A POTTERY CLASS IN KOREA

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

The origins of the art of pottery are lost in the mists of time.

In Egyptian Mythology, Khnum, the god of creation, also called the Potter God, gave life to living beings by shaping them with clay.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus, on the orders of Zeus, created man from clay and then gave him wisdom.

In the Bible, God created the first man, Adam, in a similar way.

Does the creation of man by modeling clay have a symbolic meaning? Probably yes. Be that as it may, the myths indicate that the art of pottery is very ancient. Probably, man invented pottery when he began to cook food.

Today, we attended a pottery class in Youngcheun, near the city of Daegu, Korea. The teacher was very good and also patient. I did my best to shape a mug. To do this, I kneaded some clay, flattened it, and then rolled it around the lathe.

The pottery class was funny and relaxing. Like when you paint, you must not be in a hurry while modeling an object. This calms your brain and mind, and reduce your anxiety.

Don’t you think some of the rulers of the world should take a pottery class to calm down?

Ettore Grillo author of these books:

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

– A Hidden Sicilian History (English version)

– The Vibrations of Words (English version)

– Travels of the Mind (English version)

– Una Storia Siciliana Nascosta (versione in lingua italiana)

– Viaggi della Mente (versione in lingua italiana)

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

THE MYTH OF SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

On our way back to Sicily, we stopped by the nice town of Scilla (Calabria), which faces Sicily.

In the square of Scilla, stands out the fine sculpture of the nymph Scylla.

She was a very beautiful girl that ran into the envy of the witch Circe who turned her into a monster, half fish and half woman, with six heads of ferocious dogs.  

In Sicily, there was another monster, Charybdis. He sucked water from the sea and then spit it back, giving rise to dangerous whirlpools. Whoever passed through the Strait of Messina had to confront one of the two monsters. According to Homer, Charybdis was more dangerous, for Odysseus preferred to face Scylla that, however, devoured six of the men of Odysseus’ crew.

Nowadays, neither Scylla nor Charybdis exists anymore. The crystalline sea by Scilla invites us for a swim. Like all Greek myths, even the myth of Scylla and Charybdis has a deep meaning: Sometimes, in our life we confront difficulties. Not always, we are able to overcome them. In this case, as Odysseus did, it is better to choose the lesser of the two evils!

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 in lingua italiana)

– Viaggi della Mente (edizione in lingua italiana)

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

AN ESOTERIC MEETING ON THE DAY OF THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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“I hosted the esoteric meeting on the day of the feast of Saint John the Baptist, which falls on the summer solstice. That afternoon my neighbors were at home. Seeing all those cars parked in the yard, they were surprised.
“While the white girdle brethren purified the living room, the others waited on the upper floor. In fact, we were not allowed to see how the purification ritual took place. Rino was one of those who performed the ritual, and later he told me that it was a kind of exorcism. We burned a lot of incense. Moreover, there were intervals of silence,  specially when we did the chain. Surely my neighbors wondered why so many people stayed silent and burned incense. That evening, the grand master talked about solstices, equinoxes, and rites related to those special days.
“He said, ‘Equinox and solstice come from the Latin words aequinoctium and solstitium. Since time immemorial, people have celebrated solstices and equinoxes. The winter solstice is related to Jesus’s birth, the summer solstice is related to St. John the Baptist’s birth. They were second cousins. The former was the son of Mary and the latter the son of her cousin Elisabeth. The birth of John the Baptist preceded that of Jesus by six months. On the summer solstice, herbs have a special energy. There are many practices related to the magic night of St. John. On that day people start bonfires, which are the symbol of purification, and pluck special herbs, above all, the hypericum also called Saint-John’s-wort. Spring equinox is related to Cybele, the goddess mother who symbolizes the earth, and to Attis, her son, who symbolizes the vegetation of the earth.’
“When the meeting was over, everybody left, and I remained alone in the house. That night, when I was about to sleep, I sensed that something was happening downstairs. I felt that there were ghostly presences in the living room. I wanted to go there, but I feared an unpleasant encounter. I got up and headed for the landing of the staircase. I thought I saw a ghostly figure with horns coming toward me. As we met almost face-to-face on the landing, he went back downstairs, and I returned to my bed.

