It’s getting dark here now as I sit in my hotel room near the Pantheon in Rome – with busker street guitar drifting in through the window – James Taylor’s You’ve got a Friend. 

I feel like crying.
Today was so emotional.

Two fantastic interviews – and in both I was told that I had a friend – a Guardian Angel – which is what saved my life in New Orleans.

@bill bennett

The first interviewee was a wonderful scholar from a University inside the Vatican. He was a world renown physicist – and in studying the cosmos, he came to believe there was more to the universe than science could explain, and so he joined the Church.

He subsequently got his PhD in Theology, joined Opus Dei, and began to use his knowledge and understanding of science to understand the divine.

The second interviewee was also a member of Opus Dei – a Professor of Philosophy, again at the Vatican University. He spoke clearly and lucidly about Guardian Angels, and said that each of us has not only one, but many angels guiding us through life.

And here’s the thing, he said: We don’t have to believe in Christianity, or be religious at all. Our angels will still work for us – providing that we ask, he said. We have to ask. Otherwise the angels think we’re not interested in them, and they get bored. If we pay them attention, through contemplation or meditation or prayer, then they pull out all stops to help us.

He then went on to describe how the angels communicate with us – and talked of coincidence, synchronicity, numbers, songs on the radio, chance encounters, and other ways the angels try to give us messages.

Both men were articulate and highly intelligent, and they put their points of view forward in simple concepts devoid of religious dogma. If anything, they were almost reluctant and even embarrassed to bring religion into the discussion.

Opus Dei it turns out isn’t the big bogeyman that Dan Brown made out in The Da Vinci Code. They are made up of mainly lay people who basically believe that anyone can achieve sainthood or Christ consciousness, and that there’s sanctity in everyday life.

In that sense they’re not dissimilar to the Buddhists, who believe that anyone can become a Buddha, if they follow certain precepts.

Both interviews today fed the film wonderfully – not only because they open out the discussion to include spirituality from a religious point of view, but also from the perspective of science and philosophy.

As the sun began to drop we then went to St. Peter’s square, and filmed right under the noses of the Vatican police. Because we are a tiny crew with a small discreet camera, we were able to get away with shooting our required sequences without being put into a dungeon and being given the Spanish Inquisition.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
(thanks Monty Python…)

@bill bennett

A great day of filming – and tomorrow we have two more interviews lined up that promise to be just as fascinating. Then tomorrow night we jump a plane back to India, to get our interview with the Swami from Rishikesh, who will be in Delhi to launch his six million word encyclopaedia on Hinduism.

This is going to be an amazing film…

Bill Bennett at the Vatican @bill bennett

When I walked the Camino Frances last year, I came to a crucial junction.

I was about 10 kms outside of Burgos, and there were two routes into the city; one which went through the industrial outskirts, and was evidently a tough bit of walking – noisy and polluted and on tar all the way.

The other way went through parkland, but it wasn’t properly way marked, and many people got lost.

My situation was that I was in agony from my knee, and I didn’t particularly want to walk any further than I needed to. Equally though, I didn’t want to walk 10kms on bitumen through a dirty industrial wasteland.

The industrial route though took me into a small town where I knew there was a bus – and the Camino Bible – John Brierley’s Guide – said there was no ignominy in getting the bus and avoiding that horrible 10kms into Burgos.

I mean after all, if Brierley says it’s ok to get a bus, then who am I to argue? Especially as my swollen knee was putting it’s argument for a bus very vociferously.

So I was standing at this junction – the point at which the road went either towards the parkland route, or the industrial (bus) route – when I heard a voice yelling out to me from behind: “Hey, come with us! I know the way!”

And this is how I met Ivan the Terrible and his Beautiful Wife Giovanna.

Ivan the Terrible and his Beautiful Wife Giovanna – Camino Frances 2013

Ivan’s father had named him after the Russian movie, Ivan the Terrible – hence his name. Giovanna has a pixie beauty about her, hence her name.

I wrote in my book later that they turned out to be my Camino Angels. They saved me from possibly catching a bus – not that there’s anything wrong with it, to paraphrase Seinfeld – and they guided me effortlessly into Burgos through green parks and past cascading waterfalls.

In the book they feature prominently, because we subsequently intersected many times on our walk to Santiago. We had many laughs together.

That’s the magic of the Camino. Through a chance meeting outside Burgos, a friendship was established that will last a lifetime.

They live near Milan, and Ivan always told me that should I ever come to Italy, then Jennifer and I should stay with them. And so this past weekend, that’s what we did.

