THE BADGER is a fierce animal, very much respected and honoured both in Northern American Native traditions and in European Celtic ones. THE BADGER is the prototype of the persistent healer who keeps looking for remedies, whether they are physical or not. At THE BADGER we believe that the arts in all their beauty, science for the good of everyday life, spirituality, philosophy, food and the healing arts proper are beneficial to restoring that balance, health and sense of worth that each and every human being deserves. We offer you THE BADGER, the persistent healer, all the articles come from experts in different fields, each person has his/her own idea of what balanced health is, they are here to share information, give inspiration, receive your comments, suggestions, contributions. Each human being has at least one of the keys to well being, let's continue our quest!
THE BADGER YEAR 1
VOLUME 4
After the scorching sun of summer time, we turn our attention to the cooler ways and the shorter days of autumn. This is the time when the harvest is stored for the colder months, the time of the falling leaves in one of the most fascinating shows of nature with their infinite hues. You will find more voices to accompany your autumn, thank you for continuing your journey with us, let your friends and loved ones know about THE BADGER and its many gifts. Let's celebrate this transition time with poetry and stories, this is why THE BADGER starts its first literary contest. Full information about the contest can be found at the end of the magazine, where you will also find the links to our previous issues. Antonella Vicini Editor Antonella Vicini Graphic Consultant Patrick Zuidema
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CONTENTS Quo Vadis? Antonella Vicini
Music for the Soul AJM India
Into the Matter Andrea Exo
Badger Medicine Fredric Lehrman
Taming Waves Paolo Benda
Poetry
Readers' Corner Healing with words Antonella Vicini
CONTENTS Voices from the Stars Laura Bottagisio
Mother Earth Speaks Claudia Enrico
Aromatherapy Renato Tittarelli
Food is our Ally Daniele Sampalmieri
Photo-graphy Luis Vasconcelos
Travelling Judy Hayes Raffaella Vicini
At Home in the Universe Gigi Capriolo
Musica Universalis Ciro Perrino
CONTENTS Lathe Biosas Johannes Dimpflmeier
Human Tanya Tewell
Deep within Jose Maffina
Warrior Goddess Gabriella Campione
Quilting Away Lida Perry
Under the Skin Flavio Gandini Samantha Fumagalli
Namaste Giosie Colagrossi
Nomads Giorgio Milanetti
CONTENTS Peace Building Carlo Popolizio
Witnessing Laura Cuttica Talice
Re - Connection Alessandro Pintus
The Authors Thanks Adverts If you want to become one of our authors, send us your ideas for articles and columns, contacting us via FB: https://www.facebook.com/THEBADGERQuarterlyMa gazine?ref=hl You can also take part in our 1st Literay contest, rules and deadlines have already been posted in our FB page, you can also find them at the end of our magazine.
QUO VADIS? HOMINE Antonella Vicini with photos by Luis Vasconcelos Where are we going on this blue-green marble rolling in the sky? What is our destination? Is there one at all? Some nights ago I had a dream: a globe was hanging precariously from its support, then I saw its connection breaking and the earth standing free from it. In the dream I thought that the earth cannot stand without its support, its axis. When I woke up, I was left with this image and its consequences. What was the dream telling me? Since the beginning of time, dreams have accompanied humanity in its search for answers, for deeper meaning, higher awareness, knowledge and a vision of life. The Brihad Aranyaka Upanisad centres many of its pages around the dream world as a necessary double of our waking world. http://archive.org/stream/Brihadaranyaka.Upanishad.Shankara.Bhashya.by. Swami.Madhavananda#page/n0/mode/2up http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/brhad_00.html
But is that it? For many seekers the dream-world is a multi layered parallel universe, where life is even more real than in the so called awake state. From these interpretations a rich strand has flourished, ranging from beautiful literature such as La vida es sueno (Pedro Calderon de La Barca 1635) to the speculations of science fiction (especially Arthur Clarke's musings). Whatever the genre what they have in common is the access to dream time in an awake state. What if we can use our dreams as a map to new and uncharted territories in our human experience on planet earth? The prospect of our globe shrugging off its burden of support is certainly daunting, yet it may be what the Earth needs in order to survive. We have become the burden with our illusionary constructions of logic, where little or no room is given to breathing space for our living land. When I hear or read about the growth of yet another city, I am saddened for the impoverished life of many, for the new weight of buildings, infrastructures, roads and services imposed upon an already ravaged soil. Finding a solution is extremely difficult, I certainly don't have the necessary tools for it. However, asking these questions, as many others already do (http://www.pachamama.org/), is extremely important, if not vital for our long term survival here.
How far from our human nature are we willing to go, before realizing that without our connection to the land we are rootless? Therefore, we become separate, lonely, prone to disease and totally alienated from our very nature.
The meaning of the word healing comes from the Greek term ὅλος (holos) which means whole, without parts. There is also an Italian word I like with a similar meaning "risanare", from the Latin word sanus that means whole as well. Therefore the literal meaning of these words is : to make whole again. In both English and Italian versions, or Greek and Latin, there is one underlying perception of a fracture, a separation from a state of original unity. Many a cosmogony talk about the one principle and how, from its split/fracture/separation, came the 2 and the 3 and the multitude of objects. Many theologians have walked the opposite path, thus looking for unity out of separate entities. Science itself arose from the deep human need for understanding, for a unifying principle that could give global sense to the chaos of daily events. Many centuries later we are still guests of the earth and we are as bewildered as before about the eternal questions written at the beginning of this reflection. We have studied at school, we have read many books, perhaps we have practised meditation in order to find some answers, as well as peace of mind. I don't know if we can find the answers to these questions, but I feel the urgency and the importance of asking them, since they are vital for our survival, not just our individual one, but for our human species. The immense capacity for adaptation used by our ancestors have made us what we are today: healing the fracture, the separation from our natural roots, will allow us to repair the damages already made and will offer solutions for the generations to come. We are tomorrow's elders, the wise people of our human tribe: our responsibility lies in using every tool available in order to heal relationships, connections, loving links to each other and to the blue-green marble rolling around the immensity of space.
We have a choice now, after the dream we can shrug our shoulders, turn over and go back to sleep, or we can remain awake and engage ourselves in a different way. We can start using the power of dreams as a way to envision a different present and future for ourselves and this beautiful land we are lucky enough to walk on in this blessed incarnation as human beings.
Antonella Vicini Photos by Luis Vasconcellos, as amazing as usual from the intense landscape of Iceland. This video was created with the photos by Luis Vasconcellos and the ethereal music by Johannes Dimpflmeier.
http://youtu.be/vLQp0o-MpNg
from the Brrhadāraṇya Upanisad 1.3.28
असतत मम सददI Asatō mā sadgamaya तमसत मम जजतततदम र I tamasō mā jyōtirgamaya मतम जतममर अमत म त दमज I mrrtyōrmā amrrtaṁ gamaya ॐ शमन त शमन त शमन त II Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
From untruth lead us to Truth. From darkness lead us to Light. From death lead us to Immortality. Om Peace, Peace, Peace.
MUSIC FOR THE SOUL AJM I am India - performance artist/songwriter/rapper currently under the moniker 'AJM'. Healing, self-understanding and self-actualization truly come through the arts, evident through my newest single 'DREAMS'. You can check out my subconscious tag-teaming with my conscious here: https://soundcloud.com/ajmichaelmusic/dreams
“Why Am I?� Andrea Exo While the cosmic snake spins the wheel of life, an unexplainable phenomenon happens, it takes over matter, so much so that it can bend it to its will. This is consciousness: atoms decide the destiny of other atoms in the microworld, of other forms of life on a larger scale, in the future even of solar systems. What is the nature of this miracle? How can static, inanimate elements, can have consciousness of themselves, can observe and study themselves, can manipulate themselves in the name of progress? In reality they want to answer the question of all questions: "Why am I?" This is the question that leads researchers on, day after day, cutting, magnifying, comparing, always hoping to find the place of consciousness, that magic switch that makes us aware of ourselves when it is on and sees us lost in a primordial sleep when it's off. Yes, sleep. Before science dominated our apparent evolution, before our senses were magnified by technology, our ancestors noted the similiarities between a sleeping and a dying body; at that time their curiosity about sleep and altered states of consciousness was at the centre of spiritual exploration. Both states share some aspects: inability to interact with the physical body, absence of awareness of the surrounding reality, being helpeless and at the mercy of predators, lack of perception of time.
Between sleep and death there is the state of coma, in such situation the person cannot wake up normally, nor can be woken up, oftentimes there is no brain activity, but there are evident vital signs, such as breathing and heart beating. There may not be consciousness, nor thoughts or brain activity, still a live body differs from a dead one in the heart beat. Where is the switch? Is it just an electric movement of neurons? If it were only electrical impulses to determine our "being", why are all the other elements in which electricity is present devoid of consciousness? If the answer is yes, could we one day transfer our consciousness to machine? To a body made of interchangeable parts, instead of dying cells? Could we win death with technology? Both spiritual and scientific researches aim at answering these questions... But where is the meeting point?
The main difference between a human being and a rock is connected to the senses. If human beings were born without being able to hear, touch, see, feel... they would not be different from stones, the body itself would not be able to survive.
Interesting experiments have demonstrated that any individual in a place without external stimulus goes crazy or dies. Therefore, it is not enough that the heart beats, it needs to perceive as well. What is the psyche if not the experience of oneself and the world around? Thanks to our senses we perceive and interact, everything happens inside of us thanks to the world outside us! If nothing happened outside we would not be anything.
An awake man perceives and interacts, a sleeping man can only look inside himself. Spiritual research needs to start from the art of dreaming, as Carlos Castaneda used to call it. The macrocosm creates through the senses a microcosm, where consciousness can range beyond matter itself. In dreaming we can fly, love, change gender, race, species, since the physical world has no power, nor time. The watch that constantly reminds us of the passing of time, loses its speed when the state of consciousness is altered. As many seekers know. When the senses are altered everything loses its dimension and solidity. Where is this leading us? Why are we?
The two ingredients needed to produce consciousness are psyche and matter. Can the soul survive one of the two? We have seen that the self is built on external perceptions. From then on we can proceed through dreams or expanded consciousness even without interacting with the external world. Can consciousness then have transcerebal nature? Could it be more connected to the heart and the belly than to the brain? Could it progress even without the body? Examining an alive organism under the elctronic microscope why do we find atoms that are identical with carbon or water, but in one place they produce life, while in another they have no consciousness? And more: a live body and a dead body placed in a vacuum are identical on an atomic level, same numbers, but in dead one the switch is off. Worrying among paradoxes, while at the same time looking for an escape from the only sure thing: death, we can only conclude with an evident fact: when we watch tv, listen to the radio, work online... if the receiver breaks down the transmission goes on. And we are what we are because of what happens outside... and when our hearts will stop beating, the transmission will not end...
Andrea Exo Translated by Antonella Vicini
Badger Medicine The Dragons of Seattle Fredric Lehrman It was a gray October day in Bellevue, Washington, around 10:00 in the morning, and I was listening for a knock at the door. The overnight Oahuto-Seattle flight of my anticipated visitor had landed about an hour ago, and she would be arriving sometime soon.This was Morrnah’s first visit to Seattle; the house where she would be teaching her seminar that weekend was hard to find in those pre-GPS days of the 1980’s, so it seemed that the best plan was to bring her to my house, and from there I would take her to the workshop. I had not met Morrnah Namalaku Simeona, but I had heard of her from one of her students in Honolulu who had learned Lomilomi massage and other traditional Hawaiian healing skills from her. Born in 1913, Morrnah had been recognized as a spiritually gifted child before the age of 5, when she would sit in front of the rowers on the forward prow of her family’s outrigger canoe during the traditional and very intense ocean races. She could somehow sense or see the flow and the angles of the currents in the water ahead, and as the boat surged forward she would call for subtle changes of direction that allowed their boat to win the races. She was now an internationally celebrated Kahuna Lapa’au, and was beginning to travel the world sharing her deep practice of Ho’oponopono.
I had first encountered some of those Hawaiian words before when I read a book entitled The Secret Science Behind Miracles by Max Freedom Long during my post college days in New York. I had discovered one of the only two “esoteric” bookstores in the city and was reading a wide range of books about East-West psychology, spiritual practices, and the still-unmatched ancient sciences that made possible the great structures of the ancient world. Long’s book described a Polynesian system of psychology that came to Hawaii with the first canoes from the Eastern Pacific and then continued through generations of Elders who passed the wisdom to their young disciples. “Kahuna” means “Keeper of the Secret;” Morrnah was an authentic embodiment of that title. The front door of my house is very tall, and rather heavy, with no window enabling anyone to see in, nor can the resident check on who is knocking. I had never seen a picture of Morrnah, so when the knock came, I opened the large and fairly noisy door with no specific visual preconceptions, and was surprised to find an older woman standing with her back to me, gazing silently but intently into my front yard. My normal reaction would have been to say hello, but I felt that she knew I was there, and both of us keeping quiet was odd but appropriate for some reason. After perhaps 20 seconds, she turned her head a little without looking behind her, and said over her shoulder in a soft voice, “Do you know you have a dragon in your front yard?”
Now I must digress a little, and take this story back a few years so you can appreciate what happened next. While studying T’ai Chi for nine years, I had been immersed in Chinese culture on a daily basis, taking classes with a man who was the embodiment of ancient Chinese philophy, hearing Chinese spoken all around me, and eating with Chinese friends and fellow students at restaurants in New York’s Chinatown from menus that had no English translations. Over the time I spent around Prof. Cheng, I became curious about the difference between how dragons are regarded in the Orient (helpful and powerful) and how they are depicted in European tradition and folklore (evil and cruel). I began to wonder why it was that almost every culture on every continent has some kind of dragon legend, despite the “fact” that dragons don't “really” exist outside of human imagination. So to test my suspicions that there was more to the dragon thing than is generally admitted, I decided to put on my Sherlock Holmes hat and seriously investigate this mystery. When I moved to Seattle in 1980 and eventually bought a house, I decided to call it “The Dragon Farm” and make it the base of a “thought experiment” where I would use both subtle and unsubtle methods to make my home “irresistible to dragons.” (More on this in a future article). Morrnah’s arrival at my door was less than a year after I had moved in, and her opening words took me by complete surprise. Very few people knew anything about my experiment, and certainly none of them had been speaking to Morrnah. I was very quick to restrain my astonishment because I saw an opportunity to learn something. “Do you know you have a dragon in your front yard?” “No, where is it?” “It’s right over there, next to that tree.” “I don’t see it… what is it doing?” “It seems to be resting, like a cat, not asleep, but with it’s head up, just looking around. It looks very comfortable.” “How big is it?” “Oh, it’s a small one, maybe 12 feet long.”
All of this was spoken very softly, as one would do so as not to frighten something away. After a few more seconds of silence, she turned fully around and said, “Hello, I’m Morrnah.” I welcomed her in, asked if she would like some tea after her flight, and told her that we had an hour before we needed to go anywhere. So we sat in the living room with our tea, and Morrnah looked around at the decor of my Dragon Farm. I asked her if she had ever seen a dragon before, and she answered: “Of course. You have quite a lot of them here in Seattle. I saw a really big one as the plane was coming down to land.” “How big was it.?” “Well, its head was near the mountains, but its tail was in Iran. That’s unusual.” “I used to have a little one in my house in Honolulu. It was kind of like a big watchdog.” “Could anyone else see it?” “Children would usually see it right away, but most adults couldn’t. We learn to block out those things.” “Were the children afraid of it?” “No, it was very nice.” “What happened to it?” “Well, dragons come and go, you know, you can’t buy them or control them or schedule them. If they decide to visit you, it’s a blessing.” I thought to myself, “This is going to be an interesting weekend.” I next asked her about whether she was tired from her 7-hour red-eye flight, and she said no, she had a lot to keep herself occupied, so she didn’t sleep, and felt fine. She told me that during the flight she was working on the tectonic plates the bottom of the ocean below the her, adjusting them to relieve pressure so that there wouldn’t be too many big earthquakes. She said that Kahunas do this kind of thing all the time.
