THE HORSE AND ANXIETY

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

“When I lived in Germany, I had a horse that was frightened by his shadow. The horse didn’t know that the shadow of his body couldn’t threaten him. It was not easy to convince him not to get scared. At last, he understood that his shadow was an image projected by his body. After understanding, he calmed down.
“Therefore, whenever anxiety tries to take over you, take a rest for some minutes and sit silently. Watch your breathing, watch your mind, watch your body, watch your thoughts, and watch your anxiety. Gradually, your mind will be purified, and your anxiety will vanish! You can’t find it anymore because it comes from an impure mind.”
This is an excerpt from Travels of the Mind

Ettore Grillo, author of these books:

– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily (English edition)

– A Hidden Sicilian History (English edition)

– The Vibrations of Words (English edition)

– Travels of the Mind (English edition)

– Una Storia Siciliana Nascosta (edizione italiana)

http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo


THE HERMITAGE OF SANTA ROSALIA IN SANTO STEFANO DI QUISQUINIA (SICILY)

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

Santa Rosalia was born in Palermo in the XII century. Around the age of fourteen, his father, Count Sinibaldo, promises her in marriage to a prince. Santa Rosalia refused to marry and fled into a cave amidst the woods of Santo Stefano di Quisquinia, a place where nobody could find her. Obviously, near the cave there was a church or a convent where she received help and support. She lived in the cave for twelve years, and then she returned to Palermo to spend the rest of her short life in another cave in Monte Pellegrino.

The former cave of Santa Rosalia is quite long and narrow. Yesterday, I walked almost to the end of it. I felt that it was charged with spirituality.

Visiting the hermitage, I saw the cells of the friars. They were all oriented to Palermo, the city of Santa Rosalia.

In front of one of the cells was the photo and the ID of one of the last monks that lived in the hermitage.

A holy book stood out on a table of the dining room. Somebody told me that while the monks were eating, another monk stood and read aloud. Of course, he had eaten in advance.

On the ground floor was the room where the monks placed the dead. They eviscerated the corpse and, after six months, they moved it into a glass cabinet. The novices that wanted to become monks had to stay in the skeleton room for one week, drinking just water.  It was a good way to meditate, indeed! Don’t you think the rules of the world would benefit from meditating in such a room for one week?

Ettore Grillo, author of these books:

– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily (English edition)

– A Hidden Sicilian History (English edition)

– The Vibrations of Words (English edition)

– Travels of the Mind (English edition)

– Una Storia Siciliana Nascosta (edizione italiana)

http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

THE HUMAN MIND

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

The human mind tends to wander. It is very swift and jumps from one place to another, as if it were a monkey. While people are doing a specific activity, their minds are often elsewhere, thinking about unrelated, floating things: business, love, arguments, personal problems, and so on. The aim of meditation is to reach ‘mindfulness,’ ‘to be now and here,’ that is, to prevent the mind from wandering somewhere.

We can get good results by watching our breath. If you watch the air that comes in and out through your nostrils, it is impossible for your mind to wander somewhere because it is engaged only in being mindful of the inhalation and exhalation…

This is an excerpt from Travels of the Mind.

Ettore Grillo, author of these books:

– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily (English edition)

– A Hidden Sicilian History (English edition)

– The Vibrations of Words (English edition)

– Travels of the Mind (English edition)

– Una Storia Siciliana Nascosta (edizione italiana)

http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

THE PROCESSION IN HONOR OF ST. ANTHONY, IN ENNA (SICILY)

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

After more than two years, the processions come back to life in Enna!

Enna, in the center of Sicily, has been a religious city since time immemorial. In fact, it housed the main temples of Demeter and her daughter Kore.

When Cicero, the great Roman orator, came to Sicily to collect evidence against Verres, he had a feeling that the inhabitants of Enna were omnes sacerdotes (all priests).

Religion is imprinted in the DNA of the citizen of Enna. For more than two years, the city has been like in mourning due to the lack of processions. Now the time for mourning is over!

Yesterday, June 13, St. Anthony of Padua was taken in procession. He was a Franciscan friar. Actually, he was from Portugal, but he also lived in Padua. After the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, he became the Superior General of the Franciscans Friars. He died in a small town near Padua and is revered by all Catholics.

Carrying on their shoulders the litter with the statue of the saint, the brethren looked happy. Their beloved procession was back!

 Ettore Grillo, author of these books:

– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily (English edition)

– A Hidden Sicilian History (English edition)

– The Vibrations of Words (English edition)

– Travels of the Mind (English edition)

– Una Storia Siciliana Nascosta (edizione italiana)

http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

THE ORTHODOX MONASTERY OF ST. ELIJAH THE SICILIAN AND ST. FILARETO, IN SEMINARA (CALABRIA)

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

Both St. Elijah the Sicilian – also known as St. Elijah of Enna, or St. Elijah the Younger to distinguish him from the Biblical prophet – and St. Filareto were Sicilian; the former was born in my hometown of Enna, the latter was from Palermo.

Having heard of the miraculous life of my fellow citizen, St. Elijah the Younger, I wanted to visit the monastery he had founded in Seminara, Calabria.

This saint is revered by both the Catholic and the Orthodox churches, for, when he lived, the Byzantine Schism had not begun.

While waiting for the church to open, I wondered why these two saints are so revered. What did they do that was special? I had the feeling that my fellow citizen, St. Elijah, was explaining to me the spiritual path he had followed. “To be a saint,” he seemed to say, “you need only one thing: to be a simple person!”

Meanwhile, the church opened and I took some photos, including those of the relics kept there. They are two small pieces of the bodies of St. Elijah and St. Filareto.

When I left the Monastery I thought that simplicity is more valuable than gold!

Ettore Grillo, author of these books:

– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily (English edition)

– A Hidden Sicilian History (English edition)

– The Vibrations of Words (English edition)

– Travels of the Mind (English edition)

– Una Storia Siciliana Nascosta (Italian edition)

http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo