Eyes and soul

by Paulo Coelho on June 6, 2008

Why, according to you, the eyes are the “windows of the soul”?

Next post: Today’s Question by Aart Hilal

{ 148 comments… read them below or add one }

Marcelina June 7, 2008 at 12:14 am

There are so many reasons for this.
They are the core of every emotion displayed
They are the tell tales of lies and truth
They are the target of Eros’ arrow
They are soft with kindness and piercing with contempt
Their shutters darken when it is night and lighten when it is day
They close when a person is immersed in a trusted kiss, and they open when the person is guarded and kissing only with their desire
They are the release from the well of one’s soul when it is filled to the brim with emotion, releasing an overflow of both sadness and joy in a physical form
They are the portal for perception which becomes our reality, and allow for our soul to see what it chooses to see
They look up to the heavens and close when in sacred prayer

Diana June 6, 2008 at 8:33 pm

You guys must have never been in-love, trusted someone, and then have your heart broken.

sama November 20, 2009 at 1:47 pm: probably no one have not gone through that:(, but you never know what soul love is, untill you see it, if you are lucky to meet it. everytime, you confuse it, you think that’s it, and you really beleive it, but when it really is it, you don’t even need this person to love you, you dont think of being hurt, because what you have seen in his eyes is not what he said, or what he did, it is rather what was not said, what he meant to hide, what is inside..it is through the eyes, that you connect to the depths, sort of unwillingly.

Marmara June 6, 2008 at 7:23 pm

“Los ojos hablan y cuentan sus historias.”
Rosa de los vientos esta frase é linda e dava um bom começo de um livro…como se uma contadora de estórias começasse a contar um conto misterioso…. :)

rara June 6, 2008 at 1:12 pm

This is due to the fact that if a person tries to lie to you, she will be able to do it probably by changing the tone of her voice, by trying to smile, but the eyes can’t lie. when you look in someone’s eyes you can see its strength, whether it’s gentle or aggressive, whether he passed through difficult moments in its life, or had an easy one. It’s reflected by the way the person looks at people she talks to, with love or hatred, with joy or sadness. It reflects its emotions, in a word, its soul.

Nuno Firmino June 6, 2008 at 11:57 am

Todos os olhos são lindos, os olhos são plenos de vida e estão sempre em comunhão com a realidade de quem somos. Eles “são a janela da nossa alma”.

Quando os olhos não conseguem ver, é porque as janelas estão fechadas, e as cortinas corridas. Nesse caso, infelizmente, a pessoa perdeu um eficiente modo de comunicar.

THELMA June 6, 2008 at 7:12 am

Eyes have the expression of our wisdom…or fulishness!! Every moment we live reflects our emotions..Eyes are the organ of sight but also our ..tears come our of them..Some tears come out of sorrow but also from happiness. There are also the “crododile” tears.. There is a saying that ‘love is catched by the eyes, goes to the heart and then to the whole body”. Everything we say must have the analogous expression in our eyes, so our sentiments are expressed through the eyes..Love Thelma

Ruth June 5, 2008 at 11:34 pm

What about blind eyes ? Are they windows of the soul ?

R June 5, 2008 at 11:09 pm

When i look into Anthony’s eyes i feel so much weight that its stronger than me. I also feel that theres so much more. and i cant wait to have it all.

i love how all the love is being expressed here

Tatjana June 5, 2008 at 6:36 pm

The eyes see directly and the partner can observe this glance directly. It is observing the partner being in action immediately. It is pure. No hiding if you can stand the glance.

Francoise Beekman June 5, 2008 at 4:02 pm

We open up the windows of our eyes
for letting in life’s breeze to touch our souls.

Carrie June 5, 2008 at 2:19 pm

I don’t have a profound explanation, but I know the eyes are the window to the soul. When both of my daughters were handed to me after they were born, they looked directly into my eyes. It is a moment with each of them that I will never forget. They were connected with me the moment they were conceived, but looking into their eyes was simply magical – beyond words. I love looking directly into their eyes and telling them I love them.

aditya June 5, 2008 at 9:58 am

Hi weed !

