Falco Tarassaco - The Dream, The Message

By Stambecco Pesco

Positive thought, openness to others, the search for the deep meanings of life, pragmatism... these are the base elements of the spiritual message of Falco Tarassaco (Oberto Airaudi, 1950-2013). Eclectic, creative and profound, Falco was the founder of a school of thought that touches countless themes and has given life to the community experience of Damanhur in Italy and around the world. 

This book presents the fundamental elements of his spiritual guidance, from the discovery of the divine nature of the human being, to our relationship with the environment, and all the way to the development of a sense of wonder and the indispensable curiosity to understand the language of the universe. 

His dream and his message show his extraordinary capacity to bring together tradition and renewal-two pillars upon which to found our personal and collective future.



• Language: English
• Publisher: DEVODAMA
• Release date: Nov 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9788899652876

Book preview

FALCO TARASSACO. THE DREAM, THE MESSAGE

Stambecco Pesco (Silvio Palombo)

Translation: Tigrilla Gardenia (Yvette Soler)

DEVODAMA srl publications, Vidracco (TO), Italy

ISBN: 978-88-99652-87-6

COPYRIGHT 2017© MIL Social Promotion Association

The current volume was created by the Associazione di Promozione Sociale MIL as part of the activities and functions of the statute.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form without the written authorization of the publisher, except for brief citations used for book reviews.

Cover shows signs taken from selfic painting by Falco Tarassaco "Anteforma irradiata di densità", (Density irradiated antiform) 8 December 1994.

Printed in the month of December 2017

FALCO TARASSACO

The Dream, The Message

THE TEACHINGS OF THE FOUNDER OF DAMANHUR

Introduction

If I were trying to define Falco Tarassaco, I would say: a modern philosopher; the bearer of a model that shifts the paradigm from egocentricity to community and from separation to integration. It is difficult—if not impossible—to contain in a few words a person such as he. He was the extraordinary inspiration behind an innovative and unique experience, and more than that, he was the central force that gave value to the talents and aspirations of so many people through his spiritual vision and the federation of communities he founded: Damanhur.

In the following pages, you will discover the elements upon which Falco based his teachings and through which he allowed us—his spiritual children—to develop our dreams. Now that he is no longer physically with us, those dreams have become the motor that fuels the dreams of so many friends that feel the calling of his message.

Through a mystic, creative and studious path, Falco took us on a journey of infinite themes and varied practices. Esoteric knowledge, discovery of the Divine within, self-education, contact with nature, art, healing… for each of these themes, he taught us that the path to mastery is always practice, experimentation and research. Today, spirituality means to unite the soul to the hands and to bring your soul and hands closer to the soul and hands of others to accomplish shared goals that go beyond individual accomplishments.

To bring closer what seems to be far away is the key to understanding the work of Falco. According to his teachings, living well is an artform, and art is a way to amplify perceptions and capture vibrations. Vital energy cannot be examined without taking into consideration the color of the sky under which it is developed. Just as, the spiritual progress of an individual is always in relation to the progress of those who can be found in the immediate surroundings.

We need to come together with others, add more know-how, cultivate a sense of wonder, imagine new scenarios different from those already known and have the courage to believe in ourselves while at the same time be open to questioning. The road to contacting the divine spark—that divine part that each of us holds within—passes through everyday life and is certainly connected to self-reflection, but even more than that, it is made with a passion for personal growth and attention to individual responsibility. All this, while living joyously—joy is a spiritual right each of us holds—an individual and collective adventure on this beautiful planet.

Damanhur in Italy was founded by and developed from the teachings of Falco in an area where little-by-little researchers sensitive to his message have gathered. As he prepared to leave the physical body, at the very moment that he entrusted the three Sages—Cicogna Giunco, Condor Girasole, Sirena Ninfea—with the task of guarantors of our community’s conscious continuance, Falco asked us to open Damanhur even more to the world, fostering the diffusion of a model where being together can be practiced in other points on the planet and characterized by local traditions.

At the same time, Falco set in motion the creation of the Path to Spiritual Freedom, which opens the School of Meditation of Damanhur—the chest that holds-safe his teachings—to whomever seeks to discover the vastness of our physical and subtle worlds, putting individual growth at its center. The Path is being practiced in countries around the world, wherever it is requested. The elements that unite Damanhur to the communities that will be founded in other countries and that connects the School of Meditation to the Path to Spiritual Freedom are represented by Falco’s original message, expressed in the topics found in this book written by Stambecco Pesco, who has participated in the development of Falco’s message since the early 1980s.

Alongside the emotional narrative of Stambecco is the priceless vision of Luigi Berzano, sociologist of religious movements and author of numerous studies on Damanhur. His afterword provides an understanding of the figure and work of Falco mediated by academic analysis.

