FRANCESCO PAOLO NEGLIA, A GREAT SICILIAN

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

Francesco Paolo Neglia was a musician and a composer. He was born in Enna, in 1874. Due to his passion for music, he moved to Hamburg, Germany, where he founded a music academy that was successful.

In Lugano, Switzerland, and in Istria, which at the time was an Italian territory, he founded two music high schools, also successful.

He also wrote the opera Zelia.

He proved that music is a universal language. Even though he was born in a small city, he stood out in Europe for his musical talent.

Every year, the city of Enna organizes an international music contest named after Francesco Paolo Neglia.

Music is an archetype in Enna. Many families want their children to learn music.

I did not escape the archetype, and at the age of sixty-three, I learned to play the piano.

Ettore Grillo author of these books:

– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily

– A Hidden Sicilian History

– The Vibrations of Words

– Travels of the Mind

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

GREAT MUSIC PLAYED BY A BEGINNER

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

The book of Revelation, or Apocalypse, tells of an angel who plays the trumpet. There is closeness between religion and music. Famous is Saint Augustine’s saying, he who sings prays twice. It means that if one praises God by music or songs, his prayer is more effective than prayers made of spoken words.

Music is a universal language. Everybody can understand and feel it. Even with the extraterrestrials we can communicate through music. Music is a path toward God. I can’t imagine paradise without music.

As I searched for an answer to my basic question, is there life after death? I couldn’t miss this important path to God, music. But what to do? At that time I was sixty-three years old. My hands and brain were too stiff to play a musical instrument. Nevertheless, I wanted to study music. So, I started learning the piano.”

This is an excerpt from the autobiographical novel The Vibrations of Words

 Ettore Grillo author of these books:

– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily

– A Hidden Sicilian History

– The Vibrations of Words

– Travels of the Mind

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

AUM, THE BASIC SOUND OF LIFE

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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“Yes, he was a pure spirit who loved music. I asked him, ‘I want to know something more about the sound OM.’ He answered, ‘AUM, pronounced OM, is the basic sound of life. When you utter OM, your energy level increases. The sound OM creates silence. It’s not a common sound. It’s the sound of silence. When you are listening to good music, it takes you to silence because you feel relaxed. It seems a paradox, but the sound of music takes you to silence. In India, people believe that the sound OM already exists in the universe. You can hear it when you are silent.’
“I asked him, ‘You said that if you tune the C-sharp of the harmonium to OM, the effect is increased when you sing it. Is it right?’ ‘You can use any note, but the lower notes like the C-sharp are better. If you sing the mantra OM every day, you’ll feel energetic and get into silence. When you are silent, you can get rid of what disturbs your mind, and then you can think more clearly. If you are not silent, the clouds and the garbage keep moving in your mind and you can’t think or act properly. First, you have to throw out your inner garbage, and then you can get peace of mind. My teacher who taught me to play the sitar is eighty-two years old, but he looks young and his face radiates good energy, for he plays music every day. If you play music, your heart never gets old.’

This is an excerpt from The Vibrations of Words: second edition by Ettore Grillo
Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
-Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

STUDYING MUSIC AND VIBRATIONS IN INDIA

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

 

