Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy.
Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.
Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.
Is the system going to flatten you out and deny you your humanity, or are you going to be able to make use of the system to the attainment of human purposes?
I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.
I think the person who takes a job in order to live – that is to say, for the money – has turned himself into a slave.
Your life is the fruit of your own doing. You have no one to blame but yourself.
What each must seek in his life never was on land or sea. It is something out of his own unique potentiality for experience, something that never has been and never could have been experienced by anyone else.
When people get married because they think it’s a long-time love affair, they’ll be divorced very soon, because all love affairs end in disappointment.
Marriage is a recognition of a spiritual identity.
When you make the sacrifice in marriage, you’re sacrificing not to each other but to unity in a relationship.
Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it. The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning.
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.
Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths.
Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion.
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What a group of beautiful beautiful people!
Interesting about Joseph Campbell.
I was reading this from Amazon.com
“I was born in Toronto one month early..
My mother was a recent immigrant from India , was of two worlds and she would pass that multiply identity onto me.
My father was making his way to Canada but had not yet arrived.
His absence at my birth was a sign of the deeper absence yet to come…”
Dear Marie-Christine,
The text that you read in Amazon’s webstite isn’t any text written by Joseph Cambell but by Sheena Iyengar and is an excerpt from the book “The Art of Choice”.
Regards
Havent read anything better than this!
I don’t believe you need a marriage for a recognition of a spiritual identity.A spiritual identity is enough to make the connection.
Thank you sharing this, Paula.
I am in a great pain today .Maybe this beautiful piece can give me a solution to get rid of this !!!
Me ha parecido muy interesante esa explicación de lo que es la vida.
La vida carece de significado. es verdad uno tiene que darle el sentido práctico…. Usted aporta el sentido a la misma. claro que si, si no somos nosotros quien más puede darle el sentido…. El significado de la vida es lo que atribuyen que sea….. claro que si todo depende de nosotros de nadie más…….. Estar vivo es el significado….. agradecer por ese privilegio que es la vida misma….
El privilegio de toda la vida es ser quien eres….. estar alegre de ser y de estar y de poder cambiar cuando te decidas …. ni antes ni despúes… en el momento justo…. Participar con alegría en las tristezas del mundo….. son cosas que no podemos cambiar pero si las podemos aliviar y hay que trabajar en eso no perder las esperanzas de conseguir nuestros objetivos de un mundo mejor …. No podemos curar el mundo de dolores, pero podemos elegir vivir en la alegría. disfruta de cada momento de cada instante vive , canta, rie, disfruta vibra , siente quiere , ama, llora disfruta eso es vivir… bendiciones
Los mitos son sueños públicos, los sueños son mitos privados.
I have only one comment: BEAUTIFUL Piece
Joseph Campbell turned my life around when I was 17 and has continued to form my world view for the next 24 years. He got me to follow my bliss, to see metaphor in everything as reflections of that which is beyond language and art. He got me to identify with the spirit of which the body is but the vehicle.
Yes, we need spiritual leaders like him who help to raise our consciousness level. Everything becomes an experience and memory. I love what he said about marriage.
Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain
thats true, all the life we try to find joy outside but it is present right inside us, just we have to recognize it
Spot on!!!
I agree 100%. We all come to this life surrounded by difficulties. How we react to them and how we perceive the world makes a huge difference on stages of happiness.
How can it be, that I found your page only today, when I have read your books and qoutes for many years? I admire them, perhaps I needed the time alone. I am glad right now, that I can endulge in your texts ;)
Best of joy and thoughts // Annika
Thank you Paulo! Just what I needed to read today.
“We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.”
Interesting how I couldn’t ever describe my feelings about living joyfully even when surrounded by sorrow and how beautifully he has described it: Being named as Shadi which in Farsi (Persian) means Joy, I always thought and think I can live joyfully and also bring “joy” to the life of people around me…always believed in living joyfully even though I was grown up in a country of war.
Thank you Paulo for introducing Joseph Campbell, I didn’t know him. I will start reading his book after I’m done reading the “Warrior of the Night”.
PS. It’s amazing how a name can impact one’s life!
Thanks for sharing
“Trovare nel proprio animo un angolo dove c’è gioia e la gioia si brucerà il dolore”
Proprio questo ho fatto. Esattamente questo, senza neppure aver mai letto queste parole, trent’anni fa.
Ho avuto questa grande fortuna, di trovare nel mio cuore, con l’aiuto di Dio ed il soccorso del mio Angelo Custode, la FORZA di cercare in me stessa la gioia di vivere, nonostante tutto. Nonostante la certezza che la mia persona più amata fosse malata senza speranza.
