Anabel (Mérida, Spain)
I don’t know if it is all written down, I don’t know if people write their story when they are born, or before, or while they are alive. But I am convinced that everything that happens in our life has a meaning, and that is why each moment has to be lived intensely. Because it is today that enables us to move ahead, break the ties, let life flow in all its freedom, and understand that loving the moment is what makes us happy. Loving what we see, what we touch, what we don’t understand, loving the unknown, what makes us anxious, the deep and the shallow, but loving nevertheless.
Beba (Islamabad, Pakistan)
Life is absolutely temperamental, and it eventually leads us down paths that we were not absolutely certain or enthusiastic about following. But what would become of us without these surprises? I make a toast to all that is absurd and marvelous that we will continue to come across at each step that lies ahead.
Iris (upon arriving at Santiago de Compostela)
When I reached Obradoiro Square, I wondered: why did I have to face so many difficulties? I joined the endless line to kiss the statue of the saint and it all struck me as absurd, except for catching up with some pilgrims that I had met on the way. Yes, it was all absurd, except the joy of having surmounted my limits and feeling a better person. Just as well that I did not walk like the others. Just as well that I decided to stop whenever the sun set, avoiding thinking about whether I was near a shelter or whether there was food available. Just as well that I ate a plate of lentils that upset me and obliged me to sleep at the foot of a mountain, in a place that I would never have known had it not been for that problem.
Just as well that I overslept and ending up having to spend the night under a star-filled sky. Just as well that I began walking when I felt like it and stopped when I wanted to, without anyone telling me is that was right or wrong. Just as well that I was alone, and so the moon treated me in a very special way. Just as well that I took the wrong turn four hundred times and ended up knowing places that nobody knew. On one of these detours I spent the whole day sitting in front of the door of a convent thinking about my vocation
It was because of so many absurd things and so many “just as well’s” that the whole thing was fun. Because before this my life had a goal, and from now on I will go on walking just for the pleasure of walking.
Maximiliano (Veracruz, Mexico)
Before a storm everything is silent and calm, although we can feel the smell of raindrops. Some days ago I was with a friend and his sister in Porto de Tuxpam. It was Carnival, everyone was having a good time, and right at the climax of the party the sky became filled with clouds, then lightning fell closer and closer, and the rain started. Everyone ran for shelter.
All of a sudden, as if there had been some mysterious communication among the people, we all returned to the street and discovered that the storm only contributed to the world being more fertile and the climate milder. Joy returned, although nobody quite understood why they were so joyful.
One of the most sublime moments that anyone can experience is to live through a storm.
Warrior of the Light Online 134: a reader discovered the website The Pirate Coelho where exists a complete collection of my work in many languages.
Aloha,, Loved your post on eader has the floor at Warrior Of Light. I’m interested in horoscope signs and on Tuesday found a similar comment in a local newspaper. Couldn’t have said it better myself!
sometimes when you’re on your path and there’s no shelter what you can do maybe blaming ourselves or our wrong choice
but we couldn’t be so sure of what we do even we love it or no
I’m alone heart breaker but i don’t know if it’s my fault or it’s the “Maktub” or in the other side it gonna be like this
I don’t wanne lose a wink of sleep for my empty heart ;but how to act in this meserible world no love ,no chance
Really I don’t wanna lose my goals cos i wil began with strenght to fight my dispair
Hi Allister,
thank you very much for offering to me a bigger picture! I have to say, while reading Castaneda’s first and so far my only book, many times I felt so lost and tried to figure out what was actually the message, Castaneda was trying to get across. But now, it is going to be much easier for me to read and understand also his following books :) But still, it appears to me sooo, hmmm, so artificial, so unnatural, to get self aware (is it really self awarenes???) under influence of some kind of “drugs” and all these rules which have to be followed without knowing why!!! whaw, nothing for me ;-) … but still veery interesting and enriching reading :)
Oh, I wish I was 19 :D but no I am not anymore. I am 25 and since following summer semester is going to be my last one, I am very dangerously getting to the point where I have to decide to whether go for my dream or keep it safe and “enjoy” a good life here…but well I kind of have a feeling I know what my decision is going to be so all I need is to make this first, small yet hardest step forward …
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and see you in year 2007 :)
Hello A.V.C.,
I’ve thought about my irritating emotions and I came to conclusion that it is nothing else but my very old problem – growing up around very authoritative father, makes me a little more than appropriate sensitive and negative to such “preaching style” ….however, I also like your comments even though they are quite difficult for me to “get”…it seems that even though we kind of have the same/similar viewpoint, we have different ways of “mind/ logic processing” so it takes a lot of effort for me to switch to your way of thinking and understand what you mean :) I guess language is also certainly a little problem here…. but it is all definitely worth it:)
anyway, I admire your positive attitude about this neverending journey …to be honest, I am not quite sure if I like it that much even though it is ,I guess, the only way to grow …maybe I am just too full of too many issues and fears which being aware of is not a very nice feeling :( ..and just when I work out one thing, something different comes up and doesnt leave me rest….