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

ANOTHER MYTH ABOUT HELEN OF TROY

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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‘According to an unofficial version of the myth told by Euripides, after Paris and Helen ran away from Menelaus’s house, they both wandered the seas, drifted and tossed here and there by the currents. Finally they landed in Egypt, where Hermes replaced the true Helen with a simulacrum, unbeknown to Paris. Paris took to Troy just a simulacrum, not the real Helen, who remained in Egypt. In other words, the Achaeans and the Trojans fought for an effigy for ten years. Through this myth, I want to say that reality is not what it appears. We are often misled. We think we are leading our lives for something valuable, but from a different perspective, we realize that we fight battles for nothing. Not only wars break out in vain, but also our daily lives are dotted with nothingness. Many times we think we have found our true love, our soul mate. We would fight for the sake of our lover against anything. But often love is an illusion. Like Helen of Troy, Hermes turns our lover into a simulacrum! Hence, the ultimate nature of all phenomena is emptiness. This is my opinion about life!’

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

KHNUM, THE GOD OF CREATION

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

religion-ancient-egypt-khnum-god-creation-god-water-evening-sun-egyptian-god-khnum-guise-man-91135827[2]

‘The stories told in the Bible are not original at all. Many religions tell the same stories as those written in the Bible. For instance, the myth of creation in Egyptian mythology is older than that in the Bible by at least fifteen hundred years. According to Jewish tradition, the first book of the Bible, Genesis, was written by Moses when he led his people through the desert. The Exodus from Egypt happened around fifteen hundred BC, while the Egyptian mythology ranges between five thousand BC and three thousand BC.’
“I listened to him silently, and for the first time I had doubts about the originality of the Bible. Even though I was and still I am Catholic, my desire to know the truth was much bigger than my blind faith in the Bible. He went on. ‘The myth of the creation of man from clay is in the Egyptian mythology as well. Khnum, the god of creation, was called the Potter God, because he gave life to living beings by shaping clay. The God of the Bible created Adam in the same way. Hence, the Bible is not original. It imitates other religions.’

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

 

ARIADNE’S THREAD

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

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“Minos, the king of Crete, appointed the architect Daedalus to build a labyrinth to hold the Minotaur, a creature half man and half bull that fed on human flesh. Daedalus and his son, Icarus, made a structure full of blind alleys, rooms, and narrow streets. The building was so intricate that even Daedalus and his son were trapped there.
“Theseus, the son of King Aegeus, decided to put an end to the sacrifice of young Athenians that were sent to Crete to feed the Minotaur every year. The hero landed in Crete. He was determined to kill the monster. But, how to get out of the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur? Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, fell in love with Theseus. She handed him a ball of wool. While Theseus was going through the labyrinth holding one end of the thread in his hand, Ariadne stood at the entrance of the labyrinth and reeled the thread off the ball of wool. At last, Theseus killed the Minotaur. By following Ariadne’s thread, he found his way back out.”
“How fantastic this myth is! Actually, all the Greek myths hide a meaning inside. Somebody calls the Greek myths the psychology of the ancient. Do you know what the myth of Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur symbolizes?”
“Yes, our teacher told us everything about the myth. The labyrinth symbolizes human life on earth. The labyrinth is an open space with no doors or gates. The Minotaur could get out of it and break free, but it didn’t because it was prey to instinct and ignorance, which prevented him from following the right way out.
“We humans are not different from the Minotaur. Like it we are dominated by instinct and ignorance. Just as it happened to that monster, we can’t get out of the labyrinth of worldly, instinctive life. According to the myth, we can’t succeed without Ariadne’s thread, which is a symbol. It means that we need a guide capable of setting us free from instinct, ignorance, and error. Thanks to Ariadne’s thread, we can get out of the state of animals.”
“What’s your thread of Ariadne, Benedetto?”
“My Ariadne’s thread is love and friendship. Without my friends and my lover, I can’t feel like a human. And for you, Uncle Salvatore, what’s your thread of Ariadne?”
“My thread of Ariadne is the vibrations of words. Erez taught me how to behave in life. If I don’t abide by his eighth precept, I’m not different from the Minotaur. Erez made me understand the vibrations of words. Good words are like Ariadne’s thread that guides us out of the labyrinth of instinct. If you backbite somebody, your bad words will come back to you like an echo. They will poison your mind and soul, and then you won’t be able to see things as they are. Good words are at the basis of spiritual life.”
“Everyone has his own thread of Ariadne. But he has to find his thread inside himself.”

