Our guides have published numerous articles about Italy, Dante, literature, philosophy, theology and psychosynthesis. Here are just a few:

Catherine on living in Italy

A Communion with the Earth: Gardening and Gratitude  Gandhi once said, “To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” Gardening can be a precise mirror for the soul. Read Catherine’s story of friendship, vigil, and tending and depending upon the Earth from the bucolic fields of the Italian countryside.

8 Essential Tips For Driving In Italy Catherine offers you some of her own personal experiences while driving in Italy. She is a expert contributor to TravelAwaits.com, offering insights on a number of Italy cities such as Assisi, Fabriano, and Rome along with many places of interest. To see all of her published articles, click here.

Catherine on Psychosynthesis

Roberto Assagioli: A Man of Peaceful Action. A short (700 word) introduction about Roberto Assagioli and psychosynthesis. Published in The Florentine magazine on April 2017.

Psychosynthesis and Jung in a Nutshell. This article offers a brief but comprehensive overview of the similarities and differences between psychosynthesis and Jungian psychology. It ends with Catherine’s reflections on the two transpersonal visions.

“Assagioli’s Reflections on the Poor Man of Assisi”. This rich essay explores Assagioli’s writings about Saint Francis of Assisi from various perspectives, such as spirituality and money, care for animals in our world, and how to interpret visionary answers to our prayers.

Some academic publications by Kees

H. van der Laan, Der architektonische Raum. Fünfzehn Lektionen über die Disposition der menschlichen Behausung, Leiden : E.J. Brill, 1992, pp. 227; ISBN 90-04-09639-6 [translation and foreword by KdB].

Simple and Bold: Ephrem’s Art of Symbolic Thought, Gorgias Press, Piscataway NJ, 2006, pp. XXII + 435; ISBN 1-59333-397-8; paperback edition 2014 (ISBN 978-1-4632-0388-7).

‘Efrem il Siro’, in A. di Berardino, G. Fedalto & M. Simonetti (eds.), Letteratura patristica (Dizionari San Paolo), Edizioni San Paolo, Cinisello Balsamo, 2007, pp. 469-474 (ISBN 978-88-215-5671-5).

‘Ephrem the theologian: Perceptions and perspectives’, in Saint Éphrem, poète pour notre temps (Patrimoine Syriaque : Actes du colloque XI, Alep 2006), Antélias, Lebanon, 2007, pp. 155-172 (ISBN 9953-0-0800-0).

Annotated Bibliography of Ephrem the Syrian: Student Edition, http://www.lulu.com, 2011, 478 pp.

Dom Hans van der Laan OSB: Scritti su proporzione, architettura e liturgia. Traduzioni, introduzioni e strumenti di ricerca a cura di Kees den Biesen e Tiziana Proietti, Melfi : Libria, 2018 [Italian translation by Kees den Biesen of Het plastisch getal, De architectonische ruimte and Het vormenspel der liturgie, with introductory essay, introductions and glossary by Kees den Biesen & Tiziana Proietti].

‘Auf der Such nach Ephräm dem Syrer: Für eine neue wissenschaftliche Interpretationsmethode seiner theologischen Werke’, in Neue aramäische Studien 5, Forschungsstelle für Aramäischen Studien, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, 2018, pp. 111-131.

On Dante’s Divina Comedia and Psychosynthesis by both Kees and Catherine

“Reading The Divine Comedy from a Psychosynthesis Perspective”, September 2014 in the Psychosynthesis Quarterly.

“Into the Hidden Things He Led My Way … A Psychosynthesis View of Dante’s Inferno“,  March  2015 in the Psychosynthesis Quarterly.

“Reconnecting the Personal Self with the Higher Self – Journeying with Dante”,  June 2015 in the Psychosynthesis Quarterly.