sometimes I just envy people who dont bother to ask questions why/ how/ what would, etc and just live their lives as it comes….it is sooo much easier and simplier to live this way, I suppose…well but nothing in life is free, we have to pay a price for everything….
Wish you a wonderful Christmas, Happy New Year and hopefully we’ll “see” each other also in a year 2007 :)
AVC
U r right when u say, ego can not be removed from the equation, but just maintaining a continuous awareness that my actions / my thoughts may be influenced by my ego helps, I feel.
HAVE U HEARD OF O S H O. The chap writes ( or rather speakes ) brilliantly. Read his books, they will add a dimension to your being, BUT PLEASE NEVER DONATE A SINGLE PENNY TO ANY OF HIS ‘ASHRAMS’ / ORGANISATIONS.
Aditya
Dear Angel…
I know that that poem was not written by you, but when u copy it or write it ( out of the infinite choices available to you), it’s almost comming out from your own heart, maybe Lao put the words but his feelings when he wrote it and u’r when u shared it were close, were they not, I choose to belive yes they were.
angel do u meditate ? – what is meditation : simnply put and even more simply done, sitting quietely, comfortabley for an extended period of time. consiously trying not to think of anything ! mind is a non stop machine, it goes on and on. the chanllenge of meditation is not to be angry / sad / … when u relaise that oooh once again I went with that chain of thoughts, if u have read the Bourn series by Robert Ludlum ( or was it Fredric Forsyth ) at one place he talks about geometrical awareness, something like being aware of the surroundings including places u can not see ( that si behind u). If u don’t expect meditation to solve u’r confusion, it will solve them slowly. Idea is to get confused more and more but not to despair, so that at some point of time the confusion drops away by its own weight.
About the ‘accident’ u had . I too had exactly similar expereince when the front wheen of my bike got stuck in the gap between two sides of teh concrete road. I did not fall. If u ask me the menaing of this …. ( and I am no expert, not even a novice ) is that u got to be more careful, specially of your environemnt, ha ha ha. be more aware. of the present. Have u noticed awareness exists only in the present. Being aware of some happening of the past is not awareness, it may be knowledge. awareness is like witness.
As u have said the intention to help ‘freinds’ is good, but one must remember also that “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. when done with love, u don’t mind if others don’t lsiten to u, as u alreday know.
So long as paulo or his administrators don’t block us out or at least let us know that we better stop lst’s continue………
Aditya
PS : I must share with u a tradition we have here in India. In ancient times whenever we gave a gift to someone it was called ‘Daan’ and Daan was never complete without ‘Dakshina’. U know what this dakshina is, it is a further small gift given to the reciever as a token of gratitude ( of the giver ) for having been kind enough to receive the gift. So Dear Angel whenever someone takes u’r advice u should be thankful !! how was that !!!!!
Dear Angel and Devil in One Person,
I am sincerely sorry if I have made you or anyone else uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I do have a tendency to come across as a preacher…
I certainly do not mean that I am more right than anyone else here. In fact, everything that I have said is false (but perhaps not unimportant to those new to their path; I certainly know that the sword of reason is important to me at this stage)!
It is useless to try to teach that which cannot be taught. The truth can probably only be approached individually, in silence. As soon as you dress it in complex words, you will corrupt it.
However, I have enjoyed your comments very much. Taken as a whole, quite a few fairly complex ideas have been slayed – to me that is a positive thing, because I feel it is the only way to advance. Other might think differently.
I do wish you all the best. It makes me happy that people like you and forums like these exist! Perhaps the pendulum is finally swinging back…
It is a wonderful and magical world out there, don’t you agree? Each day could be our last, and that insight makes the whole difference.
“You will find the secret passage
to that single sacred place
Deep inside your heart
where any end is just a start
And every word and thought
will always count for naught
When below reflects above
and Will unites with Love”
At Saint George’s Castle, September 2006
Yes sometime solitude can be made by our own choices and sometimes it’s against our well. But, I also thinks that we as human, we fear it and we link it to the “presence” of people that we truly love. It could be a little naughty adorable child that knows how to bring happiness to his entourage, it could be parents and it could be a lover.
The issue here is people do die and we still did not find a method to deal with it when it occurs.
Death is the major cause of loneliness. It is not being accustomed to routine and rejecting adapting to change because life is changing. It is not the memories those days build and we as human attach our souls to them.
It is that people meant to formulate their life with the components that keeps us a way from feeling loneliness even in it is hidden forms.
I heard that divorces and separation do happen because the heart beats of lovers’ changes by time until it reaches stages of “no interests”.
To redefine and priorities one life we need to build in it a “core”, that core can be love, art, children, noble mission in life …etc then people will start feeling their dynamicity and they change as life changes as the fallen leaves that all of us will never be the same again.
Yet, we still want to remember that change dose not mean replacing or deleting our own original spirit, I mean, once upon time we were children and children are adorable spontaneous angels that knows how to be full with joy and find happiness in its simplest way.
Be safe,
Suha Ayyash.
Hi all.What if you used to a bad staff around you and you never learn.Is that make me a dumb person or I m just not ready to understand it. For me its clear as everyone else here that my life is that moment now…and now too and I have to live it fully to be happy.But why we all want to be happy, is the happiness hide us from the miserable things and makes us miss it?If yes then we have to see the things what they are without no mask the reality the same way it is.Its so confusing when reading this books cause they make you change your life totally.Its over with the moments when for one minute time you are happy and then unhappy.After something what happen to me 7 months ago.I m ready to beleive that the Mactub is true,but that makes me a little lazy.Cedanly you figure out that life is written and you just wait things to happen, of course that makes me a little lazy and happy that everything will be ok.But on the other side I fight for my life to be the way I want to be.But in this matter you start wondering if this what I want is incorrect desire.Cause only then the fear is bigger than if the desire is the right one for your personality and your dream.I m sorry I m not writing anything for the title and discussing the reader has the floor, but something else is on my mind and bothers me almost all the time.Am i A SAD PERSON?Who knows?Fear stops you from everything and rules the world.
Best regards
Astrain
As I think Aditya so cleverly demonstrated, the Ego cannot be excluded from the equation. At least not in this world of impressions. In fact, ego has to be the lord of those impressions. At best he is a reflective and openminded but nonetheless unrivalled ruler of everything that you perceive.
Otherwise the impressions will rule you.
It has been said that one may come to a point where the surrender the ego is considered the ultimate task, by a conscious act of will. But he who does so must also be prepared to surrender the weapon of reasoning and leave the world of impressions behind him.
Developing a strong ego does not mean you have to be egoistical. But your ego must be able to renounce many desires in favour of a your own higher goals. Ultimately it must be of such a tremendous strength, that it is ready to surrender itself.
To my belief (!) there is no shame in fighting for what you believe in and having faith enough to venture into new territories. This is evolution and life. Often wonderful, sometimes painful.
Ultimately, your constant slaying of thoughts with the sword of reason will have divided a vast range of complex ideas into fewer and fewer categories. You will have divided them to an extent where you may find the underlying uniting principles. Maybe even the final one.
Then, and only then, you can take the last step and surrender the ego as it will have fulfilled its purpose.
I am certainly not there yet. But I enjoy the journey as I am sure you all do too!
A.V.C.,
thank you alot for your explanation – now I got ya! :) hmmm,somehow I cant help it but there is something in the way you write your comments that annoys me :(…maybe it is just your style which seems to me like preaching :) or maybe this certainty with which you present your opinions… I really dont know…hmmm I will try to analyse it…
Anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too :)
K,
I would like to ask you for a little favor. When you said other books, I automatically assumed you meant books about alchemy. But maybe you meant also other sources. Would you mind listing some books you consider good about this topic? I will put them on my TO-READ List :)
And I have the same plea also on others….if you’d read some books worth reading (well yes, yes most books are worth reading ;), please share their titels and authors with me and others…
thank you :)
Hi Aditya,
I fully agree with you and I dont really expect anything anymore from anybody although well who am going to lie to ? Surely, it feels good and flaterring to be accepted and appreciated… well well ego is a very evil thing ;-) yet at the same time I really do enjoy being challenged by new opinions and perspectives ..
