A disciple asked Firoz:
- The mere presence of a master causes all sorts of curious people to gather round, to discover something beneficial. Can’t this be a hindrance and negative? Can’t this divert the master from his path, or cause him to suffer because he could not teach that which he wished?
Firoz, the Sufi master, replied:
- The sight of an avocado tree laden with fruit whets the appetite of all those who pass by. If someone wishes to satisfy his hunger beyond his needs, he will eat more avocados than necessary, and will be sick. However, this causes no indigestion to the man who owns the avocado tree.
“It is the same with our Search. The path must be open to all; but it is for God to set the limits of each individual.”

by Paulo Coelho

Sri Ramakrisna tells the story of a man who was about the cross a river, when master Bibhishana came over, wrote a name on a leaf, tied it to the man’s back, and said:
- Don’t be afraid. Your faith will help you walk on the waters. But the minute you lose faith, you will drown.
The man trusted Bibhishana, and began to walk on the waters, without any difficulty. At a certain point, he had an overwhelming desire to know what his master had written on the leaf tied to his back.
He took it and read what was written:
“Oh god Rama, help this man to cross the river.”
“Is that all?” thought the man. “And who is this god Rama, anyway?”
The moment this doubt became lodged in his mind, he was submerged and drowned in the strong current.

by Paulo Coelho

One of the favorite questions of the journalists : ” now that you got everything you wanted, do you still have dreams?”

First, I didn’t get everything I wanted, although I got the most important things in life (love, fulfilling my personal legend, faith). Writing is a constant challenge, where you have to dig into your soul, having discipline, inspiration, and courage at the same time.

Second, like everybody else, I have my list of things that I want to do, and are still waiting. I don’t make “New Year’s” resolutions, but there are several unfulfilled tasks. I have enough time (contrary to the legend that famous people are always busy – they are not), I can afford, but I postpone.

Here is my list of things that I would love to do, and I never did. Would you please also share yours?

A]to learn how to dance well (from a 1 to 10 scale, I would say I am 2)

B] to learn how to play guitar ( from the same scale, I am definitely 1)

C] spend three months in a monastery, totally isolated from the world ( I already talked to the abbot three years ago, but I am always postponing)

D] a safari in Africa (politically incorrect, of course)

E] to sponsor a good boxer (I know it sounds politically incorrect, as the previous item, but boxing for me is the ultimate body dialogue)

F] to learn boxing myself

G] being in orbit circling the planet (the Russians are making a business out of it, but I never actually sought the information out)

H] to have dinner with Nelson Mandela (this one I tried, but I did not manage so far)

I] to fly a Mirage (as a passenger, of course)

While writing this list, I realized that I did most of the things I wanted (the most recent being a 9.280 kms train journey from Moscow to Vladivostok, in 2006). And probably I also have some other itens that are so hidden in my heart that I don’t even know. But just in case that I remember some more, I will update this list.

So, what are your “New Year” resolutions that you never ever managed to fulfill?

by Paulo Coelho

Eve was walking in the Garden of Eden, when a serpent came over.
“Eat this apple,” said the serpent.
Eve, having been instructed by God, refused.
“Eat this apple,” insisted the serpent, “you must look more beautiful for your man.”
“No need,” answered Eve, “there is no other woman besides me.”
The serpent laughed: “Of course there is.”
And, since Eve didn’t believe him, he took her high up on a hill, where there was a well.
“She is in that cave; Adam is hiding her in there.”
Eve leaned forward and saw, reflected in the water down the well, a beautiful woman. Immediately, without hesitation, she ate the apple the serpent was offering her.

by Paulo Coelho

Here I continue to reproduce excerpts from conversations with my master, from 1982 to 1986)

- Why is there so much tragedy and misery in the world?
- Tragedy and misery are different things, and very lengthy subjects. Which would you like to talk about first?
- At the moment, about tragedy. Why does man suffer?
- Read the Bible and you will find the following: “that which is good, comes from You, my Lord. That which is evil, also comes from You, my Lord. Therefore what is there to fear?”
- Nevertheless, we do suffer.
- Certainly. But take this into consideration: of every ten problems we have, nine are created by our own selves - through guilt, self-punishment, self-pity. However, from time to time a great obstacle appears in our path, which was put there by God, and which is there for a reason. The reason is: to give us the opportunity to change everything, to move forwards.
“What is tragedy? A radical change in our lives, always linked to the same principle: loss. Suffering is always the result of a loss, either someone or something - such as health, beauty, or one’s financial conditions.
“When faced with a loss, it is no use trying to recover what has gone. On the other hand, a great space has been opened up in your life - there it lies, empty, waiting to be filled with something new. At the moment of one’s loss, contradictory as this might seem, one is being given a large slice of freedom.
“But most men, when faced with tragedy, fill this space with pain and bitterness. They never think there may be other ways of facing the inevitable.”
- For example?
- Firstly, by learning the great lesson of wise men: patience, the certainty that everything - both good and bad - is provisional in this life. Secondly, using this sudden change of course to risk new things in daily life, to do things you always dreamed of.
- This is clear regarding material things. But what about someone’s death?
- We have spoken much about death, and you know that for the one who passes on, it does not exist - that person is enjoying the delights of a radical transformation. The sensation of death only exists for the one left here. Every dear person, upon departing, becomes our protector - after going through a period of longing, we should be joyful, since we are better protected. In the same way, one day we will be on the other side, protecting the people we love down here.
- And those we hate…
- Exactly as you imagine. They remain tied to us through the feeling of bitterness. That is why Jesus said: “before going to the temple, go back and forgive your brother.” One must be forever washing one’s soul with the water of forgiveness.
- But going back to tragedy…
- There is something which is impossible to measure: the intensity of pain. We know a person is suffering because they tell us, but we cannot evaluate exactly how much. We often try to compare someone’s attitude upon being faced by a tragedy, and we end up judging them to be stronger or weaker than they really are. Do not compare random pain with nothing; only the one suffering can know what he or she is going through.
“Therefore, when inevitable tragedy appears, we must remember these three things: to make the most of the freedom of loss, not to judge the pain, and to learn the art of patience. It will destroy 9/10 of that which you are, but the 1/10 which remains will make you an infinitely stronger person. ”

by Paulo Coelho

The path of archery

The importance of repeating the same thing
An action is a thought that manifests itself.
A small gesture denounces us, so we have to make everything perfect, think about the details, learn the technique so that it becomes intuitive. Intuition has nothing to do with routine but rather with a state of spirit that lies beyond technique.
So, after practicing a lot, we no longer think about all the necessary movements: they become part of our very existence. But for this to happen, you have to train and repeat.
And as if that were not enough, you have to repeat and train.
Watch a good blacksmith working the steel. To the untrained eye he is repeating the same hammer blows over and over again.
But those who know the importance of training know that each time the hammer is raised and then lowered, the intensity of the blow is different. The hand repeats the same gesture but as it approaches the iron it knows whether to touch it harder or softer.
Look at the windmill. Whoever sees its vanes just once imagines that it always turns with the same speed, always repeating the same movement. But those who know windmills know that they are conditioned to the wind and change their direction whenever necessary.
The hand of the ironsmith was trained after the gesture of hammering was repeated thousands of times. Windmill vanes can move fast after the wind has blown a lot and polished their gears. The archer lets many an arrow pass far from the target because he knows that he will only learn the importance of the bow, posture, the string and the target after he repeats his gestures thousands of times without being afraid of making a mistake.
Until he reaches the moment when he no longer needs to think about what he doing. From then on the archer becomes his bow, his arrow and his target.
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The languages that God speaks

A Spanish missionary was visiting an island when he came across three Aztec priests.
“How do you pray?” asked the priest.
“We have only one prayer, “ answered one of the Aztecs. “We say: “God, You are three, we are three. Have mercy on us.”
“Beautiful prayer,” said the missionary. “But it is not exactly the prayer that God hears. I shall teach you a much better one.”
The priest taught them a Catholic prayer and went on his way to spread the Gospel among others. Years later, on the ship taking him back to Spain, he stopped at that island once more. From the deck he saw the three holy men on the beach – and waved farewell to them.
At that moment the three began to walk on the water towards him.
“Father! Father!” shouted one of them, approaching the ship. “Teach us again the prayer that God hears, because we can’t remember it!”
“It doesn’t matter,” said the missionary, seeing the miracle. And he asked God to forgive him for not understanding before that He spoke all languages.

Below are some of those prayers:

Dhammapada (attributed to Buddha)
Instead of a thousand words,
Better just one,
One that brings peace.
Instead of a thousand verses,
Better just one,
One that shows beauty.
Instead of a thousand songs,
Better just one,
One that spreads joy.

Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, 13th century
Out there, besides what is right and what is wrong, there is an enormous field.
That is where we will meet.

Prophet Mohammed, 7th century
Oh Allah! I come to you because you know all, even what is hidden.
If what I am doing is good for me and my religion, for my life now and later, then let the task be easy and blessed.
If what I am doing now is bad for me and my religion, for my life now and later, then keep me far from this task.

Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew 7;7-8
Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek and you shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
For every one that asks receives;
and he that seeks finds:
And to him that knocks,
it shall be opened.

Jewish prayer for peace
We shall go the mountain of the Lord, where we shall walk with Him. We shall change our swords into plows and our spears into baskets for harvesting fruit.
Let no nation raise its sword against another, and let us never learn the art of war.
And no-one should fear his neighbor, because thus spoke the Lord.

Lao Tsu, China – 6th century B.C.
For there to be peace in the world, the nations must live in peace.
For there to be peace among nations, cities must not rise up against one another.
For there to be peace in the cities, neighbors must get on well with one another.
For there to be peace among neighbors, harmony must reign in the home.
For there to be harmony at home, it must be found in your own heart.

* * *

“Warrior of the Light, a www.paulocoelho.com.br publication.”

To be like a river flowing

“A river never passes the same place twice,” says a philosopher. “Life is like a river,” says another philosopher, and we draw the conclusion that this is the metaphor that comes closest to the meaning of life. Consequently, it is always good to remember during all the year to come:
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Today I will be celebrating the feast of my patron saint, Joseph. Together with friends and readers (selected, as you remember, from myspace, facebook, and my blog, using their birthday month) we will take a boat in Paris, and when we are in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral, around 21:45 ( GMT + 1:00) we will read the following prayer in five different languages (Portuguese, Spanish, French, English and Italian):

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor,
obtain for me the grace
to work conscientiously by placing love of duty above my inclinations;
to gratefully and joyously deem it an honor to develop by labor
the gifts I have received from God,
to work methodically, peacefully,
in moderation and patience,
without ever shrinking from it through difficulty to work;
above all, with purity of intention and unselfishness,
having unceasingly before my eyes
the account I have to render of time lost,
talents unused, good not done,
and vain complacency in success.
St. Joseph, inspire and guide me for the time to come.

by Paulo Coelho

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Stories about apprenticeship
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