Over the next three days, the 20 students in her class learned how to do use Ho’oponopono prayer which asks forgiveness from anyone or anything, “even the smallest speck of dust” that we may have offended in any time in the past, in any lifetime. It is a powerful and profound philosophy, and changes the parameters of how we see the world. At one point, during a break, we were alone on an outside deck off the room where we had been meeting. She was saying something about a different topic, looking out into the forest, when suddenly she interrupted herself in mid sentence and appeared to be listening intently for a second or two. Then she turned and looked at me with some intensity, and said; “Don’t go to India this year.” Now, that was as big a surprise as the dragon in my front yard. I hadn’t told anyone about my plans, and I hadn’t thought about India since before Morrnah arrived. I had made all my preparations, gotten my visa, and was ready to leave in about six weeks to go on a specific mission to the Himalayan foothills. I had tried to go to India twice before, each trip for a very different purpose, and neither of those plans worked out. I had been sure enough about this next trip to get special equipment and buy my ticket. So I asked her why she was telling me that. She answered, “They told me to tell you.” I accepted that answer without asking who “they” were, but asked instead, “Why shouldn’t I go?” She was quiet for moment and then said, “They say it isn’t necessary. You’ve spent enough time there already. Your work is here, not there.”
I’ve travelled a lot since then, but I’ve still never gotten to India, China, or Japan, cultures that I spent the most time learning about during my years growing up in New York and going through college there. 9 years with Prof. Cheng, 3 years studying with a Japanese Koto master in college, and 7 years with an Indian master musician learning to sing ragas in the Kirana style.
I don’t think I could have found better teachers if I had travelled to Asia. What was remarkable was that those great teachers came to New York to bring their knowledge to us, and I found out about each of them almost by accident. Life is more wonderful and strange than we can know. I did not see Morrnah again after that weekend, but she made a profound impression and changed the path of my life on several levels.
"If we can accept that we are the sum total of all past thoughts, emotions, words, deeds and actions and that our present lives and choices are colored or shaded by this memory bank of the past, then we begin to see how a process of correcting or setting aright can change our lives, our families and our society." Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona Morrnah passed away in 1992, and her work is continued by her staff. You can learn more at http://www.self-i-dentity-through-hooponopono.com
Fredric Lehrman 2015
TAMING WAVES Introduction to Radionics Paolo Benda
Radionics is the science studying the radioactive and energy waveforms which are used through graphic circuits plotted on boards. If we start from the thousand years old concept that numbers are one of the many abstract, profound and philosophical expressions used to understand the true nature of the universe, as a consequence geometry is a physical representation of these mathematical expressions. Then we can affirm that radionics, with its study of wave-forms on graphic circuits, can get in touch with forms of thought-action and expression via their radiations. We can solve problems that need an answer by contacting such energies, even when the issue is not known to us on a rational level. These forms of thought-energy are created by the pendulum through dowsing, then they are made physical on graphic circuits on plotted boards, they can subsequently be used for different goals. I will just explain one of the many uses at therapeutic level,since they are useful in order to regain our entire well being.
In the thought-action made material on a radionic circuit there is an inexhaustible energy tank. In this reservoir there are all the information connected to the thought form itself, so that we can receive radiations also as compensatory action of any issues, thus balance is achieved. The action of the thought-action forms, which is the basis of radionics, is especially relevant for the mental and spiritual spheres. Official contemporary science tells us that anything alive and any conceived form (as well as thought-action-forms) is made up of energy or radiations in constant movement. Such action is ruled by precise Cosmic Laws that we still don't know on a rational level. Thousands upon thousands of atoms, cells, invisible microparticles interact among themselves, they give birth to any existing form in the globe and in space continuosly creating what we define as Universe.
Therefore, since – as written earlier – thought-action-forms physically plotted in the radionic graphics are part of the same universal energy, they can also give out their information as radiations, according to their specific energetic charactheristics, so that they can be applied in an ongoing and autonomous way.
In order to complete this first introduction to Radionics, I would like to add that this is a natural and cosmic phenomenon that uses human technology in order to make more accessible the energy around us. One of the peculiarity of radionics is its effects at a distance. With instruments and dowsing, the pratictioner of radionics can analyze and support any system, whether it is close to him/her or on the other side of the world. However far out this may sound, Physics have confirmed that, at some level, there is no separation, since we are all one, as it was always affirmed by ancient Knowledge.
Paolo Benda Translated and edited by Antonella Vicini
POETRY October O hushed October morning mild, Thy leaves have ripened to the fall; Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild, Should waste them all. The crows above the forest call; Tomorrow they may form and go. O hushed October morning mild, Begin the hours of this day slow. Make the day seem to us less brief. Hearts not averse to being beguiled, Beguile us in the way you know. Release one leaf at break of day; At noon release another leaf; One from our trees, one far away. Retard the sun with gentle mist; Enchant the land with amethyst. Slow, slow! For the grapes’ sake, if they were all, Whose leaves already are burnt with frost, Whose clustered fruit must else be lost— For the grapes’ sake along the wall. Robert Frost 1915 Hints of poetry without comments from us, let us know what you would like to see here, or if you want to add your own verses. Thank you AV
READERS' CORNER This page is dedicated to you readers, it will be filled with your poems, writings, inspirations, whatever you will want to contribute to THE BADGER. We look forward to this space.
La Luce e l’Ombra. La Luce e la sua Ombra. La Musica ed il Silenzio. La Musica ed il suo Silenzio La Musica ama il Silenzio. La Musica ama il suo Silenzio, luogo senza spazio e senza tempo dove è solita rifugiarsi quando l’ultimo vibrare dell’ultimo suono, dell’ultima nota hanno restituito il senso della pace. La Musica ha operato in noi la Guarigione. Il Silenzio accoglie nuovamente nel suo grembo la Musica. Light and Shadow. Light and its Shadow. Music and Silence. Music and its Silence. Music loves Silence. Music loves its Silence, place without space and time where it takes refuge when the last vibration of the last sound, of the last note have restored a sense of peace. Music has given us its Healing. Silence welcomes back in its lap Music. Ciro Perrino 2015 Translated by Antonella Vicini
HEALING WITH WORDS
LEAF Antonella Vicini Once upon a time there was a leaf. Well, not a proper leaf yet, more the idea, the blueprint of a leaf. Are you wondering where it was? It was on the highest branch of a majestic oak tree. The blueprint is a feeble light, pulsating through the veins and arteries of the mighty oak. The leaf is not yet born, but its life is already running through the tree, together with hundreds of brother and sister leaves that will eventually cover it entirely. The mad rush of the little lights continues all through wintertime, it keeps the tree alive in the frozen world around. The journey from the deep roots all the way up is long and arduous, it takes time and stamina, resilience and determination to climb again and again after the long fall from the tree top. As a result each light becomes stronger and more determined. The lights are preparing for spring time with its explosion of life, when the world is all upside down and inside out. The leaves are then catapulted to the branches with great strength, long lines of pulsating lights slowly turning a young pale green. Then, one day, our leaf is first in line, behind her she can see the waiting line, but she has no idea of the life awaiting her. Now she has to abandon the well known paths of the inner tree for... No time for goodbyes, she is pushed out into the sun. Wow, such a blinding light, she cannot see anything else. She senses the air around, so fresh and vast, she feels the breeze, the smells of spring touch her all over, but she is blind to the beauty around, so dazzling is the light of the sun.
Night comes and the leaf can rest, now she can see the soft lights emanating from the tree below her, she can see all her brothers and sisters on the branches of the oak tree. They all look small and rolled up, a promise of a leaf, yet to be fulfilled. The smells of the night are enchanting, the soil has absorbed the heat that now softly trembles and rises up in the still air. There is a tender humming, like a lullaby, it is only interrupted by the night prowlers who are hunting below. An owl chooses his usual spot on the high branches of the tree to extend his hooting all around, but he is careful not to crush the new born leaves with its mighty talons. When dawn comes it is such a surprise, her first sunrise! She notices the slow discoloration of the deep ink of the sky. Then she sees a pale pink crossing the lighter blue and then orange and red, until a sudden yellow line appears over the horizon and the new sun is born. She opens up towards it, she can see all around the hill, the nearby trees over the fence, the house down below, the dog on his morning round, the distant tractor. Everything is so beautiful! The leaf is excited and happy, she is curious about everything, she is wide open to the world. She can sense the excitement across all the other leaves.
And she wonders: Why don't they tell us when we are lights? The ancient oak answers immediately : And taking away the pleasure of your discoveries? No, when you are inside you are part of the inner world, when you join the outer world there are many great discoveries to be made. The leaf had forgotten the deep, grave and reassuring voice of the tree, only once before had she heard its wise words, but she had forgotten what had been said then. Thank you – she says now. Her exploration continues, she can see the beautiful flying beings: hawks and ravens, a far away eagle, the small sparrows and other birds who tweet below among the lower branches, where they can now begin their nesting season. ....... The leaf up there feels happy, she'd smile, if she had a mouth, as it is she feels warm and tingling. The leaves continue to grow, so that the tree is soon covered by a vibrant green mantle, so intense is the color that it almost shines. ...... Every day there is something new to look at, something to listen to, and always new discoveries. The leaf is never tired, never bored.
One day she hears a curious sound, fresh and new, musical and alive. She looks out and sees a vast golden field, in the same place where there used to be green grass, just a few days before, or so it seems to her. She looks and looks, yes the sound really comes from there, it is subtle, yet clear in the morning air. When the sun reaches midday the golden field shines bright in a sea of green. How beautiful it is. For days the leaf observes and listens, then one morning a huge machine begins to cross the field. The soft sound of the stalks in the morning breeze is brutally interrupted, like the lives of each plant. Soon work on the field is complete, in place of the shimmering singing plants, there is a dark brown patch and and a few rolled up golden bales. So much beauty is lost, sighs the leaf. Suddenly the voice comes again from the tree: No, it is not lost. The wheat will become flour, then bread, food for many beings. So do not be sad, everything has a purpose, everything is transformed. Will I change too? Yes, you will, when the time comes you will know your destiny. The leaves shed a deep and cooling shadow over the nearby house, so that humans and animals can find respite from the hottest hours. Many birds call the tree their home, they teach their little ones how to hop on the branches and how to fly beneath the protective eyes of the tree. .... The leaf feels the heat on her surface, she is almost drying up, but the powerful lymph keeps pumping through and the leaf is still nourished and strongly alive on her branch.
The leaf feels tired, her color has gone from green to yellow and now it is bright red, the entire tree has changed aspect, it is so beautiful in its autumn clothes, the light plays among its branches and leaves, the leaf is fascinated, but at the same time cannot understand all these changes. Then she remembers the first time she heard the tree's voice: Everything changes, you are now lights, then you will unravel like leaves, one day you will change your color and take the longest flight of your life, be ready for change, one day you will return on your branch again. What is the meaning of those words? She asks perplexed. The tree answers slowly and with affection: Your time is almost over, you will soon take a flight and land on the ground, there you will be transformed again, becoming part of the soil beneath, one day you will be a leaf again. This is your destiny, you have had a good life. The leaf is not so happy about the news, so she asks: Are there any other chances? But this time the tree doesn't answer, so the leaf decides to take stock of her life and decide by herself. She looks around, she wants to remember it all, before the fall. The more she looks and remembers, the redder she becomes, beautiful and shining with wisdom. .... She is fighting to stay on the tree: Why can't I stay here in winter as well? Soon it will be too cold, I will need all my energy just to stay alive under the snow, you will not make it out there. Is the dismal answer. The leaf is stubborn, but a strong wind raises one day with a promise of rain, the connection to the branch becomes weak and distant, the leaf feels the final tug of the wind and the pull towards earth, she is finally flying like so many before her. She sees the entire tree, the solid trunk, the deep roots, the land around becomes closer and smaller, until she reaches the ground, well almost... a little eager hand is there to catch her before touching down.
A father with his kids is near the tree now, the youngest one screams: Yay, I have it, Dad, see? I made it, I managed to grab it before it got dirty on the ground! So you did! Now let's go back home, it is too cold here. He leads them back to the nearby house After the holiday season the young boy lovingly puts her in a notebook in order to use it for a science project, but the leaf is forgotten, she lives among his books for a long time. Many years go by, one day the young man comes back to the house and goes to the attic, so much has changed in his life, it is now his duty to clear up the space and decide what to do with the property. He feels sad, yet among his children toys and books, he feels the love shared with his brothers and father. Among the books he finds the notebook with the leaf, still beautifully red after all these years. He holds it up and looks at it for a long time. You really look different from any other leaf, how can you be so red still? He hears a voice in his head saying: I have a story to tell, that is why I stayed alive for so long, listen to me and I'll tell you. The man sits at his desk and listens, then takes a piece of paper and starts writing: Once upon a time there was a leaf....... Excerpts from A Leaf Antonella Vicini 2014
Usually the stories I choose are a chance to comment on the season of the year, the time we are living. But this time I think the story needs no comment, it is just an appropriate tale for this time of the year, when we harvest our fruits, planted with so much love in the spring, carefully looked after in the summer and now ready for us to eat. The following winter will help us distill the meaning of our actions and will give us time to prepare the new stories to come in the following spring, and so on and so forth on our slowly revolving cycle of seasons and ages. Happy autumn/fall to you all, each moments of the year is rich in teachings, gifts, joys, you only need to grab them. Antonella Vicini
Here you can find some interesting information about leaves and Quantum Biology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RSKI5A_lsg https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0114/090114-Quantummechanics-explains-efficiency-of-photosynthesis http://www.esalq.usp.br/lepse/imgs/conteudo_thumb/Quantum-Leaf-The-Staggering-Science-of-Photosynthesis.pdf
LIGHT 2015 Laura Bottagisio
"Centuries, millenia have gone by. Towns were born, flowered and were forgotten. Millions of faces followed one another, but I haven't found you again, Mother Earth, Powerful Goddess of the Universe"
What are we freeing ourselves of? I will start from long long ago, 16,5 billion years ago. At that time the Maya Calendar started its computation of time which includes nine steps on a ladder that ultimately aims at Unity. Each transition describes the evolution of Consciousness in its fundamental steps, when matter and substance subjugate and dissolve form in a continuous, unstoppable and foreseable process. In this way, over time, Consciousness has received ever new and different attributes which have created the evolutionary spiral leading us from duality to unity.
The fundamentally changed parameter is TIME, since we now perceive it differently, in the same way SPACE changes as well. Humanity has now passed from the three dimensional wave to the multidimensional one All these temporal lines belong to us, they are our genetic memory, they are the background to our daily life from our survival to our expressions of beauty and harmony. Examining the last 3 waves of this 9 steps ladder, we can connect to the last 3 centuries of our civilization in order to understand its symbolic meaning. With the seventh wave, between 1755 and 1999, we entered a cycle of loss of contact with light and the beginning of pure materialism. The wave started with the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Lisbon in 1755. When an event such as this happens, with one or more of the Four Archetypal Elements involved, humanity has a chance to bring forward the Life Plan itself. On an individual level there was a clear message to stay in the body, however this has lead to complete identification with the physical aspects, at the expense of spirituality.
The same period has seen the industrial and tecnological revolutions. In 1999 the Eighth wave has given rise to a new period, where the Feminine has become active again, thus bringing its strength, its powerful healing energy that comes from the heart of the Earth and owns the role of Mother Goddess both earthly and heavenly. The event majestically inaugurating this wave was the total Sun eclypse on August 11th 1999.
