Chiacchiera

September 11, 2001

2007-09-10T20:23:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful September morning. For the last time, the sun rose between the Twin Towers.
At 8:55 am, I came out of the subway and the first thing I saw was an enormous band of black smoke in the sky. I rushed to my office building, two blocks down from the subway station, and asked the doorman if he knew what had happened.
“An airplane flew into one of the twin towers” he said in a somber voice.
“Oh my God! Was it a commercial plane?” I asked, suddenly aware of what this would mean for hundreds of people.
“We don’t know, nobody knows….”
I took the elevator to my office and as soon as I was there, the phone rang. It was a colleague from Milan.
“I am watching TV and I see the tower in flame! Do you know what happened? He asked.
“No, I am just arriving….”
“Santo Dio! He exclaimed, another plane just hit the second tower!!!
I dropped the phone and rushed to the TV room where all my colleagues had gathered. They were all was crying, screaming, calling names of the people they knew who worked at the World Trade Center. We could not believe our eyes.
“This is a terrorist attack! It’s no accident!
We stayed in front of the TV, mesmerized, until the first tower fell, and then the second. It was like a nightmare! Maybe it will go away; maybe it’s a bad joke!
The towers were located a few blocks south and west of the office, and very soon we were asked to evacuate the premises for security reasons.
I tried to call Joe to let him know that I was okay, but all the phones were out. We all took the stairs to get out of the building. In the street, people were crying or just in shock, a blank look on their face. The streets had been closed to regular traffic, except for police vehicles, firefighting trucks and ambulances. Buses had been chartered to go downtown.
With no public transportation available, hundreds of people started to walk up towards the north of the city. The smell of burning buildings was everywhere. Pedestrians were led by a police officer from one sidewalk to another. We were too devastated to have any reaction, and we followed the orders in silence. Some businessmen who had escaped the disaster zone were covered with gray powder. Women took their high heels off and walked bare feet.
New Yorkers are usually very talkative and lively, but today no one says a word. There are no smiles on their faces, just question marks and despair.
Who did that to us? Why? Our city is wounded and we all feel the pain. These people who died and are still dying are our brothers and sisters; it could be us out there! New York is our home and we are a family.
We walked a long time. I finally made it home and watched TV for three days, not even going out to buy food. I could not stop crying, even though nobody I personally knew was buried under the fallen buildings. Even now, while I write these memories, I am crying. Close to 3000 people died that day. Why? Can anybody tell me why?

The Magic of Colors

2007-03-19T11:26:00.000-04:00

Can you imagine a world without color? Eveything around us would be grey, black or white, like in old movies. How dull this world would be! Fortunately, Nature abounds with color and just looking at a blue sky is a feast for the eyes. For artists, it is a pleasure to play with colors, mix them, invent them, splash them into a canvas, or a wall, and see a flat image come to life. For digital artists, the computer monitor is their canvas and the mouse is their brush. The images in this book are the result of such mouse painting and they express the joy of being alive in a universe filled with color.

Please visit http://stores.lulu.com/Lybis to view or buy these books. Thank you.

For more of my artwork, please visit http://www.bigapplefractals.com/index.htm and http://artscad.com/@/lydiabisanti.

Religions, their meaning and purpose

2007-01-24T14:09:00.001-05:00

The word religion comes from the Latin “rilegare” which means “to link”. Religion is therefore what links man to his Creator, and it is “revealed” to mankind by God Himself, since a religion is also a“Revelation”

In today’s world, there are three main religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and three oriental doctrines: Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. These doctrines cannot be called religions because they are metaphysical in nature and their goal is “metaphysical liberation”, whereas the goal of religions is “salvation”.

Religions are destined to the mass and, for this reason, are presented as “dogmas” not to be discussed but accepted in “faith”, because the common human does not have the intellectual qualifications to grasp metaphysical concepts. Therefore, the “form”, or the exterior of a tradition will be emphasized in a religion. This also explains why these forms are different from one another, each form being “adapted” to the mentality of the people to whom it is addressed.

