They say I was born in Oslo, Norway in 1968. As a modern-day viking, I have been on long journeys across oceans and continents. I have circled this planet and travelled to lots of countries and cultures, meeting many beautiful souls and traditions — and mindsets — along the way. I have a never-ending desire to communicate with other beings. About everything and nothing at all.

My name is Lena (ley-na). I have lived a very adventurous life, full of highs and lows. These experiences have given me wisdom and insights into life – generating empathy and fury, compassion and judgement, and a deep understanding of intolerance, fear and the costs of ‘money’ on sentient life.

Here is a poem with a few highlights from my life:

Some may have seen me
in my diamond shaped life

.............................................………...

Some may have seen me riding a camel in the Canary Islands

Or trekking alone for days in the Himalayas

Some may have seen me walking across the Golden Gate Bridge

Or climbing the stairs of that cathedral in Paris

Some may have seen me atop a Mayan pyramid

In the middle of the jungle deep in Mexico

Others saw me on a lake in Nepal

Some may have seen me falling out of the sky

In a parachute over Monterey Bay

Others saw me in jazz clubs in New Orleans

Chased by riding police down cobble stoned streets

Some may have seen me strolling through New York City

Others may have seen me on a plane across the USA

Commuting L.A., Burbank, Las Vegas, Chicago on Southwest

But banned from United, oh what a story some of you have

Few have seen me feeding wild sheep and bulls

Many have heard my voice set to music in clubs

Some may have seen me dance in a trance

At Sting concerts in the Southwest when love was sacred and free

Some met me while walking Venice Boulevard wearing a wig

Who says a woman can't run for president?

Some may have seen me young and tan in the Bahamas

Others saw me in Puerto Vallarta with a mojito in my hand

One opened his heart in his heaven above Michigan Lake

Many have loved me, some still do

Some know what I mean when I say Lago Atitlan

And mushrooms and E and the evergreen bud

Granddaddy Purple, Silver Haze, and Bubblegum

Some would like to, some would not

In Hollywood, who would stop?

Some saw me in Peking, others in Toronto

Atlanta, Vancouver, Seattle, and the Singapore Sling

Yes, it's red, at the Raffle Hotel

Some heard me hum a Cat Stevens tune in the streets of Kathmandu

Others heard me shout hope into the rock of Grand Canyon

Nobody heard me cry tears over you

Nobody

Silent tears for my children, year after year

I've been wrong, I've been right, I've been left, but not right

I've been here, I've been there, on a big roundabout

Now I'm home, so close to home, as I ever have been

Memories of Stockholm, of Bangkok, of the Andaman Sea

Of black and white beaches on the island of Bali

Of rickshaws and butterflies on Penang Island

And a slim Malay cowboy named Jim

People and faces everywhere I've been

Millions of you I must have seen

Not only faces but nature too

Olympian rainforest, parrot fish, and the foothills of Tucson

Thanks for Smokey Robinson in your convertible, Tony

Hawaiian islands and the coast of the Algarve

Stunning architecture in Sydney, Delhi and on the Chicago River

Some may have seen me in Zihuatenejo or on Ixtapa Island

Not so tall, but quite shy and lovely like Astrud

Others saw me on the cliffs of Acapulco, not diving

Some may have seen me on a pier in San Diego

Others found me sleeping in my car along route 66

Some may have seen me by the royal palace in Oslo

Others heard me sharing the possibilities of life

In Marrakech, Madrid, Sevilla, Gibraltar, and Fez

Some may have touched me with healing hands

The Cobra Shaman with rocks and aroma

Others were neighbors in a modern dark age hamlet

For all who have known me

For all who once met me

For all who have seen me

Know that I am grateful

Know that I am here

For a while longer

And I have stories to tell

And places to go

So sleep now you strangers

Sleep deep and dream

Of the places that are

And the people that have been

And of every thought, feeling and sight in between

This is my diamond shaped life

As some of you have seen