I meant it more for strangers than people we know. Normally when we are looking at someone we are looking at a triangular portion.

if its a casual aquaintance or a stranger we look at the triange formed by the two eyes to chin. for people we are intimate with we look at the triange -two eyes to below neck middle of chest, when we are loking at suordinates we look at teh triangle – two eyes to centre of forhead. ( look at your boss as u look at your subordinates and your day would be unmade !!)

looking the other person stright in the eyes for prolonged periods is like intrusion in one’s privacy ( which is Ok if the other person allows). eyes reveal.

the course u spoke of had mixed results as people were told to do so, and they were open to the suggestion as they were attending the course. try it with strangers in uncontroled settings and mostly the others would get uncomfortable; the few who don’t are eithe so good that they have nothing to hide, or maybe they have become so smart that they can lie even with their eyes, difficult but not impossible, all our actors do it.

about your priest fella ! beware of all the preists ( the brokers bewteen god and man, beware of all brokers ), a preiest has no reason to look away, unless he is hiding something, may be has some feelings for u which he does not want his eyes to reveal !! just joking !

love
aditya

Monica March 9, 2010 at 12:13 am: Adyita,

Interesting that you mention this.
I often have to deviate my eyes from people when I’m talking because they become hypnotized-like and confused. So I had to re-learn to talk and explain my perspectives. It’s the strangest feeling, I also start feeling like I’m “floating” and loose track of the conversation.

Love

Monica

Shirley Gonzalez June 4, 2008 at 10:59 pm

If you catch someone off guard and look at there eyes, you can tell many things: mood, intention and spirit.

Cathy Brooks June 4, 2008 at 10:07 pm

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Maria June 4, 2008 at 8:17 pm

The eyes are windows of the soul.
A window is a door way
from which the light of the soul penetrates
and illuminates the physical universe
Maria ( practical joker)

Vi June 4, 2008 at 2:56 pm

When I was a little girl and was trying to cover some naughty action, my mom was telling me : “If you are not telling me the truth I can always see it in your eyes!” Those words would always come to my mind when I would think to ” change ” the truth a little bit. Than I grew up and I learned to lie watching into people’s eyes…I know though, that if they are able to see they’ll know…just like my mom,because only our eyes say who we really are.
baci

Shaima June 4, 2008 at 2:46 pm

Dear paulo,

According to me, the eyes are NOT the “windows of the soul” sometimes eyes provide us bad judgment,, my Ears windows of the soul, Ali Ibn Abi Talab said talk to discover you but above all I believe in our souls windows of the soul we can see through our soul , blinds men haven’t any eyes but have souls ,
Thx
Shaima

Weed June 4, 2008 at 1:22 pm

aditya i never knew it was impolite to look people in the eyes!

Was at a course last year, and the teacher told us a story about an acting class of his. Students were supposed to sit across each other, and tell each other a story, looking straight into the other person’s eyes.

and i realized, looking into people’s eyes makes them either (1)slightly anxious or (2)completely at ease.

and my priest, always looks away when he talks to me. it isn’t a big deal, but it always makes me feel like there’s something wrong with me even though there isn’t.

so i too think eyes are the windows of the (2)soul, but that often they connect directly to (1)human passions as well, and that is sometimes frustrating.

Sibila Maria India June 4, 2008 at 12:31 pm

In communication, our body language speaks much louder than anything we say.
When it comes to our face, most of us identify much with it: “…this is what I look like… and this is who I am…” As I see it, this is also true about us, but only part of the story.

In our eyes, truth shows up about what our story is. Who we believe ourselves to be and what we are feeling and thinking about that. How our energy is. If we are aware of our light. Or not. If we are alive or not. If we live in fear or live in love. Our eyes transmit what´s sincerely true about us and our beingness.

These are some reasons for me why the eyes are the windows of the soul.

Chris Cade June 4, 2008 at 11:53 am

Until tonight, I never thought of this question more deeply. I used to think along the same lines as conventional wisdom.

But if a person is blind or wears eye-patches – this statement implies that there is no way to experience their soul.

So perhaps the eyes cannot be “the” window to a person’s soul, but rather just one of many?

I’m sure Helen Keller might disagree that eyes are the window to a person’s soul….

aditya June 4, 2008 at 9:01 am

because eyes in theselves are transparent ( the only human body part which is so ); they are a window of the soul, thru eyes we ‘see’ and thru eyes our souls’ current state of being is expressed.

perhaps that is why it’s not considered ‘polite’ to look anyone else directly in the eyes.

then there is something called the third eye, which is directly in between and above the two visible eyes, that is the window to the self !

love
aditya

Nancy June 4, 2008 at 5:08 am

There is much beauty in these replies. My heart enjoys reading from those who were not afraid to love. Poetry, wisdom, courage.

rosa de los vientos June 3, 2008 at 11:43 pm

Mirando a los ojos puedes ver el mensaje que esconde en su interior, mejor que una puerta diría yo que es un túnel que comunica el interior con el exterior, el consciente con el inconsciente, las dos partes del cerebro que casi no se encuentran.
Mirando a los ojos traspasas lo personal, en psicología le llaman lo transpersonal, comunicándote con el ser desnudo, el que no puede engañar, el que se manifiesta tal y como es.
Los ojos hablan y cuentan sus historias.
Un beso Paulo.