A new “revelation” does not imply that the old one was wrong, but rather that is has lost its spiritual power on the people to whom the new revelation is destined. For instance, Christianity was directed to the Roman world whose religious practices had become mere superstitions at the end of their civilization. It was not destined to the Jewish people whose tradition was alive and well, or to other parts of the world which were unknown to the people of those days.

Because of these geographical, historical and human requirements, a religion has limitations and its exterior cannot be “universal”. It appeals to the emotional side of human beings, faith, love, passion, which can easily become “fanaticism”. The reason is that religions are only concerned with the individual, and their goal is “salvation”.

The human who obtains “salvation” through observance of his religious faith during his lifetime, is “saved” from returning to another life in a form lower than human (an animal, for instance), thus guaranteeing the possibility to reach higher states of consciousness.

Therefore, a religion is necessary to give the common man a spiritual vehicle to ascertain his progression on the vertical plane of the cross, or, in other words, to be able to continue climbing the ladder of universal existence as a “central being”, i.e., the equivalent of human being with free will. This is why the Tantra says that “the one who has obtained the human state and does not try to transcend it is like one who commits suicide”. Because “death” is really “stagnation, i.e., the impossibility of reaching the higher states of the being.

Dreams come true…sometimes

2007-01-23T05:01:00.000-05:00

Since I was a child, I have had precognition dreams. I was not aware of it until they came true. Later in life, I learnt how to interpret my dreams and listen to their advice and messages.

Dream interpretation is a very personal endeavor, since our dreams use what is stored in our brains and translate it into symbols. For instance, let’s say that you dream of a cat. This cat might represent a person, or a side of your personality, and the feelings you have for cats in real life will describe the feelings you have for this person or for this side of your personality. So, the first thing to do before interpreting a dream is to find out what the images it shows represent for you. If you love cats, then the message is a positive one, if on the contrary you hate cats, or you are allergic to them, then you have to find out who, in your life, makes you feel this way.

In my personal experience, I found four categories of dreams:

Immediate messages about ongoing problems of everyday life (health, work, relationships, etc.)
Messages of a psychological nature (revelations about oneself, mirror image showing our weaknesses)
Messages of a spiritual nature (showing our stage of spiritual development, answering questions about life and death, etc.)
Precognition dreams. These are very vivid and usually wake us up in the middle of night, and they seem incomprehensible.

Of course, there are dreams which do not fall in any of these categories because they are too vague and have no value, except to let our brains wander.

Some people say they never dream. This is not true! We spend most our sleeping time dreaming. The reason why we do not remember is because we do not give ourselves a chance to remember. Most people wake up in the morning in the worst possible way:
with an alarm clock. We go from the sleeping state to the waking state without any transition, back into our everyday worries and obligations. Even without an alarm clock we have a tendency to get right back to our waking state and full consciousness. The secret for remembering our dreams is to give ourselves a few minutes before opening our eyes, while not fully awake, in order to review the images of our dreams, still fresh in our mind. This will allow us to perceive messages received from our higher mind (or our subconscious mind) and solve a problem, or have a breakthrough.

I found it very useful to write down my dreams and study them later. The more you write them down and study them, the more you remember significant details. If you do this regularly, channels of communication will open between you and your higher mind, revealing to you a world of information about yourself, the state of your spiritual development, and things to come.

A very good friend of mine wrote a book entitled “The Intelligence of Dreams” in which she teaches a “method” on how to remember dreams and use them in your everyday life.

Lydia Bisanti

Reading :

“Intelligence of Dreams” by Anna Mancini

www.buenosbooks.us

Astrology Unveiled

2006-12-17T15:10:00.000-05:00

Astrology Unveiled

I have been a professional astrologer for over 25 years and I developed quite a good practical knowledge of this ancient science. And this is what I learned:

Astrology is a cosmic science. The word Cosmos means order. Everything in our universe is governed by the laws of analogy, i.e., as above so below. Astrology is the body of laws that link the infinitely large and the infinitely small to the Cosmos. Thus, apparent disorder becomes universal harmony. Consequently, human beings cannot be independent of this order and the destiny of humanity as a whole, as well as that of each individual is determined by these laws that rule the universe.