They hosted us in their beautiful house near Burgamo, east of Milan. They took us out to dinner at their favourite restaurant, and walked us around the glorious old town of Bergamo, which has to be one of the most stunning towns I’ve been to in Italy.

The following day they took us to their place on Lake Gardia, not far from Lake Como.

Giovanna cooked us her favourite pasta recipe, which was as good as any you’d find in a fancy restaurant, and that evening they drove us around the lake to a tiny little eatery tucked down a back lane in a small village and we had the best seafood pasta I’ve ever had ever in my entire life. Ever.

The next morning we had breakfast in a beautiful little cafe by the lake, then we said our goodbyes before driving down to Rome, to continue work.

Ivan the Terrible and his Beautiful Wife Giovanna could not have been more kind and generous this past weekend. And that’s what they were like on the Camino as well.

Beautiful gorgeous people whom I met on a long walk somewhere in Spain, and now they’re friends for life.

Further to my post the other day about signs being all around us…

I wrote how I've noticed that it's odd we keep getting hotel rooms with the number 4 in the room number, and I attached a photo of one of our rooms – Rm 414.

This is after waking up at 4:44am from a dream that told me to go out and make the film. I left Australia on the 4th of September to begin production.

I received an email overnight from Matt and Megan. Matt is Jennifer's brother- he provided the inspiration for my movie THE NUGGET, Matt and Megan are the couple that had the “miracle baby” which I wrote about on this blog some time ago.

If you haven't read the story, do a search on the blog under “miracle baby” because it's a fascinating and moving story.

Anyway, overnight they sent me this article on the significance of the number 414.

Do I believe in this stuff? As hard headed and pragmatic as I am, I've come to this point in my life where I simply can't ignore these things.

So yes, I actually do believe in signs.

Here is the story he sent me…

NUMBER 414

414 is a combination of the attributes and energies of number 4 and number 1, with number 4 appearing twice, amplifying and doubling its influences.

414 is a message that you are being Divinely and angelically guided. Pay attention to your persistent ideas and thoughts and be aware of your dreams and daydreams.

The angels are assisting you with aligning your vibrations with your life purpose and soul mission. Trust that you are being led along your Divine life path and are being fully supported by the angels, Archangels and Ascended Masters.

Listen to the guidance from the angels and take positive action.

Angel Number 414 is a message from your angels that you are to look to new ways to go about getting your work done more effectively and efficiently.

Listen to your intuition as your angels are ushering positive energies towards and around you. Keep your thoughts positive and optimistic as you undertake an important new role or venture.

Your positive energies, intentions and actions will manifest your expected results. Trust your angels to deliver all that you will need.

Posted with Blogsy

Whilst in Florence we stayed in a fairly insalubrious hotel – it was pleasant, affordable, and clean. It was also within walking distance of where we needed to go, which was important.

In short, for our current purposes, it was perfect.

Breakfast was simple continental fare – breads, croissants, brioches, sliced cheeses and meats, and of course espresso coffee to order.

The breakfast room was smallish and sparsely decorated, and contained 12-15 tables. But there was also a narrow balcony outside that contained two tables. The tables were in the sun with a view out over a garden and across to some Tuscan houses. Most mornings there was a sweet breeze.

I noticed that each morning, the tourists that came down for breakfast immediately checked out the balcony to see if there was a table free. If there was, they grabbed it immediately. And rather gleefully. If there wasn’t, they found a table inside, rather dejectedly.

I thought about that.

When did they set up their expectation for a table on the balcony? The night before? When they woke up? As they were coming down in the lift? At the moment they realised there were tables outside and perhaps it would be more pleasant to have breakfast there?

The expectation was that their breakfast would be a more enjoyable experience if they ate outside on the balcony in the sunshine, with the breeze. If they ate inside, in the cramped breakfast room, their experience wouldn’t be as good.

So at the moment their expectation was set, two things were inevitable: they would either be delighted, or they would be disappointed.

I then began to consider how at the moment of setting that expectation, it impacted on their emotional state.

Did it make them anxious that they might miss out on a table on the balcony? Did they hurry to get to breakfast fast? Did they regard it as important to the start of their day, or was it inconsequential?

If it was important, did it mean they got out of bed earlier? Did they rush through their shower? Did they neglect to give their partner attention? A kiss? A compliment? Did they bundle out of the lift in front of others so that they could get to the balcony first?

Each morning, I watched the tourists come to the balcony to see if a table was free, and realising the tables were already taken and that they’d have to eat inside, I could see they were clearly peeved.

And I wondered how long that sense of loss, that disappointment, would last.