E la Nostra gioia di vivere ha toccato il cuore di Dio che ci ha concesso trentadue anni di vita ancora insieme.
Avremmo potuto disperarci, dire che la nostra vita non aveva più senso in quanto non avremmo più potuto realizzare tutti i nostri sogni così come li avevamo concepiti. Invece abbiamo continuato a gioire nel dolore, cosicchè il dolore è diventato un compagno e la gioia il mezzo per conviverci e continuare a sorridere.
Senza il nostro grande dolore e senza la nostra immensa fatica nel vivere, la nostra esistenza non sarebbe stata così entusiasmante ed ora non ci sentiremmo così realizzati. Questo è stato ed è tuttore il senso della nostra vita. Non arrendersi, accettare i mille sapori, profumi, luci della vita. Non può esserci sempre la luce.
Non ci sarà sempre dolore. Non sarà così bella ed appagante la gioia se non verrà mai messa a confronto con un grande dolore.
Semplicemente, nevvero?
today i love these quote more
-Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.
-Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.
-The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning.
-We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can CHOOSE to live in joy.
When you have felt what joy means then you understand how much you lose when you are in pain.. and that’s a choice.. to live with joy.. whatever choice you make you have to be ok with it..
that was a wonderful pack of quotes, thank you!
Love and Gratitude
Annie
QUERIDO PAULO:
COMO SIEMPRE CUANDO NO VEO MAS ALLA DE MI NARIZ… TU ME ILUMINAS CON LO QUE ESCRIBES… SIEMPRE EN EL MOMENTO
EL QUE TENGA OIDOS QUE OIGA…
GRACIAS
“Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths.”
This is a deep and true maxim. What makes the myth truth is the power of faith who believe. The same goes for dreams.
This is great… I came to learn more about Mr. Champbell and I read some of his books too…its amazing how these myths work in the society.
Thank you Paulo for sharing.
God bless you all!
Muy Buena reflexión y consejo de vida. Mucha razón, quizas no podremos cambiar las mañas, pero si saber aceptarla y dar el cambio desde la actitud “RESILIENCIA”
& he is a white, modern man fascinated by shamanism.
excellent words on marriage…..thanks once again for sharing such great wisdom mr Coelho……
I totaly agree with Mr.Campbell and I feel and think just as him. On the other hand till free thinking is the general atmosphere on this planet, it is unlikely that all people can do so much about what he says…
People although are unique, one can not live out of the common rules of his/her environment. Just consider some countries such as Iraq or Afghanistan…how can an individual live life according to his/her dreams or own thoughts?…Our environment is so important, just like a seed,a plant needs certain conditions to fullfill what it is and what it is going to be…But it is still so nice to think about the ideal thoughts and wish the whole world comes to the commensense of ideal humanistic ways of existence…
It was a good page,a good share, so thanks dear Paulo, you are an idealist anyway :)
“We can choose to live in joy” –What powerful words! Simple thoughts but with extraordinary meaning. Many of us simply react to what the world delivers to us. But after reading this, I know now that we have a choice. And I choose to live in joy always!
I understand Joseph Campbell, I get it but I don’t think anybody cares if ‘I’ read his books but here are some cool facts. George Lucas read Campbell’s ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’ (I think this is the book working from my rusty memory). George Lucas then wrote the world famous ‘Starwars’ and produced the six movies based Campbell’s ideology. They met later in life.
Christopher Vogler a Disney executive read Campbell’s books and developed a story design program which has been used in all of Disney’s movies starting with the ‘Lion King’ which Vogler wrote.
:)
you can create something wonderful yourself as well, so then many will care ;o).. Wonderboy ;o)
thank you!
that´s what it´s about…sometimes seems to be a hard way but,when you go …
it is joy and fulfillingness at all.
Thank you so much, dearest Paulo. As always, perfectly selected.
I had forgotten about Joseph Campbell, your quotes were most timely, xo.
Thanks to everyone else for their recommendations.
Your life is the fruit of your own doing.
Good words..
what a words… its open my mind 2 look at the different side about my lifi..bout what am i working now in my life..thanks paulo..u’ve always got the rite words…
very beautiful and inspiring words………really understood the meaning of life…..
Free you mind and your ass will follow…
Profound, X
It’s like I’m a prisoner of my own life, and it’s up to me to break the chains of my own misery. I need to find the joy, find the light, and the rest will take care of itself. I have been looking for such a long time and will keep looking until my last breath.
