Dopo Miss Italia nera, un papa nero ... non mi par vero

[... Continued from the post "Oh my god" in the home page]

Yes, Jesus apparently had sexual thoughts about women: he was tempted by Magdalene. He resisted to her temptations though and helped the woman to change her life-style, but he was definitely attracted by her.

Actually, a priest would explain you that Jesus is in fact the incarnation of both woman and man... So, his sex in this sense is relative. But, still, in flesh he was a man.

As to his real appearance, the matter is controversial. He was born in Middle East, but the official iconography has always depicted him white and with blue eyes. Last June, my dad and I took my English friends to the Sanctuary of Loreto, where the house believed to be Maria's abitation is conserved. According to the legend, it was brought to that town by the angels. Inside the stone shrine (scientifically proved to be holy house), there is the statue of her, who is sacred and venerated by pilgrims for her long record of miracles. This statue is black: it is a black woman in a gold dress covered in jewelry. I asked my dad the reason, and he told me that, according the tradition, it was white in origin, but became black for the exhalation of all the pilgrims' breath in that constrained space.

Now, I appreciate the fascination of this explanation. But the statue is pitch black and shiny. I found this very intriguing, and revealing something.

From Above: Madonna di Loreto
before the fire; and the reconstruction
after the fire.

Interviewing experience

I am an emotional and passionate girl—this is a matter of fact. At times, you could even define me a bit sentimental. After all, I grew up being fed with those extremely pathetic Latin American soap operas which my mum and her mother in law used to watch religiously. Nowadays, I try to disguise my emotions wearing the professional mask, but I can't always conceal or put them in perspective in my private life—for good and bad.

Today I had a very interesting, educative and touching experience. I interviewed with my manager a would-be Editor. It was the very first time I was on *the other side*: the questioner and, ultimately, the official *judge* of the situation. Before the meeting, I felt nervous. I was far more nervous than the (few) times I have been interviewed or the (many) times I attended oral examinations. In this sense, it was an eye-opening experience realising that, after all, an interview is always a conversation between two human beings sharing the same fears and expectations, despite sitting on different positions.

The interview went objectively well, as it was supposed to be. The candidate was a lovely girl, who looked relaxed and politely chatty. This made me feel comfortable and positive towards her since the beginning. My manager introduced the structure of the interview and started asking a few questions about her past experiences stated in the curriculum. She answered exhaustively to all the questions, in a quite wordy manner. She tended to slip away from the core of the matter, but she would catch it up again towards the end of her speech.

The word was then passed on to me , and I described our department, the team she would work within and the role of an Editor within our company. I asked then questions concerning editorial work, time management and interpersonal skills. She never hesitated to answer and she felt like she shouldn't conclude an answer, but keep talking. The whole interview was supposed to last an hour, so we had to jump some questions to keep it within the timeframe and, in several occasions, we had to stop her and move on. However, we certainly got a satisfactory insight of her personality, skills, approach and experiences. She concluded her interview with a copy-editing and spelling test (BTW the same they submitted to me over two years ago!).

I have not had a proper follow-up with my manager yet, but she quickly expressed her thoughts while the girl was working on the test: she complimented with me by saying that I handled it well and was very personal and encouraging, of which I was pleased. But I was not so pleased when she said that she thinks the girl hadn’t enough experience to face our hectic department and that there is not time to train her on electronic publishing. We are in fact looking for someone on a six-month contract basis, to work on a wide list of on-paper and digital products in the busiest period of the year. Sahara (her (fictional) name) is a 26-years old American girl with a limited in-house experience as editorial assistant and freelance copyeditor. In fact, she has never led a project autonomously and she hasn’t got experience in web publishing. Fair enough. Furthermore, she tended to speak mainly about her past experiences and not in a more general and structured way about how she would act as an Editor within our company—so, in this sense, she was a little bit too specific and retrospective and did not show much flexibility. Fair enough. But I am sure she would be flexible and adapt very quickly, if only we could give her the opportunity, because her approach to deal with situations was constructive and positive. As stated in her CV, she lost her feet five years ago due to meningitis and this ended her gymnastic career. This demonstrates to me that she did have to adapt to a completely new life style, and she did it well: soon after college, she got a job for an independent publishing house; she was promoted in her job after four months; achieved a master degree with distinction in England; and has kept working on a freelance basis with the same publishing house to date.

