This is what I will write: some thoughts, some stories, some of myself. The way I see the way of life. It is just me, my views, my opinions, my way of saying, my way of writing. My spirit, my fire, my love and the freedom of being myself.

Peace is in every step

Thursday, November 27, 2008

For the 100 and more people killed during last night shootings in Mumbay (Bombay) India my heart cries out and prays for sanity of mind and soul.
Below only few words of mercy and love that I borrow from a great and humble man: the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh

"It is a waste to be a human being on earth if you don’t know how to enjoy walking in the Kingdom of God."
And the kingdom of God can only be found here and now.
And in the here and now there is only peace and love.

May those who were killed find peace in the journey of their soul.
May those who lost a loved one in this dreadful night find reconciliation and compassion.
Kuan Yin ( Goddess of Mercy) by Milena


A revealing flickr series of the dramatic night in Mumbay.

One more link of the Dalai Lama empathetic words to the Indians. Who better then him know the suffering of persecution and crime against basic human right.

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posted by Milena at 3:53 AM 0 comments

India my love.....in Amsterdam (2 part)

Thursday, November 20, 2008

I couldn't resist a dance


Bharati in Amsterdam

I just love it. Words fall short when is time to describe my feelings for India.
There is a natural empathy, a sense of deep belonging, an overwhelming feeling of happiness.
And India as I wrote other times is also chaos, cacophony to the point of deafening, smog and pollution, not echological, dirty and still in many places very poor, but it will always remain to me my second love after the mountains.

Last night I was taken through 90 minutes of colorful collection of India's rich and breathtaking diversity.
The musical Bharati is the most extravagant and delicious selection of a varied dances, music and folk tradition of India. I couldn't take my eyes off the stage and admire the amazing ability of the dancers to move so rapidly and so precisely at the beat of tablas, drums, sitar, and magnificent voices. In those dances and music I could remember the hidden treasure of this vast and enchanting land.
In its regional, linguistic, historical and religous diversity; in its myriad peoples, life-styles and traditions I can still feel at home.
Perhaps I was an Indian beggar in my past life or a sadhu on the Kedarnath mountain in Himalaya, or a Tibetan monk, or just a fisherman in Kerala, or a maharajah in Delhi, a rickshaw driver in Bombay or just a "holy cow". Or maybe it is because of the many years I lived in Poona and the deep effects it had on me, more then what I thought.

In my personal perception the sky in India is bigger then anywhere else in the world. I like to think of it as a country blessed by the gods and by the Buddhas where everything and everybody can co-esist in the arms of her warm and gentle embrace.

And that is what I also felt last night as I was watching the Bharati musical. A sense of belonging to this culture that my mind cannot understand but my soul resonate deeply with it.
And that is what matters, to me.

The show was a celebration of the vitality of these traditions and an invitation to taste and participate to this unique Indian flavor.



"When thou commandest me to sing, it seems that my heart would break
with pride; and I look to thy face, and tears come to my eyes.
All that is harsh and dissonant in my life melts into one sweet
harmony- and my adoration spreads wings like a glad bird on its flight
across the sea.
I know thou takest pleasure in my singing. I know that only as a singer
I come before thy presence.
I touch by the edge of the far-spreading wing of my song thy feet which
I could never aspire to reach.
Drunk with joy of singing I forget myself and call thee friend who art
my Lord".
Rabindranath Tagore

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posted by Milena at 5:56 AM 0 comments

The People's Temple 30 anniversary

Tuesday, November 18, 2008




Today is the 30th anniversary of the mass suicide of the Jim Jonestown cult in Guyana:
the People's Temples.
I was only 16 years old, at school in Merano (Südtirol) when we heard the news, and I remember saying to myself that I could never follow a crazy guru. I will be never involved in such groups.
Little did I know that years later after a positive and uplifting experience as a sannysin I would end up in, what is referred by the professional in this area, a destructive cult.
A group with a marzipan coated name: Miracle of love.
And when I think that today in the anniversary of the victims of People's Temple a Mol intensive seminar is going on in Germany where the actual participants are indoctrinated in the Mol philosophy, my heart hurts.

And then I remember to breath. At least Mol is not a suicidal group. They are too attached to life and wealth and too afraid of death to be wanting to end their life.

May those who survived the massacre, and the family member and friends who lost someone in the mass murder, find peace in their heart.
May those who lost their life in such a terrifying situation rest in peace with the angels above.