The total Sun eclypse happened during the new moon, when the Moon is usually obscured by the Sun. That day, at midday – the time of the brightest Sun light – the Moon/Woman eclypsed entirely the Sun/Man, thus ascending to the throne. The speed of the cosmic sounds that give rythm to each Wave are 20 times faster than the previous one, so we quickly reached March 2011 with the beginning of the Ninth Wave, the last step on the Ascending Ladder that makes us enter the Unity Consciousness, allowing the Light Source to flood us inside and out. This is the time for conscious co-creation, therefore actions need to be performed in complete awareness according to Divine Plan.
The Ninth wave as well started with an intense earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The deep waters of our lives have also been stirred, so that our fears could come to the surface, thus destroying the false beliefs that obscured our light. If we think about our individual lives, we can remember the deep changes, those challenges were actual blessings, which have lead us to this time of conscious co-creation. The New Earth is first of all within ourselves. We are radiating and vital Light. Our thoughts and actions can be permeated by it, if we allow it. True freedom is being ourselves, without mental superstructures, with serenity and ease. We just need to listen to our Inner Guide and follow it, as the new generations know so well, such as the Indigo, Crystal, Rainbow and Diamond children.
THE TWELVE SENSES and THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC When the Sun enters Cancer, on June 21 st, the warm season starts, the summer solstice determines the longest day of the year, as well as the shortest night. This time was celebrated by the ancient cultures as a truly magical one, since around this time there is a concrete chance to connect or re-connect Heaven and Earth, between the entities that live in the world of Ideas and Light with us on earth and with the Elementals, invisible spirits that represent nature. The world solstice means that the sun stays, in fact in those days between 21st and 24th of June the sun remains at the same declination, the highest of the year, then it starts to have a lower declination, thus the day time shortens and the night time lengthens. Days and nights are nothing but the visible manifestation of the dialogue and close connection between Mother Earth and Father Sun. This event happens at the time of the Sun entering the female sign of Cancer to indicate the connection between the ancient underground waters of the earth that could carry important information. The ancient Sybils could channel all these information in verbal messages, they lived close to highly energetic places, usually considered an omphalos (a centre of the earth) and with a natural spring nearby, so that the Sybils could be inspired by the Light and receive messages. Therefore, the Sybils perfectly incarnated the alchemical marriage between masculine and feminine, two forces "equal and opposite" that could create reality out of nothingness. The symbol of Cancer, 2 stylized spyrals, represents these two forces that are uniting, while the symbol of Leo, a moving curl, represents the sparkle of light that generates life, this is the sun in its highest moment at the summer solstice entering Cancer, this sign is also defined the "door of human beings", the passage of incarnation.
CANCER TOUCH Incarnating means entering into the flesh and having a physical form in the density of matter. This magnificent process begins within the womb with the meeting of the male and female principles and the soul incarnating into the body. The being fluctuates in the liquid and is connected by the umbilical chord, this is a continuous loving embrace, a total sharing with the mother's breath. Only physical contact can alleviate the trauma of separation from the liquid and protected element, that is why the sense of touch is the first active sense since our birth and it is essential if we need to own our physical vehicle. Through this sense we can take stock of our new world and are now part of the tangible reality, so that we can perceive on our skin all the infinite physical sensations, from pain to pleasure, that lead us to the emotional world. Skin problems of any kind indicate some inner issues mainly connected with a sense of neglect that goes back all the way to the begining of life, whether we were welcomed with tact and love. Touch allows us to give and receive love, because "love passes trough skin and can be learnt through our skin"
LEO
SENSE OF LIFE
Composing a melody according to chords that resonate in our soul, is based on the deep acnowledgement of the sense of life, thus accepting our physical incarnation and the feelings that come with it, both physically and emotionally. Who are we? How do we perceive this small corner of the universe where we live now? Thanks to the sense of life, we can observe ourselves and what is around us, thus choosing what nurtures us best, opening our inner world to ever more universal sensations and applying them in our daily actions that teaches us to live in well-being. The sense of life teaches us about our lives. During the season of Leo there is the harvest of wheat and all grains, to be preserved in the cold months. Its biological conditioning has to do with generosity from the heart, as well as being at the centre of supplying sustenance, both physically and energetically. Everything turns around this wheel, and is generated by the encounter of the two principles (male sun, female earth).
Laura Bottagisio Traslated and edited by Antonella Vicini
MOTHER EARTH SPEAKS Claudia Enrico Learning Compassion… What a lesson! One day I was in my garden and, while I was working, I heard a sound like a “mewing”. I stopped what I was doing and tried to discover what was that sound. A skinny black&white cat was in a corner and was just mewing. I went closer and I squatted to make it feel comfortable in my human presence. I talked to the cat and soon I discovered it was a “she”…. a female! She was very hungry so I went into the house to find something to give her to eat. I had some bread and she ate it voraciously. Then she left. I thought for few days about this meeting because I believe that animals coming into our lives always carry some “news”. Few days later she came again to visit me. I talked to her trying to understand her story. Was she an abandoned cat, was she wild, was she a cat looking for a new house? She was quite confident so I supposed she had been abandoned because she was a female. She started visiting me often and I was feeding her with some cat food I had bought, since I’m a natural feeder and I’m not able to leave someone with no food! Big mistake!
She began to come every day at the same time (cats are very fixed on their habits!) and after eating and some petting she left. Soon I noticed that her belly was growing. I thought she was coming again on her weight, but I was wrong, she was pregnant! She delivered her babies after one month in some place close to my house and I continued to feed her because she needed that. She was a silent and discreet presence in my daily life, like a friend that was coming to visit me every day. I named her Gina. One day a neighbor started to do some noisy work close to my house and when Gina came for her daily meal I told her to be careful and to bring her babies in a safer place. Well done! The day after she brought her kittens to my house.
It was a very nice surprise when I woke up to see 4 little kittens exploring the new territory of my porch! But after a few days I realized I was stuck with an unexpected experience. The kittens grew up and they became 4 beautiful female cats…..and soon I had 5 female pregnant cats!!! What a lovely and crazy experience it was….Having 19 kittens and 5 mothers to care for... I’ve been able to find a nice home for every baby and sadly, but out of necessity, I had to neuter the mothers.
This story was so important for me in order to find a deeper connection with my inner nature of being compassionate, as well as to understand the real meaning and message of this Energy. If we’re connected with our inner listening we can live being aware and in charge of all what’s going on. This attitude will result in an experience giving us the right answers about where we’re are on our personal path. But if we are too much in the rational mind only, we can have some problems. Gina showed me the art of compassion between Human Beings and Animals and the gift of understanding when to give without expectations. Compassion has always been a very difficult topic in my life because I often misunderstood it with expectation, projection of my ego, immature capacity for love. An animal knows by Nature - that’s Mother Earth - how to “love”. This is simply pure and genuine love. We Humans have some problems about that. So sometimes animals or other beautiful Living Beings come into our own lives to bring us the gift of Compassion and teach us Love. We can learn this lesson: to be compassionate and to love is not something we learn in books, it’s something we experience in our hearts. Compassion…from Latin means “with passion”. So it has nothing to do with suffering but with JOY!. What is Passion? The perfect moment in which I feel myself so happy to be free to be myself and to share it with all around me. What is Compassion then? The experience to hold the Energy of others that are not yet ready to move forward to Passion.
Isn’t that what a Reiki Master is teaching? Isn’t that what a Teacher is sharing with his/her students? I feel that Compassion gives me the opportunity to open my heart more and to practice unconditional Love. Can a cat teach you that? Yes! He/She can Can you be open to learning that from a Human Being? Yes! If you’re connected with your roots, i.e. Mother Earth. So stay tuned to what’s happening around you every day because the lessons/gifts are many and you can feel lucky to receive them in your life! With Love. Peace & Blessings
Claudia Enrico © 2015 Edited by Antonella Vicini
AROMATHERAPY CLARY SAGE Source of Inspiration
Renato Tittarelli
Myths, history and information An ancient Latin motto asked: "Why should a man die, if he has sage in his garden? " In the Roman world sage was an infallible and complete tool for good health of body and spirit. In the Greek – Roman world it was a plant sacred to the Moon, ruling female energy and sacred to health, fertility and fortitude. Since it was Jupiter's plant, the king of all gods, it was place at the top of all vital functions. In ancient pharmacopoeia, sage was recommended for rinsing the mouth against mouth or teeth problems, or to chew the fresh leaves as a tooth paste in order to clean and strenghten the teeth. To this day is known as antispasmodic for gastrointestinal or kidney disorders and to facilitate birth. Its essence is also used as fixative in perfumes.
The Plant Clary sage is a strong perennial plant, it can grow as tall as one meter, it belongs to the Lamiaceae, formerly Labiatae. It comes from Asia Minor and the Mediterranean sea. It grows spontaneously in dry places, on calcarous soil. It is cultivated in all continents. It is a wooden shrub, with big oval heart shaped leaves, fuzzy and greysh. It has big white flowers with pink-blue streaks, they grow in thick and sitcky cobs.
Phytotherapy and small remedies Sage can heal small ailments and alleviate daily sufferings, if they don't depend on serious pathologies. Here are some simple preparations that come from phytotherapy tradition.
The tonic digestive infusion (10 minutes at least) It is made with 2 or 3 grams of flowers or leaves of Clary sage in 100 grams of boiling water. It has a tonic and digestive action, one cup to be drunk after the main meals.
Fresh leaves poultice The pestled leaves can be applied to pimples, contusions, insect bites, and wherever there is a risk of infection. Clary Sage is well known for its bactericide action.
Tonic aromatic wine It is excellent to revive, give tone to the nervous system, alleviate the sense of fatigue and anxiety. Preparation: soak 80 grams of Clary Sage (flowers and leaves) for 10 days in one litre of dry white wine, then filter it. The bottle needs to be kept in the fridge. Drink 5 or 6 spoons during the day.
AROMATHERAPY Properties aphrodisiac,anticonvulsant,antidepressant,antiphlogistic,antiseptic, antifungal, antispasmodic,astringent,carminative, deodorant, digestive, emmenagogue hypotensive, nervine, sedative, stomachic, uterine tonic, perspiratory. It is a powerful tonic for the neurovegetative system and regulates the female hormonal system.
Indications Cramps, weak digestion, flatulence, meteorism, bronchitis, whooping cough, asthma, PMS, menopause, childbirth, leucorrhoea, excessive perspiration, headaches, neurasthenia, stress, hypertension, nervous breakdown, convulsions, fear, impotence, frigidity, dermatitis, acne, ulcers.
Warnings Too high doses can cause sleepiness, do not mix with alcohol, do not ingest if you are already taking remedies with iron. It is better to avoid it during pregnancy. It can be irritative for the skin. Not to be used during breastfeeding if there are mastitis or breast cancer.
Common uses in Aromatherapy Essence of clary sage for lucid dreaming Clary sage helps us dream and can give many spiritual lessons: it helps the ability to dream and have lucid dreams. It can be used in the evening bath, or in a oil lamp in the bedroom, or a few drops on the pillow. Before going to sleep we can concentrate on the issue we need clarity on with the desire to receive an answer in our dreams.
Sensual Bath mix Mix 3 spoons of sea salt or Dead Sea salt with 3 drops of essential oil of Ylang Ylang, 3 drops of essential oil of Sandalwood, 3 drops of essential oil of Clary sage and add it all to the hot water in your bath. Soak in the water until it is lukewarm.
Pre-menopause mix Apply daily with a massage on the abdomen, this mix is made of: 50 ml of sweet almond oil, 3 drops of essential oil of blue Chamomile, 4 drops of Clary Sage, 2 drops of essential oil of Cypress, 2 drops of essential oil of Rose.
Tonic oil for hair 30 ml of sweet almond oil, 20 ml of Jojoba oil, 10 drops of essential oil of Clary sage, 10 drops of essential oil of Ylang Ylang, 10 drops of essential oil Lavander vera, this tonic is good to massage delicately on the hair.
Mix for the skin Mix 50 ml of Jojoba oil with 4 drops of essential oil of Lavander vera, 4 drops of essential oil of Clary sage, 2 drops of essential oil of Rose absoluta.
Please take note The information given are just descriptions, they do not susbtitute the medical profession, which we need to consult with for our health, the use of plant remedies or essential oils can integrate the doctor's cures, but cannot replace them.
Š Renato Tittarelli Translated by Antonella Vicini
FOOD IS OUR ALLY Daniele Sampalmieri THE WONDERFUL 6 : THE SEEDS OF HEALTH Hemp, Chia, Sesame, Sunflower, Pumpkin, Flax Seeds contain life, they are alive nourishement. The seeds are plants embryos, this is the base for our food. Seeds contain precious nutrients in a high concentration of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential oils, proteins, enzymes, fibers, polyunsaturated fatty acids. Nature has entrusted seeds to reproduce the species, for this reason it has supplied them with all the genetic and nourishing information. The best way to keep them overtime is in glass containers, away from direct light, in a cool and dry place, and in your fridge during the summer months. The correct preservation avoids the seeds to go rancid and the formation of filaments which indicate the presence of mildew. They are best used raw, in order to maintain their characteristics, many nutrients are lost during cooking because of the high temperatures. The seeds can also be ground in a mortar or made into a puree or paste, like Tahin, for example.
We all need unsaturated fats and all the seeds contain alpha linolenic acid that is used by our body in order to produce fatty acids (such as Omega 3 and 6). The seeds are highly caloric, but if we eat the correct amount daily (2 or 3 spoons a day) we can give ourselves a good and balanced health. The seeds are very tasty in the kitchen, especially in salads, we can also add them to yogurt, muesli, soups, creamed vegetables, cereals.
1. HEMP SEEDS Hemp seeds are highly nutrient for their proteins. They contain all the essential amino acids for protein synthesis, they are also considered a complete food from the protein point of view. They contain a high rate of vitamins B1, B2, B3, D and E, which helps us in an antioxidant action. They also contain Omega 3 and 6, fibers, phytosterols which are excellent in the prevention of heart problems, Parkinson and Alzheimer diseases, tumors. Moreover hemp seeds contain calcium, magnesium, sulphur, copper, potassium, phosphorus. Eating hemp seeds strengthens our immune system.
2. SUNFLOWER SEEDS Sunflower seeds are rich in folic acid, a very important nutrient for pregnant women. They contain copper, selenium, omega 3 (therefore they are good for the heart), group B vitamins, vitamin E which protects our body from aging with its antioxidant action. They are useful in the prevention of respiratory diseases. Sunflower seeds contain also iron, zinc, selenium, phosphorus. Copper and magnesium are useful for muscle and bone health. They are also useful to alleviate inflammatory issues. These seeds are also excellent in re-establishing a state of calm.
3. SESAME SEEDS Sesame is one of the most important source of vegetal calcium. It contains also iron, zinc, selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, fibers, vitamins of the B group, phytic acid which is excellent to prevent colon problems. They can counteract colesterol and help lowering blood pressure. They improve liver functions, are beneficial for bones, even with osteoporosis and during menopause, they also facilitate digestion.
4. PUMPKIN SEEDS Pumpkin seeds are very effective in protecting the prostate gland. They are rich in specific antioxidants called carotenoids, these substances can stimulate the immune system. Sunflower seeds also contain phytosterols that facilitate the lowering of colesterol levels in the blood. They present tryptophan, an amino acid precursor of serotonin, therefore they are excellent for good mood and restful sleep. Sunflower seeds are rich in zinc and fatty acids, omega 3. They help maintain stable levels of sugar, an important factor in weight loss. They really help in making our bodies alkaline. Moreover, these seeds are a real natural anti-inflammatory.
5. CHIA SEEDS Chia seeds regulate the levels of sugar in the blood. They reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, since they contain 34% of Omega 3 and 6. They also have a high percentage of calcium (five times more than milk), Vitamin C (seven times more than oranges), anti oxidants, mineral salts, fibers, proteins, iron, potassium, selenium, zinc, magnesium, aminoacids, vitamins A, E, B6, C, niacin. They can help in avoiding weight gain.