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 LABYRINTH – A MAGIC SYMBOL

Posted on by Ettore Grillo

WP_20180911_017Walking on the lawn of a Canadian monastery, I stumbled on a labyrinth. At the entrance, there was an iron gate. While I was standing there, Sister Rose passed by.
“What is the meaning of this labyrinth?” I asked.
“Sometimes I come here. I took off my shoes and walk the labyrinth. It is like going on a pilgrimage,” she answered.
“Is a labyrinth a pilgrimage? I cannot understand.”
“I’ll tell you something about this symbol. These days, labyrinths spring up all over. There are even organizations that help build labyrinths. Sometimes, in our monastery workshops are held on this topic.”
I gaped at her. Then she went on.

gothic-labyrinth-black-white-cobble-stones-field-europe-letonia-symbol-new-way-clarification-84785067[1]
“Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress, a psychotherapist, was convinced that the power of imagination could help people in their spiritual growth. She went to France to seek out the labyrinth of Chartress Cathedral. When she returned to the Unites States, she reproduced the labyrinth of Chartress Cathedral at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. It attracted people as if it were a magnet. Walking the labyrinth was beneficial to both body and mind.”

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I said to Sister Rose, “It’s interesting. There is another labyrinth maybe you don’t know.
“A Greek myth tells that Minos, the king of Crete, appointed the architect Daedalus to build a labyrinth to hold the Minotaur, a creature half man and half bull that fed on human flesh. Daedalus and his son, Icarus made a structure full of blind alleys, rooms, and narrow streets. The building was so intricate that even Daedalus and his son were trapped there.
“Theseus, the son of King Aegeus, decided to put an end to the sacrifice of young Athenians that were sent to Crete to feed the Minotaur. The hero landed in Crete. He was determined to kill the monster. But, how to get out of the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur? Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, fell in love with Theseus. She handed him a ball of wool. While Theseus went on holding one end of the tread in his hand, Ariadne stood at the entrance of the labyrinth and reeled off the thread. At last, Theseus killed the Minotaur. By following Ariadne’s thread he found his way out.
“The labyrinth symbolizes life itself. We humans are not different from the Minotaur. Like him we are dominated by instincts and ignorance. So as it happened to that monster, we are unable to get out of the labyrinth. According to the myth, we cannot succeed without Ariadne’s thread, which is a symbol. It means we need a guide capable of setting us free from instincts, ignorance and error, to see things as they are and not as they appear to our deluded minds”.
“What is your Ariadne’s thread?” I asked Sister Rose.
My Ariadne’s thread is my faith in God. Without it, I wouldn’t be different than the Minotaur. What about you?”
My Ariadne’s thread is my open heart. If my heart were locked, now I wouldn’t be here, in Canada, in front of this magic, mystic labyrinth.”
Ettore Grillo, author of these books:
– A Hidden Sicilian History
– The Vibrations of Words
– Travels of the Mind
http://www.ettoregrillocom.wordpress.com
http://www.ettoregrillo.wordpress.com
http://www.amazon.com/author/ettoregrillo