I believe we can end the suffering by choosing to practice mindfulness and compassion,
When the time is right and when the heart is ready, forgiveness can grow out of it.
Remembering and not forgetting is essential.

A few days ago a Dutch TV channel showed Anne Frank story. So the young generation won't forget.
In April this year I was guiding around Amsterdam a school class of Italian boys, between 17 and 18 y.o. I took them to Anne Frank house. Amongst the 35 students only 2 knew who she was.

"May the sound of your voice resonate always in my heart
so that I can recognize peace when it enters the natural mind
with its gift of wisdom" (Milena)

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posted by Milena at 7:00 AM 0 comments

India my love.....in Amsterdam

Thursday, November 13, 2008


Anything and anywhere can be transformed in India in a place of prayer, Coonoor 08


My life with Osho

The first time I flew to see Bhagwan/Osho in Bombay I took a KLM flight from Amsterdam, where at the end of '86 I was living.
Amsterdam has therefore a direct link with my life in India. Yesterday at the opening day of the Indian festival in the city, this realization suddenly hit me.

In the years I lived in Poona, in the Ashram (Osho Commune International) I was blessed by so many beautiful events. Somehow I didn't have to go much around, the best Indian musician would come and play for the sannyasin in the beauty of the Buddha Hall. Amongst many celebrities I had the pleasure to enjoy and being entertained by our beloved HariPrasad Chaurasia. He was my favorite. He would come and play with Zakir Hussain whose tabla's rhythm is unique and indisputable to me, the best.
Normally those events would happen in the night, after Osho's discourse when he was still alive or after his video after he left the body. I remember hurrying to grasp something to eat at Mariam canteen or by the Zorba restaurant and then go and find myself a place in Buddha hall. The floor in Buddha hall was made of marble and it the night it could get very cold. Knowing the long preparation before the actual concert I was always keen to have a place where I could stretch my legs and if needed lying down to rest my back. The long tuning was to me a concert in itself. By the time they started the concert the auditorium was sank in profound silence. You could only hear the wind through the bamboo outside the amazingly huge mosquito net. We didn't have walls to protect us from the outside, but I never felt so safe like sitting on that cold marble floor with a tend over us as a roof and the net all around. Amazing place. It is a pity that nowadays who goes to Poona have to meditate in a steel building shaped like a pyramid but still a concrete building. So I am told.
Hariprasad and Zakir Hussain loved to play for us. He used to tell us how grateful he was to be a friend of Osho and therefore to be invited to play for us.
I for sure have sweet memory of those moments.

Hariprasad Charausia

Anyway I was delighted when yesterday evening at the official opening of the Indian festival I saw Hariprasad and Zakir playing together again.
We went to the Concertgebouw to see the Kathakali dance and as a surprise we got the appetizer with my favorite Indian sound. We all became a little older, but his music remains profoundly touching an inner chord that brings who can listen to silent where time can actually stop.
I could enjoy their playfulness, it is one of the most remarkable aspect of these two masters of Indian music, they are not only playing but they communicate with each other with a cheerful nodding and acting together with the sounds of their instruments.
I still have few old tapes of both of them that I bought in M.G Road in Poona.
Now they are on my iTunes so I can hear them whenever I want.

In his long career Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia received many awards. But it was only last night that I ever witnessed such a moment when he was honored by being made officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau.



Upper Coonoor 2008
Kathakali in Amsterdam

What to say about the Kathakali. I think is an experience to enjoy their amazing dances and singing. I wish I could have stayed and watch them all night long, like the performance in Kerala.
This last March when we visited India we missed it, but now I know I want to see more of this spectacular colorful and powerful depiction of the Mahabharata epic one of longest and most revered epic in world literature.
What it makes it so superb is the exquisite variety of facial expression to describe the inner drama of the oldest sacred story on earth. The actors who by the way started to do their
make-up hours before the performance, are not talking, Their costumes weight few kilos however that doesn't prevent their body and faces to dance and move in the most expressive way. The musician and the singers are mostly on the background and they narrate the different scenes in the native language.

As I said it is an experiences to watch them and drink deep within the sweet and spiritual taste
of one of the most loved tradition in India.
I thank the International Center for Kathakali New Dehli who performed last night in Amsterdam for taking me for a short moment in the land I love so much: India.

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posted by Milena at 4:53 AM 0 comments