6. FLAX SEEDS Flax seeds have a very high percentage of Omega 3; in order to gain the most out of the Omega 3, the seeds should be ground in a mortar and eaten imediately. They are excellent for the circulatory system. They are useful in treating hypertension and osteoporosis. They are beneficial for constipation. They also contain mineral salts, manganese, phosphorus, copper, proteins, B group vitamins. They are also excellent for the urinary tract and cystitis, they also stimulate the immune system. Flax seeds help the body to activate its purification processes, thus facilitating bowel regularity.
THE RECIPES Cucumber spaghetti with olives, oranges, tomatoes, basel and sesame seeds: INGREDIENTS: Cucumber spaghetti for one person Cucumber 100/150 grams Tomatoes 40 grams Orange 20 grams Olives 10 grams Sesame seeds one spoon Basel 6/7 leaves Orange juice 2 spoons salt and oil in moderate quantity NOTE: if you prefer you can also make the same recipe with zucchini (courgette) instead of cucumber. TOOLS NEEDED: - vegetable knife - potato peeler Peel the cucumber in slices with the potato peeler create the spaghetti with the vegetable knife cut an orange into small cubes and the tomatoes in small cubes cut the olives in slices wash and dry the basel leaves. Place all the ingredients in a glass bowl, mix them well. Season with pumpkin seed oil, orange juice, 2 tea spoons of sesame seeds, and Himalayan pink salt.
Quinoa INGREDIENTS: dose for one person Quinoa 50/60 gr. Onion 20 gr. Pepper 20 gr. Zucchini 40 gr. Eggplants 15 gr. Carotts 20 gr. Garam Masala one tea spoon Soy sauce one tea spoon Chia seeds one spoon, leave some for the decoration as well. Add one zucchini and one carrot spaghetti (see photo) Salt and oil in moderate quantity. Wash well the quinoa under running water, using a strainer, in order to get rid of the saponin (the bitter substance on the outer skin). In a pot cook the washed quinoa in boiling water for about 15 minutes, or follow the instructions on the package. When it is cooked, strain it and quickly rinse in running water, set aside to rest. Cut the vegetables in small cubes: onions, zucchini, carrots, egg plants, peppers. Stir fry in a pan with little oil and pinch of salt, make sure they are still crunchy and not overcooked. At the end add your Garam Masala. Stir for about one minute, then turn off the heat and add Chia seeds. Mix it well and plate adding the quinoa in a round shape, as in the photo. And Bon Appetit!
Daniele Sampalmieri Translated by Antonella Vicini
PHOTO – GRAPHY Luis Vasconcelos Journey to Iceland The place where I took these photos is Dimmuborgir, in the north of Iceland close to Akureyri. Dimmuborgir is a large lava field with beautiful rock sculptures carved by nature, it is close to the hot springs and hot mud fields of Mývatn. The Dimmuborgir area is composed of several volcanic caves and rock formations , which resemble an ancient citadel in ruins. In Norse Christian tradition Dimmuborgir is where Satan fell when cast out of heaven. It's also believed to be the entrance of hell. Well, I found this an extraordinary place , beautiful, full of magic, and with very powerful and good energy. So I decided to portray its giant scale in my photos, I hope you will be able to enjoy this place as much as I did when I visited.
Luis Vasconcelos
Working with Luis is always a pleasure and a surprise, every time a new magazine is out on Issuu we start talking about the following issue. Where we are at in our lives, what we have seen what has made an impression in our consciousness, all of these reflections enter into our long conversations. I could not tell who has the first idea, but I know that I could not write without his inspired images. Every time I receive them I am honored by Luis'trust in me and what I will do with them. That is also the genesis of the videos connected to the magazine, his production is so vast that keeping the photos only here would not do them justice, so the natural expansion is the creation of these silde shows with music. I hope you will keep enjoying them as much as we do in preparing the work for your reading. Gratefully Antonella Vicini
http://youtu.be/vLQp0o-MpNg the current video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDl797jY_xA from the June Volume
TRAVELLING It is with great pleasure that I offer you two articles related to travelling, both deeply connected to the current season, a time for introspection, so the journeys can be physical and in time as well. Enjoy these great readings by Judy and Raffaella. AV
AUTUMN Judy Hayes In my estimation Autumn is the most complicated of the seasons. While it possesses a beauty all its own, beneath the surface, both literally and figuratively, it harbors decay and portends disintegration, death, dormancy. Every year it approaches in a blaze of color and sensory delights, but ultimately ushers us in a period of drabness and hibernation. In spite of these contradictions, it has a magic that exceeds that of all other seasons. Autumn both bombards and delights the senses: its brilliant hues of red, orange and yellow are capable of taking away one’s breath. The air is filled with the rustle of trodden leaves and the cries of migratory birds. The sounds of the harvest reverberate throughout the countryside. Although it is no longer possible to smell the pungent odor of burning leaves, nevertheless the scent of wood burning fires wafts throughout the countryside and often in the villages, as well. Autumn also has its own niche in terms of flavors, depending upon where one lives – the newly pressed olive oil, roasted chestnuts, crisp apples, the freshness of pumpkin and winter squash. As a Latin Professor and lover of antiquities, I have often asked myself: How did the classical world view the season of Autumn? Although, in Hesiod’s Theogony, the Horae, daughters of Zeus and Themis, represented the three ethical attributes of law, peace and justice, the Horae, also were associated with the three seasons of spring, summer and autumn.
Horae, from the Latin word for “hour”, didn’t originally denote the same sixty-minute period of time that we reference today. Nevertheless, the Horae were associated with “time” and, therefore, represented the seasons: Thallo from thallo, “to bloom”; Auxo from auxe, “to increase” and Carpo from carpos, “fruit.” Clearly, it is this fruitfulness that distinguishes Autumn from all the other seasons. Indeed, it is the beauty of Autumn’s fruits that has inspired poets from classical times until today. In the second book of his poem, the Georgics, Vergil paints an elegant picture of the fruitfulness of the season. nec requies, quin aut pomis exuberet annus aut fetu pecorum aut Cerealis mergite culmi, prouentuque oneret sulcos atque horrea uincat. uenit hiems: teritur Sicyonia baca trapetis, glande sues laeti redeunt, dant arbuta siluae; et uarios ponit fetus autumnus, et alte mitis in apricis coquitur uindemia saxis. There is no rest, but rather the year abounds with fruit or the offspring of the flock or the sheaves of Ceres grain, and it loads the furrows with crops and overwhelms the storehouses/ granaries. Winter comes: the Siconyian berry is ground by the olives presses, the swine return happily with the acorn, the forests surrender their fruits; autumn both produces diverse fruits and bakes the mellow vintage on sunny rocks. (translated by Judy Hayes)
This fruitfulness can be observed and appreciated wherever one travels during the season of Autumn. In all regions of the United States the season is punctuated with festivals and roadside markets that are groaning with the fruits of the season. In Italy the season has its own unique harvest celebrations such as the Chestnut Festival in Canepina, the Festa delle Mele di Maddaloni in the province of Caserta, la Sagra del Tartufo Bianco in San Miniato. Nothing gives concrete visual form to this abundance more than a cornucopia (horn of plenty), often used on tables and in homes as a reminder of the bounty that Autumn brings. Nature has a certain power to hold up a mirror to humans. In this mirror Autumn shows us the more intangible fruits that we also possess, the fruits that have been produced by our efforts and labors throughout the previous year. A cause for celebration and satisfaction!
When thinking about Autumn we can not dismiss the fact that such thoughts often lead to deep reflection and perhaps even to melancholy. This season, more than any other, forces us to ponder the continual cycle of nature and the ephemeral nature of human existence. All things are passing. In its duality autumn calls us to cherish its beauty but to be ever mindful of its fragility. The brilliant and prolific Roman poet Horace relies upon the seasons to underscore the impermanence of everything we know and are. Frigora mitescunt Zephyris, ver proterit aestas Interitura simul Pomifer autumnus fruges effuderit, et mox Bruma recurrit iners. Ode IV.7 Frosts grow mild with the western winds, summer pushes aside spring, destined to perish as soon as fruit-bearing autumn has spilled forth its fruits, and soon barren winter returns. (translated by Judy Hayes) Not in spite of, but because of its contradictions, Autumn is an ideal time to make a journey, either a physical journey or an interior journey. The heat of the summer has dissipated and has been replaced by the cooler days and crisp, invigorating evenings. The places that one visits are less congested and more accessible. Every aspect of the journey is more pleasant. It is possible to savor the experience and its pleasant surprises instead of juggling its challenges.
Judy Hayes
TRAVELLING WITHIN Raffaella Vicini
While in my first article I wrote about part of my journey down under and the meeting with Uluru. This time I would like to tackle a different kind of travel, within and all the way to the past. At school I didn't enjoy studying history, it often sounded like a dry list of battles and wars, nevertheless there were many aspects that kept me fascinated and interested. I was attracted to what is left today of the human passage on earth. When I saw Roman ruins for the first time I felt a deep connection in my heart. How could they build in that way and so much? How could those ruins be still in their places after such long time? I asked myself the same questions when I visited the British Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris, the Vatican Museums in Rome. In those places I could see the beautiful remains of the Egyptians, the Persians, or even more ancient ones, and the Cretans the Greeks, the Etruscans, the Celts, and more and more.... I have had the great fortune to see directly, both in museums and in many sites around the Mediterranean, what human genius can create, it never ceases to amaze me. Walking down a street in Miletus, or Athens, in Rome or Vulci has always given me the same deep emotion and wondrous respect for the people, the cultures and their fruits. I was inside history, I could walk where thousands of years before emperors, famous artists, poets, kings, sultans, knights in shining armour had walked, ridden, fought and lived. They travelled on long and often dangerous roads to reach far away countries, they were not just the famous ones, but also the unknown soldiers, the traders who exchanged goods and stories, the sailors seeking new routes to cross the high seas towards unknown and fabled continents.
Our forefathers experimented, kept moving on, discovered new horizons and in so doing they gave birth to new cultures, wonderful arts, paintings and sculptures, buildings and cities, music and theatre, all these expressions of their genius became the witnesses of our passage, of their existances and their experiences. All the many places and objects I have seen in my numerous journeys, what I haven't seen yet, but I have come to know through books and documentaries, whatever has been created by people of different cultures and races is worthy of respect and gratitude. The past is what makes us alive in the present, without the past we could not be here and we could not build the future ahead of us for our progeny. Without our past as human beings we would not have any history behind us, no memory, just an empty space. The live history that shines through the masterpieces of the ancient people moves me deeply, it pushes me to know more, to wander down the intricacies of the different civilizations, their myths, their spirituality. I believe I can open my mind and my heart in this way, especially in this time when so many seem to have forgotten the tolerance and hospitality as well as the respect so well known by our ancestors, probably one of the main lessons of antiquity, I belong to this earth, I love this earth and the people who lived here before me, those who live on it now, those who will come. For this Earth, for its many people I pray today.
Raffaella Vicini Translated by Antonella Vicini
AT HOME IN THE UNIVERSE The Miracle of Water Gigi Capriolo The well under San Salvatore Cabras, Sardinia The now fertile land of Sinis houses a small group of white dwellings which are open to the pilgrims who come for nine days to honor the nearby church of San Salvatore between the end of August and beginning of September. This area has been inhabited since the neolithic age (about 6000 to 4500 BCE), the sacred hypogeal well is the most ancient remain belonging to the time before the Nuragic culture. Now the well has lost most of its original shape, after the Punic and Roman times, it has been eventually included in the church of San Salvatore. There are elements that still connect it to the nuragic period: the presence of the circular well and the betilo (standing stone), the nearby Nuraghe with 4 towers, and the one tower nuraghe to the east. In this site a mother goddess statue was found as well. In spite of the later renovations, the ancient area of the well still shows paintings and inscriptions that belong to pagan times. From these elements we can see that the sanctuary was used, in nuragic times, for the cult of water. Later it was dedicated by the Phoenicians to Sid, the healing god, the Romans dedicated it to Asclepios, in Christian times it was eventually dedicated to San Salvatore.
The ancient Punic invocations were written and used up until the IV century CE: in many places you can see the monogram RF, which is the Latin version of the phoenician prayer Ru-Fu (heal). Like many other healing and sacred sites the place was accurately studied from the material point of view, so that its physical aspect and form could express the cosmos, through a series of correct numbers, raports, proportions connected to the sacredness of the site. The material were used as part of nature, the colors were chosen in order to create harmony so that the place could be perceived in all its power from the beginning of the actual construction.
ENERGY GRIDS Since the '70s, there has been a lot of research in order to study the energy lines connecting the entire earth. These energy fields, called bio-electromagnetic fields, create different kinds of grids. The most important grids for human well being are four: two are perpendicular to the cardinal directions and 2 are diagonal towards the cardinal lines. The first one is called Hartmann grid (North-South and West-East), it starts from the centre of the earth, it is its breath, it is useful to human beings for the formation of our bones. The second one is called Second Global Grid and its radiation are useful for our nervous system. The third grid goes from North West to South East and from South West to North East, it is called Currie grid. It starts from the centre of the universe and reaches the earth, all the way under the surface of the earth. It is useful for the growth of cells. The fourth grid is orientated at 45 degrees in direction NorthWest-South East and South West-North East, it is called Second Diagonal Grid. It is useful for our cerebral functions. There are many examples that these grids, as well as their energy fields, were known by ancient builders: from the Pyramids of Egypt to the Mayan ones, from the Templars cathedrals, to the Arab Mosques, all these buildings were placed within these grids and took their shapes from their energy fields. The Menhirs, erected over 4.000 years ago, were found at the cross roads of the grids, so that they could transform negative energies into positive ones because of their shapes. The menhirs are like transceivers and they still have influence on vast areas.
The Dolmen were placed in neutral areas as receivers, they were used for therapeutic purposes and they also helped men to be in contact with beings coming from other worlds. The Romans, as well, built according to the second global grid with NorthSouth direction, the Cardus Maximus, while the Decumanus Maximus was in direction West-East. The consular roads from Rome also followed the energy grids and have the width of 153 cmtrs, which allowed the passage of their carriages. The Romans also knew very well the negative energies present in some places, so they manipulated the grids by using special material and monoliths, in order to make the march of their armies easier and lighter. The sacred buildings also were built according to the second diagonal grid, because they knew that the energy coming from North-West was the healthiest and holiest (this is also the direction of the Italian peninsula). The Celts also knew this grid well, all of their buildings had this orientation. In India they used both the global and the diagonal grids in order to build their temples, since they used the eight directions, in order to indicate the eight gods according to the Vastushastra texts.
Many churches also follow the grids, the hypogeal temple under San Salvatore was built according to these energy fields. The union of the (betilo) standing stone with the water emits an enormous amount of energy, it is universal energy, divine, an etheric power that works on human beings helping us axially in many problems due to laterality, including epilepsy. Water is the feminine element for most cultures, in its centre there is a black basalt betilo (standing stone) the male element. The life giving, fluid, receptive, totipotent water meets the hard, erect, penetrating stone. In San Salvatore we have the well-womb and the phallus-betilo (standing stone) that mirror each other and are united in their transcendental energies, thus adding up the female and male vibrations in a continuous spiroid emission of cosmic universal energy. Mater and Pater (mother and father) co-exist in time, they have been invoked with different names, but they have always been present up to this day, transformed into Mary and Jesus, the Saviour, the one to die and resurrect in order to give life to the Earth. There are still memories of ancient rituals connected to the elements: water, earth, air, fire, vital energy that pervade all and generate all. Some older people still perform archaic rites in San Salvatore for healing: they use the energy of the place for issues related to balance, head aches, eye problems, epilepsy, etc. However, in order to access the healing energies, it is necessary to purifiy and regenerate ourselves in the mother water. So here we can see the therapeutic functions of the sanctuary. Since each cardinal point leads a cosmic vibration to the Earth, the element of San Salvatore is Water. The more water is powered by its geographic position, the more it can attract cosmic radiations that give it more life. That's why a sacred well is dug in one place and not in another.