Openly speaking, I was really keen on her as a long term investment, and I thought that her personality would bring a positive wave into our department. I will certainly express these feelings and thoughts to my manager. However, honestly speaking, I don’t think they will hire her, at least not for this *urgent* position. Yesterday, apparently they interviewed someone with exactly the same kind of online publishing experience we implement. So, a person with specific skills for a specific short-term role, the right tool for the right job, a drastic need call for a drastic solution... I only hope that she will get a constructive feed-back, and I will endeavour for ensuring one.

Meeting my grand dad

My paternal grand dad participated, as an italian soldier, to the colonial expansion to east Africa organised by Mussolini in 1935. He travelled through the Libyan desert, which I have visited in 2004 (see diary of Egypt in the travel section), and stayed in Ethiopia (and Eritrea) for nearly two years, when he was caught and brought to England, as a prisoner for more three years. [Enclosed are some photos of him in Africa.] He died after the Second World War, so I have never met him, but I have been always told anecdotes about his life from my grand mum and my father. I know, for example, that he was very good at sculpturing and building objects. I still own a miniature piano he assembled and a leather horse he shaped. Then, in 1992 I met his ex-prison guardian and his wife. They were a lovely old English couple (Peter and Joanna) living in a tiny cute house just outside Cambridge. Peter used to guard my grandfather and other soldiers from different countries, and he would take them to the pub every Saturday, while Joan would cook and wash their clothes. They died some years ago, aged 90 (Joan) and 91 (Peter). In a recent letter, their daughter Molly wrote to me:

…I was only 12 or so when your grand dad was here, but I remember him very well. They were so young and missing their families a lot. But they also had a great time here and made some life long friendships…

My intent now is to get to know my grand father and his war experience indirectly, through the memory of history. I will undertake this pathway through my ancestor’s past aware of the painful reality I will have to acknowledge and I will start with the follwoing two readings: italiani in Africa & L’Africa nella coscienza degli italiani*, both by Angelo del Boca** and both recommended by my friend and Africanist Simona. The former deals with the life of the Italian soldiers, their fears, hopes, discomforts and memories; the latter analyses, and reveals, the real (and sad) weight, and consequences, of our colonial actions in East Africa.

* Italians in Africa & Africa in the Italian’s consciousness.

** Angelo Del Boca nasce a Novara il 23 maggio 1925. A sedici anni scrive il suo primo romanzo Gli spostati, non pubblicato da Bompiani perché risentiva troppo, nei contenuti e nello stile, delle esperienze narrative americane degli anni Trenta. Nel 1943 si iscrive a Lettere presso la Facoltà di Magistero di Torino. Dal 1944-45, dopo una breve e triste parentesi nei campi d'istruzione tedeschi, prende parte alla guerra di liberazione nel piacentino, come partigiano della Prima Divisione Giustizia e Libertà. Collabora quindi al «Politecnico» di E. Vittorini, alla «Rassegna d'Italia» di F. Flora, alla terza pagina della «Gazzetta del Popolo» curata da L.Gigli, scrivendo racconti che in parte riunirà poi nel libro Dentro mi è nato l'uomo del 1947.Nel 1950 è assunto come inviato speciale dalla «Gazzetta del Popolo» di Torino con l'incarico di seguire gli avvenimenti in Africa e Medio Oriente. Assiste così al lento e tormentato processo della decolonizzazione scrivendo, tra il Cinquanta e il Sessanta, un centinaio di articoli più vari libri.Nel 1960 lascia la «Gazzetta» e si trasferisce a Milano dove lavora a «Il Giorno» ricoprendo l'incarico di capo-redattore. Dal 1981 si occupa del lavoro di ricerca e collabora al «Messaggero» al «Corriere della Sera» alla RAI con servizi di storia e attualità su problemi africani. Dal 1985 è presidente dell'Istituto Storico della Resistenza e dell'età contemporanea di Piacenza e direttore della rivista di storia contemporanea «Studi Piacentini».