Originally, I meant it in cases of giving an advice on a certain, specific issue (I talked about it in my email to Debbie)…
…hihi according to my free personalized horoscope ;-), I belong to progressive thinkers :D :D :D but to be honest, there are times when I wish I was not me and I try to forbid myself to think and dig deeper … as we’ve already discussed, another approach/ another perspective and viewpoint creates many times this huuuge barrier between people….I see it on myself, that sometimes arguments I hear appear very unreasonable to me even though others consider them just about correct and alright…and at the end, I am the one who ends up feeling like a total idiot :)
I think that in question of brain vs soul is not that much about mechanism as about trying to explain/ prove the existence of a soul… and this has something to do with a belief/disbelief in soul.. (btw who can explain to me difference btw word “spirit” and “soul” ?? in my language we have only one word for it)
I am glad you like that poem :) well, it was written by Laotse not me :) I just copied it ;)
I had a “little” accident today on a very busy street while biking back home from University…I didnt fall from my bike but for a moment my wheel got stuck and afterwards I was trying to find a balance while moving forward several meters….but luckily no car was behind me (what is really unusual, since this street is very busy and cars drive quite fast on this sequence!!!), so I didnt get hit… my question is, if we talk about signs -what sign this might be?(just out of curiosity I would like to know how it might be interpreted :))
Bis spaeter :)
Hey Debbie,
hmm I have to stop with this blogging here I know :( I do not feel very happy about it too, but what can I do???? I have soooo many questions, sooo many concepts and ideas in mind which “bother” me and which I would love to discuss with somebody !!! But now I am going home for Christmas and in January I really have to start reading textbooks instead of Castaneda, Hemingway, etc :) so I will not have so much time, even though knowing myself, I wont be able to resist my “evil” temptation to blog here :D ..hmm maybe I should open my own blog where we could discuss it instead of overfloading Paulo’s blog :(
…. it is soo sad, we cannot really meet at some nice cafe, order a Latte Machiatto and conversate face to face…it would be much nicer…but still better than nothing ;-)
Yes I was thinking about this advice thing too…you know if I take into consideration (as I’ve already discussed) a possibility that I probably I am not able to fully and correctly see and understand the reality of my friend, thus might misinterpret it and and make false assumptions and conclusions, the only advice I can really give is ” do what will make you happy” or “follow your heart” and as you said whatever happens, just be there for them and let them know they can count on me…that’s it…
….Yes, I can tell them about how I dealt with similar situations, and I guess this might inspirate and give courage to my “clients” :) but at the end this info is totally irrevelant because no matter how much I try (as my original premise is) I cant really fully see and perceive the actual problem and situation and my client is not able to fully see und understand me and my situation (as Aditiya said realities are as they are..unreal and interpretable only to ourself) and since we cannot trully recognize
whether circumstances of an actual problem are the same, we cannot really give any advice on what to do….but this is only my latest conclusion :)…maybe in two weeks I come up with something new :D :D :D
…. however, just to give courage, inspire and be there for others is, according to me and for me, a priceless help worth more than any 100% advice from some not self-aware/arrogant experts (hihi Aditya, see what a good student I am ? ;-) )
Have a nice day :)
Dear Angel and Devil in 1:
I am familiar with Carlos Castaneda’s writings and way of life. There are many sceptics that say he made it all up and others that subscribe to it completely. My best guess is that it is somewhere in the middle – that Don Mateus is a composite of a number of yaqui or other traditional medicine men collapsed into one for the sake of a somewhat coherent narrative. While, in later books, Don Juan appears contradictory — taken as a whole — Castenada presents a compelling context and process to self awareness. My only suggestion is that when you read it, read it metaphorically (look for the ‘signs’) not literally.