There the Yin, the feminine, "marries" Yang, the male cosmic fire, giving birth to the son, the "stone" which unites spirit and matter in itself, That's why in San Salvatore we find the betilo (standing stone), while in India we would find a lingam (erect phallus). The spiral soaring up in the sky from the site is part of the special vibrations of its origin: the sacred well. In the space-time reality, this spiral forms a double cone (towards the sky and the centre of the planet), inside it we can imagine a double pyramid of multiple commingling energies. In every sacred place we can perceive similar forms, some are more powerful than others, but they all indicate balanced biological ecosystems, they are healing because of their vital energy.
Gigi Capriolo
2015 Translated by Antonella Vicini http://www.visitarelasardegna.com/San_Salvatore-ENG.htm
MUSICA UNIVERSALIS Ciro Perrino MUSIC AND SILENCE For my second article I would like to introduce you into my musical world, where you can find not only compositions, notes, chords, harmony, atmospheres, but also my thoughts, emotions, visions, reflections, Heart and Soul's flights. I have often wondered : "Where does Music live? When it's not with me, with us, where is it?" Meditating on this subject, I had a vision of the intense and profound relationship between Music and Silence, therefore what better place than Silence for the Music to find refuge in? Their connection is extraordinary, a kind of Spiritual Union, a mutual support. When Music comes to our world and makes itself known and recognizable by our senses, called by an act of Love performed by a musician or a composer, it abandons that well protected place in order to bring its ever new and ever ancient message.
How many times, while listening to the same piece, or even just a part of a well loved composition, we have felt new sensations, a kind of shiver, completly unknown just before that time? Oftentimes there is a lot more Music in Silence than in a stream of notes. It is also true that in Music we can find infinite spaces of Silence. When I direct a group of musicians or an orchestra, I like to think I live this feeling every time: " Just a moment before the beginning of a concert, at the tip of my fingers is the connection between two worlds that permeate and complete each other". First there is a great, breathless Silence, then, with a soft or a strong movement, Music arrives and becomes the protagonist. It abandons its protected place and here it is among us, within us, above and below us.
In the same way, when the last note weakens and the last sound ceases to vibrate in the air, Music returns to its place, its adored Silence, from which we had evoked it. We remain with the feeling, the emotion of having lived a unique moment, never to be repeated. Next time the same Music, the same piece will allow us to live a different experience. For now there is only Silence, or better, there is only our Heart still beating the time until the next encounter.
Ciro Perrino 2015 Translated by Antonella Vicini
Link video https://youtu.be/U1dmfEPsij4 Video “NAVIDAD�
λάθε βιώσας Johannes Dimpflmeier Antonella Vicini Where can you find mesmerizing works of art, shining metallic objects flying in imaginary skies, the passion and gentleness of love interpreted by feathers in the wind, lights commanded by voices/sounds/movement, dancers eternally fluctuating in the air accompanied by ethereal music? In Johannes Dimpflmeier magical and ironic house/workshop. Perfectly interpreting the new renaissance, Johannes is a man who has litterally built his life around him, from his house to his art, never losing contact with the natural life that embraces him all around. Hidden under a ridge, you need to know where to look in order to find his place, made with love and much toil over a long period of time. There live the Kranius family, sharing wisdom, some tics and the many noisy remarks of their, so far, only son with his heavy country accent. In those rooms you can find also the many flying ships of Johannes imaginary fleet, soon to be seen in a series of important shows around the world. If you look carefully you will notice the jewels, the acrobats, the dancer on the tightrope, the amazing moving paintings, the wind activated iron sculptures...
Wherever you look there is something ready to approach you with its fascinating allure, its tempting sound, its hints at a different reality, a space much wider and deeper than daily routine: the crystal clear sky of intelligence bathed in the light of spirit. I have known Johannes for some years now, but I am as baffled as I was when I first entered his creative den, there is no way for me to understand, my rational mind is not able to comprehend his wide scope, nor his goals, but my heart is lighter after a visit there, my body feels at ease and welcomed by these speaking pieces. I could spend hours just admiring the two small boats lost in the ocean of their love for each other, it is a mechanical movement, yet it is never the same, it never repeats itself. Somehow Johannes has managed to make his art alive beyond the frame, physically reaching out to each one of us in its own peculiar way. I have seen different reactions with people of all ages, invariably, at some point everybody is touched, moved and lead into another universe, by the gentle yet firm hand of the artist. By following his deepest inspiration, by entrusting his entire life to his art, Johannes has not only created great beauty and profound meanings, but he has also opened a door to infinity that is available to all the people who get in contact with his art and have the courage to step into it.
Antonella Vicini λάθε βιώσας (living in hiding) Epicurus considered friendship the highest good, both materially and spiritually. However friendship can only be cultivated in a small circle, away from the storms of life. The motto: Live in hiding (away from the crowd) is especially appropriate for art that often hides from the glitter of the media market, in order to achieve peace of mind and greatness of spirit. Last January I started this journey introducing you to a secluded piece of land where several artists have chosen to live and work, following the ancient motto of Epicurus in their own ways.
What follows here is the essence of an involved conversation we had when Johannes Dimpflmeier accepted to be portrayed in THE BADGER. I finally discovered how he arrived in this secluded place, how his art keeps developing and more. Johannes: I arrived here in the moddle of the 80's coming from Berlin, where I had lived for about 25 years, I had already decided to move back to Italy (where he grew up between Rome and Genzano),some family members had a place in Tuscania and I decided to visit them. It was summer time, a huge snail day feast was in progress, long tables were prepared along the main streets, big cauldrons full of red piping sauce and the ever present snails were at every corner, I got lost among this medieval chaos. It was so different from the order of symmetric city living, where every street lead directly to a place, where even the plants respected the general orderly plan. I decided to stop here, I looked for a house, then a piece of land. As soon as I saw this place I fell in love with it, immediately after signing up, even if the place was falling apart, I came to live in it. I bought my first piece of land ever, a pair of sturdy boots, a cast iron pan, a shovel, a pickaxe and I was ready to tackle anything. My art really started then, I have been able to live of my work ever since. Antonella: what is the source of your inspiration? Johannes: my creativity starts with my hand, the brain is a necessary appendix, but not the protagonist. Whatever I do starts manually, maybe a new and interesting technical discovery or curiosity leads me to a new work. I have always painted, since childhood, supported by my Mother's approval. With my Father I shared the pleasure and fascinating novelty of renovation work, electricity with its wonders, reciclying. I can say my two sources of inspiration are manual creativity and technical ingenuity. By trade I studied radiotechnologies, then industrial design, both aspects are still present in my art, but I hardly ever worked in either fields.
Antonella: what pushes you towards the next creation? Johannes: Actually it is not my decision, nor my responsability, it is the archetypes that have found in me a good handicraftsman and use me in order to communicate with human beings. In the best case scenario I am an ambassador between the worlds, like Hermes. I can see in his ironic, shining eyes a little of the elusive ancient messanger god, the fastest, the mercurial, the only one able to travel accross all the worlds and bring healing or plague. Johannes' dismissal of any "artistic" ownership of his work is perfectly in context and coherent with his affirmation that "spirituality is like a foot, you cannot walk without it, while religion is a shoe and you can do without it.." I believe he has come here to serve art, like the great artists of all time have always done, since what they carry is much wider than a single man's capacity for understanding or realization. His work is now being prepared for a series of important shows, publications, soon he will be re-discovered in a more public way, I can sense that he is somewhat concerned about that moment, when success makes everything easier, yet with the risk of losing the intense motivation behind these many years of labour. Here I present only very few examples of his many creations, but I add his You Tube channel where you can see some of his kinetic scultpures, listen to his music, watch his short films and more. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPTEWFMaxCI8VQmOCTgAt2Q His website will help you to discover his amazing world. http://www.johannesdimpflmeier.net/ PHOTOS 1. Kinetic sculpture 3. Mrs. Nixie (robot) 5. Homage to Angelo
2. Queen of winds (detail) 4. In love (light sculpture) 6. Two feathers in the Ocean
HUMAN Tanya Tewell I have been painting the human face and form for over thirty years. Much of the content of my artwork has been influenced by my observations of human nature and psychological and spiritual states as they are manifest in the outward human form. I paint human beings as individuals but also as symbolic metaphors for more universal ideas. Personal dream imagery also inspires the initial ideas for my paintings. Other concepts for paintings have come from the profound influence of living many years in the southwest in the US, working with Navajo and Hispanic students in art, and learning about certain spiritual practices and alternate perceptions of reality. I have also studied the teachings of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell and use their ideas to enrich my teaching in painting and drawing classes at a large university in the US. I also am very fortunate to live part-time in Italy. The country is, of course, the mecca for visual artists and I have, for many years, studied fresco paintings and other great masterworks that are so abundant there. I have become especially interested in the Etruscan civilization that flourished in central Italy, as they were an incredibly sophisticated society which, from every indication, gave great status to women. In my personal artistic expression, I have chosen to paint mostly women, as I would like to show women as rich and multifaceted beings, perhaps a bit differently than many male artists have traditionally painted us. I grew up in a matriarchal household, which had a profound influence on me, so it seems a natural course that I would honor women in my choice of imagery. I have chosen three paintings to share in this article which, for me, typify the use of the female figure as a powerful symbol. All are in oil paint on wood, using a time-consuming glazing technique of applying thin layers of color. This is a traditional technique, which I have long admired in the Renaissance painters in Italy.
The first painting, The Passing, is quite large and is a sort of transfiguration image. Transfiguration does not have any religious connotation but is meant more as a Native American shape-shifting concept that has to do with changing outward forms, moving from place to place, to observe, to learn, to manifest new realities. This painting is oriented around Halloween, the time when dead and alive are closer. The figure rises up from an abundance of multi-colored leaves that have fallen. It is a sort of Phoenix image, that is, new life emerging from old forms. This painting was finished at the end of October. It also captures dusk, which is a nebulous time when the door is open to the spirits shifting from one plane of reality to another, as from the unconscious to a conscious awareness. In a number of cultural traditions, dusk is considered a perilous time for us poor humans, as we might lose our rational hold on existence when the floodgates to a sort of wildness are let loose in this brief period between day and night. This is especially true in the fall as we prepare for a more introspective time in winter. In the painting, the skeleton emerging from the woman’s body is a morphing of spirit to a higher plane of perception and consciousness. It is, once again, symbolic of a significant transition. The second painting, In Thrall, is concerned with the powerful anima— the feminine principle in spirituality and psychology. This is, of course, a Jungian concept. The woman portrayed is a friend of mine whose physical form reminds me of the Venus of Willendorf figurines from ancient European cultures, probably symbolizing magical fertility and abundance. This painting is, for me, a harvest figure and was painted in the fall around the same time as the first image. The colors are all very warm with veins of green running throughout. The woman is a goddess figure who is standing near the entrance of a cave. Incidentally, there are many amazing caves in the place where I live in the States, but the inclusion of the cave is more about mystery and hidden and internalized wisdom. The third painting, Deer Meet, was done after my husband had to kill a deer. He hung it on a large tree near our house to skin and butcher. This deer was also caught with the aid of a neighbor’s dog, which was part red wolf. We live in a very isolated area in Tennessee and see many deer on a regular basis. On this occasion, we looked out our kitchen window at our pond and saw Lucy, the dog, swimming after a deer and trying to break it’s neck at the same time.
She was a very strong and powerful dog, but when my husband yelled at her to stop, unbelievably, she did stop, even though she was driven to kill. Lucy begrudgingly swam out of the pond. The deer was too wounded to live, so my husband had to kill her quickly. This was also around the time that I was struggling with a cancer diagnosis and had had two surgeries. It was very traumatic and painful, so I felt like this deer—vulnerable, exposed, sacrificed. I am grateful that I have survived the difficult time in this painting, also completed during fall, to experience many other joyful events in my life. All of the paintings that I have chosen to share embody an introspective learning process which is portrayed in the rich and earthy colors of fall becoming the muted colors of winter. This seasonal transition is another special opportunity for personal learning, creativity and cultivating a greater understanding of our place in the greater painting of life.
Tanya Tewell Edited by Antonella Vicini The Passing
2013
In Thrall
2007
Deer Meet
2000
All painted at Short Mountain, Tennessee
DEEP WITHIN Channeling part 1
Jose Maffina
With Creative Visualization we have found a method for approaching our deepest feelings, now we examine another path to help us step into our inner reality: Channeling. I have been practicing it for many years, since I consider it a natural response to our interior research. In these times there is a growing interest in spirituality, the more we feel oppressed by the the materialistic world surrounding us, the more we feel a deep impulse towards a personal inner evolution. This is a profound need to be in sync with Nature and its laws, in harmony with the Cosmos, aligned and ready to welcome the lessons for this incarnation, thus advancing the goals of our Self. Since the most ancient times, human beings have felt the need to communicate with the divine, usually the "priest" was the medium of such communication. Every day life prayers were used, the simplest form of direct communication with god/s. In these times human beings have come to realize that they can be the medium themselves, in order to have answers to fundamental and eternal questions such as: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where do we go? Now we know that, at least virtually, we are all able to find the answers.
Channelling is the response to such need for answers. We are talking here about a psychic phenomenon that includes worlds and systems not connected to daily reality, therefore this approach can generate disbelief and skepticism. In order to understand channeling we need to enter the sphere of subtle energies, of the light worlds and spirituality. During the last 30 yeas, many people have activated this set of communication skills, so much so that their messages have been shared and can be read in books or seen on many internet sites. In historical times, we know that since 1700 there have been people, like Swedenborg – scientist and researcher, great friend of Isaac Newton's – who have had contacts with the subtle planes. This phenomenon has become more widespread and better known, besides small esoteric circles, in USA in 1973, when Seth – an entity of light – started to communicate via Jane Roberts. American television spoke about it, making these names and such path common knowledge in American households. Nevertheless, there is still some diffidence towards channeling, probably because there are no set rules about it. Each channel receives and shares in different ways: some use automatic writing, some use their voices, etc. The channels carry universal messages and announce a profound change for the whole of humankind. They mostly speak about a vibrational transformation, the end of linear time, a quantic jump.
All these messages urge us to get ready, to work on ourselves and our capacity to love and receive what is new.
When I define Channeling as Communication with the Light Dimension, I want to underline that all these channels have a spiritual aspect, the contact is always with Superior Beings, their messages are mainly aimed at giving positive instructions to humankind. This attitude is helpful both for the people receiving the messeages and for the spiritual development of the channel himself/herself.
We can then understand the significant difference between Channeling and Spiritualism, the latter works with a medium that gives voice to the souls of the dead people who are stationed in the lower astral plane; while Channeling is a direct communication with the Light dimension, where there are only luminous and benigne beings ready to help humankind. In order to understand Channeling we need to consider the mystical or spiritual aspects of multiple dimensions. Science describes the human body as made of atoms (=energy) condensed into matter, the mystics affirm that humans are made of many bodies, one inside the other, like an onion: physical, etheric, astral, mental, causal bodies, the last three are called subtle bodies. In Channeling the messages arrive from the subtle dimensions inhabited by Beings of Light, so that we realize their only goal is supporting humankind in its evolution. Whatever our way of thinking, we can approach what we don't know with an open mind and with a sincere desire to comprehend, we will then be able to welcome the new knowledge.
Jose Maffina Translated by Antonella Vicini
Warrior goddess Gabriella Campioni Virginity myth or new discovery? I knew that, at some point, my research on feminine energy would lead me to the theme of virginity. My first step was an exam of the meaning of the noun itself. My first comment is about the obvious Latin stems: virgo (vergine), vir (man), vis (strength), virga (stick, rod). They are all related to the vegetal world, moreover the genitive of vis is roboris (oak), another word connected to the above ones is virere (being green). These words and their connections make me think of something powerful and in full bloom, not of something shut down and closed like the hymen in a virgin woman. In spring time I can see that nature is not sealed or shut down in itself, but litterally explodes with new life. So I get the feeling that Nature, although giving birth continuously to new creatures, remains forever virgin, since it remains true to itself, whole in its creativity and irrepressible vocation to re-generate and generate. As I mentioned in my previous article this is resilience!