Individual astrology reveals one’s place in the universe as well as one’s role as an inseparable element of one’s environment. For everything is intertwined and if the stars’ function is to determine the destiny of humanity, each human being’s function is to fulfill his destiny according to his own nature.

WHAT IS THE FREE WILL?

Humans are the only beings on earth that enjoy this privilege. An animal or a plant are totally conditioned and have no power to change their life. However, human beings can only exercise their free will within the limits that have been assigned to them. For freedom is relative and is subjected to the general plan of the universe. Nevertheless, our free will allows us to maximize our potentials and to turn our destiny into a success.
In an individual birth chart, each planet, each sign, each aspect, represent both psychological characteristics and facts of life. Thus the chart proves to be of capital importance because it reveals our weaknesses and their consequences, but also our strengths which we can use to overcome obstacles and therefore, to control our destiny.

CAN ASTROLOGY PREDICT THE FUTURE?

A natal chart is a snapshot of the cosmos at the time of birth--a cosmic portrait. It is what the universe has to say about who you are what you may become.
The future is built in the present and all the potentials of our destiny are written in our birth chart. Astrology reveals these possibilities; however, it is up to each one of us to translate them into reality. It is as if, when we were born, we were given a recipe for a dish, with all the ingredients necessary to realize it. Our destiny is the dish, and we can turn it into a success with mediocre ingredients, or into a disaster with first quality ingredients.
The astrological chart thus becomes the instrument necessary to understand our own nature, to raise our level of consciousness and consequently, to improve our life.

Why I love New York City

2006-08-15T13:24:00.000-04:00

When I arrived in New York for the first time, I first discovered the skyline of Mahattan from the taxi cab driving me from the airport to my hotel. The first thing that came to my mind was "this is a masculine city, with all these buildings in erection!" I compared it to Paris, where I came from, where all the buildings are of the same highth, making the city feminine and soft. I definitely liked Manhattan!! Here are a few pictures of my favorite town depicting its different moods...

Soul Mates - Did you meet your "Soul Mate"?

2006-04-11T12:23:00.000-04:00

The French version of "Transmutation" has just been published. It is called:
"Le Long Voyage de l'Amour"

What is a soul mate?
It is a person who seems to fill all our needs, a person who is our perfect complement, someone who makes us feel complete.
“Complete” is the key word. Because legends say that in mythical times, human beings were “androgyne”, meaning that they were male and female in one body, complete and perfect. Due to the succession of cycles, they became separated; one became male and the other female. Since that time, we have all been longing for our totality. This is what draws men and women toward one another, to accomplish the “fusion” of the two in one, through the sexual act.

How do we recognize our “soul mate”?
First of all, we have to accept the concept of reincarnation, which teaches that after the death of our body, our soul migrates to another plane of existence, and that we continue our life experience according to our “karma”. Karma means “action”, cause and effect. Our present destiny is the result of our actions, good or bad, in past lives.
I am sure you all had the experience of meeting someone who is so familiar that you are convinced you must have met before. You are immediately attracted to this person; you discover that you have many things in common and that you perfectly complement each other. Chances are you met before, on a different plane of existence, where you had started something which you will continue in this life time.

Do we have more than one soul mate?
This feeling of familiarity when meeting a new person is not unique and it happens when we encounter people we have known in past lives. They can be friends or foes, old family members, people with whom we had dealt in past lives. But there is one and only one true love, that unique person who is our missing half. You may meet this person in this lifetime, or in another, but you will keep meeting each other, until you realize the fusion of the two in one.