The way I see it and use it there are three aspects to the Toltec way of life – awareness, transformation, and intention (and for more check out the wikipedia article). Developing awareness of yourself and others, of your inner world and the world around you, is the first step towards transcendence. Many of the tasks Don Juan set young Carlos on go directly to increasing your awareness of yourself. Transformation is the second – examining and actively changing the patterns and habits you carry – deciding for yourself whether they are useful or not. And if they are not, getting rid of them and installing new patterns that serve you better. The third aspect is intention. This is the most powerful. If you know your authentic intention, that spark of universal energy that is uniquely you – then you can move through life in a very purposeful way (it is very akin to being a young shepherd boy traveling across the desert in search of his treasure). This, by far, is the most interesting and frustrating pursuit and yet once known provides an overarching context for living your life. For me, there is also a fourth, unwritten aspect – and that is meaning. Awareness, transformation and intention create the firmament for creating and living with meaning in your life. They help to create purpose-filled life.
We only ever have two types of conversations in this life. Only two. The ones we have with others and the ones we have with ourselves. The first step in awareness is to become aware of those conversations you have with yourself. Are they serving you? Your conversation around whether your advice is philosophical or business is a conversation you are having with yourself.
So I would get curious about this conversation. Why is moving towards a business solution a “problem?” You may find the “business’’ advice you give your friends is exactly what they need. And what if you thought of it as a gift – your uniquely individual gift to the world?
I must say, knowing your tender age of 19, and witnessing, in this blog, the intensity and purpose with which you are engaging, gives me great hope for the future of humankind.
Angel…
& this last entry ( for the day at least ) I kept on pondering over the without love series that u so kindly shared with us. In fact I have taken a print, two actually ( of course a little enlarged so that it can be read from a distance ) one for my work place and one for my home. ‘Truth without love creates criticism’… u said. hmmmmm.
Aditya
Angel … & Deb ! Others too.
How does it help if we explain that this and this happens thru brain, that area of brain, in the cluster of cells named XXXXX. Suppose we just concentarate on what is happening to me, however I can perceive it and not bother too much about what mecahnics is involved ( surely for some whose chosen field of inquiry is human body or dymamics of experiences this advice is not meant ), suppose i just concntrate on the ‘experiences’, how they affect me; and then may on on to the ‘expereincer’(u’rself); does it harm ? does it help ? does it solve anything !
aditya
HI Angel & D in One P
( does it not sound more poetic, ha, ha !! I don’t have those wonderful smiliys so words will have to suffice I suppose )
I loved the way u monopolised this blog. really, and your comment(s) did make me feel nice !!!
OK about the solution for the businesswomen – lemme try ( u know how I am, i never say die !!)
U have in mind people who r willing to listen to you but don’t ‘see’ the point, refuse to accept what u say ( I hope I have not faltered completely on the first step itself ): Solution is simple –
Just say what u must and don’t exepct others to get ‘convinced’. It’s my personal experience that many people find it difficult to accept ‘wisdom’ on the face of the ‘wiseman’ ( ooopps woman should it be for u) . I have been on the both sides of the fence. It’s natural, ego in play. Not everyone is able to remove ego out of the equation, it requires a teacher like M. I have seen people telling me the same logic / reasoning which we had discussed a few days / months back, and which they did not ‘accept’ at that time.
If what u r saying is right, it will have the right effect, don’t worry just stop expecting that u will be appreciated for u’r bright ideas or bright ‘thoughts’. So be it. Remember even Zesus was not accepted by his villagemates as anything more than average human. Buddha was not accepted here in India. Times have become more civilised otherwise remember Socrates was murdered, can u belive it. Lucky girl u r still alive. Stop expecting that others will ‘accept’ what u r saying specially if they r u’r peers. For u, u just go on like u so wonederfully do, as M would say It
“Angel and D
in one P, let’s remove ego out of the equation” yours. ha ha
Aditya
In my view everyday life is the best, if not the only, school of all.
It allows you to try new paths, to experience new things, to embrace new ideas.
By doing this, and reflecting on the consequences, you learn more about this universe and yourself.
I am not saying that you should always “wait and see”. But I think that it is wize to reflect on what you’re doing, even if you are about to take a chance. Something makes you want to take that particular step – reflect on the reasons or feelings pushing you towards your decision, even if you do so afterwards.
Was it a desire for achieving material gain, respect from others, spiritual development or mayby to find a new love?