In medieval times the hortus conclusus (the garden closed by the tall walls of the monastery) was the place where monks cultivated medicinal herbs and more, thus it was connected to the idea of being green, in nature.
Oftentimes in the centre of the cloister/hortus there was a fountain with a column, the perfect uonion of the feminine and masculine principle, like the Indian symbol of yoni/lingam.
This space, unaccesible from the outer world, sealed from it, became later a symbol of Mary's virginity. In legends, such a garden was the place where the wild unicorn could be tamed only by a virgin, he could find peace when placing his head and his phallic horn in the lap of a virgin... or he could attack her if she was not virgin anymore.
Moreover, there is a close similarity between the words virgo (vergin) and virga (rod, also male attribute). In the popular tradition it is said that Joseph was chosen as a husband for Mary because his member flowered. Could this mean that he was still fertile, however much older than Mary?
In some versions the flower was a white lily, as mentioned in the Biblic Song of Songs. From this lily a white dove took flight and landed on the head.
Was this the same dove symbol of the Holy Ghost that impregnated Mary, as it is often shown in many Annunciations? Or was this the same dove that for many centuries, before Christianity, had been the attribute of the Mother Goddes and her priesstesses, often called Mary? I am not going to touch the subject of Mary's virginity here, nor do I want to offend people's sensitivity regarding this subject. I believe that Jesus' message is independent from this issue. Referring to Marion Woodman, jungian psychoanalist, she writes in her Dancing in the Flames that the ever incresingly asexual image of Mary corresponds to a deep disruption not just in the female soul, but also in the male one, divided between the "honest and pure mother" and the "impure and tempting woman" With the passing of time such disruption lead to women being burnt on stakes...
Today, in spite of the long progress, it is still questionable how the "garden" of virginity is entered.
In fact, there are many "hymens" many more threshold to pass, perhaps they are not visible, but nevertheless they are intense and difficult to step through both for men and women. I see a second step, after the "physical" one, between us and other people, or the environment in general, this is not connected to sexuality, but to the field of feelings and relationships. I visualize it at the heart level. How many of us have a "closed heart"? If this is so then many people on earth are treated as less than human, our earth is neglected under our garbage, without respect for its natural regenerative processes.
The heart talks about welcoming, not refusal. I see a third threshold betwen us and the sky, or the spiritual sphere. I visualize it at the top of our head, this is the door to the divine, the enligthenement. If you look at the statue of Saint Therese by Bernini the feelings must be so intense as to ripple also through the body. Opening this door can allow miracles to happen...
In all three cases the task of the threshold is to watch over the person, so that he/she can start a deep and initimate union at all levels, with a person, a group or the environment, with the entire Universe.
Since these doors are closed, do we need to work in order to open them? I believe that we have free will, not even the divine can enter into us if we don't accept it. So we need to choose this path of conscious approach to the different steps.
Since this is a threshold to pass, this alone means that we are dealing with something sacred that requires virginity, with an open heart and mind, full of love and respect, ready to welcome in simplicity and wonder what is new, free from desire of personal gains. This is true "virginity".
Gabriella Campioni Translated Antonella Vicini
(If you are interested in a very thorough work on the etimology of this word, you can read about it in this website by Anna Paola Moretti: http://www.donneconoscenzastorica.it/decs15/index.php? option=com_content&view=article&id=119:testi-vergine-e-verginitaroleda-ri-significare&catid=26:testi. ) Marion Woodman website and trailer video: http://www.mwoodmanfoundation.org/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELL_5hStC_k
QUILTING AWAY‌. A metaphor for the creative process of life.. Lida Perry
Quilts tell many stories. Often the story of the family is embroidered on the quilt. You can wrap yourself around its warm embrace and immerse yourself in the flow of time knowing that what has been transmitted to you will pass from generation to generation, from woman to woman. Quilts are a symbol for tradition. What I create today is passed on to my children and grand children and close friends. Studying my quilts, my fingers follow the traces of the stitches, my eyes take in the colors, the composition of the pattern that here and there show wrinkles and imperfections and my mind lingers in the memories‌and the deeper meaning of this creation. I have come to consider quilting as a metaphor that expresses some of the phases and processes of the life of the quilter in the form of the shapes and the colors used.
When I first came to the USA from Italy with my American husband and daughter, we settle in Illinois, in a small town in the middle of corn and soy fields, this was the environment that welcomed me! My first impression was that I had landed in an unknown planet with very few familiar points of reference. Eventually my youth my enthusiasm and my curiosity made the process of adjusting easier. What was also instrumental was the encounter with the little old lady that lived across the street. One day she asked me to her house for a cup of coffee and, after asking many questions about my origin and life, she very proudly shared with me a profound and creative part of herself that I don’t think she was totally aware of: she showed me her quilts! I think that my blank expression prompted her to tell me the story and tradition of quilt making.
Her words opened up for me a new door in a world that is not described in the history books, I came to a different level of understanding of the plight of the women during the making of America and how quilting was an expression not only of their creativity, but also an art born of necessity and love. Several years and many life changes later, I settled finally in a middle size town in southern Massachusetts. Here I had my second encounter with this traditional craft. At the time I was attending the local University and taking a course on American history, I was sharing with a colleague some of my impressions on the early time of the country and somehow he begun to speak about the early crafts and how he had become interested in quilting and its many expressions. I could feel that the hobby he was describing was his real passion. In admiring the precision of his stitching, the creative use of the colors and shapes I felt intrigued and curious to try this new art. The town I lived in had been a very important textile center with some mills still open and active so I went into the shop and asked for remnants: I came home with many bundles of material of all colors and texture. In this way I begun my adventurous journey with Quilting.
As is in my nature, I approached this project with excitement and energy, thinking that it would be easy and simple. Very shortly I realized that it was neither simple nor banal. What it came out to be was a process that did not allow for short cuts or approximation! Working on my first quilt and all the other that followed turned out to be a metaphor, not only describing how I approached life but also how I lived it. I could see that how I created the quilt was describing symbolically how I created a piece of my future. I realized that there were phases to the creation of a Quilt, as there are phases to shape our life. What kind of quilt do I want to make? First step: choosing the shapes and the colors. Do I want to create my own pattern or reproduce some of the traditional design, where I could give free rein to my imagination with the choice of colors and texture of the fabrics I wanted to use? As I'm writing this article, I muse that in my life I have needed and have had a solid base which was made up of values and clear rules from the traditional design passed on by my family. With this base I let my intuition and my soul create the hues and the vivid shades of my inner life that have manifested in my choices. A pattern for a quilt is a symbol of having a role model in one’s life, or a composite of some of the qualities of people that have had an impact on us when we have met them. My first quilt was a very basic and simple pattern, with just some primary colors (like the quilt in the first 2 photos). It was exciting to choose the colors to cut the pieces to sow them together by hand and, as the work progressed, my stitching became more and more regular and precise. As I contemplated my work I could appreciate it’s simplicity and clean lines, the play of colors and the rippling movement of the quilting stitches, I finally realized that it was a metaphorical image of the most basic traits of my character‌
Then came other quilts other moments other states of mind‌ I am still quilting away‌
Lida Lodi Perry Edited by Antonella Vicini
UNDER THE SKIN Dermoriflessologia速
TIME TRAVELLING Samantha Fumagalli and Flavio Gandini
REALITY OR ILLUSION? A time machine is a fascinating contraption that has always attracted the imagination of the most curious minds. The ability to move in time in order to visit places and different eras is really fantastic. What could we do if this time machine was already available to each one of us? Or what if we were the most ancient time machine? Could such a mechanism be hidden in our bodies? If this were true, then human beings would be the keepers of one of the most coveted desires.
It seems a crazy idea, or perhaps not.... Let's try to prove this affirmation by recuperating a theory shared by different philosophical, religious and teosophic traditions. The knowledge we are talking about detects 4 parts in any man: physical, etheric, astral, causal (the names may differ slightly, but the essence remains).
One Body or Four?
These four parts have very specific characteristics, we will examine them according to theosophy.
The physical body is the material vehicle, without the subtler bodies, it would need to obey the chemical laws of matter without vital energy. In fact, a body wihout life, is due to decomposition. The physical body is associated with the mineral world and with the solid element.
The etheric body is the vital energy that makes the matter alive in the physical reality. Men can grow and nourish themselves, they can have children, just like flowers and trees. The etheric body is associated with the the vegetal world and the water element.
The astral body enables movement, it is essential in order to animate the body, so that each human being can know and experiment. In this body reside all the feelings, desires, thoughts. Soul is associated with the astral body, therefore with all the mental aspects of a person.
This body is
connected to the element of air, it introduces us to the animal world. The astral body is the vehicle of the incarnating soul.
The last one is the causal body, the abode of spirit, consciousness, awareness and will. This body gives us a direction in life, it gives us our destiny and purpose. Some call it the ego or superior self. Causal body is peculiarly human and is associated with fire.
The wonders of the astral body
This body allows us to move in space, we can walk, and be free in our movements, even if we follow the rules of the reality surrounding us.
But what happens when we sleep and dream? During sleep, the astral body separates from the physical one, so the laws of nature are not necessary anymore. The laws governing the soul, in its astral vehicle,
are
very
different
from
those
of
the
phenomenic
world.
Thus the soul can travel free of space-time chains that could limit its expression.
The astral body is a real body, it is not a symbol, nor a way of saying, nor an abstract concept. It is made of matter, just like the physical body, but its density and vibration are different.
Could we then imagine that the astral body is our personal time machine? Could we imagine that our memory is a map of records? Don't we use our capacity to remember as a time map? If this is true, then the fabled time machine already exists! Now we need to learn how to use it in order to start travelling.
Our control panel Now we know the time machine is inside us, how can we choose the destination for our journeys? We need a control panel, where we could insert the coordinates of our desired destination. The good news is : even this panel is already present, we need to thank Dr Giuseppe Calligaris, the great Italian scientist of the early XX century, who found thousands of reflective points on the human skin. From his skin maps we have found the "buttons" for planning our time travels.
Time maps of ages The first one we have found is the map that allows us to move along our life time. There are 100 points on the skin, they are called Age Plaques, they are real archives of our memory.
Every plaque corresponds to one year, by
stimulating these points, we can re-visit our life, have past memories come to the surface, recuperate what we believed forgotten. The regression is very intense, since it happens in a lucid state, it thus allows also to process even painful events, that had not been previously understood or integrated. Moreover, it is possible to access not just the mind, but also the physical and genetic memories. By stimulating one plaque there is an interaction with the physical crystallization of the emotional memories, therefore we can communciate with our unconscious at a deep and rewarding level in order to find solutions to our problems.
More Time Maps Our control panel allows us to plan many different kind of time travel. We have plaques that will enable us to see how places looked in the past or in the future. Other plaques can lead us onto other planets, in order to know what they looked like before or in the future. If we want to know some historical character: an inventor, or a writer, an artist or a composer, a philosopher or a general, we can do so with the correct Plaques. The chances we have now are many, but we know that many more will be introduced, since research and experiments are not complete yet.
Flavio Gandini and Samantha Fumagalli Translated by Antonella Vicini
NAMASTE The Paths of Yoga Giosie Colagrossi Within Yoga there are many paths, we can find the best for us according to our attitude, moment in life, awareness, etc: Karma Yoga the Yoga of action, usually chosen by active people. Along this way the divine expression manifests in human beings with action and service to humanity without personal goals or gain in mind. Jnana Yoga the Yoga of knowledge, available to more intellectual people who, through the deep study of the sacred texts and tradition, look for wisdom and understanding by dissolving the veil of ignorance (Maya). Bhakti Yoga the Yoga of devotion, this path is manifested also through sacred dances and chants. This path is made of love and faith at the same time. Hatha Yoga indicates a system of physical techniques and breathing exercises that are the most commonly known form of Yoga in the west. Ha = sun-heat the physical part of our being (Pingala), Tha = moon-cold, the mental part of ourselves (Ida) Through asanas and breathing techniques there is the union of these 2 energies. Raja Yoga the royal Yoga, it allows to align our Mind to its deep nature. This is why it is complementary to Hatha Yoga (that is part of it). These paths facilitate the process of liberation.
We can also remember briefly Kundalini Yoga the union with Energy/Divine Power Dhyana Yoga the Yoga of meditation, mastery over our mind through meditation, with or without the use of mantras (sacred verses) Laya Yoga control of our will Yantra Yoga experience of mystical states
MIND IN YOGA From the the sacred texts of India: the Vedas : the revealed knowledge Upanishads : the teachings that eliminate ignorance Puranas : the ancient traditions Tantras : litterally weaving, these are esoteric traditions Bhagavad Gita: the Song of God we can see there are 5 categories of the mind. Mind is Chitta. Thoughts form in the mind. Mind, intellect and ego form the Anthahkarana = Consciousness that helps us to analize the formed thoughts, it understands, reacts and experiments through the body and the senses, What can be controlled through Yoga is the function or modification of Chitta. In its pure form, in its supreme state it is called Sat Chit Ananda = Truth Knowldege Bliss.
The main function of Chitta is forming thoughts of various kinds: Mudha is the result of attachments, anger, greed, infatuation, its characteristics are sleep, laziness, fear, Kshipta is not knowing what is correct and good for us, its characteristics are attachment and detachment, knowledge and disillusion, a distracted mind. Ekagra or Ekagrata is the thought concentrated on one point alone Nirodha is a state that gives happiness, forgiveness, tolerance, grace Asamprajnatha samadhi this is the state in which there is only silence, where the real nature of Self is realized, where everything is one. This is the highest end of Raja Yoga which gives freedom.
Giosie Colagrossi Translated and edited by Antonella Vicini
There are many websites, magazines and texts about Yoga, here I add the link to a site that will allow you to read Patanjali's Yogasutra. AV http://www.ashtangayoga.info/source-texts/yoga-sutra-patanjali/
NOMADS Spiritual Teachings and Civilization Part 1 of 4
Giorgio Milanetti You may often have heard about the persistence of gods, values and rituals from the Vedic age to our days, along the lines of a cultural development which never completely discarded ‘older’ elements to substitute them with ‘newer’ ones. Such ideas are not only sustained by scholars who hold ideologically oriented positions, but they are also implicitly contained in concepts that are of larger use and/or more extensively agreed upon, such as that of sanātana-dharma (‘eternal religion’ in Sanskrit) – a term which, especially in India, is usually preferred to ‘Hinduism’, since the latter is often considered a colonial invention. There are other stories, though, which may tell something different. Let’s begin from the beginning, that is to say from the Vedic texts, which represent, at the same time, the first instance of literary production and the first expression of philosophical and religious concepts in the history of Indian civilization. From an analytical reading of a selection of Vedic hymns, we may in fact detect a sharp contrast between ‘older’ and ‘newer’ values – not only with reference to later texts (and particularly the Epic, as we shall see), but also within the same Vedic collections (or saṃhitā).
It is this contrast that allows us to start our story. Vedic tribes, i.e. those tribes who «spoke an Indo-European language, which developed into Vedic», were «small groups of semi-nomadic peoples». For centuries, moving in slow and small waves, they penetrated the Indian subcontinent southward and eastward, often clashing along their routes with the local or original inhabitants, whom they regularly described with negative or even impolite expressions relating to the latter’s physical and moral features, such as ‘treacherous’, ‘black-skinned’, ‘snub-nosed’, ‘performers of black-magic’, etc. From this point of view, we may argue that Vedic texts represent an ‘identitarian’ narrative, inasmuch as they aim at creating or strengthening a sense of common identity among the people(s) they address. In this process of ‘identity making’ we may in fact discern elements that seem to be particularly relevant to our discussion. Local inhabitants (and their divine counterparts, the Asuras) are described as particularly despicable since they dwell in fortified buildings, while the Vedic tribes (and their divine counterparts, the Devas) are strictly associated with the values of free movement and open space. Vocabulary adds to the evidence, too: the main Vedic god, Indra, is invoked with the name of ‘destroyer of cities’ (purandara, purbhid) – which also points to the fact that once destroyed, cities are not occupied by the conquerors, but reduced back to open space; the name for ‘place’, ‘region’ (deśa) is a derivative of the word for ‘direction’ (diś); ‘south’ (dakṣiṇa, whence Deccan) means literally ‘right-hand’, since it refers to the eastward movement of the Vedic tribes along the Gange’s valley.
