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Today our guest is Facundo Raganato from Miami Beach, Florida. His novel is a story that pushes the Reader to think through boundaries in many levels, artistically, literally, spiritually, philosophically, socially, politically, religiously, humanly. We have conducted an interview with him.

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1- Which ways does the story in your novel pushes the Reader?

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The story pushes the Reader in many ways: it has multiple levels in the literal sense; it has a vast degree to philosophical or theological thinking depending on what the reader knows about and which philosophical school they are coming from, yet if you combine it with the literal sense it takes on new dimensions, emphasizing on words. It has an alchemical progress, which is related to the spiritual level of the reader, it pushes the Reader to be braver and go deeper, yet it also pushes the reader to stay off if they choose to do so. It has some others levels that are hard to explain, but let’s say the story pushes the Reader to think outside the box, in every sense. I’m trying to Free Minds.

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2 – How did you get so deep into the thoughts of writing for the reader to reach so many levels?

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I took a long time to compose it in many layers; go over, once and again very carefully, each time seeing it in a different perspective, and from the point of view of each character. The mind is too deep and marvelous; everything is a reflection.

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3 – What is your personal journey like (as a writer) of such a kind of novel?

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Just like this story has many levels for the Reader, it has many levels for me as well. As a writer, this story began as an exploration of literature, it began as an experimental short story where I would put in practice literary techniques, but the characters became so alive that I just continued writing their letters. It led me to explore philosophical questions and then explore deeper aspects and other questions with them. As I became to be in their world, they came to be present in mine. It has been a very deep journey for me, I was brave enough to dwell in the darkness and transmute it to the light, as I searched for The Truth.

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4 – What is the current state of the evolution of humanity?

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Let me just say one thing: the answer to this question is my opinion, based on my knowledge about the theme.

 

There are several ways how humanity can evolve; however, I believe the most crucial way for us to evolve is spiritual because I believe it is what purifies the other levels naturally.

 

There have been some important dates in history which have made us evolve as we are today. In some way, the majority of the countries in the world today have a “civilized” way of living; this is a positive point in regards to our evolution, because we have used reason in an organized “productive manner,” which consequentially has made the individual to have the opportunity, the freedom and civil right to live, eat food, drink water, sleep under a roof, etc. Unfortunately, that is not provided to all, otherwise, there would not be people starving, people living in the streets, etc. These “civil rights” to have a roof, eat and drink are available for people who are in the system, and live accordingly to the law of the country, which, based on the history we have had, is a good thing. However, these are laws created by and for people in the system of its country, so those are not in it, don’t count. Ironically, nowadays, the blood of how a system works is through this five letter invention which creates the illusion of power and is slowly degrading humanity along its spiritual values: Money.

 

How is it possible that people are sleeping on the streets when there are empty homes right next to them waiting to be rented?

How is it possible that restaurants and food industries are throwing away food of the day and leftovers when there are people starving in the same street?

 

These are no “Human” laws which take this issue as seriously as any role in our modern world. These are basic attributes of a “spiritual evolution.”

 

We have become evolved to a point where we have created certain types of systems which keep things organized; however, that does not mean we have evolved spiritually, yet at least we can concentrate and be aware of what is important. We have made incredible advances with technology, making things easier, faster, and better, yet, that does not mean we have evolved spiritually, yet its conveniences are letting us to treasure time to focus on who we are, what we are doing, and why. We have progressed in science and advanced in medicine, which has cured many diseases and made us take caution and prevention for human health, that is a degree of spiritual evolution, because, at least, at its core, it's giving more people longer and healthier lives. 

 

Letting Religion aside, a human life is divine and sacred, it should be a priority to treat the other as oneself. This is the essence of the New Age, or, as people like to call it, The Age of Aquarius, where altruism takes place, and the other is as important as oneself. 

 

So yes, there has been a global awareness lately, with the 2012 Aztec calendar, with the Information Age where we can begin to understand what ‘Spiritual’ means, where schools began to include meditation, and where people do more Yoga more frequently, etc. But this is just the beginning, we have a long way to way to say we have evolved. On the individual level, we may be experiencing the movement of a wave which is pulling us all together into a world we all dream to live in, but on the collective level we may be still feeling trapped, resisting the modern world with laws that are centuries old, and being lied and tricked by politicians.

 

War. . . It has been 2000 years since Christ and we still kill each other; moreover, we built industries with its weapons. We can talk about medieval times as if we have progressed, but we are basically doing the same thing nowadays, but colder, behind the curtains, with suit and ties, with handshakes. At least World Leaders are doing a “decent” job at keeping things in “order,” per se, just to say something positive . . . yet, like many people, they do not know where they are leading and its dangerous to drive a train when the driver does not know who built the track, neither where it is going; consequentially, it will keep repeating the same mistakes, over and over, once and again, for decades, until we learn, until we change.