Luz June 3, 2008 at 10:56 pm

I believe that our souls are made up of the things we see, feel, breathe, hear, taste, sense. Our souls can be full or empty.
A person’s eyes can reflect emotion.

Sarreth June 3, 2008 at 10:49 pm

My 1st post here:”Scientifically the eyes is the perception organ that has immediate connection with the brain(because images entering from the eyes are instantly sent to the brain for processing).It is truthful that through the eyes you can SOMETIMES understand the other person’s feelings.It impossible for me to tell if this occurs because of some sort of energy coming out of the eyes or just because we can notify minor differences in THE WAY people look at us”
Reply by Reshmi:”You can say a thousand lies to the world, but deep down in your soul you know the truth..”
Dear one, I like ur attitude.I’m proud of u having posted something aggressive.I like energetic ppl.And on that I have to comment something:Every1 here seems to try to erase the potential of being wrong.Self-persuation pal migh be useful practically for our lives but it is in most cases an act of fear.In my opinion, it’s better to be substuntial and understandable rather than use different words to describe the same thing which is what i’ve noticed happining here.It is good for u to have in mind that no human being OWNS the truth.Every1 and everyting is to be doubted.And every theory is to be an assumption if solid, undoubtful evidence is missing.Yoy fear to live in doubt? I don’t

Monika June 3, 2008 at 9:47 pm

Eyes are only a little part of our body giving only a little glance on our soul. If you would only see the eyes of a person (I mean only the apple of the eye) you would not see much of his soul. You could only see when his pupils delate or narrow, but you could not interpret the emotion behind it. You must see the interaction of the whole facial expression to do so.

A distinctive facial expression and the knowledge how to interpret it is a typical attribute for human beings and to read in the face of another person had been an important ability for man from time immemorial. All together in combination with body language you have a glance on a mans soul. But the eyes are always first in the focus of our attention, because they are for man the main instrument to realize our environment – but in the end it is also not difficult having a glance on a blind mans soul if you attentively watch body language and know how to read in a face.

Stephen McCabe June 3, 2008 at 9:10 pm

Eyes can tell you the truth about how someone is feeling even when every other part of their body is saying something else. They also tell you more the more you look! its the first thing i fall in love with in a girl.

Josephine in Brussels June 3, 2008 at 7:26 pm

Darkness and light
sunshine and night

In your eyes an answer I seek
the source of my thought
murmuring like a creek
all the drops it has caught

flooding out in the empty depth
reflecting the desert of my ego
waking up from solitary death
dancing wild in lifes vertigo

full of blackness, full of life
your look breaks through my walls
but I shut my eyes and fear the strife,
refuse to listen to your lonely calls

although they are
my own.

Marmara June 3, 2008 at 6:41 pm

Os olhos são a janela da alma.
é tão simples como isso..agora o mistério está em saber porque estamos nós capacitados para ver por essa janela…. há muita gente que não sabe e não vê…

Rebecca June 3, 2008 at 6:30 pm

Eyes are a significant point of contact and they can be very revealing, but the soul can see and receive through every part of us. The times I beheld my father’s soul was when he was playing the piano, and my partner and I touched each others souls through our touching of each other. The scent of rose makes my soul sing and the taste of really good chocolate, well..

Good actors act with their eyes and yet what they are expressing is only part of a role they have created. Scientists tell us that what our eyes think is real is only an illusion created from energy particles and light. To say that the eyes are the windows of the soul is beautiful poetry, but to me it is a bit like saying that the only window in the cathedral that reaches God is the west window.

Every part of us is a manifestation of our soul and we are always in contact with other souls even if only to push them away.

Love and blessings

Rebecca

Jasmin June 3, 2008 at 4:39 pm

Eyes as the Windows of the Soul……
Eyes just like windows not only allow us to see out but also allow others to look in.
Windows allow the sunshine to brighten a home, eyes allow another type of “light” to enter our souls. However, if you close your shades or draw thick curtains you will neither “see” what is outside or enjoy the warmth the sun brings. If you “close your eyes” to the world, you will not have to see the bad but you will also be deprived of all the good.

Walaa Hamdan June 3, 2008 at 4:35 pm

Eyes can show you love, can show you hate..
they can speak things you might be too scared to say..
But why?
I can give you 100 reasons, but none of them might be true…
it just is this way..

Geraldine August 23, 2010 at 12:00 pm: super like it :))

Quest June 3, 2008 at 4:33 pm

The eyes show peaple your dreams, your feelings, they show the nature of your heart, they are a guide to the sub-conscious. It always depends on what you look at though. A grandmother will have loving eyes when looking at her grandson. A builder will have attentive eyes when at work. Rocky will have the ‘eye of the tiger’ when staring at Clubber Lang. It has always been that way, and though some may say your eyes will betray you,as Paulo says in The Alchemist: ‘Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you.’

