Paulo Coelho

By Paulo Coelho

Once a man asked Rabbi Joshua ben Karechah:

‘Why did God choose to speak to Moses out of a thorn bush?’

The Rabbi replied:

‘If he had chosen an olive tree or a bramble bush, you would have asked the same question. But I cannot leave you without an answer, so I will say that God chose a wretched little thorn bush in order to teach us that there is nowhere on Earth where He is not present.’

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Why the conductor for the Boston Pops Orchestra avoids music during his downtime.

… Reading?

The last book I actually finished was a Paulo Coelho novel, ‘The Zahir.’ It’s an exploration of what it means to find a true-love relationship and then what it means to be able to stay in that. I love the works of Milan Kundera. I’m a huge fan of his writing. I find it, even in translation, to be incredibly poetic and immensely thought provoking.

… Watching?

A friend turned me on to Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel, which I find absolutely fascinating. It’s about people fishing for king crab off the Alaskan coast. It’s riveting – like watching a great drama.

… Listening to?

I listen to so much music for preparation that I rarely listen to music for recreation. What I’m trying to get on top of is our collaborative artists for the Edgefest [a series that unites the orchestra and popular musicians]. So I’m listening to Cowboy Junkies and M Ward and friends, who are two headliner acts for Edgefest. As a result of working with Ben Folds, I picked up a lot of his albums, especially his post-Ben Folds Five CDs. I slowly make up for my occasional lack of immersion in pop culture. (Not Pops culture!)

– The Boston Pops’s July 4th concert on the Esplanade, featuring John Mellencamp, is broadcast live at 10 p.m. (ET) on CBS.

This story is brought to you by Christian Science Monitor.

I’m getting too good at knowing my moods and what needs to be done. Yes, that’s a very good thing, but I do miss the peaceful retreat of a good, long, quiet tantrum. My brain knots unravel too fast these days, and then it’s back to the things that need my attention. Sometimes I wish it took a little longer. Sometimes I feel like I could really use the excuse for a good rest.

I read a book yesterday, cover-to-cover, which is a rare thing for me any more. I don’t usually devote that much of my day to reading, but I knew I needed this. This book has been popping up in front of me demanding to be read for many weeks now. I think the crankiness yesterday was an intentional pinch. I get like that when I’ve neglected something that needs my attention. I finally picked up the book …

To read the rest of the article and more from Jennifer Szczublewski a.k.a. Seph, please visit her blog!

If you enjoy the work of Paulo Coelho, and I am someone who does, then you will enjoy his latest book. He has created a very distinct style for himself. As a reader you know what to expect and …

To read the rest of this Article, please visit Bob Leckridge’s blog

By Paulo Coelho

Struggling against certain things which will pass in time anyway is a waste of energy. This very brief Chinese story illustrates this very well.

In the middle of the countryside, it began to rain. Everyone scurried off to seek shelter, except for one man, who continued to walk slowly along.

‘Why aren’t you running for shelter?’ someone asked.

‘Because it’s raining up ahead too,’ came the answer.

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Yesterday’s question on the Paulo Coelho Blog :
Aart Hilal : Would you tell us more about the origin of …

To read the rest of the Article by Szavanna, please visit her blog!

By Paulo Coelho

A Rabbi gathered together his students and asked them:

‘How do we know the exact moment when night ends and day begins?’

‘It’s when, standing some way away, you can tell a sheep from a dog,’ said one boy.

The Rabbi was not content with the answer. Another student said:

‘No, it’s when, standing some way away, you can tell an olive tree from a fig tree.’

‘No, that’s not a good definition either.’

‘Well, what’s the right answer?’ asked the boys.

And the Rabbi said:

‘When a stranger approaches, and we think he is our brother, that is the moment when night ends and day begins.’

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He called me up (in the tone of ‘this is a life and death issue’) – this news editor of one of India’s leading channels, to ask me whether I’d read Paulo Coelho’s latest bestseller – THE WITCH OF PORTOBELLO. I hadn’t. He said, “It’s mind-blowing.” I asked, “More than The Alchemist? More than The Eleven Minutes?” He said, “Much more! It’s incredibly amazing!”

Reading Paulo Coelho is like …

To read the rest of this book review, please visit Jaya Ramesh’s blog @ Matrimony Xpress

By Paulo Coelho

When the great Rabbi Yitzhak Meir was studying the traditions of his people, one of his friends said to him jokingly:

‘I’ll give you a florin if you can tell me where God lives.’

‘I’ll give you two florins if you can tell me where he doesn’t live,’ replied Meir.

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Read the new issue from Newsletter : The Sign

Luckily I did not have scan too much for getting my favorite post. When the voting was in progress for selecting the next topic, I had already decided what would be my take on the topic if this one is selected.

Just before writing this post, I had completed reading “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho; though it was not the first time I was reading this book. But somehow I went into some thinking mode and suddenly I started making my own sense of the author’s words. This is what I had gathered around from my knowledge and tried to interpret philosophy with science.

This might be quite….

To read the rest of DJ’s article, please visit his blog @ http://betweenusfriends.blogspot.com/2007/06/blog-post.html

By Paulo Coelho

Roberto Shiniashiky tells of a Jewish mother who tried to bring her son up in the most traditional way possible. The boy, however, had a forceful personality and would only do what his heart told him to do.

The mother, just like Rabbi Abraham in the preceding story, went straight to Paradise when she died, for she had been a shining example of devotion here on Earth. When she got there, she told the other mothers about the agonies her son had put her through, and she learned that not one of them was satisfied with the paths their children had followed.

After days of conversation, during which they voiced their regrets that they had not been strong enough to control their children, the group of women saw Our Lady passing by.

‘Now she managed to bring her son up properly,’ said one of the mothers.

And they all crowded round Our Lady, praising her son Jesus’s career.

‘He was a wise man,’ they said. ‘He accomplished all that he was destined to accomplish, he walked the path of truth, never deviating for one moment, and he is still a source of pride to his family.’

‘Yes, you’re quite right,’ said Our Lady, ‘but to be perfectly honest, I wanted him to be a doctor.’

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