How do we accomplish that?
This is the subject of my book “Transmutation”. If you have already read it, then you know how difficult it is to accomplish the “Great Work”, as it was called by alchemists who transmuted lead into gold. Transmutation of the soul is necessary to rid it of all the impurities accumulated during its multiple life experiences. When this is accomplished for both the male and the female seeking “Union”, then the fusion of the two in one becomes possible.
For most people, to meet their soul mate means that they found the love of their life, with whom they are going to be happy until death separates them. But this is not enough to restore their primordial unity. For this to happen, they must follow a spiritual path which will give them the means to attain this unity. And this might take many lifetimes and total commitment.
There are various spiritual practices whose goal is the transmutation of the soul, and the characters of my book have chosen the Hermetic Tradition. I will not go into the technicalities of these practices, but if you are interested, you may want to read the book by Julius Evola called “Hermetic Tradition”, or, by the same author, “The Metaphysics of Sex” and “Tantric Yoga”.

When the “Great Work” is accomplished, the new being, called the “Androgyne” in hermetism, is no longer subjected to ordinary human limitations, and he can perform miracles, communicate telepathically with anyone he chooses, travel in space and time, etc., because he has realized all the possibilities of the human state; to make a comparison which we can understand, let’s say that his brains are working at 1000% of their capacity (instead of 3 or 4% which is the case for most of us).
This new being has escaped the fatality of the wheel of existences, which means that he will no longer be re-incarnated.
Now, if you want to learn more about this incredible experience, read my book and follow the adventures of Rene Eagle, the main character of Transmutation, who has to go though hell before he can reunite with his missing half.

Lydia Bisanti

April 11, 2006

www.transmutation-novel.com

Transmutation Novel, by Lydia Bisanti - Book Review

2006-04-11T12:15:00.000-04:00

A good spiritual story, January 23, 2006
Reviewer:
S V SWAMY "swamy-reviews" (Hyderabad, India) -
Transmutation is about transformation of the individual man to a Universal Man. The hero of the novel, Rene Eagle goes through a series of personal catastrophes (as seen through normal eyes) which push him over the precipice and help his ego to refine/ dissolve/ sublime. Transmutation is used in alchemy and in nuclear science. It means changing one element (a base metal like lead or iron) into another noble element (like gold). The Philosopher's Stone is a 'mythical' object which is supposed to help the alchemist to transmute a base metal like iron and lead to gold. Philosophically, it is the transmutation of an egoistic soul (which because of its limited vision is naturally selfish) into an Universal Soul (a soul which becomes the whole universe and thus has no scope for being selfish). The purpose of each soul is to transmute itself into the Universal Soul. To achieve that, the ego has to achieve a sacred union with that missing complement soul, to which it is compellingly drawn. Till then, shadows of such soul (egos that have some semblance to that real mate) will attract the individual, resulting in infatuations, addictions etc. The objectives of various prayers, meditations and other rituals is to prepare the individual ego for this sacred union, which is the real fulfilling union. Eternal Love is the natural result of such an union. Till then, the ego goes through several planes of existence. The author succeeds in bringing out these concepts well, which are not really new to eastern minds. The story is well told and grips the reader through out. Rene becomes Siva, the three-eyed God (the third eye representing true knowledge and wisdom), though the author doesn't use that specific name. The book could have been edited better, but fortunately the communication comes through. I strongly recommend this slim volume if you have any leanings towards spiritual matters. Even without the spirit, the novel is a good read.

www.transmutation-novel.com

Publication of my first fiction novel: Transmutation, A novel about Eternal Love

2005-11-16T16:20:00.000-05:00

“Would you like to walk through walls?”

This is what René Eagle heard the “Master” ask him after he awoke from a mysterious four-week long sleep. But René Eagle does not believe in such things. His Cartesian approach to life has not prepared him for what is about to happen to him.

René Eagle is a financial wizard who, at age 39, has become chairman of a powerful financial institution.
He is a very aggressive and ambitious young man who does whatever it takes to control people around him, requiring them all to do his bidding. He is married to Barbara, a well-bred woman whom he married when she was 18 years old; he totally controls her, demanding that she accept his infidelities and unconventional ways. They have a five-year old child.Everything seems to be perfect in his well-ordered life when a mysterious woman, Lucia, whose appearance is a perfect female replica of his, appears and disrupts his well-planned existence. Strange things begin to happen to him, and his reality is no longer real...