Would it affect their breakfast? Would they be churlish to those around them? Would they carry that disappointment with them into their morning’s sightseeing? Or would they simply dismiss it as being bad luck, nothing to worry about, no big deal, and get on with their day?

How it impacted on them would depend so much on how important the expectation was, and what their prior life experience was –

Were they of the belief that they always missed out? That someone else always got the best table ahead of them? That “life” was stacked against them? Did they envy others who had a better car, a better house, a better wife/husband/partner/pet? Were they prone to bitterness?

Or did they have a storehouse of life experience that had taught them to brush off disappointments, because something better was always around the next corner?

As I watched these people checking out the balcony I thought that it was so much like life. This little moment in this small rather ordinary hotel in Florence.

In life we set up expectations. Moment to moment, day to day, year to year, throughout our lives. And moment to moment, day to day, year to year, throughout our lives we’re either delighted or disappointed.

Mostly we’re disappointed, because life rarely delivers us the sunny breezy table out on the balcony. Instead, most of us have to eat our breakfast in the cramped room with everyone else, looking at fake Tuscan pictures on the walls.

What if we had no expectations? What if it didn’t matter? What if we were happy eating in the cramped room with the fake pictures? Then there would be no disappointment.

It happens on the Camino all the time. Pilgrims set their heart on sleeping in a particular albergue. And they rush through their day to get there, only to find that the albergue is full. They miss out on so much by rushing through their day. And then they’re disappointed.

So what’s important – where you sleep?
Or what you do through the entire day?

Did those people who ate out on the balcony really have a better breakfast experience? Maybe the sun was in their eyes. Or maybe the breeze kept blowing their napkin off the table. Or maybe because the balcony was so narrow it was difficult squeezing in and out past the tables to get to the buffet.

Perhaps it was a pain in the butt eating out on the balcony. And perhaps your expectation of the better experience was an illusion. A fantasy. And in fact you were actually better off eating inside.

It’s all about expectation. Or detaching yourself from expectation – and savouring what you have right here, right now, right at this moment, right in front of you.

And when you look at it, what you have right now, you have to admit it’s pretty bloody good.

Yesterday was again flat out.

Jennifer and I were musing at the end of the day that here we are in one of the most magnificent cities in the world – Florence – and we’ve had no time for sightseeing. No popping into the Uffizi for a squiz at some Botticelli – we haven’t even had a chance to go into the Duomo.

We’re here to work – to film – and yesterday gave us another couple of little gems.

First we went to Florence’s oldest bookstore – only 50 meters from the Duomo in fact, and a store that’s been in existence for centuries. Our purpose there was to film a sequence of me researching ancient texts – and the bookstore certainly provided some wonderful visual opportunities.

It was a store that dealt specifically in antiquated books – books hundreds of years old. And it had shelf upon musty shelf of books with cracked leather covers and parchment paper that took you back to medieval and ancient times.

While shooting the sequence I got to talking to the owner of the store – the store has been in his family for six generations – and he began to talk about intuition in wonderfully literate terms.

He talked about “signs,” what he called “hidden” signs that were all around you, should you be prepared to look for them. And even though we were already running late for the next interview, I decided to get his views on camera.

And he was wonderful.

Articulate, sensitive, and wise – he spoke with eloquence about intuition manifesting as signs, which because we live in confusion most of our lives, we fail to see them.

We then quickly packed up and walked about a kilometre across to another piazza, where we met an esteemed theologian – a Emeritus Professor of Theology – who was a wonderfully colourful character.

Tall, imposing, dressed in a black suit with a white unbuttoned shirt; long scraggly white hair, white beard, and academic spectacles, he looked exactly like a Florentine theologian should look.

His interview again was fascinating – and what was interesting about it is that in many ways it connected with what some of the Hindu spiritualists had said in India. The professor spoke about the Holy Spirit, but not in rigid Christian terms, rather in a more open way about the cosmos – his word – and consciousness.

I’ve been expecting the Italian interviews to be more hard-line – more obviously Christian – but it’s proving not to be the case. There seems to be a more “modern” sensibility coming through.

However we go to Rome on Monday, and I’m interviewing someone from Opus Dei, so we’ll see what he has to say!

Just a note: remember that I made the decision to do this film after waking up from a dream at 4:44am? At the time I regarded that as a very real sign that I had to get on with it.  And consequently I booked my flight to India to depart on the 4th of September.

Well, this might sound crazy but it seems that on this trip – both in India and now in Italy – we’re constantly being given rooms with the number 4 in it – such as Room 414.

Coincidence, right?

The reason I’ve come to Italy is to film the religious perspective on intuition. And here in Italy of course, that means the Christian perspective.

