A Journey in Progress

 

The First Question

My enquiry into energy began during my third year of secondary school, in my first chemistry lesson. I was introduced to the electron and to its dual description as particle or wave, according to the conditions of observation.

That idea opened a question that has accompanied me ever since. If matter is composed of electrical charges, what does this reveal about our own nature? From that moment, I began exploring energy and the relationship between what we perceive as matter and what may exist beyond our immediate perception.

Over the years, I experienced rebirthing, first- and second-level Reiki, tai chi, Qi-gong and other forms of energetic practice. They expanded my field of enquiry, although much of the work still took place through the mind.

When the Enquiry Became Personal

In 2007, my partner Michele was diagnosed with an inoperable tumour. We considered many possibilities, including the Di Bella method, acupuncture and other approaches.

I had already begun studying fasting, yet I could not find the courage to suggest it to him. He loved food deeply, and the possibility seemed too difficult to introduce at such a painful moment.

He chose chemotherapy and died a few months later, after three cycles of treatment and great suffering.

After his death, I left my work as an interior designer and began working professionally at sea. Remaining at home had become unbearable; the sea gave me movement when stillness carried too much sadness.

The Body as a Point of Departure

In 2014, I had been diagnosed with Barrett’s oesophagus and was experiencing recurrent pneumonia. Doctors at the hospital told me:

“Try not to become ill again. If you become resistant to these antibiotics, we have nothing stronger and would no longer know how to treat you.”

I understood that my available medical options were approaching a limit.

I was frightened of fasting. I had to confront common beliefs, my own fears and the fears projected by other people. I waited until my mother left on a cruise, where she would be unable to telephone me constantly. I asked a physician I knew personally to observe me, and he declined.

So I began alone.

I fasted for one day, and I did not die.

Later, I fasted for three days, and I did not die. Then five, seven, ten and fifteen. Through separate fasting periods, always followed by time for recovery, I gradually reached forty days.

I did not die. I experienced a profound recovery of energy, health, physical flexibility and a balanced weight. For me, this was healing.

This experience gave my enquiry a new foundation: the body does not lie. The mind can construct beliefs, fears and representations that separate us from what is happening. The body expresses the experience directly.

From Experience to Sharing

I founded ASSIST in loving memory of Michele, to share information about fasting and an approach to health grounded in the body.

I began accompanying individuals and small groups through fasting experiences and liver cleansing practices inspired by the work of Dr Andreas Moritz. Each person responded differently, reinforcing the importance of observation, individual history and direct experience.

My purpose was never to provide a single answer for everyone. I wanted to create the conditions in which people could observe their own bodies and begin recognising what their experience revealed.

Study, Parasites and Gabriella Mereu

I continued my research at the Health Science University in Imola, graduating in 2020 with a thesis on parasites. That thesis later became the book I published.

My approach to parasites developed from a hygienist and energetic perspective. I brought together scientific sources, traditional knowledge, fasting, personal observation and questions that conventional diagnostic frameworks often leave unexplored.

At the university, I met Gabriella Mereu in person. I had already followed her work online for several years. She was teaching there, and our meeting gave continuity and depth to an enquiry that had already become important to me.

In the following years, I attended her course in graphology and the interpretation of symptoms—or ninni, as she calls them. I continue to follow and learn from her work.

The Butterflies Court

In 2022, I moved into the Butterflies Court, a large home created within the former stables of a castle in Alto Monferrato.

The house became a place where I could host courses and welcome people undertaking fasting experiences. Knowledge, hospitality, shared practice and daily life came together within the same physical space.

Returning to the Body

My mother died in 2024. Her death had a profound impact on my life, and for approximately two years I withdrew from public activity and work.

I continued following Gabriella Mereu. Through her, I met Renata Siccardo, whose practice is centred on the body and the recognition of sensations and emotions.

This work helped me release the emotions that had paralysed me after my mother’s death. It brought me back to the body and, through the body, back into movement.

The Journey Continues

Tango has accompanied me since my youth, when my father passed his passion for Argentine tango on to me. Like tai chi, tango is body: presence, listening, relationship, balance and movement.

Natural Health Fellowship begins again from here.

I do not know the final destination of this journey. Curiosity keeps it open, experience gives it direction, and the people we meet transform the field through which we travel.

Silvia Isaksen

The destination remains unknown.
The journey is what matters.