I like to imagine the Damanhurians as they re-read the fundamental tenets upon which they have dedicated their lives, finding and rediscovering the typical expressions of their spiritual guide. I can imagine so many new readers who through these pages will get to know the original and passionate spiritual teacher that was Falco Tarassaco.

Falco taught us to research what we have yet to understand, to tangibly do what we feel is important and to love others and life in order to bring together heart, mind and hands. Times are changing, and the world will soon ask us on which side we stand in the epic battle between life and immobility. Falco’s dream and his message suggests a positive and active response.

Orango Riso

First Part - Falco Tarassaco

The Man who Dreamed Damanhur

This book is dedicated to the teachings of Falco Tarassaco and strives to inspire in every individual the desire to know one’s true nature and to find happiness.

To those that knew and studied with him, Falco always asked not be defined as the master teacher. Even if he was fully aware of having a mission to complete—to share a philosophical and spiritual message that comes from levels of existence higher than our own—he preferred not to be called anything other than his name. At most, he would use spiritual guide, a term that indicated his function, not his charisma. The master, he taught, can be found within, and one of the most important goals in a person’s life is the reawakening of this master.

Founder and spiritual guide of Damanhur, inspiration behind the Temples of Humankind and originator of multiple collaborations with Selfica, Falco Tarassaco lived from 1950 to 2013. His first name was Oberto Airaudi, and later became Falco Tarassaco, according to the Damanhurian tradition to take on an animal and plant name. He was born into an unpretentious family in a small town in the province of Turin, Italy.

His enlightenment—according to his own accounts—was gradual, beginning in childhood. Many witnesses tell of his extraordinary abilities as an intuitive healer, which he practiced on his teammates and friends, and of his even more original interests in areas of magic, intuition, ethical principles and teachings of philosophies and religions.

Little by little, Falco developed his own, personal spiritual vision. He founded a spiritual research center on September 1, 1975 and dedicated it to Horus, the Egyptian solar divinity. In 1977, together with a dozen friends, he started on the path that became Damanhur—a social, cultural and spiritual community to which he dedicated his entire life.

When Falco left this plane of existence in 2013, Damanhur had grown to a federation with over 20 communities and centers in Europe, Asia and North America and with thousands of individuals that participate—directly or indirectly—in the experiences created by the spiritual research of this Federation of Communities.

Falco published over thirty books, which can be thought of as mere comments on the copious themes he covered and elaborated on during his discourses. An adamant advocate that from the beginning of time—and maybe even before!—teaching is to be passed orally, he mainly spoke. Over forty years, he shared his spiritual vision through direct contact, lectures, conferences, public meetings, and his preferred technique, questions and answers.

Falco loved to discuss topics dear to his heart through discussion and exchange with the participants in his lectures.

This allowed the important topics to slowly emerge over the course of the discussion, and often answered the very questions being poised.

His personal style could be characterized as that of great moderation. He spoke of the quality of life as an element of personal development, and explained that a good life is not the antithesis to purity—to move toward wellness you often need to transition through beauty, understood as quality.

He made it clear that you need to always be willing to tighten your belt—as he and the first Damanhurians did—when it is required, but also making it clear that poverty is not in and of itself a spiritual path. With a healthy sense of balance and the ability to share with others, it is more useful to know how to appreciate what life has to offer.

He didn’t love being in the spotlight. Visitors were often surprised to discover that the smiling man that had given them directions, had just walked by them or was quietly reading the newspaper at a table, was the founder of Damanhur. He was indistinguishable from others. This was probably because of his shy nature and distaste for fame, and a little because he chose to give value to the experiences of Damanhur and the Damanhurians instead of his own figure.

Falco did not look for the fame of other spiritual teachers of our era. Instead, that distinction was placed on accomplishments connected to him: Damanhur itself, for example, and even more so the Temples of Humankind—dug out of a mountain by hand and decorated with works of art of every genre. The Temples continue to be a subject of study for researchers from around the world.

Falco spoke to large audiences in conferences, conventions and interviews, but he always preferred to speak directly to the Damanhurians—his spiritual children—so that it could be them, through their practical accomplishments and teachings, to share his message of spiritual freedom, devotion to the beings with which we share this divine ecosystem and great pragmatism.

After having traveled extensively for personal study, he preferred for Damanhurians to do so instead of himself. In this way, they could spread their shared experiences and bring home new ones. A spiritual guide arrives to leave a message to the entire world, not just to his spiritual children. Falco trusted his message to the Damanhurians, and now it is up to them to spread it through their personal testimonies—another way to