Thus the picture seems quite clear: mainstream values are those related to movement and nomadism; demons (and local people) build walls that hinder free motion and consequently are to be destroyed; long stops, settlements, stations, delimited spaces, all belong to a dimension which is perceived as unavoidable, but is confined within the sphere of the dead, the ancestors, and Yama – the god of Death (Ṛg-veda Saṃhitā, X.14.9d). Nonetheless, there are other indications which show that the above picture is in fact nothing more than an identitarian narrative, with all the fraudulences and vested interests which usually come together with this kind of literature. It is noteworthy, for instance, that the same collection – the above mentioned Ṛg-veda Saṃhitā – which celebrates open space and movement, contains also clear references to values that are typical of settled civilization and to an economy based on plough agriculture. Several major elements of Vedic civilization may in fact be read as instruments for a transition to settlement. To this regard, we may mention the central role that Vedic religion and philosophy assign to fire, which is not only worshipped as the god Agni, but also placed at the centre of the sacrificial ritual. At the same time, from an historical point of view, fire represents a decisive tool in the process of clearing the jungle and turning it into arable land. As Heesterman puts it: «The sacrificial fire cult is tantamount to settling the wild».
By contrast, it is noteworthy too that Agni is often associated with the dimension of movement, advancing, spreading through: «Stirred by the wind he spreads among the brushwood lightly (driven forward) by the sacrificial ladles, with his sickle loudly roaring. When thou, O Agni, thirstily rushest on the wooden sticks like a bull, thy course, O never-aging god with fiery waves, becomes black. He who has fiery jaws, stirred by the wind, blazes down on the forest as a strong bull [rushes] on the herd. When he proceeds with his stream of light to the imperishable atmosphere, then what is moveable and immoveable [and] the winged [birds] are afraid.» This perspective enables us to better understand the pivotal changes which occurred with the transition from the ‘ancient’ Vedic civilization to the ‘modern’ one – i.e. that civilization which was extensively described in the Sanskrit Epic and that we may define as centered around a triple hegemony: the supremacy of monarchy in the political sphere, the primacy of the Brahman (brāhmaṇa) caste in the religio-philosophical dimension, and the pivotal role of agriculture in economy. (to be continued)
Giorgio Milanetti Edited by Antonella Vicini
The extensive bibliography about the above subjects will be published with the last instalment of this article. The photos of art work portraying Indra and Agni belong to later periods, since we have no images relating to the Vedic period. Here you can find the Hymns from the Rg Veda: http://www.sanskritweb.net/rigveda/griffith.pdf AV
PEACE BUILDING Carlo Popolizio The Hawk and the Dragonfly
It is a challenge to juggle the mystic, the biologist, the mental, and the mystic in me, flowing down the river of time and applying the occasional breaks into the present moment. All I can say about this is that Satori will come with a burst of laughing. Last Wednesday, I spent the whole day with my collegues in a small river in West Virginia looking for freshwater mussels and practicing qualitative and quantitative techniques, data gathering, and tagging. Professionally, I look carefully at all these conservation and scientific methods of problem solving. I see more and more that they are the other side of the linear mind coin. That mind likes to create problems and solve them as well. That mind keeps us identified in the outer world and sometimes we become so busy running around like chicken with our heads chopped off. I do not remember who said you can't solve something by using the same tools that created it, but I can also say that we would be in worse shape if not for all these conservation and scientific efforts. I also know, from years of my graduate work, that quantitative science took a big bite out of my musical creativity. Choices, choices, and more unrelenting choices.
As I was returning to the river just after lunch, a hawk came calling and circling just below tree height around me and others. It went on and on and finally perched on a tree in full view of us, calling and calling. When I got in the water snorkeling for mussels, a colleague said that a blue dragonfly landed on my back for quite a while. I knew something had shifted for good. I hoped it was also a blessing for a new beginning for the mussels.
Humankind has been so unkind to them and many species are endangered. In the lab, a few mussels grown for experiments were sacrificed so that we would see sperm, eggs, their filtering system, and the glochidia (larval stage of a mussel). The female freshwater mussels pack the glochidia (larval stage) in what are called conglomerules, attracting fish to these worm-like shapes they release in the water column or via lures made out of mussel tissue that look like decaying fish while the conglomerules are kept inside the valves. When a fish takes a bite, the comglomerules explode giving the fish a mouthful of pac-man-like glochidia that readily attach to the gills. For two or three weeks, the glochidia feed on some of the fish's blood and then release and disperse to grow into mussels on the river or stream bottom. The filtering system, which was still active although extracted, was a wonder of creation. They call them mechanisms (I don't find it an appropriate term since I know where it comes from, i.e. dark times), but there is no factory on earth that can display such act of vital efficiency.
After the visitation by the hawk and dragon fly, I started remembering my dreams again. One night I dreamt that I was responsible for the death of two individuals related to some friends of mine. They were in front of me in some strange form of oval casket that looked like the mouth of a geyser. Then the relatives came. I expected some form of action against me, but it did not happen; it came from an inner sense of integrity. Then I expected the police. Then I felt relieved that none of it was happening. Then I was relieved to realize it was only a dream. In the second dream, a few of us were held by the mafia. They wanted to kill us. The dispassionate love I felt for them spared me. We were indoors in a house. One of them started showing a more benign smirk and eventually showed me a cancer he had on his leg or hip region. It was bulging out in its awful glory and was full of fluid. I did some work on it on the subconscious and conscious level (in the dream and awake) and was left with a sense of compassion. Our spirit is ever-ready, what we identify with is a little less ready, I often remind myself of it: fear creates the wall. We imagine fear as something that would make us jump off a chair, but truly it is a subtle resistance creating a magnetic wall that wobbles in and out according to the energetic impulse of our choices, separating us from all that is. Joseph Rael, Beautiful Painted Arrow, said that we put things on the wall that are unclear to us so to make them clear. It gives me this image of a clean-up - becoming aware of the energetics of polarities and projections. The flow of energy I feel now shows me that we all need to transcend the puppet theater stage and become one with the puppeteer.
Carlo Popolizio Edited by Antonella Vicini
WITNESSING Introduction by
Antonella Vicini
I am really happy to introduce this new column to our magazine: in these pages you will find people who have chosen unusual life paths, their stories will supply keys to new horizons and possibilities. It is important to listen to these stories, young or old, we all carry experiences that can be shared around the fires lit up in the colder seasons of the year. Such was the ancient tradition, such is the goal of THE BADGER: offering stories for our souls. We start with Laura Cuttica Talice, a good friend of mine with whom we have shared many dances and moments of contemplation around the wisdom of our teacher Joseph Rael, Beautiful Painted Arrow. You will be able to read how her path of life lead her from psychotherapy to a deeper understanding of healing and what needs to be healed.
Antonella Vicini
LIFE IS A FLIGHT Laura Cuttica Talice
Life is a very interesting flight, however long or short, the journey will be interesting if you like to travel. This is a metaphore for how we face our lives. From birth, when we enter the world full of wonder, to death when we leave life, we meet the most different things and we can call them our travelling adventures. We can include birth and death as well, since they represent part of a constantly renovating cycle. During our lifetime we also see many more beginnings and endings: friendships, loves, jobs, habits, etc. When we look at life in this way, we push away sadness and tears, we get closer to the way of thinking called wisdom. Having entered the Elder stage, the wise part of life according to the Native American tradition, I often think about my journey.
It has been a fast flight, yet all the steps have been important, at each stage I have been able to gather the seeds that now form a necklace of wisdom, since it is not happiness or unhappiness what really matters, but the teachings that each experience leaves with us. Our life then is an extraordinary journey, a path lead by our immortal soul in order to complete the human experience, thus giving meaning to life, such meaning was decided long ago, when our personal energy was originated. We are born with a wondrous kit for survival, entirely contained in our unconscious. The doctor checks the vital signs of the newborn baby, without -usually- realizing how well equipped for life he/she already is, from all the previous life experiences. The path of our life project has been planned, but it never happens as we would imagine, this is the great surprise that life offers us, so that the journey keep us in wonder. When the journey nears its end, we are able to look back and understand the greater plan, the connections, the deep meaning of the path crossed during our lives. Perhaps we may even find the answer to the essential question: Who am I? Whatever the path, whatever the experiences, whatever the pains or joys, understanding how interesting life is, what a gift it has been so that we can feel grateful and say affectionately to ourselves:
THANK YOU!
I would like to mention a very important step that has changed my life over 20 years ago: the meeting with Beautiful Painted Arrow, Joseph Rael, from the Southern Ute and Picuris Pueblo traditions. I already knew I had been a native person in some past lives, so I wanted to know more in depth the culture I had been part of, but without any memory of it. When we open to the universe with a strong desire, the universe always answers. I was able to contact Joseph who invited me, since he had been waiting for me. The contact with spiritual souls cannot be explained, they are a wonder that can be discovered during our lifetime, for all of them I am grateful. For many years I followed Beautiful Painted Arrow in the ceremonies he has created out of his vision, in complete respect for his origins. Such ceremonies have brought peace to many parts of the world. He invited me to complete a 16 year cycle, according to the medicine wheel, I accepted, not really knowing what my path was like. Only when I completed the entire cycle I realized the meaning of the medicine name I had been given by Joseph: Deer Tracks, the path were wisdom walks.
Walking such a path takes time, each step advances us towards knowledge, without too many teachings, since we learn from the direct experience of meditating in nature. The dance lasts 3 or 4 days, fasting is our sacrifice, since this is needed in order to access contact with spirit, which will cleanse us from the burden of our difficulties. Each year, dance after dance, the path has become lighter, and eventually it has been completed, but it is so beautiful that it feels good to continue in order to feel harmony and inner peace. My life and my work have been enriched by all these experiences, so much so that now I work in a spiritual way, helping people to discover the importance of spirit in daily life. Spirit speaks to us in unthinkable ways, so we need to learn how to listen to its messages. The spiritual aspect of life helps us to have a wider vision of life, because it sees the goals and how to overcome obstacles, it can give meaning to our lives and the reason we were born for.
At the moment I don't consider myself a psychotherapist, but a soul healer, an ancient profession supported by modern technology, thus helping the natural human talents. For example, now we can live in nature with all its teachings, yet we can still be in touch with the world via technology that makes us visible and approachable. In such a way we can grasp what is needed for the human evolution and the healing of our wounds, we can find healers who will point the way for our life journey.
Laura Cuttica Talice Translated by Antonella Vicini
LUX ANIMALIA Introduction to Pintus NonCompany by Antonella Vicini ...and at the end all the creatures look up, towards the sky... Finished is the long journey from undifferentiated matter into animals that fly, that run and walk the earth – gone are the unnatural movements produced by the will of an invisible puppeteer. After the ritual breathing, the beautiful mudras bring everybody back to the centre, to a time of recognition and remembrance. Now it's time to look into each other's eyes and return to the human form with its limits and its glory. The first contact was the breath in unison and so is the ending, touching and profound beyond words. The beauty of this work is made by the total commtiment of each dancer and their coreographer/leader to being in the moment. Their eyes may meet yours, but they invite you to look well beyond into the nothingness from which everything comes and takes form. In that space beyond they go, then they return as pure natural matter, at one with themselves and the environment around. Their steps are suggested by natural or musical sounds, their improvisations are coeherent and so intense that everyone in the audience would like to take part in their ceremony. Like mythical beings emerging from the depth of the earth, in fact from Etruscan tombs, they return to the light, where they can thrive in a new life.
Antonella Vicini Tuscania July 2015
A RIVEDER LE STELLE Alessandro Pintus Rediscovering our Archaic Body through Dance
One culture stands out among the many that formed ancient Italy: the Etruscans, since they deeply influenced the rising Roman culture, in fact Romans absorbed their entire knowledge into their own. Among the many gifts from the Etruscans there was the dance. It is a well known fact that they loved to dance, in fact their dances were appreciated and were part of rituals that created a direct contact between nature and divine. Dance used to accompany every moment of private and public life, since its primary use was not entertainment, but a path to initiation, to a communion with the invisible. In those times, dance could gift the power of understanding life, nature, thus living in harmony with it, it could reveal the mysteries human beings have always wondered about. Very little has reached our times from such rich knowing, it seems forever lost. This is due partially from the insufficient historical and archeological data, and partially by the loss of memory about our traditional dances and their meanings.
So what is the meaning of dance for modern people? How can we recuperate the primordial meaning of dance? We have asked ourselves these questions for many years, instead of looking at them from afar, or falling for exotic forms, we turned our attention to the research on our roots, re-discovering original meanings only apparently lost along the centuries. We started from the assumption that our DNA still carries traces of ancient knowledge, some memory buried in the depth of our bodies that needs to be dug out and brought back to life through our dance. Along the tree of life that connects us all to our ancestors, from generation to generation, secretly and hidden away, the authentic meaning of the dance has been passed down to us. During the past 4 years of this project we have realized that just "being" in the Etruscan necropolis of Sasso Pinzuto, reactivates in us those lost body memories. Working and excavating in these spaces, we can re-establish a direct contact with the archaic knowledge, that then manifests itself in our movements in a timeless dance embodying archetypes still present in human beings. This dance arises from nature truth, from its elements, its "Genius Loci". Dance needs to live out of the sterile places where it is usually seen for our project to work. In this way we can let it breathe, so that dance can communicate with us, can live and act in the present moment, it can arise from the footsteps of men and women and from the places that have been forever part of his/her history. Dance is not an abstract invention, a code of aimless and superficial gestures, but in every century it is a sincere and deep expression of being and our relationship with life cycle. Dance becomes Real Art only when the creation is inseparably connected to the natural and social environment from which it comes from, as well as the spiritual and ineffable sphere of existance.
Therefore, our goal is not to copy the ancient dances of the Etruscans from an aesthetic point of view, but we want to recuperate the meaning given to the dance by the ancient people as a necessary human activity now. The project " A Riveder le Stelle" enables us to give life to the archaic body that "dances us" from the past, giving us new understanding on the present and enabling us to look at the future with greater hope.
Alessandro Pintus Translated by Antonella Vicini
HISTORICAL ELEMENTS ON BUTOH DANCE Butoh dance started in Japan at the end of the '50s, although it was seen in the west about 20 years later. The founder is Tatsumi Hijikata, he invented the Ankoh Butoh (dance of darkness). From his inimitable work and his cooperation with other artists came the first generation of Butoh dancers. The first need of Butoh was breaking the pre-established rules, codified in rigid forms, as well as the refusal of any kind of definition. Through Butoh the body rediscovers its very nature, it reveal itself in all its naive and absurd authenticity. This is a totally personal research that involves the entire history, all the experiences, all the memories of each person. This is a journey back towards the beginning of self, of humanity, of the universe. Information about NonCompany NonCompany is a Butoh dance group that has been active in Rome since 2001. The shared need to search for the meaning of dance and body, through our direct personal experience, has enabled us to create a network of cooperation among artists and dancers. NonCompany has organized training workshops, courses all over Italy and abroad for the last 15 years. Within the framework of "Good Practices" we believe in creating a connection between the artists and the social environment. For this reason we started in 2006 a series of workshops where the dance training is combined with practical activities, so that creativity can give its contribution in order to enrich the place and the citizens. In 2012 NonCompany has started a new project called A Riveder Le Stelle, in cooperation with Azienda Caponetti, supported by the Archeological Department competent for this area, as well as the local councils. For one week dancers from all over Europe can dig deep into themselves as well as in an Etruscan site (under archeologists' supervision), in order to ascend to a higher dimension trough their art. In practice the dancers spend half the day working on the Etruscan dig and half the day they devote their attention to dance practice. At the end of the week the dancers offer some shows open to the public in the archeological site which they have lovingly looked after. Through our dance we aim at giving substance to the universal meaning of the archetypes, so that they become shared knowledge for contemporary people, such dance can be useful both socially and culturally, bringing artists close to the public as instrument of their needs.
