“All I know, all I know, love will save the day.” – Des’ree

Nothing truly ever gets lost. At least not the things that matter. People may grow apart. And sometimes may come back to find eachother in a different time and place. True love remains in the Heart of those who want it. It’s a beautiful dance, a swing, together, apart, together again.
Crossroads of connection, walking hand in hand, then sometimes travelling separately onto a new adventure. Even in a dance between lovers you may find this rhythm. Like the pulse of a heartbeat, closing and opening each time. Until the precious last breath. There is love in coming together as one, yet there is also tremendous love in letting eachother go. “Not holding onto” as a state of being. Renewing one’s vows out of a sense of shared freedom.

If only one could have an overview of this beautiful web of connections. Of letting go and meeting anew. If one could measure all the love in a lifetime, what would they do?

They would say: thank you.

Thank you… I’m so grateful for the friendships I made over the past year. I’m so grateful for the old ones that sticked around or that I “found” again. I’m so grateful for the new ones that are unfolding. Grateful for YOU. It is love that matters and that I’ll remember in the end. And it is love that I will cherish in the years to come.

Count your blessings.
Dance in the love. Love in the dance.

“Even
After
All this time
The sun never says to the Earth,
“You owe me.”

Look
What happens
With a Love like that
It lights the whole sky.”

– Hafiz

I’ll keep it short and sweet this time and go for my snack: baked banana on my favorite gluten free corn cracker. With philadelphia spread on the bottom and a pinch of hand harvested French ‘Fleur de sel’ on top. Yum. Recipe of Love!
Oh and, have a go at this song below… I hope you’ll love the lyrics as much as I do.

“We wish to share with you all – that you are not alone, you have never been. We are in it together. And we shall lift each other up, higher and higher. We are indeed, as Ram Das said, and maybe more than ever – ‘walking each other home’.” – Canta com Amor 2020

Here we are, fragile, complicated, yet wonderful human beings, sharing this planet together. At times filled with challenges we think we’d never overcome, but worth every drop of sweat. When we struggle and “think” we lose the way, we can remember the only true way home is within. We can look in depth into the mirror, wake up and rise. We can breathe in, feel and know ourselves, breathe out and let go. Layer after layer, sinking inside the all-encompassing love that we are.

It can be painfully hard, but how else is the caterpillar supposed to turn into a butterfly?

Truth is, we don’t need to do this journey alone. We’re not supposed to. We can walk eachother home.

The Israelites did not survive the exodus from Egypt by backpacking alone for 40 years in the desert. They were in it together. Shoulder to shoulder. Heart to heart.
Redwood trees, also known as Sequoioideae, are the largest and tallest trees on this planet. You would think these ancient giants need deep roots to withstand strong winds, floods, earthquakes, fires and storms…, yet their roots only go about 2 meters into the earth. Instead, the redwoods’ roots intertwine. They fuse together. Redwoods actually build a strong foundation by bonding with eachother…
And have you ever seen the amazing and complex construction sites of ants? By cooperating, ants dig huge nests, use their bodies to form bridges, sew leaves together, etc… A colony of ants seems to act like the many cells of one organism.

Could it be that we human beings are more interconnected, interrelated, than we ever could imagine possible?

Kabbalah teacher Chaim Solomon said the following:
“The ultimate of every religion is: love your neighbour as yourself. Which really means, not just be good to other people. It means to truly reach the level where we have absolute certainty and clarity that you and I are the same. Just like me, my fingers are part of my body. I would never do anything to harm my fingers, because I know it harms me.“

I believe our connection with eachother is essential for us to thrive. Sharing this life is a privilege, expressing and listening from our heart and soul is a gift, helping eachother is helping us all. This who we are, this is is our human nature.

We don’t really know what is ahead of us. We never really know anything, do we? The only constant is change, as Heraclitus said already in 500 BC. What I do know is that we are the ones who choose our direction. Every single day. I also believe the covid-19 situation is not a social exile. On the contrary, this is a revolution in the most basic aspect of our human self: who we are, how do we relate to one another, and what do we want to weave together to shape our lives, our future and our planet for the better?

