This twenty-eighth issue, entirely in Italian, contains three contributions. The first, written in autobiographical form by Massimiliano Sassoli de Bianchi, addresses a highly controversial topic: that of so-called “divine incarnations,” where the term “divine” is to be understood in the sense of entities that, hypothetically, do not possess a human nature, that is, they are not subject to the same evolutionary laws as us human beings. A well-known example, taken from the Judeo-Christian tradition, is that of the so-called angels, or archangels, superhuman entities that assist the divine in the pursuit of its mysterious plan.

Since the appearance of these alleged extra-systemic beings is very similar to that of any earthling (they eat, walk, get tired, talk, get angry, mate, etc.), their self-declarations of belonging to a divine lineage usually produce conflicting feelings in people who try to relate to them, especially if they are considered credible in their statements.

Many human beings perceive a natural attraction to the divine, as well as a sense of a mission to accomplish on this planet. It follows that interaction with a supposed spiritual being, the bearer of a message from beyond, is likely to be taken very seriously, especially if the message in question takes the form of a real “call” to which one is asked to respond with a sense of responsibility, as the stakes are usually very high (e.g., the fate of the entire universe).

However, the prophecies contained in this kind of revelation never seem to be confirmed, or else they are spectacularly disproved when they refer to specific dates, and this produces a strong cognitive dissonance in all those who come into contact with these communications, including the alleged divine messengers. In order not to abandon the ideal of the salvific message received, this dissonance risks, among other things, being resolved at the price of an increased inability to deal lucidly with reality.

The second contribution to this issue 28 of AutoRicerca contains an evocative letter written by Patrizia Verdiani in response to the aforementioned autobiographical account.

Finally, the third and last contribution is a critical-constructive article on the theme of Systemic Family Constellations, developed by Bert Hellinger, which analyzes the possible side effects of these practices, not to discourage them but to make them safer.