After having read The Alchemist I concluded that one of the messages in the book was that what we are looking for is right in front of us. We just need to open our eyes and realize it. My question is:
Are you planning on another book where you suggest a way how people can come this realization a little closer? Or do you have a suggestion right now you would like to share?
Humans have always looked for a sense of purpose for their life. And there there are essentially three ways to achieve this: Art, science and religion. But if science and religion meet we will have problems. Spirituality has nothing to do with whether you believe in God or not: it is an approach to life. During the twentieth century we experienced the dictatorship of science, which tells us that the world consists only of scientifically provable things. Thus the amazement and suprise of experiencing our souls were lost to us. But there are also emotions, and emotions play a very large role in our world. Therefore, being part of the human condition, my inspiration come from my contact with other people.
¡Qué bonito! Me encanta la idea de que la Inspiración viene a través del contacto con otras personas. Eso quiere decir que todos somos importantes en la Creación.
Un beso Paulo, me encanta la inspiración.
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Cher Paulo Coelho,
Je vous adresse ce message par le biais de votre Blog espérant qu’il vous atteindra. Mon nom est Anissa, j’ai 28 ans et j’habite en Belgique. J’ai eu l’occasion de lire les premiers chapitres du roman « La Légende » dont l’auteur se nomme Alex Mero.
J’ai été très fort touchée par ce livre exactement de la même manière que je l’ai été par votre livre « L’Alchimiste », il y a quelques années. J’ai eu la réelle impression de ressentir ce même message de foi et d’espérance qui m’était communiqué à travers un voyage initiatique.
Même si l’histoire de La Légende ne ressemble pas, dans sa forme, à celle de l’Alchimiste, j’ai ressenti cette même énergie, ce pouvoir de changer des vies, le pouvoir de rassembler des gens de toutes les nations autour d’un message … celui qui nous fait comprendre que la sagesse se trouve au fond de nous et que notre voix intérieure nous y mène.
J’ai alors pris contact avec cet auteur, de même manière que je le fais avec vous, à travers son site. Je lui ai demandé où je pouvais me procurer son livre vu que j’avais simplement une version digitale des premiers chapitres.
Sa réponse m’a fort étonnée. Il m’a répondu que le livre de « La Légende » n’avait pas encore été publié. Pourtant je sais que beaucoup de personnes dans mon entourage en ont déjà lu des passages et qu’ils l’ont tous énormément apprécié.
L’auteur m’a communiqué qu’il avait envoyer quelques passages à certaines connaissances et que eux à leur tour avaient fait de même et que cet sans doute ainsi que cela m’était également parvenu.
Je lui ai alors demandé si il avait déjà contacté des maisons d’édition. Cette réponse là m’a encore plus étonnée. Selon lui son roman trouvera la ou les personnes adéquates qui lui permettront d’être publiée dans toutes les grandes langues du monde et qu’ ainsi elle atteindra des lecteurs aux quatre coins de la planète.
Je tiens à citer cette phrase : « J’ai donné forme aux idées qui m’ont été inspirées, ce travail étant fait, c’est maintenant le livre qui trace son chemin, moi je continue à me faire guider par mon intuition et c’est ainsi que je rencontrerai sur mon chemin les personnes qui m’accompagneront dans cette mission »
Alors ma demande est simple et spontanée. Le fait que moi et d’autres personnes avons tous ressenti la même émotion à la lecture de ces deux livres, est-ce que ça ne voudrait pas dire que ses deux auteurs devraient également se rencontrer ?
Je vous laisse en vous souhaitant une belle continuation. Je tiens à vous remercier pour le prodige que vous avez mit au monde en écrivant l’Alchimiste et j’espère de tout cœur que vous ressentirez l’envie de prendre contact avec l’auteur du petit neveu de Santiago, il se nomme Nathan. Vous trouverez plus d’infos sur le site : http://www.alexmero.com
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hi everybody,i don’t think that science doesn’t work with spirituality.we just make confusion between our knowledges of the world,our discoveries, how we can use them,what we are be abble to make with them..they just recall us that the origin of the life doesn’t come from humans being,but our conscience of the world is there to give us the choice partly,for the future of this humanity life.best wishes..
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I cant say the Alchemist changed me,but I found in that book very important issues told in quite pure language,a happy ending story,thats is very important,and I must thank the author for that.Your stories are all happy endings,from here the optimism.Not only,your characters are apparently common person,as us.But the are able to open doors towards another levell,am I right?The miracle hidden inside a common thing,as a stone,as yours characters.That is a thing that make us believe,we can do that also,if one like that was able?I love the symbols you use,maybe more in other of your books.The moon,the maiden,a goddess,Sophia,the mountain as asymbol in itself.Is right if we say your is a humanist writing?You trust man is able to behave almost as a God.Am I right?I would like you reply,hope is last to die.
Also you use so much the moment of the revelation,as light,in different ways.You believe light is sign of Divinity approach?Revelation is possible through art?
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Science is inspired by spirituality. I think every time when the human kind exagerate during centuries the importance of the one or the other, does wrong.
Yes, spirituality is a way of living. Many could interpretate it as fanatism, but is not necessarily about religion, but about the soul life, existence, dreams, feelings, plans,…the soul has its own speciffic manner of existnce, expresion. We all are minimum two people in one, from which one is the soul, is your own spirit, it is your inner essence. The rest of “you-s” are just learned role-plays.
Our greatest challenge in life is to discover the real “I”.
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I am a spiritual being having a human experience instead of a human being having a spiritual experience. Spirit - 1st, Human (body) 2nd
Being human, or rather my human experience has been an interesting journey full of revelations that somehow I continue to ignore as a spiritual being having difficulty applying what I know as a spiritual being to my human experience (if that makes any sense).