 

Humanity needs to seriously take a break from the spinning metal wheel we have been running since the Industrial Revolution and focus on the real priorities. People are massively living blindly in the modern material world in a state of flux, where an individual is constantly searching for entertainment and happiness above all, which it does not sound that bad really, but it is bad at a time like this, where we are globally connected and we need to take responsibility for our lives, not for our own, but for others,’ specially for the future of Humanity.

 

To conclude, we can evolve spiritually on an individual level, which can lead to start changing things inside out in our society, inspiring others and leading people to evolve as well. However, to evolve spiritually in a collective manner is much harder in this modern phase; spiritual gatherings and communities are what really matter now. These are places where we can care freely about the other for who he/she is, not for their role in our lives, where we can give and give and give, not measure and play modern psychological games to get above, to get ahead, to inflate the ego. We live in a world led by reason, which has built a solid fair base, yet we are at a state where we have to practice our values, transmute our vices into virtues, and help the world, however we can selflessly, let me say that again: SELFLESSLY; in the end, we all in this together.

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5 – How crucial is the education in this sense?

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Very. Perhaps Education is as crucial as food. I think knowledge and wisdom are key elements for evolution. The future of humanity relies on education; if the education is of poor quality, the society will be of poor quality; one way to evaluate its quality is to look at its Art, the culture of the society will reflect the quality of their education. Anyway, education should be focused on making children think for themselves, giving them the freedom to express themselves, guiding them on values and virtues, teaching them how to adapt, how to change, give them support in all matters, yet also providing them direction to a higher perspective, not training them to a way of thinking.

 

It brings me sadness to see how teachers try their best to educate the children just for them to be ready for the “real world.” As if we already have the notion that the “real world” is horrible; this brings me much sadness; how disappointing it is to say we live in a modern jungle. It should be the other way around, we should be preparing children to be themselves, not to mold them into a role that already is, but give them the tools and open their minds to see how it is not about what they want to do only, but also, what needs to be done for a better world.

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6 – Why should world governments prioritize clean energy source for the Earth?

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Since the industrial revolution, we have been puffing smoke to the sky, contaminating the oceans, killing animals, cutting trees, etc. It is essential that we change if humanity wants to survive. Can you imagine how cosmically embarrassing it would be for our race to say: “Oh yeah, that’s Earth, we used to live there, but we poisoned every resource nature gave us with our greed and now it’s a dead planet. It was a paradise with clean water, fresh green grass, a blue sky and free air to breathe, but because of us, not anymore.”

 

The problem is this: companies are built on using those resources, the easiest thing to do is do nothing about it, and continue the way it has been until we are extinct. If governments don’t prioritize to make that change on clean energy source for the Earth, our children will be swimming in our own poisonous mistakes, and the planet will be simply impossible to live in.

 

The solution is this: leaders have to SPEND money to make this change happen, for people, for nature, to our future. Again, leaving Religion aside, Nature is sacred, it is the only natural source “given” to us, which is essentially what is keeping us alive, we have to respect it, we have to cherish it, we have to protect it (How ironic it is to say that we have to protect it from ourselves).

 

On a deeper level, having a harmonious relationship with nature is an angle of spiritual development: to understand how the wind blows, how the earth grows, how water flows, and to use its knowledge and wisdom to use the energy WITHOUT killing the natural pattern is to be one with the earth. This is the essence of understanding oneself and the other as equal. Balance and harmony is crucial for  the efficiency of energy.

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7 –What needs to be changed?

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It is the first time in “recorded” history where the world is globally connected, and communication is “somewhat” efficient between societies. First of all, World Leaders should individually recognize inside of them that the priority of progress is not money. Of course, one can clearly state how money is what keeps the system working, but it is not the priority for human progress, especially not for human evolution. If you think it so, you are still thinking in this modern phase the world is living. I believe it is acceptable to give the people what they want, but I think it is also necessary to give them what they need. What people want and need depend on the country, the culture, many factors really, yet their philosophy at its root basically; however, there are human virtues which connects all of us, regardless our race, sex, religion, politics, etc. These human virtues are what makes us who we are, and what makes us grow to make better choices; defining what we want and what we need. Better choices, better results. These human virtues are what should be taught and practiced, we hear them everyday, but we don’t give them the value as we should as human beings: Tolerance, Respect, Honor, Humility, Empathy, Sympathy, Generosity, Confidence, Trust, Courage, Passion, Creativity, Selflessness, Awareness, Reflection, Faith, Hope, Strength, Temperance, Patience, Comprehension, Perseverance, Control, Intelligence, Prudence, Compassion, Purity, Discipline, Conscience, and most importantly: Selflessness. As we study and practice these human values and virtues, we become better for anyone; we become better human beings on a spiritual level, we contemplate and meditate on what we want and what we need; consequentially, our world would change.

 

What needs to be changed? We need to Change.

 

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