Peter de Kock June 3, 2008 at 4:03 pm

The eyes are both the windows and the mirrors for the soul. Through the eyes the soul looks into the world of form. Looking through the eyes (that are the window) into another
pair of eyer (that are the mirror), the soul becomes conscious of itself. This is God becoming aware of God.

Agnieszka June 3, 2008 at 3:56 pm

Dear Annie…yes…dreams are important, we should go for them, but … if something is too hard..let it go..or it can break you..
you’re so fragile..

lots of love to you my dear Annie,
Agnieszka

Reshmi June 3, 2008 at 11:10 am

You can say a thousand lies to the world, but deep down in your soul you know the truth.Similairly, however hard you try to mask your true feelings,your eyes show what you are feeling inside. That is why eyes are the windows of the soul.

Sarreth June 3, 2008 at 10:28 am

Scientifically the eyes is the perception organ that has immediate connection with the brain(because images entering from the eyes are instantly sent to the brain for processing).It is truthful that through the eyes you can SOMETIMES understand the other person’s feelings.It impossible for me to tell if this occurs because of some sort of energy coming out of the eyes or just because we can notify minor differences in THE WAY people look at us.

Hema June 3, 2008 at 7:22 am

I think our eyes do not know how to lie. My father was blind for some ten years before he passed away but still, we could always figure out what he was thinking by looking at his eyes. Love, excitement, joy, sorrow, regret, anger… all those feelings could be read from his eyes even though he, himself could not see anything at all.
May be we should learn to trust our eyes a little bit more so that we can see more of the miracles around us.

Aubrey June 3, 2008 at 6:53 am

Because our eyes never betray what we truly feel inside.

Agnieszka June 3, 2008 at 5:24 am

Hi Annie,
I hope your eyes will always be full of light.
love
Agnieszka

sandra June 3, 2008 at 1:53 am

The eyes are the windows of our souls, you can look into a persons eyes and tell if they are happy, sad, angry,in love, being truthful or not. I just belive that our eyes are windows of our soul, we have pupils that let light in, from the sunlight, and starlight which is knowledge, and the light that flows into our eyes from the light outside of ourselves is reflected back into other peoples eyes, therefore the eyes are the windows of our souls.

Tania June 3, 2008 at 1:40 am

Because our beautiful temple which houses our soul has a door to enter through and eyes /windows to show the glory of the divine because as I said earlier when we are at one -our eyes become Gods eyes ..and so the soul shines the light that we are, plus it reflects our inner truth .Beauty /God is in the eye of the be holder .
Plus the eyes are the most beautiful ;-)
See ..Blessings Tania

giana June 2, 2008 at 11:53 pm

eyes are the windows of the soul… it does not matter if your heart is filled up with joy and love, or you feel angry, hopeless, disappointed… your eyes cannot lie and will always reveal the truth about your inner self… no matter how hard you try to hide what you feel and eho you are, your eyes will “betray” you…

Pandora June 2, 2008 at 11:30 pm

How do you explain the unexplainable?

Through these keys I witness truth and proof of eternity, but I cannot explain the feeling that eternity brings or even come close to it.

I do know though that I treasure this recognition, and am very, very grateful that I was born this way.

Angelito June 2, 2008 at 10:36 pm

Los ojos la ventana del alma..
Porque en ellos se refleja la luz del corazon..
Ellos expresan lo que sientes sin palabras..
Las palabras, y gestos pueden ocultar las emociones
Con los ojos es dificil de mentir los sentimientos

Armando June 2, 2008 at 5:44 pm

Por que el corazon ne ve solo siente. Los ojos pueden ver lo que el corazon est sintiendo.

Alexandra June 2, 2008 at 5:31 pm

Maybe because is impossible to hide your gaze,it shows your inner feelings.A real explanation I am not sure to be able to produce.What about the wonderfull look of a couple in love?There is something magic in it.bye

Agnieszka June 2, 2008 at 3:19 pm

In the eyes you can see..
the light..
in the eyes you can see..the Universe of the soul…
in the eyes you can see the heart of the butterfly..
in the eyes you can see..the paradise..
of..love.

love
Agnieszka

maria June 2, 2008 at 1:57 pm

Sólo cuando nuestro corazón está ciego y necesitamos “tocar” con los ojos para creer.

Weed June 2, 2008 at 1:47 pm

it is not what you see but how you see?

because love enters through the eyes and also leaves through the eyes? and so soulmates are hard to find because they bypass the eyes?

just because it sounds poetic?

who knows.

PAULO IN THE HOUSE PLEASE STAND UP!

abeer February 16, 2011 at 7:08 pm

agree .. i think that sometime the souls speaks differentlt from the person want to say .. sometimes it promises u love that the person cant promise u .. strange ..

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