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“Apparently you could make friends easily, Uncle Salvatore. Listening to you, I sense that you felt in India as comfortable as in your own country.”
“Benedetto, my country is the world. My hometown is the place where I am at the moment. In other words, if I am in New York, my hometown is New York, if I am in Moscow, my hometown is Moscow, if I am in Addis Ababa, my hometown is Addis Ababa, and so on.”
“I think you were lucky to find a piano academy in India. They play other instruments in Indian music such as sitar or harmonium.”
“Yes, I was lucky. But the academy was different from that in Isola. As soon as I entered there, I saw several musical instruments in one room. I couldn’t expect that they gave lessons for the violin, guitar, keyboard, and piano simultaneously. When I went to the academy for my first lesson two days later, two students were playing the violin, one the guitar, two the piano, and one the drums in the adjacent room. All those sounds didn’t annoy me. On the contrary, there was a delightful harmony of noisy sounds.
“The teacher was a young woman called Swara. She was quite fat, with long wavy black hair down to her shoulders. If she had been less fat, she would have been a beautiful woman, but her fatness made her body look like a wine bag. “I sat down at a black upright piano and started playing by reading the score on the piano. Now and then, the teacher came and checked my practice. If my playing was acceptable, she turned the page of the piano book to a new page.
“At that time, I wondered whether this was useless work. I was too old to learn a musical instrument. But I felt that playing the piano was like a kind of meditation that made me a less cerebral person.
“After I finished the piano lesson at the music academy, I went to Ravi’s home. He showed me his favorite musical instrument, the sitar. ‘The sitar is an Indian string musical instrument used in classical music. The sound box is made from a pumpkin. The strings are supported by two ivory bridges. Sometimes in the cheaper sitars, they use bones of a camel as bridges. The number of the strings ranges from eighteen to nineteen. There are two rows of strings, seven on the upper part of the sitar and twelve on the lower part,’ Ravi explained like a teacher.”
“Uncle Salvatore, it seems that the sitar is similar to the viola d’amore. You’ve already talked about this musical instrument when you met the lawyer Bruno.”
“They are not similar, Benedetto. The viola d’amore looks like a violin or a cello. The sitar looks like a guitar. However, the common thing of these musical instruments is that some strings vibrate though they are untouched. It was the first time that I saw a sitar.
“Ravi went on, ‘When two strings are tuned in the same frequency, it doesn’t matter if the string is in the upper part or in the lower part, whenever you pluck one of them, the other string vibrates.’ ‘Some time ago I heard about vibrations from a friend of mine in my hometown. He said that everything vibrates in the universe. Do you agree with him?’ ‘Yes, I do. Everything in the universe has its own frequency. The frequencies are measured in hertz. For instance, if the frequency of the glass I am holding in my hand now is x hertz, when you produce the sound of x hertz, both frequencies are the same and the glass vibrates. Everything vibrates, both organic and inorganic matter, both material and immaterial. That’s why when beautiful music is played, our whole body vibrates. Our bodies are made of many particles that react to the various sounds.’ ‘Do you believe in the existence of the soul, Ravi? If yes, I want to know whether the soul can vibrate as well,’ I asked Ravi.”
“Uncle Salvatore, I want to know whether you believe in the soul or not.”
“I don’t know, Benedetto. I’m not sure about that.
“Ravi said, ‘The world is made of energy. When a musical instrument is played and you feel well, it happens because the sound contains positive energy. On the contrary, when you hear the noise of the cars and horns in the street, you are stressed. There are two kinds of energy. One is good, and the other is bad. The world is ruled by two opposite energies. Everything is energy, and Einstein proved it by the well-known formula, E=mc2. It means that energy can change into matter and matter into energy.’ ‘Is the soul energy?’ I asked.
“Ravi lit a candle. Then he went on. ‘The human body and the soul are similar to a candle. When the human candle is burned out, it can’t contain the soul, which leaves the body. Stones are also energy, for they are not dead. There are souls in the universe when an embryo enters the womb. It attracts a soul with the same frequency. When you work under pressure or have pain, your body loses its natural positive frequency. That’s why you need good music to harmonize your body. The soul can feel vibrations as well. Body and soul are connected, and both vibrate. Words and thoughts have vibrations, too. If we say something or think of something, our words or thoughts create vibrations. Do you know why we met? It happened because we have the same frequencies. We both love music. If we had had different frequencies, our meeting wouldn’t have been possible. People attract one another according to their frequencies. Among millions of people in the world, you can attract your soul mate who has a frequency similar to yours. It is like playing the sitar. The string that vibrates in resonance must have the same frequency as the string you pluck.’ ‘What is the difference between frequency and vibration?’ ‘Frequency is the number of vibrations in a second. It is measured in hertz. Hertz are the number of vibrations. In other words, one hertz is one vibration, two hertz are two vibrations, and so on.’

This is an excerpt from The Vibrations of Words: second edition by Ettore Grillo
Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
-Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

THE SEARCH FOR GOD

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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“How did you search for God? Did you follow a precise plan? From where did you start? And now, after so many years, have you come to a conclusion?”
“Your question is really interesting!” he said, smiling in such a way that I couldn’t make out whether he was kidding me or not. “If God exists, he is infinite. Humans, with their limited minds, can never see or understand God unless he wants to show himself to them. When I look at the sky on a starry night, I feel like a speck of dust in comparison with the universe. Is it possible to understand the infinite, boundless universe? Of course not. Remember! You can invest billions of euros in the search for God, but you will waste your money. Sometimes a poor person can overtake you in such a quest. Do you remember the widow’s mite I just mentioned? Therefore, I didn’t plan or invest money in my search for God. I thought God would benevolently show me the right way to follow to meet him. Perhaps he could appear to me in my daily life, through situations, nature, and people I met. Actually, everything comes from God.”
“Quite often, Uncle Salvatore, things happen apart from God’s will. We believe that fortunes, misfortunes, and happenings come from God, but they just happen. The ancient
Romans used to say homo faber fortunae suae, man is the maker of his fortune. The thought that God is behind daily life is wrong. Our reasoning and fears bring God into existence. He doesn’t exist outside us. Whenever we try to prove God’s existence, we make a gap between the logical sphere and the ontological one. That is, through our mind and reasoning, we create an entity whom we give the name God.”…

…“While searching for God, I turned off my thinking mind. I tried to access my being that feels life’s music. I realized that my intellect was not enough to understand God. I had to put aside philosophy. By logic we can’t reach God. To be with God means that we live the mystery and miracle, which are nonlogical. Music, art, and literature don’t proceed logically. They just come from inspiration. I am convinced that something intangible and mysterious happens when one composes a piece of music, paints a picture, or writes a poem.
Perhaps the inspired artists are close to God more than we may think. However, if you can’t prove the existence of God or his presence behind the events of life, you can’t prove the contrary either. You can’t rule out that God manifests himself through those whom we come across in our daily life. Starting from this basis, I have been following the stream of life in my quest. Maybe life itself will make me meet God, I thought.”

