It was just a century ago. And the world emerged from a long world war, filled with hardship, fear, pain, loss, and hunger.
People’s immune systems had been weakened by all these frightening experiences.
That way it was easier for the pathogens of the Spanish flu to impact those who could become ill.
The media that were already very powerful did the rest.
Yet, after a short time some very beautiful years began, known as the “roaring twenties”, in which women shortened their skirts and freed themselves, many started voting, societies became more fun and relaxed, people enjoyed peace and prosperity.
All this, at least until 1929, when the New York Stock Exchange collapsed, and the Great Depression began which then led to poverty among the masses, at least in industrial countries, and finally to the political changes that resulted in World War II.
In Italy it was a bit different, since Fascism with its obscurant mentality took hold early, in 1922, and stifled many of the innovative impulses of the age. At the same time, internal structures were consolidated while maintaining a certain sustainability.
Now looking at these photos we can see our ancestors too with these masks that annoy us so much and sometimes make us cough and choke.
It is not the first time. And it won’t be the last.
It is always important to remember that any pathogen, virus or otherwise, has power to the extent that we become weak.
If we practice resilience, cultivate our hope, and take care of ourselves and the people we love, eventually the pathogen will weaken.
And then we will be able to deal with even more real problems, from which the pandemic phenomenon is a distraction of which we are often unaware.
For example, global warming and how, through this virus, our hostess, Gaia, the Earth, is sending us a message:
“Please stop abusing me.”
“I’m fed up with your drilling, your extraction. I need to find peace too. To cheer me up. To feel that you human beings, as well as other forms of life, are light and know how to integrate with the biota that contains us all. We are together in this great multiple ecosystem called Gaia, made up of connected elements that connect, interact energetically and impact in a symbiotic and self-regulated way.”
“Don’t abuse.”
“Don’t let a new technological leap once again hide the yearning for happiness and love that would truly move human existence towards a quantum leap.
“Don’t let a purely technological revolution replace one oligarchy with another, displacing toil moguls, unhappily represented by Trump and his ugly followers, with the big new rich of the microchip age who aspire to dominate the digital age, and who are equally obsessive, unsightly, and insatiable. ”
“Together, let’s navigate this largely unavoidable transformation by making it our own, making it something we co-create together as we bravely face the objective challenges of reinventing a world where health and happiness get along well with each other, both for each person and all the life forms that accompany us in this collective journey on and through me, Gaia, both for the elements that form the basis of the third planet and its generous hospitality. “
This is what the authentic voice of Gaia channels inside me, this hostess who is kindly hosting us with her grace!
And here are the photos I’ve been talking about.
What about you? What do you feel when you see these photos?
What emotions, what memories, what family stories do they remind you of?
I have many stories and I am preparing them for you in an extraordinary edition of a book called EROS, from life force, from the energy of life known by this name since the time of the Titans, the ancient Greek deities who corresponded to the forces of nature and whose power it was wise to indulge, and, if possible, channel.
I ask you for the resilience to wait for this book with patience and emotion. In fact, with its narrative being an example of a life lived with fearlessness, courage, joy, and generosity – a life that intersects lovingly and assertively with many others – this book will provide you with a guide to invent one such life, your own, one that you will love even more, and then, in turn, with you telling your story to other loved ones, you will turn your own life into a work of art as well.
This is the wisdom of love into which my experience wishes to guide you, also encouraging each and every one of you to appreciate your own experience as a source of wisdom, of love and serenity.
With these photos I also offer you the book cover we designed. And I invite you to join The EROS Book Club. it will be our pleasure to keep you posted about all that evolves around this book. Welcome and thank you!
The Covid lockdown has introduced a new institution, the cuddle buddy (also called copain / copine de calins, or compagno/a di coccole). This is a person who is physically nearby and with whom one can agree to exchange mutual support in relation to the need to give and receive hugs, cuddles, caresses, massages. The need to experience those moments of loving and delicate physical and auric contact that, within the very limited possibilities of a lockdown, help us keep a high level of oxytocin in our body and soul, a level that then gives us the desire to stay alive and the strength to face all related difficulties at this time.
Now, cuddling with people who are nearby is becoming possible independently of any other bond, whether of kin or affinity, and of any desire of an erotic or sexual nature. Perhaps this is a silver lining of Covidian life: that we rediscover this virtue and practice it with joy, given its necessity.
Historically, cuddle parties have been a supreme invention of my friend Reid Mihalko and his collaborators. This practice was brought to Italy by Paolo Pallavidino and myself. It has now become a way of maintaining good health in the domesticity to which we are obliged. Generating oxytocin activates one’s immune system. It is therefore a way to prove one’s social responsibility by easing the pressure on health care systems that are supposedly on the verge of collapse.
We already knew about cuddles, thanks to Gustav Klimt, who immortalized them in his paintings. Enjoy the cover of EROS, which sees abundant cuddles in the painting Das Madchen, the girls. If you want guidance on how to manifest a cuddle buddy in your Covidian life, please contact me.
Enjoy the lockdown, and remember, happiness is the most powerful weapon!
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Can we answer any questions? Please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to serving you in your journey of #EcosexualLove. Enjoy!
aka Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD
- Erstwhile Professor of Humanities and Cinema at UPRM
- Convenor of Practices of Ecosexuality: A Symposium
- Author of Multiple Books Website Serenagaia.org
- Contact: serena.anderlini@gmail.com, + 39 329 477 9406.
- Teacher of Humanities Online Series – Modern History for the Humanities and Love
- ResearchGate Profile
- Academia.edu Profile
- LinkedIn Profile
- Fellow at the Humanities Institute, University of Connecticut, Storrs (2012-13)
- Project: “Amorous Visions: Ecosexual Perspectives on Italian Cinema”
#alchimiadellamoreecosessuale #alchemyofecosexuallove #drserenagaia