My yoga

I have summarised below some yoga principles I have been learning for direct experience and on which I have been working for two solid years. I have never read a yoga book from cover to cover. So, all my experience comes essentially from the practice, the interaction with my teachers and my personal reflections. I would like of course also to deepen my knowledge in a more scientific way and to become a bit more academic, so watch the art space for reviews of three books ready on my bed side table for reading. Notwithstanding, I think it is important to get into the real practice in the most uncontaminated and even naive way to gradually discover it and all its benefits.

Some principles:

Fear shortens the breath. Thus, every time you experience sensations of fear bring your attention back to your breath.

Be present.

Strength and flexibility are only side effects of the yoga practice.

Be Calm and peaceful.

Let it go.

Go through the sorrow and pain processes, which are part of life.

Accept and observe your body and mind without judging your performance.

Always Relax the face: relax tongue and eyebrows.

Uddyana bhanda* and mulabhanda** -- abdominal locks. Core centre (spleen chakra and root chakra) of our body allowing us to be balanced and source of our lightness and energy.
Enter every pose (asana) in a gradual way elongating your spine and working from the roots (hips and shoulders). Try to keep the core centre working.

Namaste means *Buddha in you*, and it closes every practice as a form of thanksgiving.

OHM chanting. *Ohm* is the most basic sound of all sounds. It is a vibration starting from the diaphragm, up to the vocal chords and coming out of the mouth. It is a release with control and usually performed at the beginning and end of the yoga practice.

Pranayama:
Filling the bottle -- inhale from the nostrils -- movement from the bottom up.
Empty the bottle -- exhale from the nostrils -- movement from the top to the bottom.

Ujjay breath -- breathing with the back of the throat through the mouth, but with this latter shut. It allows an expansion of lungs, controls the intake of air and produces a sea sound helping the concentration.

Chanting of a mantra -- repetition of a chorus over and over again unitl positive energies develop and meditation starts naturally.
The single act of singing itself allows us to "give voice" to our heart. Within and through singing, we open the path from the heart to the voice, finding easier to express our feelings. When we add the power of mantra to the act of singing we have a very potent tool for opening the heart chakra, and calming the mind and body. As we reapeat the mantras, we invoke sacred energies that draw us beyond the chatter of the mind and into a silent, powerful space. Chanting in a group creates even more power as the vibrations of the music and other chanters penetrate our body and mind to uplift us and break down the illusions of inner and outer, one and other, uniting us into that stillness that is at the heart of reality.

Meditation -- to meditate means "eliminate any conflict inwardly and therefore ourwardly", "stilling the thought-waves of the mind" [Patanjali]. Get into a comfortable position (lotus position if this is comfortable for you) where your back is straight and your chakras are aligned. Set your shoulders to where they belong: the back, creating space and gently elongating the neck towards the sky. Close the eyes, or better narrow them staring at your nose (and eventually looking inside you), start observing your breath and keep breathing until your concentration focuses entirely on this flow of air, in and out your nostrils, and eventually focuses on your inner self. This is only the premise to start the meditation stage.

*Diaphragm Lock is applied by lifting the diaphragm high up into the thorax while pulling the upper abdominal muscles back towards the spine, creating a cavity, and giving a gentle massage to the heart muscles. It helps to move and transform pranic energy up to the neck region, stimulates the hypothalmic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the brain and develops a sense of compassion. Can give new youthfulness to the entire body. It is normally applied with the breath held out.
** Also known as the Root Lock or Core Lift. This lock increases and holds energy in the first and second chakras, channeling dormant energy from the base of the spine. It contracts the rectum, sexual organs, and navel. To engage Mulabhanda, inhale deeply. As you exhale, contract the muscle about 1 inch below the naval, and two inches into the body.
From http://www.focalpointyoga.com/ask_the_yogini.htm

P.S. At the yoga centre they are starting greeting me with my first name: "hello Silvia", "bye bye Silvia", which I find it so *homey* since it is becoming my second home.