I know how you feel, i’m in the same mood! it’s not easy to unchain our life, o maybe it’s easier in mind but not in real life!! keep trying i’ll do the same!!
Right!
Difficult, he? I agree.
true. unfortunately in todays world most of us are slaves of ”gold cow”. Even those who do not consider money as a ultimate good. sometimea they are simply scared that being who they are would proove to be dissapointing and not enough to stay alive in this world
Beautiful, simply beautiful! All article posted by you are so heartwarming and rekindles the spirit in me to give joy to others. My sorrow just fades away into a bad dream and re-appears as a challenge I’ve always wanted to face. May the world be blessed Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavanthu
I am still finding “that place inside where there’s joy” within my heart. Thanks to your blog Mr. Coelho, I know I’ll get there. All in God’s time :)
Three people whose works changed my life in the order that I found them.
Joseph Campbell
Thomas Merton
Paulo Coelho
I was rocking my baby one afternoon watching PBS in a strange city far from my family and found Campbell’s talks at Sarah Lawrence. Every week after that nap time for my son was my guilty pleasure. I was given a new way of looking at the stories of creation, goddess, good and evil that I had been telling my children.
When my youngest was in school and I was working part time I found Merton’s The Seven Story Mountain. I had been raised in a very closed minded church/family so his story of religious discovery was very important to me. I thought I could continue to live within the family structure and learn everything I could about other religions, myths, philosophy on paper but the new thoughts reshaped my daily life also. There comes a point you have to access if you are living what you believe. And is what you believe in this moment lasting or just one of the steps to finding your bliss.
Later when taking a Spanish class I was looking for a short book in Spanish to work on translating and found Manual del guerrero de la luz. I was very surprised that my old neglected passion had found me out even in another language.
All of these men have given me many Ah Ha moments but I hope I never say there that is IT there is nothing else I can learn because this person had just taught me everything I need for the rest of my life. I am forever indebted to each one for helping me find ‘something that never has been and never could have been experienced by anyone else’.
i love the whole meaning of it..
Simplemente el significado de vivir
Podemos decir lo mucho que cuesta superar lo que creemos mata.
La vida tiene muchas arista que involucran las emociones. Dificilmente podemos ser esclavo de un trabajo, sin que ello nos involucre el amor, saciar las necesidades de quienes mas amamos. Dificilmente podemos dejar un trabajo que significo logros alcanzados.
Amados hombre, mujer quien robo una mirada y no pensar que nuestras vidas yacia dibujado por nuestros antepasados.
Razon misma las alegrias vividas renuevan el alma, aconcojando una sonrisa vitaminizada de optimismo por creer que no todo es malo, que los momentos triste sabran encontrar una reconcilacion.
thanks u made me to taste the real fruit of life……..
how does one person acquire such knowledge, in one lifetime?
Joseph Campbell’s words are eternal. So important! Love.
I most certainly appreciate the way you put these thoughts into words….sending blessings and white light~ MP~
This is what I feel too. Find joy and treasure it in your heart and it will heal your heart and soul. Look around you and find the things that bring a smile on your face. Simple things, every day things, things nearby. Re-discover who you really are and love this person, love yourself ! Smile to yourself in the mirror when you take your first peek in the morning. Make a funny face… See if it works, it did for me ;0)
Bravo! The Power of Myth!
existential yet all encompassing…fantastic…zen…and then some playing in the passion of love,unconditional love. thank you, for honoring a sublime teacher.
This is MAJOR flavor. Thanks!
sometimes it is very hard to find that joy….I have been looking for it for a long time but it seems everytime I think I am getting close to it, I loose it again! But I believe from the bottom of my heart that I will find it sooner or later! Cheers to that day!
La alegria se halla en las cosas sencillas…. y se presenta como un regalo del presente… querido amigo preste atencion a la gente a su alrededor… podra descubrir sonrisas francas, inesperadas… un gracias acompañado de una mirada luminosa…. la risa de un niño en la calle…. una hermosa flor recien abierta… eso es felicidad… aspire el aire sientalo en su nariz, en su pecho disfrute la frescura del amanecer … un abrazo con todo mi amor
Joy is already with you.. the air, the sun, the clouds, a special scent, a hug, a smile… try looking in “different places” … :)
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy”. My youngest son has taught me this lesson..some things you can not change, but perhaps those things arn’t meant to be changed, all is needed is to find the joy in even the worst of circumstances..that one tiny seed and grow it.
and also
“When you make the sacrifice in marriage, you’re sacrificing not to each other but to unity in a relationship”….this is wise. I really like this. Never be afraid to make the first move towards reconcilation and never sleep with hate in your heart.
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