The choice is ours. The future is ours.

We can take this time of physical distance to get closer to our own heart. To get to know ourselves, and the ones we really care about. To share ourselves, more truly and openly than we ever did before. To make that phone call we keep postponing. To start a chat with our neighbour. To put seeds for social projects to emerge and create more goodness together.

Lonely-20, ladies and gentlemen, is as bad as a disease as Covid-19. And, although part of the medicine is having people around us physically, the true secret lies in the quality, the authenticity and depth of our relationships. In the first place, the one we have with ourselves, which directly nurtures our relationship with others.

Reach out. Unite. Together, apart. In the most creative ways. We are in this together. Let’s see what magic we can create out of this shared situation, out of our comfort zone, who knows what bright future may await us?
Because there is magic when we meet eachother truly. We remember we are all human, we are all one. We come home, together.

“We wish to share with you all – that you are not alone, you have never been. We are in it together. And we shall lift each other up, higher and higher. We are indeed, as Ram Das said, and maybe more than ever – ‘walking each other home’.” – Canta com Amor 2020

Never in my life have I witnessed something so profound and of such magnitude. A gathering of my all-time favorite musicians, medicine men and women, elders, visionaries from all continents, uniting thousands of us – the “Global Family” – to sing and pray together.
No less than 11 hours of sharing wisdom, music, love and dance. Lifting up our spirits while enjoying a sense of brother-and sisterhood – as one big soulfamily. Welcome to Canta com Amor 2020!

It was a game changer for me – and the ripple effect continues. An event with such power that the love skyrocketed until it was palpable for all of us. Have I ever seen so much beauty gather?

Actually. I have, many times. It reminded me of this feeling of oneness. A powerful, resourcing feeling of belonging with similar minded-and hearted souls alike. A precious experience I hold dear and whenever it slips back into my reality, I remember: this is why I’m here.

This is why I’m here.

Call it unity or oneness. Each time, these occasions have one thing in common: a safe place for each one to be. Free. Truly. Vulnerably. A place where masks fall, walls crumble and layers of dust are blown away with the humble presence of light, love and truthfulness.

I wonder sometimes: why is there fear behind being vulnerable? Why is there shame behind showing oneself and one’s true feelings?

I found Ram Dass’ words to be helpful:
“I had to risk being human with other people. And realized that what we offer eachother is our truth. And our truth includes all of our stuff. And the first thing I had to do was accept my own truth. I had to allow myself to be a human being. And I think I was very helped by my spook friend Emmanuel, my disembodied friend, who, when I said to him, ‘Emmanuel what am I doing on earth?’, he said ‘You’re on earth, why don’t you try taking the curriculum? Why don’t you try being human?’“

So that’s just where I’ll start. Being human.

I have a dream! I dream of people uniting and coming together as one. To gather in openheartedness with higher aspirations for the good of all. For a long time, I literally have had many dreams of living in a tribe, in community, in nature. It’s like I’m engined to feel and create social cohesion. A chip was planted in me before I came.
It just so happens that my biggest dream is at the same time my biggest nightmare. At times, I feel deeply, utterly lonely. A loneliness on a very basic human level, a desire to connect deeply and authentically with other hearts and souls.

As fragile as we can be – it is part of being human. I can go round and round this topic again, deepening it, yet each time, it comes down to the same old truth: vulnerability is a prerequisite for authentic human connection. It allows us to acknowledge our feelings and our truth to ourselves – but also lets us be SEEN by others in the totality – and fragility – of who we are. And being accepted and loved for it. Or not.

What happens if we close that door and never show our true selves?

Exactly… you get the point.

But what if we take a chance and we do?

I present to you an expert on this topic: Brene Brown, expanding on vulnerability and connection in only 20 minutes of your time, so you can lean into her humorous and touching insights and leave as a different-hearted person. There’s so much I’d want to share about her talk, as her story and research are full of presents. Then again, there’s nothing better than to get the full experience on your own. Brene Brown, on “The power of vulnerability“.