I was told by those who read my book that it is a “page turner” and this is the way I wrote it. I intentionally eliminated any detail that could distract from the action, and every page contains a surprise that will keep you wanting to know more. There is suspense and mystery, yet this is the story of a love that transcends life and death.

“I usually don’t like to read novels” says Anna Mancini, a writer of books about Law, “but when I started to read “Transmutation”, I could not put it down. It is fascinating, almost hypnotizing”.

To read excerpts of Transmutation, you may go to http://print.google.com/ , type the book title and this will bring you to a page listing “Transmutation”. Click on the name and the “Transmutation” page will open. There you may type any word in the “search within this book” and it will open a page of the novel.

Lydia Bisanti
Lydia@transmutation-novel.com
http://www.transmutation-novel.com

Morbid jealousy

2005-07-27T12:38:00.000-04:00

I just had a long conversation with a friend whose wife makes his life miserable because of her insane jealousy. I researched the topic because I know a number of people who are the victims of jealous partners, and I found this article by Vijai P. Sharma, Ph.D
Conjugal Paranoia Is A Disease
Morbid jealousy is not always caused by partner's act of infidelity. Morbidly jealous people find grounds for suspicion and accusations in unintentional, unavoidable and everyday behaviors of their partners. Accused partners can't figure out how to escape situations which might provoke accusation by their morbidly jealous partner.
Momentary lapse of attention or being distracted by something in the environment can enrage morbidly jealous partners for not paying total and undivided attention to them. An exchange of greeting or perfunctory conversation may be viewed as an act of enticing the members of opposite sex.
Victims of morbid jealousy reach a point when they don't want to get out of the house at all. Why go anywhere if it would always end up in a horrible fight! Forget about going to a beach or a mall. There are lots of potential "landmines." In spite of training their eyes to always look down and not wanting to meet the eyes of a member of opposite sex, they can't find a fool proof method.
Meeting past acquaintances can be a problem and might require a full historical report on that relationship. As a result, victims of morbid jealousy turn their head and try to look in the opposite direction to avoid an encounter with an old friend of opposite sex. They have to be careful what they say about the content of past relationships lest it should invite accusations of indiscreet amorous involvement.
Telephones invite their own share of grief. Even a genuine "wrong number" in voice of the opposite sex might be viewed as an attempt to arrange a secret rendezvous.
Going out with morbidly jealous partners provides them enough "fuel" for more accusations and fights. Going out without them requires a detailed and complete account of what one did and who one met. It's a "do-it-or-don't-do-it-you-are-damned!" situation.
Other times, the jealous person can be most gentle and loving people. This can be a real confusing situation for victim partners. They don't know which one is real. Is it the one who is so caring and loving or the one who is demeaning, hurtful and accusatory? Morbidly jealous change (or "snap" one should say) in a blink of eye.
If you are currently in a relationship with a morbidly jealous, don't get married. Marital vows won't make it better. On the contrary, it might get even worse. Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault that your partner has a disease. Remember your partner has a disease, you don't. Of course, you can't treat it by more vocal assurances, evidence of your innocence or more convincing demonstration of your love.
Upon realization of the threat of the break up of relationship, morbidly jealous partners are enraged. They don't understand why their partners instead of correcting their own misbehavior desert them. When forced in a corner, they might agree to marital counseling.
Marital counseling can be educational for you but it won't treat morbid jealousy. Morbidly jealous person needs individual counseling and in some cases medication for other mental disorders. Victim partners should consult professionals in absence of their partners so they can freely ask questions and understand the extent of the problem or the progress in treatment.

2005-07-25T19:23:00.000-04:00

I called this image "Solar Flare". I am posting it here because it represents my scorpionic personality. Right now, this is the way I feel because I just quit smoking and it's tough!! but I'll make it. It's been three weeks already, and I am very proud of this accomplishment!! I never thought it would be possible. To all hard core smokers I say: it is possible!! don't let cigarettes control your life anymore!