Paulo Coelho

By Paulo Coelho

Before a decisive battle, the Japanese general decided to take the initiative and attack, knowing that the enemy was greater in number. Although he was sure of his strategy, his men were fearful.

On the way to the confrontation, they decided to stop at a temple. After praying, the general turned to his soldiers:

– I will toss this coin. If it is heads, we return to camp. If it is tails, that means that the gods will protect us, and we shall defeat the enemy. Now, our future will be revealed.

He threw the coin high up, and the eyes of his anxious soldiers saw the result: tails. They all rejoiced, and as they attacked were filled with confidence and vigor, and were able to celebrate victory later that afternoon.

His chief officer said proudly:
– The gods are always right. No one can change the destiny they reveal.

– You are right, no one can change destiny when we are resolved to follow it. The gods help us, but at times we must help them too. – he replied, handing the officer the coin.

Both sides were tails.

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By Paulo Coelho

That is what infatuation is: the creation of an image of someone, without advising that someone as to what the image is… But it was different from love. Love was worth everything, and couldn’t be exchanged for anything.
(The Valkyries)

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If there was a heaven and hell – as a writer what would you imagine each to be like?

I don’t think I have to imagine Heaven and Hell, there are many examples in our world that represent both.

Recently I read a very interesting book called ” The Lucifer Effect”by Philip Zimbardo. This book tells of an experiment conducted in the sixties in Standford University where students were chosen to carry out an experiment in the basement of the university. A prison was recreated and by the flip of a coin 7 students were held hostage while the other 7 students were the prison guards. The guards had absolute power over the victims (except for physical violence) and the experiment was meant to last 2 weeks. Yet, at the end of the 6th day the experiment had to be ceased – victims having nervous breakdowns. The guards, that unleashed their evil, had to go under therapy for years to come.

These normal individuals, given absolute power, started doing evil deeds, simply because they could – or didn’t do anything to avoid hell of breaking loose.

I was very impressed by this and I think that this experiment illustrates the fact that heaven and hell both dwell in our souls, just as light and darkness compose a day.

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During a full week in Myspace, I changed my mood from mischievous to nostalgic. Once done that, I started to receive messages from readers asking me what was wrong – given that some considered that being nostalgic was a bad thing in itself.
But I don’t think that being nostalgic for a week is such a problem.
So, here is the question of the week: how do see nostalgia?

P.S : For the next weeks, I shall be posting here the questions of the week under written form given that I will be travelling.

Dominating the world of Men and rising to the skies, The Mountain symbolizes in most cultures, the proximity of God. The clouds surrounding its top also convey its mystery and inaccessible nature. There is a considerable list of sacred mountains in which God revealed himself to men (Fujiyama, Sinai, Carmel, Olympus, etc).

Because of this, many pilgrimages are directed towards sacred mountains. In Japan for instance more than 200 000 pilgrims climb the Mont Fuji every year and in Pre-Colombian Mexico, The Rain God Tlaloc, was reverenced at the top of the Mountain of the same name.

In Christian iconography, the judge of the end of the times is often pictured as sitting on a mountain of clouds. All other mountains are flattened – which illustrates the end of pagan worship. It is also no coincidence that in the times where missionaries went to convert the people of central Europe, certain high places were considered as the dwelling of malefic sorcerers. There’s a parallel in the Tibetan cultures where it is said that bad spirits, called the Khadomas, constantly travel about in the height of mountains and incarnate in the form of women that try to disturb holy men.

Now you take the floor, what do you associate with the mountains?