Was it in keeping with your overall goal, the long term development that you would like to see for yourself?
Perhaps your idea of that ultimate goal has changed, based on your experiences?
In the chaos of the endless impressions in life, grouping experiences is an important thing if you want to identify and advance to new grounds; the making of a preliminary map is a powerful tool.
Certain impressions bear similar characteristics. Similar consequences, feelings and thoughts are awakened by different types of experiences.
Your map will always be erroneous in the sense that you will want to constantly adjust it to the reality as explored and perceived by you. Never mistake your preliminary map for the reality.
However, it is a wonderful thing to be able to recognize recurring principles and starting to realize that all that is, is as it should be!
Have a very nice christmas! Celebrate Love; because she is truly the Guide to Light!
Angel Woman,
Yes, I’ve had some truly amazing experiences doing exercises like you’ve described as well…I just love tapping into Spirit like that..it’s always amazing to me. And, I loved Carlos Castaneda’s books, also. Ironically, as a child I kept trying to read his books, and I couldn’t get into them. Obviously, it wasn’t time yet. When I got older, I finally picked up one of his books and saw that he had an experience similar to one I had had also, and I realized that if I had read the books earlier, then I probably would have doubted my own personal experience, attributing it to having read of his first and having it in the back of mind. At least that’s what I gathered from it. :)
And, I had read most of Paulo’s books before I realized that he had also been a fan of him. Of course he would be! :)
I have to say that I’m happy that I’ve found someone on this blog who writes even more than me! Hee hee! :) Now I don’t feel so guilty! ;)
One more thing!! :) ALthough it will take me forever to explain…
About your ‘giving advice’ thing…I’m also the same way…everyone I know comes to me for advice…I often joke that I don’t have friends, but clients! ;) And everytime I meet someone, they instantly tell me their life story and ask for advice and then say, ‘I NEVER Tell anyone my personal life….I don’t know why I’m telling YOU!!’ Gosh, even today, I had the weirdest thing happen…I went to the bookstore, and as I was walking back to my car, this old man was walking along and I was passing him, and he glanced at me, then did a double take like he knew me and said, ‘HELLO!!! How are you doing?? Are you having a nice Christmas season so far?” And I said, ‘yeah, it’s ok..thanks…and you?” And he said, ‘yes, it’s going fine. Please be sure to have a wonderful Christmas!’” I said, thank you, and you too, ok?’ And, his eyes twinkled with light…I half expected him to disappear. I just had a really horrible day yesterday and was actually still in a really bad mood (a rare thing!)….and the minute I saw him, I felt like he was an angel..coming to cheer me up! :)
OK…I totally digressed AGAIN!!!Blah, blah, blah….
My point! :) My point was…when I give advice, first I listen of course to what the person’s problem is…then I tell them their options that I see….but tell them it’s up to them to decide which choice to make. They often ask for advice…like…’should I leave my spouse?’ And, with relationships, I always tell them that at one point in my own relationship, I was on the brink of divorce. I really truly thought it was the only way, but, then we worked through it and we ended up going to an even deeper level of love after we got through it. So, I always tell people that sometimes it seems like divorce or separating is the only answer, and it may be for some people, but, I’m living proof that the option to stay together can work, too.
I always also tell people what I would do in their situation, but that I’m not them and I understand that if they decide to NOT take my advice, that I support them in whatever they do. THere’s nothing worse than asking for advice from someone who is invested in the choice you make and then having to feel guilty if you don’t do what they say! Giving advice is especially tricky when it involves relationships because the advice giver needs to be aware of the other person’s feelings, too, on the matter, because there is always two sides to a story.
So, to sum up….the only way I think we can ever give advice is to tell people about your experiences with a similar situation, if you’ve been there, and go over all the options and consequences with them regarding each choice they need to make, but let them know that ultimately it’s their choice, but no matter which choice they make, that you will always stand behind them and love them no matter what. Unless you really don’t like the person and you want to make their life miserable! Ha! Then you can give them really really bad advice and make them suffer for all of eternity! Ah, Yes! The power of wisdom!! ;)
Sometimes people are so stupid that you just WANT to give them bad advice…ever been there?! Ha! :) Ok…that’s Evil Deb rearing her ugly little head!! :) She’s only joking, of course!! :)
So, that’s my advice on advice…and, you don’t have to take it! And I will support you in whatever you do!! :)
Lots of love to y’all…
-Deb :) The evil one….mwha ha ha…:)
Hello A.V.C. one more time today:)
I’ve read your first comment one more time and I came to your last sentence where you say: ” only he is happy, who desired the unattainable”. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, hmmmmmmmm, hmmmmmmmm….how do you define word ” happiness”? Do you want to say that only those who live as you say are truly happy? Hmmm.. or do you mean those are happy who follow their heart/ do what they enjoy?