This is an excerpt from The Vibrations of Words – second edition- by Ettore Grillo
Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
-Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

LET’S TALK VIBRATIONS

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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“The first time I came across resonance and vibrations was after I bought my first SPA truck. I have talked about that truck in the first part of my memoir. Do you remember?”
“Yes, of course, Uncle Salvatore. But what does your truck have to do with resonance? Are you going off the subject again?”
“No. Let me tell what happened. Can you see those two small windows? Well, whenever I warmed up my truck’s engine in the square in front of my house, leaving it on and in neutral, my mother leaned out of the terrace and shouted, ‘Salvatore! Turn off the engine! The windowpanes are rattling because of your truck!’
“I looked up at my mother with surprise, doubting her words. Maybe my mother doesn’t want me to drive this truck. Surely she is making an excuse, I thought. Actually, she didn’t like new technology. Furthermore, she was always worried about me when I drove my truck.
“One day I left the truck idle with the engine in neutral, the brakes on, and four big wedges against the wheels, and then I went to the kitchen where my mother was cooking. All the windowpanes were rattling! My eyes grew round. My blood froze. How is it possible? There is something eerie behind the rattling, I thought. ‘Go and sell that goddamn truck right away! It doesn’t bring us good energy. I don’t feel good with this rattling,’ said my mother with an angry face.”
“Uncle Salvatore, insofar as I know, windowpanes are thick and well-set in the window frames. It is impossible that they can rattle.”
“Seventy years ago, windowpanes were thinner than nowadays. Furthermore, they lay a little bit loose in the grooves of the windows.”
“I get chills of fear, Uncle Salvatore. What did you do to solve the mystery?”
“At that time, I had a friend who helped me with debt collection. He was a lawyer and also a member of an esoteric society. He had studied the occult for a long time. I had an
appointment with him. I wanted to entrust him with two past due bills so that he could recover my money. His house was Baroque style, opposite the Palace of Prefecture. After I entered at the iron gate, a path, flanked by flowering plants and deciduous trees, led me to the main door. The house served as his office as well, which was in a large room on the left after the entrance. His desk was very simple, compared with the magnificence of the house. The windows of the room were adorned with reddish colored drapes. Opposite the desk were a couch and an upright black piano. The lawyer, Bruno, was quite tall, had an olive complexion and black, bright eyes. When he was in court, he pleaded his cases with great enthusiasm and heart. He was a handsome man married to a blue-blooded woman.
“We talked about the bills for a while, and then I brought up my issue. ‘Bruno, something strange happens to my house when my truck is in neutral with the engine on. The windowpanes in the kitchen rattle. The windows are a little far from my truck. How is it possible? You have been studying the occult for a long time. Tell me the reason. Do evil spirits haunt my house?’
“While I was talking, Bruno smiled and glanced at me mischievously as if I were one of his peasant clients with their heads full of superstitions. ‘Don’t be afraid! There are no
ghosts in your house. Now, I’ll show you something unusual.’
“He got up from his chair behind the desk, headed for the piano, sat on the piano stool, and tapped on one key. Then he turned his head back to me. His black eyes were bright like those of a little boy. ‘Now, pay attention to what I am doing. Look at the thin crystal hanging from the chandelier. I will tap the F-sharp key, and then the thin crystal will vibrate.’
“I kept my eyes fixed on the chandelier, but I was quite skeptical. I doubted that the crystal would vibrate without touching it. Bruno hit a key, and then the thin crystal vibrated like a leaflet in the wind. ‘Can you see?’ ‘Yes, of course!’ I answered with open mouth. ‘Now I’ll play a piece of music. Keep your eyes fixed on the crystal while I am playing the piano. Tell me whether it vibrates or not.’
“This time the thin crystal remained still. Apparently, only when Bruno hit the F-sharp key would it vibrate. ‘There is nothing diabolic,’ said Bruno. ‘It is a physical phenomenon. Including human voice, every sound creates vibrations which are propagated through sound waves that can even cross walls. A part of the vibrations comes back to you through reflection. Next time, instead of leaving the engine of your truck in neutral, rev it up a little. The windowpanes of the kitchen won’t rattle. After that, come here again. I will tell you something more about the interaction between sound and matter, music and religion, sound and the creation of the universe. I predict that your mother won’t shout anymore.’”
“It’s very interesting, Uncle Salvatore. Did you try what the lawyer told you?”
“Of course I did. I asked my mother to check the windowpanes. Then I parked the truck in front of my house as usual. I revved the engine a little bit. My mother leaned out of the terrace, and her face was quite relaxed and smiling. The windowpanes didn’t rattle!
“On Saturday evening, I met Bruno at his home again. As usual, he was very kind to me. We sat on the couch. A beautiful blond maid with a lacy white apron and white gloves brought us two cups of coffee on a silver tray. She waited until we finished our last sip. Then she put our empty cups on the tray and went out of the room with a slight bow. ‘Bruno, I did as you said. This time the windowpanes didn’t vibrate. Could you explain to me the reason?’ ‘Yes, of course. Wait a minute.’
“Bruno went to another room and came back with an old musical instrument that looked like a violin. ‘This instrument is called viola d’amore. Amore means love, but it has nothing to do with love. This kind of violin has fourteen strings. Seven strings are located in the upper part and seven below. The player of the viola d’amore plays only the strings on the upper plane, while those below vibrate in sympathy with the upper strings…

