The invitation comes unexpected, uninvited…
“It’s a good day to die.”

I wake and rise while sinking into an insatiable
…seemingly inescapable promise to ease pain I cannot name.

There is no light.
I can’t recall removing the extenstion …
the illusive plug that connects me into the mainstream of life.

There is no breath…
I’m suspended between being asleep while awake and alive yet not.

I long to know the reason for this…
I long to feel connected to one, anyone, of the people around me.
I struggle to stay afloat in the sea of life which I am told is reality…
The sea of life where people swim: content, full of purpose and vitality.

I hear: life is what you make it: fake it until you make it…
I know failure. I’m ashamed to admit,
“I tried all that….it did not work.”

Then from whence it comes…I do not know?
However …
I breathe….I simply breathe from someplace beyond me.
Light returns and I am in Peace.
My feet walk gently on a firm, secure Path.

I look around and see light and life in a new way….

Light shines through rain.. Sun filters through cloud..
A child smiles … I see tomorrow..

My neighbour’s cat comes to look into my eyes and peek into my soul..
The illusive plug is restored in the circuit of the circus of life.

Then the words…though the same… I know in a new way…
“It is a good day to die.”

walk gently
Christine

I am really happy that I came across Your page and have a chance to ‘travel’ with You and through Your jorney I can assure myself one more time, that Love in our hearts always shows us the right way and we should never give up our dreams.
As everybody I want to thank You for Love, Hope and Courage You gave and are still giving me and all people around the World through Your Heart and wonderfull books.
For about 6 months I live in Germany and it was really hard to me – a ‘nomad’ girl from Central Asia – to adopt to the ‘cold’ and cruel western life, where human vlaues are seemed to be forgotten and only money and
‘style’ count. Because of Your Books I have learned, that my life, heart and courage have no borders and each experience (it doesn’t matter good or bad) widens our soul and mind and I am capable of achieving all my dreams.
Thank You sooo much, Dear Paulo, for Your blessing, Your Light, which illuminates my heart and life every day.

Some words about death and life by B. Gates at the Graduation in Stanford University:
“..No one wants to die, even people who want to go to Heaven don’t want to die to get there, and yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent; it clears out the old to make way for the new.

But someday, not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it’s quite true. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary…”

Wishing You a nice trip and new heartwarming encounters on it.
With Love,
Aika

It is the observing of suffering that triggers crying
not the dying…

Leendert
:-)

Thank you for your insight, I wish for you many stops at many stations.

P.S.: Thank you for all the wonderful books : ) And for sharing parts of your heart with us…

I have just return from El Camino to Santiago de Compostella, starting out in Saint Jean Pied de Port. The Camino is magical and I must say – as I mentioned a month ago – that The Pilgrimage was what opened my eyes for this road. After walking the road, some descriptions from one of your other books, The Valkyries, jumped to my mind: Nothing happens by coincidences, there are angels around us and we just have to notice all the things, learn to interpreting what we see, hear, smell and feel. All the things we neglect in everyday life. One example: I lost the path, but still hurried on hoping to find the marks, getting more end more sure this was all wrong but could not turn around. Suddenly I was overtaken an elderly lady from Brazil, also on the wrong path. After my “hola peregrina” I continued for another 1/4 a mile when an inner voice told me to stop, go back and tell the lady we were wrong. I then for one reason or another was able to get us both back on the right path. Just a coincidence? No, and this was not the only one…..
Anyway, we are never to old to learn. More than 10 years ago I made the BAM (not the Trans-Siberian) to Khabarovsk (and on to Gavan), getting very peaceful on the trip. At that time I did not fully understand what was going on. Now I know:
“Withdraw into yourself and look;
and if you do not find yourself beautiful as yet;
do as does the sculptor of a statue….
cut away all that is excessive,
straight all that is crooked,
bring light to the shadowed….
do not cease until there shall shine out on you
the Godlike Splendour of Beauty;
until you see temperance surely established
in the stainless shrine”.

Thank you Paulo!
Kare

Me again. Sorry to hog so much of your time and space. I disgressed in my last posting.

I wanted to say that yes, I agree with you regarding needing to be aware of our impending deaths so that we may live a fuller life – and that we shouldn’t be afraid of it.

I think that the majority of people (in the so-called ‘civilized world’) do everything they can to avoid the reality that our physical life will end one day. They stuff their hours so full with external things in order to push the thought out of their minds, then numb out with prescription drugs when they can’t.