I believe we already know everything we need to know. Its the application of what we know in our experiences that I believe make for an interesting life.
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Dear Mr. Coelho,
Just wanted to add that business to the list of the purpose finders of life. Some people (not to say all people) find the purpose of life in business rather than science, art or religion.
I also wanted to tell you my story of reading your alchemist:
I had obtained my immigration to Canada, bat still was living back home, and almost had given it up. I had been living a married life where I never felt loved, and almost all my wishes and emotions where being forgotten for 8 years. Had given up my bachelor’s degree in chemistry, and was working as a marketing rep in a small firm, the job I always hated, but had got used to it. I had no love,no friend, no hatred no anger, no regret, no happiness, no wish. Instead I had migraine headaches, indifference, forgetfulness, a messy place where I could hardly live, always butterfly in my stomach, continues nightmares of being lost in a village where nobody talks to anybody, so nobody shows me the way back home.
Until, one day I told my Ex, that I do not want to live with him anymore. He was first shocked, but he new that this would happen sooner or later. So I separated, live alone with more depression tried to have so many friends, have parties, have “FUN”. Never could imagine immigrating to Canada and giving up everything else I have collected around me so far. But at least I had anger, and could feel loneliness and could realize that my life is not just wasting time,but was in fact killing time.
Then again one day I called the travel agency, and bout one way tickets to Toronto. A day before flying away, my ex, gave my your alchemist book. I managed to tolerate a huge pain of flying away for good, reading your book all the way on board. from Tehran to Toronto.
I’m good now. living with my fiance with mutual love and respect and fun, studding computer programming which I have always loved, planing for bright and colorful future, enjoying very much computer programming. I also love and respect every moment of my past, and have realized that time is never wasted nor killed. It just washes away if you let it do so. Only forgotten moments and emotions are wasted.
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Hello Mr. Coelho,
Well, if the person is not “up to” sience or art, do you mean there is only one way left to find sense of purpose of life?
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PAULO HE LEIDO VARIOS DE TU LIBROS Y ME ENCANTAN DESDE QUE ME APUNTE EN TI BLOK LO BUSCO CON ANSIA ME MOTIVA MUCHO PARA SEGUIR ENCONTRANDO MI PROPIA EXPIRITUALIDAD EL COMO CAEMOS EN REPETIR LO QUE OTROS ES IMPRECIONANTE, YCOMO POR LA PRISA NI SIQUIERA NOS DAMOS CUENTA DE LA BELLEZA.QUE IMPRECION PARA VERDADERAMENTE HABRIR LOS OJOS Y TOMAR LA VIDA CON CALMA POR SI ME TOPO CON UN MUSICO CALLEJERO MUCHAS GRACIS POR SER Y POR COMPARTIR GUERRRERO TAMBIEN ALBERTO,
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Religion and Science do meet and co-exist! In the surgery-rooms in hospitals. It is the ‘weakness’ doctors feel in facing the ‘unknown’, death.
We know that every one is unique. Science has ‘read’ the genes, but has not explained how life was created, the harmony in our bodies and in the cosmos. The nearest of understanding the mystery of life is the .. Poet. You are a poet, dear Paulo Coelho, with your senses fully opened to grasp the meaning of our passing from life, the journey.
Love,
Thelma
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pas tout à fait d’accord
l’homme a besoin d’étudier par la science et de connaître le monde scientifiquement aussi ( astres , monde infiniment petit , virus , évolution des techniques )
je dirai plus que ce qui ne va pas : c’est que l’homme a trop vouloir tout rationnaliser , expliquer , prouver -> l’homme a perdu ( a amoindri ) ses facultés intuitives et donc son sens intuitif pur qui est le siège des émotions ( trop sur un plateau de la balance et pas assez qur l’autre plateau …. un grand lourd rend léger ce qui devait être égal )
il faut aussi utiliser votre sens intuitif , ne pas vouloir tout expliquer , ne pas vouloir tout rationnaliser et vous trouverez d’autres chemins , d’autres façons d’entendre , d’autres façons de voir les choses , d’autres façons de vivre
ne pas avoir peur de laisser ce que l’on a ( esprit déductif , et rationnalisation ..etc..) pour connaître autres choses qui peut-être source de liberté pour votre être , et peut apporter TANT
Not completely all right
The man needs to study by the science and to know the world scientifically also (celestial bodies, infinitesimal world, virus, evolution of techniques)
I shall say more that what does not go: it is because the man has too much will any rationnaliser, to explain, to prove - > the man lost his intuitive faculties and thus his pure intuitive sense(direction) which is the siege of the feelings (too much on a plateau of the balance and not enough qur the other plateau a big heavy makes light what was to be equal)
It is also necessary to use your intuitive sense, not to want to explain everything, not to want any rationnaliser and you will find the other roads, the other manners to listen, the other ways of seeing things things, other manners to live
Not be afraid of leaving what we have (deductive spirit, and rationnalisation etc.) to know the other things who maybe source of freedom for your being, and can bring SO MUCH
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Paulo, I agree with your comment about science,as long as it is free from interferences and pressures from governments or other influences that are not going to benefit it.
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The Alchemist has changed me completely for the much better, from bottom to top, from inside to outside, shaking me up, inspiring and making it clear that there is no other way to live than to believe in yourself and pursue your dream.
Sort of spiritual, I bought the book in Reykjavik, Iceland, one of the few countries on Earth, where I think you can very strongly feel physically the presence of spiritual forces. That happened in 2004 and that was the first book I’ve read from Paulo. Since then I’ve read all with one exception which I can’t find. And I’ve finished the re-reading of The Alchemist a few days ago.
Paulo’s every each other other book has added to my personality more. Thanks for it!! :-)
Cheers
Milla
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