Authenticity: the most important gift we can offer ourselves. Yet there is another dimension to it: it is the most important gift we can offer to anyone else. When we allow ourselves to be who we truly are, others instinctively feel they can do the same.
Even more, when our needs for safety are met and we shine together, it lifts us far beyond our own light. It takes us to the truth of who we are as a people: ONE heart, ONE soul.
It is our uniqueness that makes this world go round. Our naked truth. But, oh… it is all the colors reflected in a diamond that create its stunning beauty.

Let us be a world where we aim for this: creating a supportive environment for meeting one another truly. Where we reveal the color of our heart and allow our true nature to be. So we can rise up together and walk eachother home.
Because there is power beyond words in unity. There is magic like no other when all the unique colors reflect in a diamond. There is healing here, for everyone involved. We are eachothers’ gifts.

Below, Canta com Amor 2020 as it was – the second part deep in the night.

March, 2020. Covid hits Belgium. It is day 3 after the quarantine announcement in Antwerp City. As I walk out the door, I notice, for the first time in a few decades, so many children playing outside… People simply enjoying a walk in the sunny weather. An unusual sight for a speed-driven society. When did we stop doing that?
I continue my way and sit down in the park. Out of nowhere, I hear two people speaking Hebrew. Not a common thing in this area, so, reminiscing the social skills of the warm and open Israeli heart, I quickly say “shalom“. Before I know it, we talk and I share about my past in Israel. Ever since I was 22, I took trips to the Land of Milk and Honey. When I was 28, I went to live there for about 3 years…

Here’s the thing, and I’ll be straightforward. This land and people taught me mountains of lessons. Maybe most of all, they taught me about brother-and sisterhood. They seem to have a natural instinct to be of help to one another. It’s not all rosy, no, but, at the end of the day, they see and care after eachother, strangers and relatives alike. Whether it’s innate in their DNA, written in the seed of their soul or a quality learned through historic survival, they feel connected. They need eachother.

No human being is an island. We all need eachother. Being in Israel reminded me of the meaning of community, of being part of a whole. Everytime I went there, different places, different people, different time, I experienced what it’s like to be a part of one larger body. I remembered that acts of kindness, generosity, hospitality and love are for free.

Disasters, tragedies, wars and viruses confront us deeply. But I believe they also give us a chance to change our ways and come closer to our purpose as human beings, as a human race. To “Love thy neighbour as thyself”, in our home, in our building, in our community. Nationwide. Worldwide… The wisdom of this sentence is a continuous journey for me and I feel I am only at the beginning. I touch the surface of this theme a little deeper in “We are all one – and we’re in it together“.

The video below by Rabi Manis Friedman reached me recently. I wish to share this with you and, whether you are atheistic, spiritual, religious, believer in aliens or anything else, it doesn’t really matter.
The ‘good way’ is the one that brings more light and love to you and the people (or aliens) around you. What matters is today, what we can learn, moment to moment, how this situation can bring us closer to ourselves and eachother. Can we see and take the opportunity to live our lives more deeply and meaningfully?

Every moment and every day is a chance for a new start.

Auroville, an international community for the world. I’m here because I’m looking for a real sense of community. I’m a tribes’ person. And maybe we all are somewhere deep within.
“Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human Unity”

My dream, my highest thrill. I live for the purpose of unity. A shared experience of belonging, moments of oneness. As empowering as they are, they catch us unexpectedly. When we are sitting around a fire, when heart-felt speech is opening a space of connection. When each one, as unique as he is, dares to be vulnerable and feels safe to be truly who he is. Silence is the backbone. Musical expression is fine-tuning us. That’s when another dimension opens up: we come together, we melt as one. That’s when we are just like a melody built up of different notes. And thanks to our particular uniqueness, together we sound like harmony.

Together, we are more than the sum of our parts.

Some places are more supportive to facilitate this shared journey of growth called life. Auroville is a wonderful example of an intentional community. A great foundation, a common mission of unity and integer values planted within sustainable goals, for each and everyone to be a contributing part of the whole.

Surely, any place is a good place to start. We created societies, originally, to join hands and create together, didn’t we? To grow towards higher goals and care for one another. Sometimes I think that, somewhere along the road, we kind of forgot. We just forgot our purpose. And we lack good quality governance to lead the way. While we stay in automatic mode, politicians and media distract us with fear-based input, and we blindly tag along.