I once read somewhere that if a person was to sit alone in a room for two weeks straight with nothing else but himself, that he would go mad.

People can’t handle the Truth of Death, which is why they look outside of themselves for distractions.

From my own experience, and of viewing those of others, I’ve found that the secret to being mentally and spiritually healthy is to be honest – to face everything about ourselves, the good and especially the bad. To the extent that we can face our dark side, is to the extent that we’ll be healthy.

I once begged for death, now I fear it. But only because I’m finally starting to like it here.

-Moi ;)

Dear Paulo, I have to tell you that You changed my piont of view, when we met last year. Now I know how to fight and how to be a warrior of the light.
I know that You received a lot of comments like this one, I hope that You still remember me and Ula and our conversations.

With Love,
Anna

The President of Polish Fan Club

When I was younger, I continually thought about death, wishing to die. I often would take a razor blade and carve up my arm in a superficial way, contemplating whether I should go deeper and end it all.

One day, I finally got to the point where I was going to do so. Then, I heard a woman’s voice inside my head. It was not the normal voice of my conscience, as, I usually heard a man’s voice. So, I was taken aback by it – especially when I heard her message. She said, ‘WAIT! STOP! YOU HAVE NOT FULFILLED YOUR MISSION! YOU HAVE TO HAVE CHILDREN SOMEDAY!’

I dropped the blade, and really thought about what I heard. I had had to help raise my sisters’ children a bit, and really disliked the idea of motherhood, never expecting to have or want children.

But I obeyed the voice and many years later, without thinking consciously about it, I decided to have children after I married and didn’t think again about that angel’s voice until one day as I was watching my children playing together on the floor. And I realized that she was right! ;)

A few years ago, I got very depressed and started thinking about suicide again..something I had totally put away for good, I had thought. I called a mental health center and told them I wanted to kill myself, but needed help, and, believe it or not….they told me that they had noone to talk to me! Ha! :) How pathetic is that?! ;)

I thought about the angel’s voice, but something kept pushing me on. Since I had my children, my mind kept saying that my mission was now complete and it was time to do it.

So, I went online and typed in the word ‘suicide’ and the first website that came up was a young Brazilian man ‘s website. I checked it out and he had nothing about suicide in it, which puzzled me as to why it came up.

He spoke about the band he was in and all of his likes and dislikes regarding musical artists. I saw many of the same interests, so I wrote to him.

He wrote me back asking why I’d write to HIM, and proceeded to tell me he wanted to kill himself.

I was then able to help HIM out of it by getting visions of things that he needed to know, and, I realized that the suicide thing must have come up for me again only to be able to remember how desperate it feels like to be suicidal, so that I could understand and help this young man. My own feelings of suicide went away, right after he told me how he felt.

I thought it was interesting how I was led to him and wanted to share it.

Thanks for listening, or reading. :)

Keep on walking the path, we’re here with you, patiently waiting for your next words of wisdom.

Sincerely,

Deb ;)

PS: Do you ever tour America??

With kind regards
John

with love…..
clara

you have touched a very sensetive and important subject this time, why be afraid of what you can’t see or control? I think if sometimes we invite death only by thoughts we can befriend it until our time is up.
I am a muslim and one of the important things we learn through life is that we have to work as if we are living for ever and we have to do good deeds as if we will die tomorrow.
May Allah bless you and keep you safe during your trip, and may you always make us think of what we sometimes tend to ignore or forget.

Thank you for your books that inspire so many people around the globe.
I am happy to see that one of the most prominent modern writers travels in Russia, and even decided to travel in Siberia. I hope that your travel will dispel some of the stereotypes that foreign people have about our land. I read that you have plans to visit the sacred lake of Buryats – lake Baikal. I am sure that will be the most unforgettable experience in all your journey.
I wish you will enjoy every minute spent in Siberia,
Elena

A light enters my eyes and I see a brightness I never knew before
A healing of the soul
A dawn of a new age to come
In my mind and in my heart I give to the light
Dare alla luce
I give to the light

I connect to a consciousness I cannot fully fathom, but I know is love
Chakras turn and align
Building blocks of life
Colours cascade and darkness fades
I glow
I give to the light

I am grounded my Mother Earth
I am protected by the light
Giving myself over I am overwhelmed
Laughter pours from my stomach
The shift is complete, I am embraced
Dare alla luce

Lying down, healing
I am surrounded by my guardians
Hearts pulsating, hands over me
I welcome them
I surrender to the light
Dare alla luce

Now I glow from within
I shine, I am transformed
I have surrendered to the light
My heart is open
Dare alla luce
I give to the light

Lisa Burton

Reading the blog and all your comments has reminded me of a line in a movie. The woman mentions that the literal translation of to give birth ‘dare alla luce’, means to give to the light. So I’m basically thinking that the light brings us into the world and the light takes us ‘home’.

I do not follow the Christian path, in fact I am a Pagan. But I have always said that as long as your chosen path does not harm another, spread your wings butterfly.

My mother has a mental illness, bipolar disorder. Sometimes she prays for the angel to take her. Nevertheless, I often think that one of these days the angel will take her up on her offer.

I do not have the answers to everything, no one does. So I live with the questions even tighter to my heart. One day I will figure things out. Until then the confusion about why things are the way they are (good and bad). Will follow me around like a faithful dog or a black shadow.

Anyways I’ve rambled on long enough.

Take Care Paulo *hugs Paulo*

Blessed Be All

Lisa
xx

I’m reading The Zahir, it reminds me of my self but with a lot less affairs in my life!! and a lot less traveling of recent. I know how hard it can be to be a Warrior, every day I try and get it right. Today was no different than tomorrow will be…and the day after that I will get to sleep in because it is Sunday and I don’t have to work!! Good luck over the next few days. I will say a small prayer for you.

if you knew how it is important to me to know that you now are travelling in Russia. Maybe they make you to feel a bit Russian soul.

Every time that I go by train I think that it is like a life, life with a determined aim – your station. Your fellow travellers leave you on their station but you continue to travel. You’ll never meet them, they died to you, they’ve gone from your life, nevertheless they live although in another world.

By the way we can do everething in trains – to read, to write, to solve puzzles and crosswords, to eat… You shouldn’t think about movement and jolting with irritation. :)) What about me – I adore it, I feel that we move forward like our life goes. Clattering of wheels sounds like a magic music. Try to listen to it. ;)

Спасибо за всё!
Obrigada
Nous vous aimons!

THANK YOU because you teach me many special things with all your books, so you are my LIFE TEACHER.

THANK YOU because reading “Veronika decides to die” I understood the real sense of life and now I really appreciate it. I think that everyday is a miracle and I have to thank God.

THANK YOU because you let me knew the exact meaning of love. There is no life without love. Love is life. It is the most important thing of our lives.

THANK YOU because you caress my heart with your words. It is broken but you treat my hurts.

THANK YOU because you light my life and my heart.

THANK YOU because you have a blog. In fact thanks to this blog one of my dreams is becoming true: LET YOU KNOW THAT YOU LIGHT MY LIFE AND THANK YOU OF EVERYTHING. Now I’m gonna to express my next wish: meet you!

Thank you of all, my dear Paulo, my dear life-teacher. I love you. And I just wanna wish you the best. I wish you lots of luck, love and health.
Please don’t never stop to light my life. Your words are my precious. You are my precious.
I really hope to meet you sometimes, however now I’m very very happy because you know how much you are important to me.
I would be almost the happiest person in the world if you replied me.
Well, now I go… but I’m always reading your blog (and your books!!!)

All the love.

Cinzia

P.S. I love the prayer that you’ve posted. I read it all the evenings before to sleep.

May we always have courage to go where we only dream of going, and to do in our lifes what our heart trembles with and flies high from, as this is probably the way of finding the divine blessing in each second.

And yes, indeed craziness asks for freedom, but this is its beauty and magic, and afterall, this is the highest joy and value.
First of all our own inner freedom to be brave enough and go where we haven’t been before, and freedom of being brave to act the way that for other people may not seem “right”.
If we look around though, we may discover that the most fantastical, magical lifes were all against the common ways, and it was all back to Jesus who taught us to act according to our own heart and not to any rules.
As only in the crazy heart lives the whole universe of emotions and all events to happen.

I may probably write endlessly about it all, but none of my words would be able to express my profound and most heartfelt gratitude for everything You teach in Your writings, Paulo.

But please, know, what You write is not only what expresses the uncatchable moment of TRULLY BEING ALIVE, but what changes lifes and moments of life !
More than six years ago i have first opened Your book, and ever since then i experienced a lot of joy and pain in my life, but Your wisdom made my heart so strong that in each day i find only magic and divine light, no matter what happens, as i have just learned to appreciate being alive.