My film will look at intuition from a religious, a spiritual, and a scientific viewpoint. And the film will most probably come to the conclusion that they’re all saying the same thing, but using language that is particular to their beliefs and understandings.

The scientific viewpoint on intuition will largely be shot in the US, as will the spiritual – although I’ve already got some wonderful spiritual material from India.

Yesterday I did a very moving interview with a monk from the Capuchin Order of St. Francis. (It’s interesting how St. Francis of Assisi keeps popping up…).

He was based in a small church attached to a large hospital on the outskirts of Florence. The hospital was established in the 13th century, but the church was built during Mussolini’s Fascist era, in the 1930s. It was wonderfully sparse and angular.

The monk wanted me to call him by his first name – Marcos. No respectful title was necessary. He was dressed in simple robes, with the traditional monk’s cord around his waist. He was quiet and humble and utterly self effacing and honest – yet when he spoke on camera he became very impassioned, just like the professor I interviewed yesterday.

For those of you unfamiliar with the basis of this film I’m doing, it’s essentially this:

Many years ago, while I was making a movie in New Orleans, a “voice” saved my life. I was driving to the airport very early one morning, I was running late, and this voice told me to slow down as I was approaching an intersection.

I did slow down, because the voice was insistent, and so damn weird. And as I entered the intersection a massive truck ran a red light on a cross street, and missed me by inches. If I hadn’t listened to that voice and slowed down, I would have been killed.

Ever since, I’ve been fascinated to know three things:

• What was that voice?
• Where did it come from?
• Why did it save my life?

That’s essentially what the film is about – but it’s more than that too; it will ultimately show how you can trust your intuition, and how you can access it readily. Here’s a link to explain the film, and my concept of PGS – intuition as your Personal Guidance System…

PGS sizzle reel – 

Marcos yesterday said the “voice” was my Guardian Angel, which in many ways is not dissimilar to those in India who spoke about it being my astral body, my karmic imprint, or my Higher Self. The monk then went on to explain how you can communicate with your Guardian Angel… and how your Guardian Angel tries to guide and protect you through life.

It was fascinating stuff, and it will make an important contribution to the film.

Today I’m filming in the oldest bookstore in Florence – a sequence of me researching ancient texts – then after that I have an interview with a highly regarded theologian, who is also an authority on quantum physics and Particle Theory. That should be interesting.

Next week, it’s down to Rome. It looks like we might have breached the impenetrable walls of the Vatican!

Padre Marcos – Franciscan Monk, Capuchin Order @bill bennett

Professor Giuseppe Cognetti teaches Philosophy at the University of Siena, which is one of the oldest and most respected universities in Italy, dating back to the thirteenth century.

Professor Cognetti is a fascinating man. Not only is he a world renown scholar, he’s also regarded in academic circles as being an expert on eastern esoterica and mysticism.

He’s an adviser to the International Association for the Study of Religious Phenomena, plus he teaches yoga and Taiji Quan.

He’s also published several books with such titles as:

• The size of the Heart
• The Lost Ark
• Beyond Nihilism
• Is peace an utopia?
• The Dark Age

Today he did a wonderful interview with me for the film.

He spoke passionately and volubly – all in Italian! – referencing Jungian psychology, the Collective Unconscious, contemporary scientific thought in physics, and ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle – all to explain the phenomenon of intuition.

His son Paolo translated wonderfully, and his wife Mariaester watched on and occasionally chipped in. Giuseppe explained to us how his intuition led him to the young lady who would later become his wife. And he stressed that intuition should be tempered with logic.

We did the interview at his home in the Tuscan hills behind Florence. In the far background the huge dome of the Duomo gleamed in the late afternoon sun.

The professor is the first of quite a few interviews which I’ll be doing over the next several days in and around Florence, and next week in Rome. Our researcher / production assistant Elena is doing a terrific job at securing these interviews.

As well, she’s found a great location in the heart of the historic centre of Florence to shoot a sequence of me researching medieval texts on intuition.

Finally this Italian part of the film is coming together!

While waiting for the Vatican to make up it’s collective mind on the worthiness of speaking to me about intuition, I’ve been busy doing other things: like lining up interviews outside of the Holy See.

And with Elena and Piotr’s help, it looks like this coming week will be full on, with some very interesting people agreeing to be involved.

In the meantime I thought I might post some pics that I’ve taken these last several days –

My beloved footy team, the Sydney Swans, today lost the Grand Finals – the Super Bowl of Aussie Rules football.

They not only lost – they got smashed.