But we are all individually responsible for where we are. Luckily, people are waking up everywhere. New places are sprouting like mushrooms all over the world. Intentional communities aiming for peaceful and conscious co-existence in harmony with nature. Re-awakening our ancestors’ simple way of life and all old native intelligence.

I believe somewhere within, we are all tribes’ people. We want to live together. We want to belong and feel unity. To create and share our essence and contribute to the bigger whole. We just need to remember. 

What makes your “tribal” feeling arise? How do you wish to share yourself for a bigger or common purpose?

If you want to taste more on this theme of unity, I hope you’ll enjoy “We are all one – why being authentic matters” and “We are all one – and we’re in it together“.

Loneliness, the epidemic of this age.

Here’s an interesting observation: we can feel lonely even with company. Besides the struggle of surrounding ourselves with kindred souls, feelings of loneliness are much related to authenticity: if we don’t show ourselves or express ourselves authentically, how can one expect to feel connection? How can someone reach another in depth, if one’s ‘inside’ doesn’t reflect on the ‘outside’? For two people to truly meet, to feel connection, it means first to be true to ourselves. And showing our true nature means…

Get ready to be vulnerable…

I present to you an expert on this topic: Brene Brown, expanding on vulnerability and connection in only 20 minutes of your time, so you can lean into her humorous and touching insights and leave as a different-hearted person. There’s so much I’d want to share about her talk, as her story and research are full of presents. Then again, there’s nothing better than to get the full experience on your own. Brene Brown, on “The power of vulnerability“.

Speak your truth, be true to your heart.

There’s nothing to lose, only time. That which truly belongs with you, will come and stay. And what doesn’t belong with you, will leave, will fall away. And you’ll be glad for both. Live your life in maximum authenticity – because this is where your freedom lies.

If you relate to this topic, I invite you to get yourself a cup of tea and enjoy more deeply in We are all one – and why being authentic matters.

The evening before Sharath left back to Bangalore, right before our ways split, I told him:
“Sharath, I’ll tell you something I’ve been wanting to hear from someone…: ‘You’re never alone, and I’ll always be there’…”
“What?” he answers.
“Yes, ehm, what?” I say hesitantly, as if I’m scared my secret will be revealed…
“Wait… You say you’ve been wanting to hear this from someone?”
“Yeah…”
“Magali. You’re never alone and I’ll always be there”.

We take our bikes. We start driving in the same direction, he’s coming on my right side and says: “and I mean it”.

Third time these last 10 days. Bike keys. Home keys. Bike keys again. Where on earth could they be?

This cannot happen. Not again. And why? And how? I ALWAYS put them back in my little pocket-bag. Always. Together with all my other mess. The rupees. The volunteer card. Some name or shop cards. Coins. Phone. It’s all there.

I ask the sweet Indian amma (cleaning lady). Maybe laundry machine inside pocket?
Nothing.

I’m late already. I wanted to be at the townhall to sign a contract for housesitting.

I text Andres.

12:16 “Can’t find my bike keys” [emoticon, showing squeezed, desperate face almost bursting out in tears] (Meaning: I know you probably can’t help me, also ’cause you’re at work, but, somehow, HELP!)

I can’t believe it. Only last evening, Andres found my home keys on the lock of the door outside and I didn’t even know ‘til he texted me about it. And somehow my bike keys did a magical dissapearing trick today as well.

Now I’m sharing all of this because… I’m not sure yet. But bear with me.

I am telepathic. I am a channeller. I am a healer. I sense things in advance that I don’t know yet or understand, and I am learning to listen gently to the wind that talks to me and to my intuition that knows what my mind cannot predict but Always Leads Me Precisely… Right.

But to remember where I put my keys is another thing. Thank God there is someone on this planet right now called Andres who is somehow exactly the opposite (and also not). “You are my weirdest friend”, he said to me once. A friend, a support, and a partner in growth. And while he watches me walk the walk, he helps me see the humor of it all.

4 minutes later. I text him again.