But this happiness thing is quite tricky, I think… I can take an example of me and my boyfriend…we are totally different – he is absolutely rational, not believer, more atheist than not, much more serious and quiet while I am both rational and emotional, spiritual(?), spontanneus and most of time definitely not serious or quiet… I might externally appear as happier but am I truly much happier? Maybe he is much happier person than I am…just because he is not spiritual,that he does not really think about this stuff and smile on everybody around, does not mean he is unhappy, or less happy? hmmmm and once again we come back to our so far “only” truth :( – everything is relative….
…but maybe you meant not happiness in comparison to others but in comparison to our own previous state – development of our own happiness? well, in my opinion, this is the only way how to measure happiness :)
btw, I read one lovely quote about happiness lately – “happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do is in harmony” (well, and according to me, this is already a heaven on earth :) )
I wish you one very happy day :)
Aditya,
I hope Paulo is proud of having such self-aware readers :DDDD but yes, I know what you mean… I wonder too ..
this Bond quote goes into my book of quotes, I love it:)
Hello K,
thank you and merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too :)
Ola Ola Debbie,
I guess that is another mystery of life with this soul thing :) Dalai Lama in his book ” Way to happiness” touches this problem shortly too…. he argues (but makes no final conclusion) that maybe not brain activity produces this feeling of soul/ self awareness (as scientists say) but maybe the soul produces/initiates a brain activity :) who knows what the truth is? I dont :) ….btw this book also belongs to my own personal bible ;-), it is much more applicable into practice as one would say…
I have different yet similar experience with this collective consciousness… as 19 year old I participated on the course of Silva mind control which is nothing else but another form of meditation if I simplify it… and we made one veery interesting exercise, where we worked in couples (we were strangers to each other). Each of us had to think of two persons who had any kind of problems and we had to put the names and age of those persons down on the paper. Then, in my case I told the name of the person I thought of and his age to my partner and he had to describe this person and tell me what problems this person dealt with…and I was amazed and scared to deaht!!!! My partner described my uncle almost 100 % including his health and marriage problems (he even knew exactly what cancer my uncle suffered from!!!). When it was my turn, I had to go to this Alpha state and I could also clearly see a girl as well as a man in a specific problematic situation…. So based on this personal experience, I am also a bit “suspicious” that this collective consciousness might really exist :)
Have you read anything from Carlos Castaneda??? I just finished his first book The teachings of Don Juan and I’ ve got to say that experiences he describes are reaally wild !!! Have you or anybody else heard about this Yaqui indians practice ???
Take care :)
Hi A.V.C.,
hmm, this all is so easy and nice to read but soo hard to live. Do you think that we ordinary people can live this way/analyse everything without turning insane???
How would you apply it to eveyday life? I mean I am not a monk who spends hours and hours every day meditating/praying or whatsoever. I am/we are human being/s who have to live an everyday “reality” which consists of many feelings, many new encouters, many new situations and sometimes have no time to analyse everything or have to make quick decisions and jump into new waters without too much thinking?
You wrote : “Stretch your boundaries in every possible direction,
but do it slowly! There is no need to push. It is never advisable to dive headlong or swim too far in new and dark waters.” Hmmm, it makes sense to be a bit careful and play a game of wait and see. However, at this point I always have to deal and fight with my awareness of my mortality, thus fight with my desire to live every single day as if it was my last one because it might be my last one…so if taking this into account, then going slowly and everyday “danger” of death stand in contradiction.
I also dont understand this “Compare every new experience with previous ones. Arrange them in groups with similar characteristics.” Groups with similar characteristics?? How should I do it?
Hmmm, maybe my brain is on vacation today so I am not able to think properly but all these so to say “rules” appear too abstract/ too theoretical to me :(
Have a wonderful day :)