It was so bad that in the last quarter I started doing emails. Then I had a shower. Then I took the dog for a walk around the block, even though I don’t have a dog.

Nor do I have a block.

I simply couldn’t watch.

I love my team. Whether they win or lose. That’s probably the definition of a fan. For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. Till death do us part.

Today they died.

My good friends Peter Landers and Julie (the famed Landers Express) are ardent Hawthorn supporters. The Hawks. They’re the team that won. They’re the team that embarrassed us. They’re the team that showed us how to play Grand Final footy.

Hard.

Peter and Julie wear orange and brown underwear, I swear. They’re the Hawk’s colours. This morning they probably ate bird food for breakfast. They love their Hawks just like I love my Swans.

And I’m delighted for them that their team won. Because they played better footy, and were by far the best team out on the park today.

Was I disappointed? Was I shattered?

No, not really. I was disappointed it wasn’t more of a contest. I’d have enjoyed a closer match. But it wasn’t to be. This generation of Hawthorn players, with their coach, are heading into legendary territory. Today was a back-to-back flag win. That happens rarely.

Fact is, my team gave me so much pleasure this season. The characters, the ups and downs, the grace and doggedness under pressure at times. I watch sport because of the Shakespearean nature of it.

Like politics.

It’s all about the people, the personalities, the ambitions, the failings, the strength of will, the grit. As with anything, the more you invest in a team, the more you get out of it.

I’ve got a lot out of the Swannies over the years.

At this point in my life, I’m trying to divest myself of outcomes. The enjoyment comes from watching the game, not from winning or losing.

Detachment.

It’s not taking the fun and enjoyment out of the game – on the contrary, when your team loses, why should you be upset? You should be happy for the fans of the other team.

Similarly when your team wins, it’s ungracious to gush and carry on. Where does that get you? Success and failure come and go in sport, as in life. Often times failure is fundamental to future success. The biggest lessons are forged out of failure, or rejection.

I was watching the #goswans Twitter feeds today, and some of the comments from the Hawk supporters, and the Swans supporters too, were pretty foul. Where does that get you? It might make you feel good momentarily, but that kind of unsympathetic energy only comes back at you at some later stage.

Some people – some fans – get very angry. They get angry at their team for losing – for letting them down. And they get angry at the other team for winning. And sometimes they get angry at the referee for what they believe are bad decisions, which might have contributed to their team’s loss.

The pinnacle of this is the rioting and violence we sometimes see in Europe at football games – where the fans are often penned in like animals with wire grills around them and rows of police with tear gas weapons, to stop them attacking the fans from the other side.

Craziness.

Often these violent fans are mired in social problems at home or in the workplace. Many are unemployed, depressed, they have low self-esteem etc. And they identify so strongly with their team that when they lose, it’s a personal slight. A denigration of how they see themselves. And the anger that’s been festering at home or at work explodes viciously at the stadium.

Fact is there’s no such thing as winning or losing. Not on an esoteric level. In politics I used to get so het up about particular parties and politicians – and now I realise they’re all pretty much the same. The shading is a bit different, that’s all.

What did The Who say?
Meet the new boss… same as the old boss.
That pretty much sums it up for me.

I’m delighted for the Hawthorn supporters that their team won so convincingly. I’m happy for the Landers Express, because now Peter has something to rib me about for the next twelve months – until next year’s Grand Final when my tranquil and elegant  Swannies will turn those predatory carrion eating Hawks into a bunch of yukky colored feather dusters…

The Vatican isn’t quite as laid back as some of the ashrams in India, that’s for sure!

We’ve been trying on several fronts for months now to get a high level interview at the Vatican – but evidently it’s a very bureaucratic place, and time is not of the essence in The Holy See.

But – I am nothing but tenacious. And I’m not easily thwarted.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I met a fellow in the Parmarth ashram in Rishikesh who turned out to be an official Vatican photographer for twenty years. He’s proven to be of enormous help. He’s since connected me to a filmmaker in Rome who is also helping. His name is Piotr, and he’s trying to expedite my request for an interview.

And last night we met our Italian assistant. Her name is Elena, and she was introduced to us through Rachit (gee, even when I type it my fingers really want to type “Ratshit.” It’s all I can do to stop myself…)

Anyway Elena recently completed her masters degree in film studies at the London Film School. She’s Italian, lives outside of Florence, and she’s come on board to help us too. She speaks fluent English, and she’s delightful. Already it looks like she’s lined up some interesting interviewees outside of the Vatican.

So with Piotr and Elena and Loreto (the former Vatican photographer), we have a formidable group working on our behalf to maximise our time here.

By the way, Australian coffee is better than Italian coffee…