Yes, we will all die, but only due to this fact life gets so amazing, passionate and crazy! :) As if that could last forever… may be this journey could never be so magical and special.
May we all appreciate each little moment while we breath and free to act, feel and smile !

With all my gratitude for Your lightful wisdom and craziness of Your soul,
With the gratitude i may never express with words, but i know that God will find a way to feel the light and warmth millions of people send You :)

You are making life many, many times genuinely saturated and magical with Your wisdom, Magician !!!!!

Dasha
with own craziness to follow and enjoy :)
But why not ???? life is for living and acting :)

Those words of Yours above are perhaps the strongest and the most beautiful i have ever read in my life. They made my heart beat hard letting feel the intensity of the present moment’s magic and life’s essence in general.
The joy and essence of living a life and being able to pass this journey is in Your words, and how many people loose the sight of this only concept and wisdom, the only to be true for all of us while we are here…

I think i have been crazy enough in my life, and for this i wish to thank YOU too… but i have also learned on my way that sometimes craziness faces borders and it may not fully express itself no matter how much we wish it. However, this also brought me to the idea that God is much more crazier than we, and sometimes the ways he keeps for us go far beyond our imagination, in the land that is more crazier than we may only imagine.
And in this, we meet the true revelations HOW fantastical and amazing is life, because even being crazy ourselves, each day it opens us even more fascinating events.
Because whatever is within will be developed in the eternal world.

Craziness of being true to yourself is the greatest happiness and passion, craziness of being brave to follow the dreams no matter how strange they seem to be.
And may be my craziness looked at some times weird to the people around, and may be not always i acted right, but i acted and i don’t regret about anything, because i did what i felt to at that moment.
And we all change, we grow and learn, but it is only this craziness that guides us and let us fully stretch our wings and discover our paths.

So, the most crazy person i have ever known, Paulo, may the sparkle of craziness in You heart always shine brightly and let You discover more and more divine magic, because each moment of being alive lets us express ourselves at its maximum.
I also pray God he will let me discover and realize my paths fully, as the potential we carry within is endless.

And each day, i try to live only according to my inner craziness, because afterall we will never regret what we have done. But we will regret what we haven’t.

May God bless You, Paulo, as what You wrote today is the breath of life. Of this magical, magical moment of being alive and having energy to raise and realize… this is something to remember about each second and today’s text of Your will live in my soul for all my life.

And please, may all who met me excuse me for something that seemed to be wrong or too much… but i always tried to act according to my passions, and passions may sometimes be too crazy.
However, craziness of life is the greatest miracle and joy :)

Thank You very much for Your brilliant and wisest words, Paulo for this is the true light !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And be crazy as You are ! :)

Your texts are absolutely fantastical and through them we feel the genuine depth and wonder of life ! Of what God have given us all !!!!!

THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!

with love from the very crazy person :)
Dasha B.

A little teardrop runs out of the eye of a child. A grumbling in the stomach follows after.
“Look in the eyes of a child and feel what trusting realy means, it dos not know the term of calculation.”
I thank you for your pray with deep feelings in my heart – and please, my lord, let us see and do with all our faith, what love is possible to do.

So far, with all my love
Hubert

when i was only 10 my dad died, my mom had moved us to england and i knew then it would be a long time before i got to get a hug from him again, from that young age i have never been scared or feared death because i know i have kept him alive in my daily thoughts of him, and he will be waiting for me when i die. along with all the other memebers of my family, he has to wait a long time i know.

i am only 47 and i have a long life ahead of me yet! but i have made some plans, words i want spoken songs sung, my boys think i am a lttle crazy, but i need to know what i want people to know of how i feel about them when i go.

death is part of life and then begining again after death comes a new life…

Marian

for your journey….

doubts are clouds that deny the Light
they seek to subdue our surrender
to the Divine Will
these clouds create shadows
which in turn create fears
and thus
we may become lost or confused
the beauty of your journey my friend
is that you have not yet arrived
this cements the connection
with all those who walk the Path
in Truth we must become like a child
whose Innocence enjoys the play
cloudbusting
allowing the pure Golden Rays
of Divine Love
to dissolve the illusion
and saturate our senses
in the Knowledge
that we are all One
we are all flames of the One Light
who together
will one Day shine like a Beacon
and illumine this World
when we truly Know this
and our Time comes
we will die in Life
dear Paulo
in Reality the Time is Now
the Mother is calling Her children Home
you are just a little Homesick

….Love Light and Life
John