Alessandro Pintus Translated by Antonella Vicini
AUTHORS
Antonella Vicini Writer and editor of THE BADGER, author of Talking with Gods, Sages, Fairies.... (a novel published in 2014). Steeped in classical and indological studies, I have spent all my life learning from people as well as from the ancient texts that keep revealing their immortal, thus contemporary teachings. A teacher at heart, be it in school or workshops, I am happy when I can share new visions and face new challenges. I am a professional rebirther and trainer (1987), Reiki master since 1991, stress management and leadership trainer, writer and visionary. I am deeply grateful to all my teachers and elders. Badger Medicine Spirit
AJM India young and vibrant India is an artist in life, her interests go from the classical antiquities to the most contemporary scenes in L.A. Where she lives at the moment. She is mostly a musician and a poet.
Alessandro Pintus
www.alessandropintus.com Dancer, coreographer, teacher of the first generation of Italian Butoh dancers. He started studying Butoh in 1996, both in Europe and in Japan. He is very active both as teacher and dancer on the international stage. In 2001 he founded NonCompany, a research group. He is currently teacher at the DAMS (Rome University La Sapienza), he also teaches at the Rome Film Academy at the CinecittĂ Studios in Rome. https://www.facebook.com/alessandropintus.noncompany
Andrea Exo Composer, pianist, Italian teacher. Andrea "EXO" Garella began studying piano at 9 years old under the guidance of Walter Ferrato who shared with him the art of improvisation and composition. Between 16 and 20 he reaped the fruits of his studies with long concert tours. In everyday life he works in education and training in the field of safety. He is also a licensed designer for mechanical and thermotechnical projects. He has always been interested in occultism and esoterism. He is about to publish a book where he will delve into these studies connecting such Masters as H.P. Blavatsky, Wolfgang Pauli, C.G. Jung, A. Einstein, Jeremy Narby, C. Castaneda,Rick Strassman, Jean Dubuis and more. Here you can find some of his musical pieces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FmaMRyjF6o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipkSwwfrgxo
Carlo Popolizio A scientist and mystic, my first spiritual pillar was Paramahansa Yogananda, I offer the Master my devotion and I receive from him wisdom in daily practice. I rediscovered life in community with the teachings from Joseph Rael – Beautiful Painted Arrow, with him many mystical doors opened up. The practice of drumming and chanting, the sweat lodge, the dances are gifts of ourselves that keep growing at quantum level. My third spiritual pillar is Reiki, my company and teacher: the more I give the more I understand, since the reservoire is infinite.I am grateful to all my friends, the blessing in my life.
Claudia Enrico
www.joyfullrecipes.com
Claudia Enrico is a Reiki Master, Usui Shiki Ryoho, since 1995. She practices and teaches Reiki classes. She has been Managing Director of the Reiki Magazine Italia™. She wrote a recipe book “Le ricette per la gioia” (Verdechiaro Edizioni) and she has participated in conferences and meetings sharing her experience and message of health and well-being. She is now an Energetic Nutrition Consultant. She lives and creates in Sanremo-Italy and she’s a free Spirit.
Ciro Perrino
http://ciroperrino.com/
Ciro Perrino is an original artist who has managed to create a unique visionary musical style that leads the listener to begin a process of inner search of himself. His musical experience began in 1969 as a drummer. Having then become a composer, he developed his musical career as a solo journey of inner exploration experimenting with electronic music, classical and Baroque music, directing orchestras, to arrive at the piano, the instrument that he still prefers . Acclaimed and recognized as a talent in this genre, he is dedicated to spreading and sharing his music as bearer of a message of well-being and inner peace through albums, concerts, interviews and events. https://www.youtube.com/user/CiroPerrinoIJM
Daniele Sampalmieri born in Ancona, Italy. After his technical studies, he spent several years studying Yoga, Integrative Rebirthing, Meditation, Shamanism, Ayurveda, Nutrition and Cooking. He has lived in many countries because of his work in the food and beverage field. His home is in Kenya, he has been exposed to many cultures and even had the chance of living with some tribes. In the last 2 years he has devoted his attention to the Alkaline nutrition and Vegan cooking.
Fredric Lehrman
http://www.nomaduniversity.com/
is one of the original “Wealth Psychologists” who looked deeply into the subconscious habit patterns that may either support or thwart personal financial success. He began teaching these insights in the early 1970’s, and his seminars, articles, and coaching have been the launch point for many of today’s best known experts and authors ever since. Fredric’s personal career has included intensive study with master teachers in many disciplines, and professional success in music, psychology, martial arts, photography, and global entrepreneurship, networking and innovation. He founded Nomad University in 1974 as a way to expand the concept of education as a life-long individual path of self-directed learning. The ideas he articulated then are now starting to appear in new schools all around the internetconnected world of the 21st century.
GabriellaCampioni
www.deaguerriera.it
Gabriella Campioni is a counselor with 30 years experience in symbology, mythology, psychosomatic approaches and healing techniques. Her favorite fields are the study of the ancient civilization of the Goddess and the functioning of our minds. She gives classes and public lectures, she is also a volunteer at Humaniter, Adult University Foundation in Milan. She translates and writes articles and books, her latest one is La Dea Guerriera (The Warrior Goddess), a symbol of the union of male and female energies, a much needed synthesis of tradition and innovation.
Gigi Capriolo
http://www.istitutocosmos.it/
is an architect with 40 years experience in the field of human and nature well being. All living beings call for his attention. His main fields of exploration are water with its vibrations and environment: from our homes to the universe. He is the president of the Institute Cosmos.
Giorgio Milanetti Giorgio Milanetti is professor of Hindi language and literature in the 'Italian Institute of Oriental Studies' (IISO), at the Sapienza University in Rome. He has published numerous books and articles on Bhakti, Indian poetry, literature and history. He has won prizes for his translations into Italian of Hindi poems, he works closely with several European and Indian universities on didactic projects, as well as many scientific journals. He is a keen mountaineer, curious about the world and its many traditions. He also wrote and directed a movie (“Agnes� with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi).
Giosie Colagrossi after some years in England and Germany, she discovered India, where she lived and worked for 6 years. In 1988 she became a Yoga teacher in India with the Master Svamiji Ravi Shankar, there she taught in various schools and universities such as Sholapur - Bangalore – Gulbarga – Trivandrum – Simla –New Dehli -Calcutta – Puna. Upon her return in Italy, she continued her studies with a degree in naturopathy and iridology (2003 Rudy Lanza Free University). She currently lives and works in the province of Viterbo, so rich in natural and artistic beauty.
Jose Maffina was born in Milan on July 1st 1948, she is naturopath and rebirther, with a Master in Psychosomatic and Flower therapy. She is experienced in channelling. Jose holds a column in Italian in the magazine Esthetitaly, as well as a daily program on the web radio www.newliferadio.it . She leads meditation groups using creative visualization, she is also member of the Research Institute Cosmos in Milan. Jose has written books and CD about her work.
Judith Hayes has both her undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Latin and has taught for an entire career at the secondary level, and briefly the university, in the United States. She also has taught Latin for two years in Viterbo, Italy as faculty of the School Year Abroad program. She made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2013 and last summer joined an archaeological excavation in the Galilee region of Israel.
Laura Bottagisio
www.laurabottagisio.com
is an astrologer and seeker. She started studying astrology at the beginnings of the 80's with Lisa Morpurgo, she later worked with the Cosmos Institute of Milan, where she learnt about the theory and practice of Vibrational Waters. She has attended seminars with gerard Athias and Jp Brebion on new medicine and bio analogy. She shares her discoveries in her blog. She also creates tableaux with recycled materials, in this way she creates images out of emotions and inner worlds.
Laura Cuttica Talice
www.coachingevolutivo.it
A proud mother and grandmother, rejoicing in her family, her masterpiece. Laura is a certified pshycotherapist, hypnotist, sexologist, life coach, above all she is now an Elder and shares her wisdom in order to help people find their life path. She loves jazz, mountains, unusual jobs, her rose garden, living between the sea and the countryside.
Lida Lodi Perry
https://www.facebook.com/lidaperry?ref=profile
Lida was born in the North East of Italy (Vicenza) after graduating from a teacher Institute she came to the USA, where she continued her education at the University of Massachusetts with a degree in Psychology and later a Master in Social Work. She worked for many years at a drug clinic in the local hospital. In 1984 she went back to Italy to work with abused children as a director of a residential facility. She moved on to work as a supervisor and Psychologist at Milan Cancer Institute where she is still consulting, while having a successful private practice as psychotherapist. She was also cofounder of the Rebirthing Institute with Antonella Vicini, she became a Reiki Master in 1992, she is still active with the local and international Reiki community.
Luis.M.Vasconcelos I was born for Life in 1952, and in 1974 I was born for Photography, when my country, Portugal, was born for Democracy. I began my career as a professional photographer and photojournalist, in April 25, 1974, when our democratic revolution took place after 40 years of a dark fascist regim. Freedom was born for us, and my photographic dream was born for me. Since then I have been working as a professional photographer and photojournalist. In 2004, I also followed the call for a deepest journey into my personal discovery and growth, learning meditation and Reiki. I got the degree of Reiki Master in 2006, in the traditional Reiki Usui System. Now, after 40 years of work, I have began to enjoy my (active) retirement. I dedicate my time to the ones I love, and to what I always loved to do: Photography and traveling. I am in love with Life !
Paolo Benda
www.laradionica.it
www.paolobenda.it
Born in Perugia in 1953, he has experiences in electronics, home automation, informatics, he is webmaster, web designer, researcher, writer and publicist. He is an independent researcher with specific interests and specialization in radionics, biology, biotechnology. He is the inventor and builder of machinery for radionics applied to non conventional medicine.
Raffaella Vicini Born a double Scorpio, she has a degree in Law and has been working as lawyer for about 20 years. Her rational side has lead her to the law, while the deep, profound and mysterious side of her soul has guided her towards a path of personal growth (Rebirthing, Reiki, Yoga and other techniques). She loves to travel and learn about different cultures, she has met people of all colours, creeds, languages, learning and sharing their experiences. She is currently a member of the directing committee of Abeo Liguria Onlus (an association for the support and assistance to families and children affected by leukemia and tumors). She has been a very active volunteer for the past 6 years, sharing her time with children, playing and leading them with their families (often coming from far away countries) on short day trips around her region. In this way she has managed to combine her innate rational and spiritual parts.
Renato Tittarelli www.risoessenza.it www.renatotittarelli.it is a spiritual seeker and holistic practitioner. He has been teaching and sharing about non conventional medicines for the last 30 years: integral yoga, shiatsu, meditation, spiritual healing, numerology, alchemy, naturopathy, aromatherapy and massage. From 2000 has started to divulge more of his work in Italy and abroad working on the scientific as well as alchemical and hermetical aspects. He is the founder of SOAM (School of Holistic Aromatherapy and Massage), Didactic director or the Professional School of Aromatherapy in Livorno.
Samantha Fumagalli and Flavio Gandini
http://www.vega2000.it/
have been researching for over 20 years in the field of psyco-alchemy. They are the creators of DermoReflexology and DermoAlchemy. In 2000 they founded the Association Vega for the study and publication of the new discoveries. Their professional course in DermoReflexology has been acknowledged by ASI/CON since 2012 as part of the natural and holistic arts.
Tanya Tewell is a Professor of Art at a Middle Tennessee State University in Tennessee. She has taught at the college level for almost thirty years in painting, drawing, and artistic anatomy. Her teaching experience has also included working with gang members in South Phoenix, artists on the Navajo reservation, and prisoners on Death Row in Nashville, Tennessee. She has been included in numerous national and international exhibitions and ten solo shows. She has also initiated, directed, and participated in painting murals in South Phoenix, Punta Allen, Mexico, Muro Leccese and a very large mural for the former art building at Middle Tennessee State University.
Patrick Zuidema
http://tricksweb.nl/
lives and works in Holland with his wife and young son. He is the creative force behind the changes in the lay out, his advice is invaluable! He also creates websites.
THANK YOU Thank you for reading our magazine, our tribe of committed badgers is growing steadily, as I am writing this piece we have reached almost 14.000 contacts! Thank you! I want to thank the new and old authors who have added their voices and experiences to this great new adventure, so that we can be better heard and received. Our next issue will be online in January 2016. You will find the same authors, plus new articles and new voices always sharing the keys. If you want to keep in touch with THE BADGER, please send your questions, comments and creative contributions to badgermedicinespirit@gmail.com we also have a Facebook page, please join us there: https://www.facebook.com/THEBADGERQuarterlyMagazine?ref=hl Here are the links to our previous issues, so that you can really get to know our work: http://issuu.com/antonellavicini/docs/the_badger_june_2015 http://issuu.com/antonellavicini/docs/the_badger_year_1_volume_2 http://issuu.com/antonellavicini/docs/the_badger_year_1_volume_1_corre cte http://issuu.com/antonellavicini/docs/the_badger_number_0
LITERARY CONTEST ORGANIZED BY THE BADGER Quarterly Magazine THE BADGER believes in supporting all the arts, for this reason we launch our first literary contest. The entry is open to everybody, the material needs to be sent either in English or Italian, other languages are also accepted if accompanied by an English translation. The narrative or poetic text will need to be inspired by WINTER. The narrative text will need to be 4 pages long with a maximum of 9000 characters. The poetic text will need to be 2 pages at the most. The entries will need to be sent in pdf format to the email address written at the end of this page, they will need to arrive by OCTOBER 30th 2015 badgermedicinespirit@gmail.com
There will be 5 winners: 2 for narrative 2 for poetry 1 overall winner The winners will be chosen by our jury made up of authors from THE BADGER and other writers. The winners will need to provide an English translation by December 10th, if needed. PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS: All the winning pieces will be published on THE BADGER Year 2 Volume 1 in January 2016. The overall winner will have his/her own column in the magazine for the remaining volumes in March, June, October 2016. He/she will also be part of the evaluating panel for the next literary context.
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REGOLAMENTO PER IL CONCORSO LETTERARIO DI THE BADGER Quarterly Magazine La rivista THE BADGER vuole sostenere tutte le arti, per questo motivo organizza il primo concorso letterario aperto a tutti sia in lingua inglese che italiana, testi in altre lingue saranno accettati se accompagnati da traduzione inglese. Il testo narrativo o di poesia dovrà essere ispirato all'inverno. La lunghezza del testo di narrativa deve essere di 4 pagine, al massimo di 9000 battute. Il testo di poesia potrà essere di due pagine massimo. Il testo in formato pdf dovrà essere inviato all'email scritta in fondo al regolamento entro il
30 OTTOBRE 2015 Ci saranno 5 vincitori : 2 vincitori per la prosa 2 vincitori per la poesia 1 vincitore assoluto I vincitori saranno scelti a insindacabile giudizio della giuria composta da autori di THE BADGER. I vincitori dovranno fornire una traduzione inglese del loro lavoro entro il 10 Dicembre. PREMI AI VINCITORI: Tutti i 5 vincitori verranno pubblicati su THE BADGER Year 2 Volume 1 che uscirà a Gennaio 2016. Il vincitore assoluto avrà anche una sua rubrica per tutto il 2016, uscite di Marzo, Giugno, Ottobre e farà parte della giuria del prossimo premio letterario.
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