This is an excerpt from The Vibrations of Words – second edition- by Ettore Grillo
Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
-Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

THE VIBRATIONS OF WORDS

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

Grillo-2

Author Expounds on Highly Praised Visionary Novel

‘The Vibrations of Words: Second Edition’
Good Vibrations Mean Good Things

This is the second edition of Ettore Grillo’s The Vibrations of Words. A Goodreads reviewer wrote of his first edition: “The content of this book opened my mind to a new level. I don’t quite remember how I stumbled upon this book, but I am forever grateful that I did, because it left me feeling differently in my heart, and with a different mindset. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys books on spirituality, religion, and self-development.”

This autobiographical story offers a journey through music, theater, meditation, Judaism, esotericism, and rare religious practices. It explains how the vibrations of words can influence body and mind: Good words produce favorable situations and a happy life; bad and harmful words cause bad situations.

When an old man relates his life story to his nephew, he tells how his travels to India and Israel shaped his thinking. In India, he learned that music and mantra vibrations have healing powers. In Israel, he discovered the core of the vibrations of words, in that positive and negative vibrations depended on the quality of words.

About the Author: Ettore Grillo is a retired criminal attorney from Enna, Sicily, who spends his time writing and traveling. The author’s previous books are Travels of the Mind, A Hidden Sicilian History, and The Vibrations of Words. See his blog at ettoregrillo.wordpress.com.

The second edition of this book continues the theory that vibrations found in everyday life can influence us for good or bad. We are thrilled to announce its release,” said Robert Fletcher, CEO of Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Agency.

Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
– Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

HE WHO SINGS PRAYS TWICE

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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The book of Revelation, or Apocalypse tells of an angel who plays the trumpet. There is closeness between religion and music, indeed. Famous is Saint Augustine’s saying, “He who sings prays twice.” It means that if one prays God by music, his prayer is more effective than that which consists of spoken prayers.
Pope Gregory I (540-604), known as Pope Gregory the Great, collected the ancient Christian chants, later called Gregorian chants, and founded the first singing school in Rome. He also asked the missionaries to bring him any new music sheet they found. There are paintings and stained glasses that show a bird singing near Pope Gregory’s ear.
Actually, music is a universal language. Everybody can feel it. Even with extraterrestrials we can communicate through music. Undoubtedly, music is one of the paths to get close to God. I cannot imagine paradise without music.
As for me, I started learning the piano at the age of sixty-three. Late? No, it’s never too late!
Ettore Grillo, author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
– Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo

THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC

A few days ago, I was strolling along the streets in the center of Chiclayo when I came across a long parade made up of former students of “Collegio Nacional De San Josè”, which is a school only for boys. It was established one hundred and fifty-six years ago in Chiclayo.

The school band headed the procession.

Without music the parade would have been lifeless, but the sound of the band enlivened it and drew people from every corner of the city.

What would be life without music? It surely would be gloomy. Music exists from time immemorial. According to many, life itself originates from music, or a sound, or a word.

A long time ago, I saw a movie called Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The director was Steven Spielberg. The story was this: some people had wormed their way into a secret military base where a close encounter with aliens was going to happen. After a few attempts, the aliens got in touch with the earthmen just by playing musical notes, as their language was based on music. Was it mere science fiction? We don’t know, but it is certain that music is the only non-verbal language in the universe which everybody can understand, both earthmen and extraterrestrials.

Ettore Grillo author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
-Travels of the Mind
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo