this region of the world in the future. We are really enjoying it! Nisarga is even learning Spanish! And we know that in just over a month we are going to meet up with my brother, his wife, and my mother in Las Vegas to seal the deal legally. Our “rehearsal dinner” will be on the 109^th floor of our hotel (the restaurant rotates so you get the full panoramic view) and will see the “O” show by Cirque du Soleil. On August 9^th (08-09-10) we will all meet at our hotel room and meditate together (Nadabrahma), share in silence, then share whatever blessings or expressions may arise, and then Nisarga and I will share our vows with each other. We will dance and sing, then go out and sign our papers, have a scrumptious dinner, see the Blue Man Show, and continue celebrating afterwards.

Although we will be miles away from all of you, we would like you to be a part of this ceremony in some way if you wish to. During the sharing we would like to read, listen to, look at, feel, etc. whatever you would like to share with us. It can be a story, words of wisdom, a smile, advice, a quote, a poem, something about us as individuals or us as a couple, a picture, a song, a dance, a wish, a photo, a painting, it can be about love, about partnership, about life, about anything and in any way you wish to share it with us. Please email either one of us before July 29^th with whatever you wish to share, in whatever language seems right for you, and my mother, brother and his wife will make sure it is communicated across to us during the sharing. Also, if you would like to meditate with us we would really enjoy your company. Any time on Monday August 9^th that you find the time to share your energy with us it is most welcomed.

We will of course take pictures and share those with you when the time comes. For now enjoy the ones from Greece and hope to hear from you soon. You are all with us. Thank you for your support and love

Antigoni Dhyan-Deepa and Eryk Nisarga

P&T family reunion 2...

it was so great to see these old friends. almost a year has passed and it was like just a few weeks ago that we parted ways. we caught up on each others lives, gossiped, laughed, shared ups and downs... it was fabulous!!! our hostess with the mostest made scrumptous avocado salad, which we devoured! and there was a finger licking good strawberry cream desert and a cherry cheese cake to die for! one of the stars of the night, which kicked off at 10pm on a wednesday no less (our inner teenager was out in full force), was the flat faced persian baby kitty! she was a ball of energy and ready to play with everyone. most of us left after 2am, vowing to have another reunion next may when nisarga and i are back in athens, and that we would become helpers for next year's primal tantra. see you then!!!

finally, at home again in greece

last summer we were fortunate enough to spend some time at osho afroz. we loved it loved it loved it. at one point, while at the volcanic black sand nudist beach just a 10 minute drive from the osho afroz center nisarga says: i have no need to go anywhere else, this is paradise for me, i have everything here. its like a second home to us both.

this year i realized how important that is for me. that i have found a place where i feel at home, in greece! after my grandmother died in 1995 i felt there wasnt much left for me in greece. i didnt return for 8 years. when i finally did my father and i fought like cats and dogs. in 2005 he sold the family home, after selling off all the other family property, called my mother and told her that he has no forwarding number or address and that if something happens to him someone will be in touch. needless to say i REALLY didnt feel like there was anything left for me in greece at that point. after a couple of years of distance, and some therapy, i returned, and it felt good... i had so missed being at peace in greece. but june 2009 i discovered osho afroz, and i participated in the primal and tantra group there and it was sooooo important for me to do that IN greece, with greece food, language, smells, sights all around me. we stayed for all of july 2009, and then i returned in september for 2 weeks while nisarga went to pune.

this year we were only there for 2 weeks, the last two of may. but straight from the beginning we decided, yes! next year we will be back for a few months. and it is important for me that nisarga feels so at home here. because this is foreign to him actually, but he loves the food, plays with the language, basks in the weather. and it is so wonderful for me to know that my husband feels this way. so this is lesvos, osho afroz, and the beach at skala... our second home

gdansk

so the day after nisarga proposed we went to the US embassy, he got a 10 year US tourist visa!!!, and we headed off to gdansk. the northern sea shore. it was a 6 hour drive. we stayed with this wonderful couple!!! they were the most hospitable people i have ever met. really!!! ok, i havent been to turkey yet, i know. we had great conversations, great food, great wine, lots of time to sleep in in the morning, a few hours of walking around the different old towns and looking at all the amber around!!! wow.. beautiful. nisarga wanted to get my mom something as a thank you for accepting him in the family so we picked her out a beautiful amber earring and necklace set. got my belated christmas gift too!!! i was so happy to have waited. ha!!!

a lovely little excursion for us to celebrate each other. thank you...

ps: this is the longest pier in europe!!!

an offer i couldnt resist...

on march 21st nisarga made me an offer i couldnt resist. he asked me to marry him. i had my suspisions that this was in the works, i know him well and during a couple of our phone conversations while we were apart for 3 weeks prior to this, him in poland me in goa still, there was something fishy! his father didnt help when he called the day before nisarga proposed, asked to speak to me, and told me how happy he was that we were finally getting married... he didnt realize nisarga hadnt asked yet. oooopsssss

so we went to the highest point in warsaw, the top of the cultural tower, nisarga said he wanted to address his fear of heights. later he would tell me that he wanted to be as close to the sky as possible. as we parked i knew what this was about and i couldnt help it, i screamed!!! he asked me what was wrong and i laughed, and said "oh nothing, im just a bit of a mess this morning". he tortured me by suggesting we walk around the exhibit on the ground floor first. i wanted to yell: come on now! do it!!! just do it!!! ask me!!!!. but i didnt. i read the sign boards. then we went to the top floor and he asked me if i wanted to get a drink first, i quickly responded no! we walked slowly around the viewing area and looked out at warsaw in the different directions. this was the first day of spring technically, but it was quite gray and drizzling on and off. it was also the 2 year anniversary of when he took sannyas with osho, and for me it had been the day before. so lots to celebrate already... so ask me damn it!!!!

finally, he told me to face forward, hugged me from behind, brought out the ring on my right side and asked to my left ear: will you marry me? since i had already spazzed out i was quite, i smiled, got teary eyed, hugged him, wished i could have teleported us back to bed under the covers to snuggle up for the rest of the day... and thats when my mother called! bless her!!! yup. her timing couldnt be more on the mark! wow. so nisarga answered and asked if it was ok with her for him to marry me, that he had just asked me and i said yes but he wanted to check with her. (he had thought to ask her before asking me... thank god he didnt actually do that!) given our proximity to the gods the reception was bad and she couldnt make out what he was saying in the beginning. then she was in shock and kept asking if this was a joke. then he suggested that she think about it and we all talk later that night. i reassured her that it was not a joke and that we can talk later. it took her about 15 minutes to get herself together and call back, we were still up high so still bad reception but she was excited and said yes and blabbed on. i told her that we needed to talk later and that i wanted to get back to my proposal.

later on the evening nisarga called my brother to inform him and ask him if it was ok with him. joe said yes. and the same with my father. he called his father and mother to tell them. his father was particularly impressed with nisarga having spoken to my family as well.

we went to lunch at a friends as planned and when he said he had an announcement they both loooked at me and said in unison: you're pregnant! nope, im not, in case anyone else out there is wondering. thanks magdas!

nisarga's first clarification after all the yeses were in: ok, you arent taking my last name, fine, but the kids get my last name right??? right honey!

over the following several days i asked myself how i really wanted to commemorate this legal union. at first i said i didnt want anything, it doesnt matter, we can just sign papers anywhere and then have celebrations wherever we go. real abstract. but as i thought about it more i realized i do know what i want. i want my mother and brother to be with me. that REALLY matters to me. i want us all to meditate together and have a very intimate private exchange of vows. i want those present: my mother and brother and sister in law to be part of the vows, sharing with us how they will support us and for us to share with them what we need. i want to have fun and celebrate grandiosely. i dont need a white dress, a cake, a huge reception, a church ceremony or any of that. i want support, love and laughter!!! i shared this vision with nisarga and he said he had to think about it. he had already said he wanted to get married over the summer, in the US. its true that its easier there then here in poland if you do things the traditional way. so he accepted my request, adding last night: whatever we do in vegas, lets do it with joy and happiness!

and of course this is when things started to get out of hand. i mean... my mom with her excitement about it all; my brother eloped so this is her last chance at having some kind of wedding for her offspring... and being mother of the bride!... and his father and mother with expectations for a church wedding and an all night drunkfest ceremony. well... as of right now we will be in vegas for 3 days and 2 nights with my mom and joe and akiko, celebrating with good food, awesome shows and each other. 08-09-10! mom is having the floor redone in the living room and a deck put in so that she can host 25-30 members of her family in september in our honour, this way nisarga can meet everyone in one go and i can see everyone too. the last family reunion i attended was just before i left for india almost 7 years ago. nisarga still has to see what he really wants to do with the polish side of things, that will come with time.

hope we see you somewhere soon to toast together, to celebrate love and hope with joy and happiness!!!

happy easter!

its been more than 10 months since i last wrote in the blog. something happened and i just didnt feel like writing anymore. and that lasted until now! a lot has happened over the last 10 months, A LOT!!! we'll play catch up as we write along.

as for now, we are both in poland, for another few days. stuffing our faces with left overs. here to celebrate easter with nisarga's family. check it out: herring, mazurek, sausage, more, more and more...

the alps

today i visited the alps for the first time. i was in the andes when i was in argentina doing my study abroad. in fact noha, a friend also on the study abroad, and i hitched hicked from the argentina side to chile across the alps... i so dont recommend anyone do that. i also spent time in the andes when i lived in peru for 2 years, and on my trips to bolivia as far back as when i was 12. but it was only when i got to the himalayas that i could really appreciate the mountains. i initially travelled in india to different himalayan destinations with indians who are absolutely passionate about those mountains. their respect and love for them taught me a lot. and today... i visited the alps.

we went to isola, a village cum ski resort just 1.5 hours from nice. nisarga loves skiing here, and although im not a skiier, and dont have much desire to be one, i have agreed, enthusiastically!, to come back here with him. he can ski all day and i will simply be.

we sat and listened to the spring water gushing past. with the sun in our faces and the cool breeze caressing the rest of us. there was lots of snow left considering it's almost june. the sky a perfect blue!

as i look at these pictures it looks like we are standing in front of a fake picture, like they do in hollywood or bollywood. but it's not!!! it's soooo real. and beautiful.