12:19 “Thank God. Sweet little Indian girls found them and brought them straight to me.”

I take my moped and go out. I’m too late for townhall, take a left instead, and give a ride to a sweet old Indian lady to her home. Next: my smoothie of the day. Full power vitamin C, guava, watermelon and pomegranate. That will do. The AC helps me to relax a little again as well.

And I write to him:

12:41 “Oh man… so stressful. But I find peace in knowing that everything happens just perfectly the way it’s supposed to be. So even if I lose my keys a thousand times and get through that frustrating anguish again and again… There is a reason for it, from above, and I may only discover later why.
Like yesterday, if I hadn’t left my keys on the doorlock, I might have missed out on that great talk with you. Who knows.
As for today, I may have missed out on my meeting in the townhall, but I got to meet a beautiful older Indian woman, and who knows what other chance of events may follow…”

I truly believe this.

Andres says:

13:05 That’s beautiful. I hope you keep connecting to the hidden meanings of serendipitous manifestations. Maybe away from losing stuff though [emoticon with a wink and tongue out] (meaning something like “I’m joking, and trying to make you laugh, but I’m kinda serious too”)
Thank you for sharing though [praying hands emoticon]. (Meaning either “I’m very religious”, or simply “I like to put that emoticon when I want to express gratitude”. I’ll go for the latter.)

The truth is, Andres. I am super stressed. I hold onto my knowing of serendipity, chance events, synchronicity, it’s just what makes sense. Every single thing is just perfectly right and I faithfully trust the way.
But truly, and at the same time… I just need a hug. I just need to feel comforted. To hear someone say: “hey, everything’s okay”.

Love is the best medicine and your support is helping me for this small period of time. Although I know my part in this: showing and expressing myself fully so people can actually see the inside of me… So I can let go of all the weight that I’m trying to carry by myself. That’s the place where one learns to receive again.

Come let go.

We were both walking alone at the festival in Solitude Farm, and then our eyes met. Sagar, you and me knew eachother even before we exchanged words. We stared for quite a while, surprised, I think, to recognize such a familiar gaze.
I become calm in your presence, as if your spirit brings a gentle wind of Native American wisdom with you.

Natalia, you may not have known, but when I first talked to you at the Time Travellers’ Hostel (it definitely earned its name), I knew I wanted to be close to you. I’m so grateful we are. Warm and soft with big beautiful eyes, something about you makes me feel like I’m in a field of roses.

Meeting both of you changed everything. I think our connection was so strong we had a magnetic field around us attracting similar minded to meet us instantly. And so it went.
In the course of a few days, Shlomo, Bhavinie, Shiri, Amir,… all came on our path. We started strolling around together to the beach, Dharma Swasti jamming nights, driving around with our mopeds making the streets of Auroville and Kulapalayam unsafe.

Then came Ayush. At the Adishakti Theatre festival “Remembering Veenapani”, a celebration of Veenapani’s life and work. A truly remarkable event. Every evening transcended the previous one with a delicious plate of Indian theatre, music, comedy and poetry. Sweet, smart and talented Ayush, short was our time, before you headed back to Mumbai, but you definitely made me fall in love with India.

India would not be the same without the occasional Israeli encounters. When you’re slightly bored and an old Ambassador car filled with adventurous Israeli’s headed to a Ritushuddhi (an Indian Hindu ceremony for a girls’ first menstrual cycle) passes you by, indeed, you get in and go with the flow. The car broke down though, on the way to the Indian bat mitsva (as they called it), but it did not in the least make the trip less spicy.

Last but not least. Late night tea sipping at an undisclosed location, too precious to reveal. The warm welcome, the good vibes, the best home-made food and heart-and soulfelt musical improvisation. Out of it all, this will be the most memorable.
By now, we all know those late night tea invitations end up becoming another never-ending legendary night. Somehow, the fun multiplies exponentially and each time I have no choice but to put down my weapons together with my “early-in-bed-intentions”.

Talking about intentions. It’s time for my ayurvedic massage. Stay tuned for more on Auroville, universal city for the future, and on my love for communities.
Over and out.