Foreword

(libro di Antonio Girardi l’Alfabeto dell’Anima)

There are times in life when a powerful need is felt to sum up the profound feelings in one’s heart with words and symbols.

This is the voice of the soul making itself heard. It is a voice that makes no claims to absoluteness, does not bring forth paradigmatic forms and does not profess to have values worth trading.

It is a voice that wants to share its visions of the world and its dreams, while also revealing certain profound, intimate matters.

This is a world in which words are increasingly consumed and then rapidly dispersed amidst accelerating potential for communication, with possibilities being offering and destroyed by technology at the same time. Publishing something in a beloved old written form is a way of setting out a sort of message (as if it were in a bottle!) to throw into the sea of life. It bears witness not only to experiences but also to feelings that have been with me throughout my life, albeit in different guises, from my childhood to the present day. 

This soul alphabet is symbolic and practical at the same time. It is a sign of gratitude and love for the One Life, sent out with awareness of the proximity of the liminal lands.

The pages of this short text were published for the first time in spring 2018 and shared with my friends, to whom they were dedicated. It was a bright June afternoon, around the time of the summer solstice, and the setting was the magnificent Venezia hall in Villa Fabris, which is found in Thiene, in the Province of Vicenza.

After I handed over the work, I felt the urge to share it in the same spirit with my friends who do not speak Italian. Therefore, I have published this second edition in both Italian and English. It is enhanced by the inclusion of 21 pictures of watercolours by my dear friend Enrico Sempi. This alphabet is now the product of two pairs of hands, both of which have played an equally important role, in a sign of profound fraternal sharing.

It is interesting to note that at the very time when I was writing the alphabet, Enrico was putting together an exhibition of these 21 watercolours in the “Borgo Arte” gallery in Borgomanero. It was entitled: “Forms of thought – abstract art and spirituality”. The watercolours are a sort of visual alphabet inspired by the forms of thought described by Annie Besant and Charles Webster Leadbeater in the early 20th century.

Consequently, unifying our two “alphabets” and our expressive worlds was simple and natural, as is shown by these pages.

It is a testimony to be shared.